As we go along, there’s always a struggle to provide enough attention to each individual student. We have 5 Black Belt Instructors at the studio, 1 Black Belt Instructor making the transition from Junior to Adult, and 2 Junior Black Belt Instructors. Everyone works with everyone, which is comfortable and informal, but it means that nobody has specific responsibility for any individual student’s progress. Except for me, of course, and I have responsibility for 300+ at any given time, which stretches me thin and occasionally lets someone slip through the cracks.
I’ve looked at different activities, and we’ve already incorporated some of the things I’ve seen. In Ballet and Ice Skating, for example, people take beginner classes. At a certain point, they drop out or move up. If they move up, they usually get a personal coach or instructor, move into more advanced classes, and make a greater commitment to training and staying in the art. We do the same thing – with a Black Stripe on the belt. I’m pretty sure that everyone knows that the Black Stripe means that the student has committed to reaching Black Belt, committed to a year of training from the date of the last test, and that, for children, the parents have committed to supporting the child through regular attendance and help with practice.
Someone asked me once about my relationship with Rick Fowler, and I said that he’s not just my Sifu – he’s my guide and companion on my journey. That relationship didn’t happen overnight; it grew up over a period of years as we trained together and I climbed the belts. It happened pretty much accidentally, and it’s a major reason why I have a studio and 300 students today. I think we need to do what we can to encourage the growth of those relationships between students and instructors.
Starting this week, we’re changing the tuition structure for new students to help make this happen. The new tuition level applies only to NEW students at the studio. The main change is that, when they reach Blue Belts, tuition increases, but it includes a 30-minute private class each month with the instructor of their choice. More than that, those students will choose an instructor to be their mentor. That instructor will taking a more personal interest in the student’s development, paying closer attention to progress, and working to insure that the student makes it through the sticking points to reach the next belt and, ultimately, Black Belt.
Existing students can choose to join the mentoring program – more on that below.
Tuition for students enrolling or returning on or after 7/20/09:
Adult White, Yellow, Orange, Purple Belts: $100/month, $270/Quarter
Adult Blue and above: $150/month, $500/Quarter
Junior White, Yellow, Orange, Purple Belts: $100/month, $270/quarter
Junior Blue and above: $150/month, $500/Quarter
Little Dragon White, Yellow, Orange, Purple Belts: $95/month, $260/Quarter
Little Dragon Blue and above: $145/month, $475/quarter
If you choose an instructor but, for whatever reason, decide that it’s not a good fit, you’ll find that all the instructors are concerned primarily with making sure you have the right instructor and feel comfortable with who you are working with. There will be no hard feelings and your move to a different mentor will be as seamless as possible.
Current students won’t see the automatic rate increase at Blue Belt. On the down side, they won’t be moved automatically into our mentoring program, but are encouraged to either move to it or sign up for private classes separately. Having a personal mentor, a Black Belt Instructor who instructs you privately, takes a more direct role in helping you advance through the belts, and is more familiar with your progress and areas where you might need more attention will make you a better martial artist and improve your long-term chances for success.
Blue Belt isn’t a threshold for entry – students at all levels can move up to mentoring at any point. If you are, or your child is, at White, Yellow, Orange or Purple, and you want to move into the mentoring program, talk to me and we’ll start the process. If you are a current student ranked Blue or higher and want to join the program, let me know.
As always, thanks for your involvement in our program, and email or call anytime with comments/questions/suggestions.
