Complaint Review: Karate America

 Okay you have made it clear that you will not be continuing with Karate America Orange Park. Just know that first, the 12 year old WAS just playing around... I know because my children are good friends with him and also joke around about things like that. Also, feel however you want about the jumping jacks. Our kids are fit and healthy so it obviously works. Finally, you can say whatever you want, but you will never find an instructor more dedicated and focused then the chief instructor. He has spent countless hours working with the children and cares about every single one of them. He goes above and beyond so say what you will, but he is amazing. Sorry that you have not had a good experience, but champions come from this school and will continue to come from this school.

 You can't cancel your contract with Karate America, read the rest of the ripoff reports. only after the first three business days is when you can cancel.

 Well to begin with, I am sorry to hear that you have dedicated countless time and money for this school. As for my opinion of the instructors, it’s my observation as a consumer and a parent. As for the comment of me not having any dedication for their children, I find this really comical since I have my oldest playing soccer on a scholarship at a Division II university. So please, don’t preach to me about dedication. For the jumping jacks, yes I do notice they do them during warm ups where it is supposed to be, but it is not necessary to do them during transition.

You end up wasting valuable time. You go to any other sport, ie baseball, soccer, basketball, they have warm ups in the beginning and then go into the drills or activity. I find it useless when these instructors use jumping jacks for a transition. For example, a transition should be like get your gear to spar, or get your weapons for the next drill.  It should not be jumping jack or something other, after every series of kicks or punches. You can see the look on the kids’ faces every time this happens, they lose focus.

 I find this amazing that you support this hazing. Whipping is a form of hazing, read the law. Whether birthday or not, some parent might not like this and could of filed charges or a lawsuit. Remember, this was conducted outside the home in a school of instruction. These younger kids, who don’t know the difference, were hauling back and “whipping” this kid 12 times. And, yes this kid was grimacing in the corner. Would you like to see the video on youtube? I wonder how quickly it would go viral and make the headlines. Remember we are in an age where everything can be recorded.

 In conclusion, if each of you would look out for each other as a family (so you say), then you wouldn’t condone this whipping to another child. Again, poor judgment and character for a certified instructor to do this when class was over. No negatives, just a truthful observation.

 I have two children who attend classes at Karate America and they absolutely love it. They look forward to their right of passage on their birthday, to get the "birthday spankings" and they are younger than 12. It is a tradition at the school and no one is forced to do it. Even when it is the instructors birthday, they run through a line. Before the event starts we remind the other students to make sure to "hit the badonkee" and nowhere else. At that it should be a light tap and that we are not trying to hurt anyone. Again, if you don't want to do it, you don't have to.

The dedication of the staff to each child's success, is beyond messure. They work with the parents in every aspect. I myself take Taekwando there and am looking forward to getting my youngest child started.  Physical fitness is a large part of karate. The "120" jumping jacks are not done all at once. As things are transitioning from one element to the other, yes, jumping jacks are done to keep the student warmed up and moving, as well as jogging in place, or push ups. The curriculum for the week/month is generally posted on the white board at the front of the school. One only needs to look at it to see what they will be working on. Somedays it will be kicks, or punch combo's or weopons. If you felt that your child was not getting your monies worth, all you needed to do was speak with the chief instructor about your concerns. They would have listened to you and if you still felt as if this was not the right place for your child they would have spoken with you about canceling your contract if you signed one.

To start off, I have two children that have attended this school for three years now. It blows my mind that someone would criticize our instructors focus on the true art of karate. Obviously this individual does not dedicate enough time for their children to truly understand. By the way, this school has produced multiple state champions and refuses to stop there. Also, as for the jumping jacks if you didn't notice they did do them in the beginning as a warmup and then would do them each time they transitioned to different activities.

In addition, you have got to be kidding me when you say that a child was a victim of hazing for birthday "whippings". My children are slightly older then 12 and have undergone theirs before. Now you we're too closed minded to see that the students have great personalities and love to play when not in class, but when this individual "crouched in pain" they were joking around. They were never hurt and was never forced to participate in the event. In fact, kids look forward to their birthdays because us as a karate family understand and care about each other and the students know that they are good hands every time they walk through the front door.

In conclusion, if you have not seen what a great functioning school this is and how much each of us look out for each other as if a family, then just know that we don't need any negativity like this coming from anyone at our school. We have been through a lot together and will continue to thrive without you.