Choosing the Right School

I heard a horror story from my neighbor the other day. Her son, who is in the same grade as my grandson, is a student at another local karate school. He has been preparing for his next big promotion, and this past weekend he participated in some extensive testing – all well and good. What upset my neighbor was that the instructor repeatedly berated her son in front of the whole class, singling him out for verbal abuse.

To his credit, the kid stood there and took it, which perhaps was the point; it’s possible that the instructor wanted to see whether he would remain strong or burst into tears. However, that’s not how I would want my kid to be treated.

So how do you know, when you’re considering a karate school, whether it will be right for you, or for your child?

Visit the dojang during classes and observe:

• Are the students smiling? Are the instructors smiling? Are the parents smiling?
• Do the students and staff treat each other with mutual respect?
• How does the staff handle a student who doesn’t seem to be paying attention? How do they treat a student who has less physical ability?
• Is the instruction limited to physical skills or is consideration given to mental and spiritual development?

If you like the answers to all these questions, take advantage of any free classes that the school may offer. By the end of the trial period, you should have a pretty good idea as to whether the school is right for you.

This is not going to be a forum for spreading stories about bad experiences with karate schools. However, if you have additional advice about what a good school should look like, I’d love to hear it and I’m sure others would too.