Is Your Martial Arts School Ripping You Off? Part 1

Mr. Craig Willits, Chief Instructor at Spotsylvania Martial Arts in Fredericksburg VA, warns martial arts students that the martial arts school they are attending (or considering attending) may be ripping them off:

There is a rich diversity of martial arts options in our business community. In Fredericksburg alone, there are numerous martial arts schools teaching a variety of styles, from sport taekwondo to mixed martial arts. Despite the sluggish economy, there is still a large demand for martial arts instruction.

Unfortunately, this demand has attracted many unscrupulous individuals to the martial arts industry. These opportunists capitalize on the fact that the general public has very little real knowledge about martial arts training. Their main goal is use your ignorance against you to part you from your cash.

One way to identify a potential rip-off is to look at a martial arts school's marketing strategy. There are many questionable tactics martial arts studios can engage in when trying to attract new students. The following five areas are where most abuses occur.

Martial Arts Rip-Off #1: The "Hard Sell." In this uncertain economy, martial arts schools are facing stiff competition for new students. It's not unusual for a legitimate martial arts school to offer incentives to persuade students to sign up. There are some studios, however, that use high-pressure sales tactics on prospective members to get them to sign a contract for a year or more on their first visit, without offering the prospect a chance to try the classes first. The problem is that a high percentage of martial arts students decide, after a class or two, that they don't like martial arts training as much as they thought they would, and they quit. The way contracts are typically worded, at least in Virginia, you can't just quit because you don't like class, so you're stuck with a year or more of tuition payments. Always insist on a trial class (preferably more than one) before you sign any contract. If you need time to think through the decision before committing to a martial arts training program, ask for it. If the martial arts school won't allow either, you should think very carefully before signing up.

Martial Arts Rip-Off #2: Withholding Price Information. Typically, quality martial arts programs aren't cheap. Because of this, before you decide to commit to a training program, you need to know up front how much (in both time and money) it's going to cost you to reach your martial arts goals. Please note that just because a school won't quote you a price over the phone or via email does not mean they are being evasive. Many legitimate martial arts schools will not talk price until they meet with you face to face. That's perfectly reasonable, because they may be trying to weed out casual inquiries or "price shoppers," or keep their pricing structure from their competitors. However, at some point before you sign any paperwork, the school should fully disclose all costs. There should be nothing hidden. Be sure to ask about rank advancement fees, association dues, and the cost of any required martial arts uniforms and equipment, and any other costs in addition to tuition.

Martial Arts Rip-Off #3: Guaranteed Advancement. Some martial arts schools will guarantee you a certain rank or level of competence in martial arts within a set time period. One extreme example: a studio that used to operate in our area used to sign people to contracts that allowed them to train for three years or until they reached black belt, whichever came first. Not surprisingly, students at this martial arts school were getting promoted to black belt in record time -- 12-15 months at last report -- without having to train for a certain number of hours or even meet the promotion requirements. After gaining black belt rank, the students were no longer permitted to attend class, but they still had to pay tuition for the rest of the three year period. (The way the contract was written, it was all perfectly legal, but it gave this school a well-deserved reputation for deceptive business practices.) Martial arts training is a process. Every student progresses at a different rate, so it's impossible to predict in advance how long it will take to reach competence in a particular art.  If you sign a contract that promises you a rank within a specific time period, you're buying a rank without the competence it stands for. It's the equivalent of buying a black belt off the internet.

Martial Arts Rip-Off #4: Questionable Claims Regarding Curriculum. It's not unusual for a business to be enthusiastic when describing its product to potential customers. Martial arts schools are no exception. However, some schools get a little too enthusiastic. If a martial arts school makes any of the following claims, it should raise a very large red flag: (1) the school claims to offer multiple martial arts without separate classes for each and without instructors qualified to teach those arts; (2) the instructor teaches "special, super-secret" martial arts techniques that will allow you to overcome an adversary with minimal training; (3) the studio claims to teach ninjutsu (no one in Fredericksburg VA teaches this legitimately); (4) the instructor claims to teach "street" self defense, but does not teach his/her students to spar with contact; (5) a studio teaches sport martial arts and claims that competition training also makes students competent at reality-based self defense.

In Part 2, we'll examine how some martial arts schools rip you off with substandard instruction. Stay tuned...

Traditional Martial Arts for Children (Ages 6-12): Better Grades, Self-Discipline, Respect, Enhanced Focus

Traditional Martial Arts for Teens & Adults (Ages 13 and Up): Self-Discipline, Physical Fitness, Goal-Setting, Self Defense

Krav Maga For Adults (Ages 18 and Up): Reality-Based Self-Defense, Realistic Personal Protection

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