We have tried to give you some frequently asked questions that we hear regarding what we teach and our classes. Please e-mail us with any questions you may have and we'll do our best to answer them!
At times the answers may be lengthy, making it better if we talk, or if you call us at 214-343-8986
Q: How often are classes and how much?
A: We meet on Monday and Wednesday evenings and classes are $65 a month.
Q: $65 a month for 2 days/wk of class?
A: Our own students have reported to us that prior to joining they called around to check on prices at other schools. One school actually quoted one of our students $90 a month for (1) day of training per week. Another school is quoting $180/month for (2) days of training per week. We offer a fair price for what our students are taught, especially when compared to how quickly they become highly skilled, compared to other schools! Several of our students were breaking full-sized 1 inch boards with punches and kicks 2 months into their training. That's a skill that in many schools students don't acquire until 2-3 yrs into their training! A couple of our students with no prior martial arts training, and less than 6 months of training in our school, have already entered tournaments, consistently beating higher ranked students from other schools. One of our students, while still a yellow belt, entered a tournament and beat another schools brown belt! Take a look here and here. There may be places that charge less, but ask yourself this "do you want cheap training that may not deliver results or do you want great training that does?".
Q: Why only 2 days a week of classes?
A: We only teach adults and have often found they have busy lifestyles (family, work, travel, and other interests) which makes 4-5 days/wk of a fixed classroom schedule unlikely for the almost daily unexpected changes some of them have in their lives. Yet when they combine our 2 day/wk classes with our 20-30 minute suggested home workout routines, another day or two per week, we've found that 2 days a week of classroom time is more than enough for their busy lifestyles. It is the chief instructors belief that for students to become real martial artists, they need to learn to train on-their-own. Furthermore, its been said that few people became great in martial arts by only doing classroom training. The amount of time you can devote to training outside of class, is what more often creates incredibly skilled martial artists, and often does so quicker than just classroom training can! Giving adults the flexibility to decide based on their busy schedule what time and days they can fit their home workout into their lifestyle, and how often, is one of many things we feel makes our adult program unique. We've found 2 days a week of classroom time for adults to be just enough, yet not too much, that many with hectic lives are still able to maintain near-perfect classroom attendance!
Additionally, depending on the type of workout and intensity, we believe having days-off between an adults training is often needed for their muscles to recouperate and displace any lactic acid build-up. Some studies suggest that adults not taking days-off, can actually slow their rate of progress, as it relates to muscle development and recovery time.
Also, days-off teaches adults how to have "balance" with respect to their training and lifestyle, thus preventing burn-out, or guilt they might feel if personal matters make daily training unrealistic. A healthy "balance" allows adults to more easily make martial arts a permanent part of their busy lifestyle, instead of a temporary here-today-gone-tomorrow activity, that as their life changes they might mistakenly view as getting in the way of their constantly changing lifestyle. The chief instructor believes "balance" isn't emphasized strongly enough in most schools to adult students, and is part of the reason why adults dropout in many of them.
Q: How long are your contracts and what are your "enrollment fees"?
A: We have no contracts nor enrollment fees. We do not believe in them as mentioned here. Students pay as they train. As soon as a student has reached his or her goals, they may want to move-on, much like a baby bird eventually maturing and wanting to leave the nest. Unlike some schools, we don't believe in enslaving students with contracts! Freedom and flexibility in all aspects of ones training is one of our core values.
Q: Why do you not teach children?
A: The self-defense portion of what we teach requires split-second rational decision making, as to whether or not one should seriously injure their attacker. The decision a person makes could potentially have legal ramifications, especially if they make the wrong decision. We feel that decision requires a certain level of maturity that typically only comes with age.
Q: Do you have a women's only class?
A: When asked this question, we usually ask this one back. "What gender do you think is more likely to physically assault a female?" We believe women need an environment that primarily teaches them how to defend themselves against men. The best way for that to happen is by having an environment in which there are men of a variety of ages and sizes. Even better, men with a variety of fighting skills, that will likely exceed the more common ones a woman might face in the street! We are COED and train as realistically as possible with a strong emphasis on training safely.
Q: Do you offer a kickboxing or aerobic kickboxing class?
A: One of our primary routines during class is having everyone line-up across from a partner and doing a variety of punches and kicks into targets/shields. We don't believe in lots of kicking and punching into thin air, as that is harder on the joints and doesn't help develop power. That often lasts about 15-20 minutes. Later during class, often after doing 10-15 minutes of "street defense", we do 10-15 minutes of what's called "point sparring", where students are required to have safety gear consisting of head, hand, feet, mouthpiece (shin and rib protectors optional, cups for men mandatory), and practice lightly-and-safely throwing punches and kicks at one another. We feel this is essential in learning timing, counters, defense, and how to use your offensive weapons against a moving opponent. You will get a good workout in our class often leaving tired and glad on Mondays the next class is on Wednesday, thus giving you a day-off between the two.
