A Quick Guide To Choosing The Right Martial Arts School and Instructor for You or Your Family

1

DearProspectiveMartialArtsStudentandFamily:Choosingamartialartsprogramandinstructorisn’tjustaboutlocation,classtimesandcosts.There’salotmoretoconsiderwhenthinkingaboutwhichschoolisthebestfitforyouandyourfamily.Andnoteverymartialartsschoolorprogramisagoodmatch.Someemphasizethingsthatmightbeunimportanttoyou.Othersmayormaynothaveinstructorsqualifiedandskilledatprovidingforaspecialneedyouorafamilymembermightrequire.Andit’snotallaboutprice.Sure,pricematters.Butit’snottheonlythingthat’simportanttoyou.Andonceyou’vedecidedtolearnandtopracticeamartialartyouwanttheverybestresultspossibleforapricethat’sfair.And,ifyouneedmoreinformationor…ifyouneedorwantourhelpwe’rehereforyoutochataboutthechoice.Andwe’lltellyouifourprogramoranotherisbestmatchforyouoryourfamily.Youseewe’renotforeveryone.Andweturnawaystudentswhoaren’tagoodmatch.We’reinterestedinbeingsurethatwecanmeetandexceedyourneedsandexpectations…foryourselfand/oryourchildorchildren.Ifwedon’tthinkwecan,we’lltellyou.And,beforejoininganyprogram,includingours,makesurethatyougetachancetoseeifwe’reaperfectmatch.Askabouttheirtrialprogramandfindoutifit’srightforyou.It’sacomplicatedchoice.So,we’vecompiledthisQuickGuidetohelpguideyou

throughwhatcanseemlikeanoverwhelmingprocess.Don’tsignupwithanygymorprogramuntilyou’vethoughtandaskedaboutthesefactors!

1

Whatsortoffacilitiesdoestheschoolprovide?§ Isthegym:neat,cleanandwellmaintained§ Isthetrainingareasafe:

o Isitfullymatted?o Isthereplentyofroomtomovearound?

§ Arethereseparatechangingroomsandbathroomsforboysandgirls?

§ Isthereanobservationareaforparentstostayandwatchclasses?

§ WilltheinstructorstakethetimetodiscussconcernsorquestionsIhaveaboutmychild’straining?

WhatarethequalificationsoftheHeadInstructors?(AndhowdoIevaluatetheirlevelofexpertise?)§ Whatistheirmartialartsrank?§ Howlonghavetheybeenteaching?§ Dotheyteachotherchildrenthathavethesame

needsandgoalsasmychild?§ Havetheystudiedseveraldisciplinestobecome

betterandmorewellroundedteachers? Dotheyunderstandhowtoteachchildren? § Dotheyteachchildren?Aretheyexperienced

withtheneedsofyourchild?§ Aretheyprofessional,fulltimeinstructors

dedicatedtotheneedsofyourchild?§ DotheyhavePAstateclearancestoworkwith

children?§ Havetheyreceivedinstructionandcertification

asMartialArtsteachersandnotjustachievedabeltrank?(Rankisimportantbutyoucanhaveahigh-rankinginstructorwithlittleexperienceandtrainingasateacher.)

§ Aretheclassespre-plannedinastructuredwaysothatinstructors,parents&studentsknowwhattoexpecteachandeveryclass?

§ Dotheinstructorsprovidecurriculumresourcestotheparents?

WhatSortofProgramsdoestheschooloffer?§ Doestheschoolofferapre-evaluationandtrial

programtohelpensurethatyourchildisenrolledinthebestprogram,forthem?

§ Doestheschoolhaveaframeworkofincrementalgoalsettingtoensuresuccess?Do

2

Soherearesomeotherimportantfactorstoconsiderandsomequestionstoasktheschoolandtheinstructorsbeforeyouselectamartialartsschoolandinstructorforyourchild:

2

theyhaveabeltprogressionsystemtokeepthestudentsengagedforyearsandyears?(Thishasbeenproventohelpchildrenachievetheirspecificgoals.)

§ Doesitofferwell-developedandage-specificprogramstomeetthedifferentneedsofchildren?

§ Havetheysplittheclassesintoasufficientnumberofage-groups?

§ Doestheschoolhavearobustscheduleofferingmultipleclassoptionsperweek?

§ Istheschoolatmospherefamilyoriented?Doestheschoolteachlifeskillsinadditiontomartialarts,fitnessandself-defense? § Willthestudentshavetheopportunityto

becomejuniorinstructorsanddemonstrateleadership?

o Ifso,whatistheleadershipdevelopmentprogram?

o Aretherebenefitstobecominganinstructor?

§ Willtheschool,inadditiontotrainingthemainstructorsandleaders,providerecognitionofthatdedicationandleadershipwhenyouorachildneedsaletterofrecommendationforschool,aprogram,certification,orwork?

HowdoIgetstarted?Seethebottomofthispageforourveryspecialoffer!

- Scheduleyourfree,one-on-oneorientationlessonattheDragonGymbycalling610-363-7575oremailingChangeYourLife@dragongym.com