About a year ago or so I came across this forum and responded to a thread about the price of black belts. Some of you may remember that discussion, others may not. I was new to martial arts and was interested in learning about running a martial arts school, as I had started one for my son. In the discussions about the price of black belts it seemed there was a great discrepancy in what everyone in the discussion paid and/or charged, and what I had paid for my son's belts. An interesting discussion was held on this subject, but it soon turned into Grandmasters and money. There were varying opinions, some good, some not so good. Now that some time has passed, and I have learned a great deal more about martial arts, there are some things, and one thing in particular, I would like to clarify and close this discussion that I feel was left openended.
At the time of the discussion, I didn't know my grandmaster very well, and didn't know the details involved in running a martial arts school. Since, I have spend a lot of time with my Grandmaster and have seen what it takes to have a school and qualified instructors. The money I paid for the belts included private lessons for my son, the Grandmaster coming to our studio at least twice a week to teach classes, which she has done for the past year, and also to help defray costs of Grandmaster Hae Man Park to visit the studio and present my son his 2nd Dan black belt. All of this became evident to me as time passed between when the discussion was held and now. I discovered that the money was money well spent after all. I'm sure many of you would agree that when you add all this together, the difference between $500 for a belt test and several thousand for everything I listed above added in makes more sense. Just having a Grandmaster teach at the studio is a tremendous honor.
The thing I want to clarify is during the discussion, there were questions raised about my Grandmaster being a true Grandmaster, was she qualified, etc. I want to say, and leave no doubt, that my Grandmaster is and always has been a Grandmaster in every sense of the word. She is knowledgable, a very able teacher, and, now that I have gotten to know her better, a true friend to her students and instructors.
As far as the school, we suffered major damage from Hurricane Ike, approximately 2 feet of water in the studio, but we re-opened 2 weeks ago and students are returning. As always, the students are our biggest concern, so we worked hard to get the studio open and back in business for them. We will continue to work towards having a studio that our students enjoy learning in and our Grandmaster is proud of.
I really don't want to open this discussion again, but I did feel I owe it to my Grandmaster to come back to the forum and make sure this issue is resolved and there is no doubt about her status as a true Grandmaster and friend
At the time of the discussion, I didn't know my grandmaster very well, and didn't know the details involved in running a martial arts school. Since, I have spend a lot of time with my Grandmaster and have seen what it takes to have a school and qualified instructors. The money I paid for the belts included private lessons for my son, the Grandmaster coming to our studio at least twice a week to teach classes, which she has done for the past year, and also to help defray costs of Grandmaster Hae Man Park to visit the studio and present my son his 2nd Dan black belt. All of this became evident to me as time passed between when the discussion was held and now. I discovered that the money was money well spent after all. I'm sure many of you would agree that when you add all this together, the difference between $500 for a belt test and several thousand for everything I listed above added in makes more sense. Just having a Grandmaster teach at the studio is a tremendous honor.
The thing I want to clarify is during the discussion, there were questions raised about my Grandmaster being a true Grandmaster, was she qualified, etc. I want to say, and leave no doubt, that my Grandmaster is and always has been a Grandmaster in every sense of the word. She is knowledgable, a very able teacher, and, now that I have gotten to know her better, a true friend to her students and instructors.
As far as the school, we suffered major damage from Hurricane Ike, approximately 2 feet of water in the studio, but we re-opened 2 weeks ago and students are returning. As always, the students are our biggest concern, so we worked hard to get the studio open and back in business for them. We will continue to work towards having a studio that our students enjoy learning in and our Grandmaster is proud of.
I really don't want to open this discussion again, but I did feel I owe it to my Grandmaster to come back to the forum and make sure this issue is resolved and there is no doubt about her status as a true Grandmaster and friend