FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
The first member of a family pays $50 for one month's training. The next through the nth members of the family pay a reduced rate of $35. THERE ARE NO CONTRACTS REQUIRED TO TRAIN. "Kyu" examinations, given every three months on average, currently cost $25 per person, per examination up through first "Kyu" for a total of eight. There are additional fees like the organizational membership fee that is now $45 per year, and fees for camps, clinics, and tournaments, etc. that are optional.
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
Conversing with them to first, ascertain, where possible, their motivation for wanting to do karate. Second, and rather important, the extent of their self-patience. I talk about this in almost every class to reinforce the idea that some things take time to learn. Hurry has a way of getting in your way. Too many folk (this is especially the case with youngsters, and an occasional oldster) sign up at the local dojo and expect to become a "power ranger" or Bruce Lee by the end of the first class. Funakoshi, Gichin, the founder of Shotokan, wrote in his autobiography that it would take a normal person all his life to learn karate. This is another way of saying that it will also take you all your life to learn who you are. So here is a way of learning patience--what's important is what you choose to do with it.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Currently, I am a 4th degree (Yondan) black belt. I am a certified Judge, Instructor, and Examiner having completed the formal instructor training program of the International Shotokan Karate Federation in 2008. This program included, coursework at the Mountain States Regional Headquarters in Denver, and at several camps and National Tournaments around the country; demonstrations and research papers on the ways of karate and cognate subjects; periodically, there were written and practical examinations conducted by the Masters.