Q: What is it you teach?
A: Please see About MMA.
Q: But your picture shows you doing a jumping kick...isn't TKD, and some of what you teach, about kicking?
A: The key word above is "some" versus other places where kicking is nearly "all" they teach. We mainly focus on just a couple of kicks that most any adult can do, plus, I tell adults not to jump higher than an inch or two off the ground, especially my older adults. Let kids and maybe adults in their twenties do all that 4-5 ft off-the-ground jumping. I only did a jump kick in my picture because I wondered if I still could, and if a 43 y.o. could, it might be a somewhat impressive picture for marketing purposes. Prior to that pic, I hadn't done a jumping kick of any kind in over 10 yrs!
Ideally, I'd like to see adults try to kick at least to the waist/stomach level. I don't expect them to do head high kicks! There are several kicks I absolutely can't do head-high myself. Why expect something of others I can't do myself? A favorite saying I love is "why kick a man in the head when its easier to punch him in the head?". Yet some places that label themselves as TKD, leave out the "kwon" (punching), and don't allow students to practice punches to the head (sparring). I think they should rename what they teach to "Tae-Do" (the way of kicking) so its a more accurate description.
There are some TKD associations and schools that are 80-100% about kicking, and who because of that I believe rarely retain adults very long. I put much less of an emphasis on kicking for adults. I'm a bigger fan of the Americanized version of Taekwondo that incorporates more western boxing and allows one to borrow and incorporate techniques from other arts.
The first full contact karate federation was the Professional Karate Association, with well-known fighters such as Joe Lewis, Bill Wallace, Benny Urquidez, Anthony Elmore (which Grandmaster Brown trained with and did a movie with), and others. If any of you ever saw some of the old PKA kickboxing matches, you'd often notice that in each round some fighters would start the round by quickly doing the minimum number of kicks required, which was 8 per round. Then some would stop doing kicks, switch to using their hands, doing a hundred or more punches before the end of that round. Sometimes it seemed certain fighters could almost be classified as 10% kickers and 90% punchers. For older adults or those with limitations, that concept may be a better fit for them. We have some guys in our school who mainly use their HANDS during sparring, due to limitation issues, and I'm fine with that!
The main art we teach is TKD, yet with more of a point-type/light-contact kickboxing version of it for adults, that is as safe as it can possibly be. No one has yet had a broken/bloodied nose, busted lip, black eye, stitches, or been knocked-out in our class. We're there to teach students how to do that to others that legally deserve it, who of course aren't allowed to be our students. Yet regarding kicking and the stereotype of TKD, the amount of kicking each adult can do is individually explored in our school instead of globally demanded. A student should be challenged so they and their instructor can figure out if they can do some kicking, what they can-and-can't-do, thus tailoring their fighting/self-defense style more towards what they can. I have found this leads to a more enjoyable training experience for each adult. It shouldn't be about constantly frustrating them with things they'll never be able to do, penalizing them for that, or holding back their martial arts dreams because of what they can't do! It's a shame most instructors don't individually tailor each adults bag-of-tricks (techniques) to what that adult can-do, by doing that adults are more likely to enjoy their training, which of course would lead to fewer adults dropping out after a month-or-two.
Unlike alot of schools, I realize the older an adult is the less likely he'll be able to kick, jump and run with the same ease, endurance and athleticism that a 7-12 yr old kid can! What I don't understand is why other instructors don't realize this too, especially when most are scratching their heads wondering why they have more kids than adults, or why they never keep an adult student more than a month or two! The problem isn't with the adults, its with the instructors unrealistic expectations of them, and instructors trying to force a square peg into a round hole.
Q: Can I come by and watch a class before I decide to start training?
A: Yes, and we highly recommend either that, or wearing casual workout attire and trying a class or two. Please call first and let us know that you are coming.
Q: What about tournaments?
A: They are an optional part of our training. As an instructor I will of course help make my students ready for them, if they have an interest, and try to be there to support them. However, tournaments are not a requirement, nor something I feel adults should feel forced to do or participate in. Part of my reasoning for this is that some adults have busy lifestyles and want their weekends to themselves. However, if an adult is looking for a little fun competition, they are welcome to participate in them.
Q: What about having to wear a uniform?
A: Traditional uniforms are optional during class. About half my students wear them and the other half don't. The only time they are mandatory is during testings or tournaments, as during either its a show of respect and complies with formalities.
Q: What about forms, one-steps, stances and blocks?
A: These are things that are required for those wanting to participate in TKD testing, which is the process that leads to new and higher TKD rank. If you are there just to learn how to punch/kick, and/or street defense, its not a requirement. Regarding the amount of time we spend on those things, its alot less than other schools. We spend alot more time kicking and punching into shields/pads, and doing sparring, than we do on those things. Some schools are known for spending more time on "forms" others "sparring", and my preference is sparring. Why? Because I believe when a student is shown how to do a form, one-step, stance, and block a few times, along with being given supporting materials that show/explain them, he doesn't need a training partner as much to perfect them. Yet regarding what we do with shields, pads, and sparring, you do need a training partner for that.
