Free Trial Lessons Vary!

[Ryan-Larkin]

What's included/involved in your schools Free Trial Lesson?

What's included/involved in your schools Free Trial Lesson?

2 free weeks - plus we offer a refferal program... if a student refers someone they get a $20 gift certificate same with person refered...

[GeoGiant]

My school offers a beginners package - three 1/2-hour one-on-one lessons with our Sensi, one regular class, & a Gi for $35. The 1/2 sessions are really helpful because you get a change to work through the basics with direct oversight.

[sensei8]

It would appear to me that we're on the same line concerning this topic, we're not exact, which is absolutely as it should be. It's just that that TKD instructor I mentioned in my OP has a very different method but...

10 minutes inside of a room no bigger than a closet ISN'T a free trial lesson by our definitions.....

Yes or No?

[Lupin1]

It would appear to me that we're on the same line concerning this topic, we're not exact, which is absolutely as it should be. It's just that that TKD instructor I mentioned in my OP has a very different method but...

10 minutes inside of a room no bigger than a closet ISN'T a free trial lesson by our definitions.....

Yes or No?

I wouldn't call it that. It's sort of like when you go to a car dealership and they give you a free trial run of the car where you just drive around the block and come back and it only takes like three minutes and then they start pressuring you to buy the car with all the indepth knowledge you should have gained from your three minute ride in it. As opposed to when my mother really wanted a PT Cruiser and the dealership let her borrow one for a week to try it out first (my dad worked at the dealership). She loved it for the first day or two and then after that she absolutely hated it. If all she was going on was a three minute ride around the block, she would have bought and hated it after the first few days.

I think it's unfair for a karate school to expect anyone to commit to any contracts without giving them at least a month to test things out. I like what a lot of schools do where you can buy a cheap package with like one or two months of regular classes and a uniform so you can try it for a fair amount of time and if you don't like it it hasn't cost you an arm and leg, but you're still paying for it so it's fair to the school, too. And I think that those lessons should be in the normal setting with the rest of the class. Last thing you want is to spend a thousand bucks or so on a one year contract only to find out you absolutely hate everyone in the class and can't stand being there or the classes are run in such a way where you don't learn anything.

[GeoGiant]

It would appear to me that we're on the same line concerning this topic, we're not exact, which is absolutely as it should be. It's just that that TKD instructor I mentioned in my OP has a very different method but...

10 minutes inside of a room no bigger than a closet ISN'T a free trial lesson by our definitions.....

Yes or No?

No, I would not categorize what you described as a free trial lesson. I would have been more than irritated if I showed up anticipating a lesson and got a sales pitch.

[sensei8]

Spending more time selling/pitching the close than what was spent during the actual free trial lesson is what would've turned me off as a potential student. Does the school/instructor care more about me as a student of the martial arts or as someone who can sign a contract thus provide revenue? If it's the latter, well, I'm not interested.

[moriniuk]

Did you have to exit through the gift shop by any chance?

What always amazes me is that these type of schools always seem to be full and the more genuine schools only have a handful of students.

[GeoGiant]

Did you have to exit through the gift shop by any chance?

What always amazes me is that these type of schools always seem to be full and the more genuine schools only have a handful of students.

When schools are ran with a business focus, the instruction suffers.

[Lupin1]

Did you have to exit through the gift shop by any chance?

There's a school around here that has a gift shop. The weird thing is you have to be a student to shop there, though. My mom went in there looking to buy a uniform for me for Christmas one year and they told her that I had to be a student for her to buy me something there. And I always thought money was money...

What always amazes me is that these type of schools always seem to be full and the more genuine schools only have a handful of students.

I noticed that most of the really good schools don't advertise as much. Maybe because they're not worrying about hiring an advertising agent to put cool ads everywhere and make flashy webpages that don't give any information about the actual program but look cool. Many of the really good programs are run out of basements and community centers. I know my instructor purposely doesn't advertise for several reasons. First, he wants to keep the numbers down since it's a free program. Second, he knows he's only going to get serious students because you really have to go out of your way to find the program and get the information on it. Third, he's trying to run things as close to "old school Okinawa" as possible in this society and in old school Okinawa the instructors didn't seek out students, the students sought out the instructors. I mean, I know it's different for us because it IS a free program and most schools are businesses and need to make money to continue operating and so I know our way isn't better than other ways. I just like it for me and I feel lucky to have it.

[sensei8]

What always amazes me is that these type of schools always seem to be full and the more genuine schools only have a handful of students.

One caters to the tangible while the other caters to the intangible.

Edited March 19, 2010 by sensei8