Martial Arts in Leonardtown

[JeJeTe]

Does anyone use either Dean's Martial Arts or the Black Belt Academy in Leonardtown?

I would like to register my 6 year old and didn't know if anyone had any recent experience with either.

[Cheeky1]

Originally Posted by JeJeTe

Does anyone use either Dean's Martial Arts or the Black Belt Academy in Leonardtown?

I would like to register my 6 year old and didn't know if anyone had any recent experience with either.

I have experience with both schools. What do you want to know?

[sockgirl77 (Premo)]

Black Belt Academy is overpriced and overcrowded. They will suck every penny out of you if you allow them to. They charge for everything, including belt tests on top of their rising tuition. They are extremely unorganized. I had 2 kids in the before and afterschool program.

[JeJeTe]

Originally Posted by Cheeky1

I have experience with both schools. What do you want to know?

Which one did you prefer? Cost, teacher experience, etc? I'm a novice in the karate field as is he so any insight would be helpful.

[Cheeky1]

Originally Posted by JeJeTe

Which one did you prefer? Cost, teacher experience, etc? I'm a novice in the karate field as is he so any insight would be helpful.

BBA is Chong Do Kwon, olympic style Tae Kwon Do.

Dean's is Okinawan style karate.

BBA is a commercial martial arts school and it is what you make of it. If you want to learn, you'll learn and they'll take your money. If you don't want to learn, they'll still take your money. I've only heard of a handful of students being rejected. They do nickle n' dime you and tuition is expensive. A lot of what you pay for is convenience. They offer many classes throughout the day to accomodate different work/family schedules.

Dean's is NOT a commercial martial arts school. The training to be had is worthwhile (90% practical) and the last time I attended classes the going adult rate was $60/month for two hour classes, twice a week. Adult classes are T/Th. Kid classes were M/W...not sure about the rate though...

For yourself, a novice karate practitioner, I'd direct you to Dean's. If you're looking for cardio and overall health, BBA.

[JeJeTe]

Originally Posted by Cheeky1

BBA is Chong Do Kwon, olympic style Tae Kwon Do.

Dean's is Okinawan style karate.

BBA is a commercial martial arts school and it is what you make of it. If you want to learn, you'll learn and they'll take your money. If you don't want to learn, they'll still take your money. I've only heard of a handful of students being rejected. They do nickle n' dime you and tuition is expensive. A lot of what you pay for is convenience. They offer many classes throughout the day to accomodate different work/family schedules.

Dean's is NOT a commercial martial arts school. The training to be had is worthwhile (90% practical) and the last time I attended classes the going adult rate was $60/month for two hour classes, twice a week. Adult classes are T/Th. Kid classes were M/W...not sure about the rate though...

For yourself, a novice karate practitioner, I'd direct you to Dean's. If you're looking for cardio and overall health, BBA.

Thanks for the info! I was leaning more towards Dean's because the kid rate was cheaper and I liked how he responded to my email with suggestions when I requested information.

[sockgirl77 (Premo)]

Originally Posted by Cheeky1

BBA is a commercial martial arts school and it is what you make of it. If you want to learn, you'll learn and they'll take your money. If you don't want to learn, they'll still take your money. I've only heard of a handful of students being rejected. They do nickle n' dime you and tuition is expensive. A lot of what you pay for is convenience. They offer many classes throughout the day to accomodate different work/family schedules.

After sitting through 2 different belt test days there, I learned one thing: Everyone passes, even those who cannot answer the questions correctly or remember their forms.

Also, they do not offer a competition team. I thought that was rather odd.

[Cheeky1]

Originally Posted by JeJeTe

Which one did you prefer?

I've practiced tae kwon do for ten years. For me it's been a love-hate relationship.

Bottom line, though, if you can do tae kwon do, you can do anything. I've branched off and dabbled in other martial arts and TKD provided a good "base" for doing this.

Also, TKD focuses on training the entire body to effectively utilize the lower half of your body. This translates to greater coordination and awareness with regard to anything that has to do with stability and moving your feet - be it dancing, running, other sports, whatever...

Even with all this, what I prefer doesn't matter. Its really about you. What you need?...and what does your 6 year old need?

[Cheeky1]

Originally Posted by sockgirl77

Also, they do not offer a competition team. I thought that was rather odd.

They used to. Students were hand-picked and trained to compete nationally. It's been a while since I've seen this occur though.

The lack, or presence, of a competition team is not an wholistic approach to deciding how wholesome the training offered is. Actually, in my opinion, the lack of such a team can be positive, but sadly in this case - it probably isn't.

[sockgirl77 (Premo)]

Originally Posted by Cheeky1

They used to. Students were hand-picked and trained to compete nationally. It's been a while since I've seen this occur though.

The lack, or presence, of a competition team is not an wholistic approach to deciding how wholesome the training offered is. Actually, in my opinion, the lack of such a team can be positive, but sadly in this case - it probably isn't.

After pulling my kids out of BBA and taking a short break to think about it all, I've put them in Action TWD and I love it. They love it. The class size is smaller and the master, Kimo, is fantastic with them. My son is just starting up with the competition team but he loves it.