Q: Do I have to do tests and how often do you test?
A: Testing is optional, is what leads to earning new rank and respect amongst your peers, and we line-up in class by rank. Testing is offered every 90 days. One week prior to each formal test we offer a more informal pre-test, to see if the student is ready for formal testing.
Q: How long does it take to get a black belt?
A: I've always equated the length of time to earn a "real" black belt in a kicking art, to how long it takes to get a bachelors degree (4 yrs minimum). Unfortunately some less reputable places will literally give you that belt in 1-2 yrs, but students from those sort of places are truly no better than an intermediate colored belt in our system. Ask yourself a question, "do you want the belt or the ability that goes with it?" They really are 2 different things! If you want REAL ability that other black belts at quality schools would never question, then 4 yrs is the length of time you should be willing to put into a kicking art before wanting that. Hint, the more time you put-in to get your black belt, the better your techniques will look and the less chance anyone would ever question whether or not you're a REAL black belt! Once you get that belt, one of the first questions you'll be asked by another black belt is "how long did it take you to get yours?" If you think you'd be happy going through life with a black belt in a "kicking art" that you got in 1-2 yrs, or from a questionable school/association, knowing that with that piece of black cloth your ability is no better than an intermediate colored belt at a 4 yr quality school, and you don't care if people are whispering about you behind your back, then have at it! If on the other hand REAL skill is what you're after, I'm highly confident that our students start noticing that within a couple of months, provided they regularly attend classes and are consistently doing their home workouts.
Q: Is it all work and no play?
A: Absolutely not, we work hard and play hard. ;-) We've recently started getting together once-a-month and watching pay-per-view UFC fights at a "local establishment". Over the past few months we even had an X-Mas party and a Super Bowl party. At the X-Mas party, in front of about 80 non-martial artists, (3) students who had been with me about (2) months did the board breaking instead of me. I felt it would be more fun and impressive for spectator to have them do it, because it shows how quickly I can make my students become great! But that's not all, some of the students go to tournaments together, local and out-of-state. The students even coordinate their own weekend workout sessions at local parks, in which all the other students are invited. Unlike alot of other schools where the students don't really know their instructor, nor get to spend time with him or one another, we're alot different! I can't tell you how many schools I've seen where the students feel "left out and on their own", regarding others they can interact with that share their same interests!
Q: I have trained before...what about my old rank that I earned?
A: Depending on your rank and level of skill/ability, especially as it relates to generic kicking and punching, you might be able to cross-grade into our school/system at your former rank. This is handled on a case-by-case basis, as what one school might say is their "standard" for a certain belt, unfortunately might not meet ours. Should all things be equal, and what we're offering interests you, then by all means why not try to versus not doing anything at all, or starting completely over somewhere else. Should all things not be equal regarding your skill/ability, then credit towards some amount of your earned rank will be considered. Don't assume that your former rank has to be penalized because things didn't work out somewhere else.
Some NTFA instructors and students have cross-graded from a variety of ranks and associations. I feel that NTFA's guidelines for this are quite fair. Sidenote - I've hoped our school could become a new home to unhappy black belts from other schools and associations, who might be sitting at home thinking there's not a place locally that would accept them. If you are in that situation, or some other kind (a lower rank than that), please call us to discuss this. It is likely you will have questions for us and we will have some for you. We can then setup a time for you to try our classes and for us to view your skill and ability. It's never to late to get back into the martial arts, if you've been out-of-it for awhile! You'd be surprised at how quickly your skills can return under proper instruction!
Q: I'm kind of interested, but...?
A: Many people began martial arts who initially were scared, felt a little intimidated by it all, feared they might get seriously hurt doing it, thought they might not be able to do it, felt they were too out-of-shape, to unflexible/tight, or felt they were too old. I have examples in my class right now of people who felt one or more of these things, yet each one has become skilled and it happens quickly. I consider us to be the type of place that can make anyones martial arts dreams a reality, no matter their concerns, age or physical condition. Unlike alot of instructors who made it to black belt on their athleticism, I didn't. All kidding aside, I was literally the most unathletic person to ever try the martial arts, I probably put in twice the amount of time more athletic black belts did, and if I can make it, anyone can. Thus I can relate to those who think its a long-shot for them, better than most instructors, and I relish making the dream of becoming a real black belt a reality for those who think, "yeah, but my situation is different". All you have to do is stop reading this, pick up the phone, call and simply say "I'd like to schedule a visit". Its that easy to get started. If you take that first step, we'll show you how easy it is to take the other ones after that.
Dallas Karate, Dallas, Martial Arts, Dallas Self Defense, Dallas Taekwondo, Dallas Kenpo, Dallas Karate and Kickboxing, Dallas Mixed Martial Art
