Three types of programs are offered:
1. The new -- or "trial" -- student
This is where everyone starts --and this is where we get to know each other --and where we figure out how best to serve you. A certain amount of the people who enroll here use the training for fitness, for entertainment, as something to do that's really engaging, interesting, and fun, and/or all of the above. I welcome and embrace this level of membership --as there are many things I have an interest in, but am not ready to commit our life too --if you know what I mean.
2. The student
The student, as we see it, is someone who takes the training seriously enough to commit the time energy it takes to make significant progress. The "student" is a different kind of member than someone who comes here to get fit or "learn self-defense. "This level, of course, isn't for everyone, but if it's the right time and place in a person's life, the school embraces this level of training. It's not up to me (the school) to decide when someone becomes a "student," it's up to the practitioner.
3. The life-long student
The 3rd level of membership is the serious, possibly life-long student of the martial arts. This is the level that's for people like, well...US, for example. This is where the student blurs the lines between the training and life. This kind of student is the one that is guided and taught by a master teacher that understands what this kind of training involves.
One level isn't "better" than another; I simply make these distinctions because it's the reality of the how we serve people in this school.
As for courses, the trial student comes in at our beginning rate of tuition. If a person goes from trial member to student, the tuition increases about $1 a day; reasonable, I think. The student who is involved with our highest level of training usually pays from $1 to $2 a day more for tuition.
Above and beyond normal membership fees, I often construct short or medium length "intensives" build around various subjects. By offering short and medium range intensive courses, I can offer a deeper level of immersion for a period of time that doesn't burn me --or the student --out. Subjects often include tournament competition, self-defense, leadership, weapons training, and fitness intensives. You'll see the classes on our calendar of events and announced, occasionally, in classes. These mini-courses range in price from $1 to $5 a day, or higher if it's a one-day event and I bring in a guest teacher. These events are not required for membership, but completely optional.
Posted in: Membership & General Questions