I stopped off at the institute yesterday on a whim. I have always been interested in Kung Fu, but have never gotten started, for various reasons. I was wanting to do so, but it won't be there. Some pretty interesting things occurred on my visit.
Upon entering the door, I said I was looking for information on classes. I was immediately handed a sheet of paper to fill out, which asked for some unusual information. Standard stuff that would pertain to martial arts was there. Things like whether or not I had any medical problems that might keep me from participating, and when I was interested in starting classes.
However, they also asked for my place of employment, and it's address. They even wanted my Driver's License number, home address, home phone number, and work number. Keep in mind, this is before I have even spoken to anyone about taking a class. I didn't fill out any of the personal information
Other than the DL number... Because I reasoned that they might want to run criminal background check before teaching martial arts to anyone.
I handed the sheet of paper back to the girl at the desk, (she was very friendly, by the way) and was led about 15 ft back into the building to talk with a man in a suit sitting behind a desk. He glanced over the sheet of paper I had filled out, and asked me where I worked, since I didn't fill it out. I told him that I did graphics and web page design. He didn't push me
on the rest of the information I left blank.
Then he started into a speech about reasons why people begin taking martial arts. He said some people did it for (the reasons I filled out on the form) physical fitness, mental discipline, and focus, like myself. He then asked me what the classes would be like if they were everything I dreamed when I
came through the door.
I explained that I didn't have a martial arts background, and that I didn't really know what to expect. I supposed I wanted it to be a lot of fun, but also a lot of hard work. I said I expected to gain strength, balance, flexibility, speed, and improve my reflexes. He said I would certainly get all of that out of it. He asked if I was interested at all in self defense.
I said no, I really wasn't. I have grown up in a pretty rough neighborhood and managed to get by without ever getting into a fight, and I didn't see why that would change. That seemed fine with him.
Then he went into something that I thought was a little random. He asked me to imagine what it would be like to wake up every morning excited, full of energy, and looking forward to my day. To imagine how wonderful it would be to feel prepared for anything that might happen, and to be totally confident in any situation. I stopped him and said that I already felt that way. That I loved my life and wasn't looking for any life changing experiences. Just to get a good workout, enjoy doing it, and learn about an art form that I found beautiful.
So... He then explained to me their pricing. He said it was a one time $200 enrollment fee, and an 18 month agreement for $125 months. He explained that this agreement was because they feel that it takes 18 months to really get started.
At this point, my gut told me something was wrong. He had pushed the contract over to my side of the table, and waited patiently like he expected me to sign it. Keep in mind, that at this point I still haven't been told anything about the classes, what they offer, the teacher and his qualifications, or even the schedule that they follow.in other words, I'm expected to sign a legal document without any fore-knowledge of what I was
getting in return.
So... I told him that I wasn't comfortable signing up yet. He asked what it would take for me to be comfortable. I said I would at least like to see a class in progress and meet the instructor.
I was then informed that the teachers did not allow people to view the classes in progress. That struck me as odd, because the other three places I went to offered to let me watch a class without me even having to ask about it. He said that they didn't want to risk giving away their secrets. I told him that I didn't understand. A little quick multiplication in my head and I arrived at the fact that he was asking me to sign over $2450 over the next year and a half without knowing what I was paying for. A poor business decision, by any standard. But at this point I'm intrigued, so I decided to stick around and see what I can get out of this guy.
I talked him into cracking the door a little, and letting me peek in. There was a class in progress, and he held the door for about 20 seconds, during which time I saw nothing that impressed me either for better or for worse. However, at the angle, I could not see the instructor. I explained to him that $2450 was a lot of money, and that I couldn't just make a commitment like that without giving it some thought. He said that when you want something badly enough, you find a way to pay for it, which I thought was very odd. He went so far as to tell me that I wouldn't really learn anything from seeing one lesson, because they sometimes went two years without teaching the same thing twice, so I might not get any idea of what classes would be like anyway. He also made what I felt like was a VERY bold statement, saying that sometimes you might learn one technique in one class that when taken and applied to your own life would by itself be worth more than the price of tuition. I didn't say anything to him about this, but it occurred to me that this seemed like something a rip-off televangelist would say. What I did say was that it was odd to need to sign an 18 month contract when it was possible to get $2450's worth in one lesson. The argument here being that if it was really THAT good, they shouldn't need a contract... Who could resist coming back for more. What a bargain, $2450 worth of life-improving stuff for only $21.00 ($125 a month divided by my best guess of six classes a month). Gosh, that's a savings of over 1000%!!! About this time, the Shoalin instructor (who teaches the class I was interested in) came through the front door. He guy working the table said this was fortunate. I wanted to meet the teacher, and here he was. We shook hands (he had an EXCELLENT handshake. Very solid, stable, and confident.) and introduced ourselves. However, I had the distinct impression of being appraised. He took the paper that I filled out, and looked it over. I noticed that the guy I had previously been talking to had stood up, and did not sit down again until the Master told him to do so. The master asked if he was interrupting, and the man said that no, I had in fact wanted to meet him. He asked what he could do for me (very polite, up to this point). I just told him that frankly I didn't understand why I should sign a contract when I basically had no information whatsoever on which to base an intelligent decision. I said I wanted to know what I could expect to get out of the class. He said he couldn't tell me, and that it depended on what I was willing to put into it. I re-phrased the question, stating that I understood he couldn't tell me what I could get, but that he COULD tell me what is was they were offering for $2450. At this point, he said I seemed far too skeptical, and that he didn't think he could help me.
A few conclusions:
1) I got the distinct feeling that I was in a bad situation. My gut told me something was wrong.
2) I felt like I was being pressured to join a religion or something. I could be wrong, as nothing of that nature actually came up. But I got the impression that these people felt like they had something that I needed. Something I wouldn't be complete without and should be willing to do anything for.
3) I honestly don't know how they stay in business. They were nice enough, but all said and done, I never did learn anything about the Institute or the classes that would be valuable in making a decision, especially one which entailed paying $2450 of my hard-earned cash.
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