My experience with Beyond Karate, particularly with its owner, Malica, has been nothing short of disappointing and concerning. Initially, my son attended her very first Summer camps in 2023, which seemed promising with qualified staff and a safe environment. However, things took a turn when Malica attempted to charge me and other parents extra fees, despite the camp being fully funded by the Regional Center. This unethical behavior was not isolated, as multiple parents reported similar experiences to the Regional Center. She attempted to charge me an additional $700 on top of the $1000 a week she had received from the Regional Center who had already fully funded the camp. Many of us reported her to the Regional Center and she's under investigation for this and other misconduct. Despite my reservations after that Summer, I enrolled my son in her karate school, hoping for a better experience. He had made a few friends in camp that had continued on in her karate class and he was excited to foster these new friendships. Despite my better judgement, I let him continue, spurred by knowing how difficult it is for our kids to make friendships. However, I was disheartened by the exorbitant pricing structure, charging $150 for just one weekly group class--far more than what "typical" karate schools charges for multiple sessions a week. Moreover, her over emphasis on charging for belt testing over genuine skill development left much to be desired, suggesting a profit-driven agenda rather than a sincere commitment to students' growth. As special needs parents, we are accustomed to these inflated, sub-par services as par for the course, which still doesn't make it fair. Her subsequent 2024 Summer camp was held in questionable public spaces, lacked sufficient staff, and featured disorganized activities. Opting for public parks instead of a secure indoor space raised safety concerns, compounded by her failure to secure necessary permits, leading to chaotic situations and unnecessary drama. Some of her park choices were questionable, many overrun with drug and homeless activities, leaving me feeling more than a little uneasy. Additionally, her last-minute request for parents to sign an additional waiver, relinquishing all her liability, further reflected her unprofessionalism and disregard for parental trust. Although all the parents had previously signed a waiver when we initially enrolled our kids in the camp, Mallica randomly emailed out an additional last-minute waiver, just a few hours before camp started one day, requiring parents to sign away their rights, giving up all her responsibility of injury to our child, should something happen to them in her care. This was suspicious at best, and as you can see from a previous review, Malica, along with her understaffed camp counselors, lost a child at the beach, who was found by the police shirtless and without identification before Malica ever realized he was missing. The tipping point came when Malica continued to charge my son for karate classes despite my explicit ample pre-notification that we would be out of town due to a family emergency--my young sister's tragic hospice care. Malica's callous response, refusing to pause his membership during such a trying time, epitomized her lack of empathy and prioritization of financial gain. In addition to these grievances, I've observed numerous other red flags in Malica's conduct, too many to list here, indicating a profit-centric approach that compromises the well-being of the children under her care. Don't be fooled. While she may project a facade of enthusiasm and sincerity, my personal experience, along with those of many others, suggests otherwise. As a parent, and special needs advocate, I feel compelled to warn others about Malica and Beyond Karate, urging them to exercise caution and consider alternative options. read more

From the time we joined Beyond Karate Sensei Mallica and her team have been incredibly supportive and welcoming. My daughters attend their women's self defense classes weekly. They've made new friends at Beyond Karate and absolutely adore Sensei Mallica. This summer will be their first time attending one of the camps and we expect nothing but great things. read more

This is by far the best camp I found in the Santa Monica/West LA location. My daughter is not easily convinced and much rather stay with me than joining any camp. I have been working on finding one that at least will be somewhat good enough but Mallica is just pain amazing at she does. She's bubbly and excited about greeting her campers, it's almost contagious. Her staff is well trained and caring. I feel good about dropping my daughter off for the day and get her back tired and with a big smile! read more

From the time I started volunteering at Beyond Karate. I felt a connection to the place. Sensei Malica and her team have been so supportive of everything. Also the summer camps are a blast, we go to parks, play card games, chiiax, talk make more friends. And Karate is also a great workout to get your kid invloved in it. We are family. Go BK read more

I wasn't really concerned about self defense but more so looking for a place that my son could enjoy and feel included. BEYOND KARATE WAS THAT PLACE. He's been there for almost a year now. Happy to leave this review for them. read more

Fantastic place. My son has special needs and they couldn't have been more welcoming and kind. These are truly good people. My son looks forward to his lessons every week. He enjoys it so much that he wanted to go to their summer camp. He loves the camp and lasts all day from 9 to 5. At his previous camp, he was ready to leave at lunch and wouldn't participate in the afternoon. With this camp, he is sad when it's over. I use yelp to research places and never give reviews. Beyond Karate is so great that I had to post. read more

The love and dedication Mallica has for the kids is so amazing! She has been able to help my brother come out of his shell and engage in so many new activities. I don't know where we would be without her!! read more

Excellent camp! The counselors are dedicated, impressive, and compassionate. They know just how to reach the kids and get the best out of them. My daughter, who is not always 'interested' in participating, has had a wonderful time. We couldn't be more pleased! read more

****THEY LOST MY SPECIAL NEEDS SON ON SANTA MONICA BEACH ****If I could give this place no stars, I would. Mallica, the owner, approached my family at the park and recruited us to join her summer camp. She asked us to push our service coordinator at the Regional Center get them added to the list of approved vendors (which we did). My son did 1 year of summer camp with beyond karate and one session of winter camp, so they knew my son's tendencies and needs. Flash forward to summer of 2023, his second summer with the camp, we receive an email saying that the campers were going to be walking to the beach from the park (about a 10 minute walk). They noted that if they thought that a child wasn't a good fit for such an outing, that child would stay at the park with the other counselors. We received another email stating that in order to prevent any incidents, the camp would be split into two groups, allowing for smaller groups of kids to be at the beach at one time. The day of the field trip, I received a phone call from the Santa Monica Police Department stating that an officer had my nine-year-old son at the beach. He noted that my son was found lost, crying and wondering around looking for his summer camp. He was shirtless, with no identifying information on him (no lanyard, bracelet, or camp T-shirt on). He had on swim trunks and a backpack. Thankfully, despite being autistic, my son is verbal and was able to tell a stranger that he was lost and provide that person with my phone number. The kind person who found him opted to call the police so that they could help with reunification. After I spoke to the officer and asked him to meet me at the police station so that I could pick up my son, I called every number available for beyond karate, including the cell phone of the owner and no one answered. The camp had not notified me that my son had been missing for over a half an hour. I finally got a hold of someone in the administrative office and only then did Mallica call me back with a misconstrued story about what happened. They attempted to say that my son eloped, which is not an issue that he has. My son has told the same story consistently to the people who found him, the police, and myself. He very clearly explained that he was walking at the back of the line with no adults beside or behind him, and got separated from the group These people are ill equipped to deal with any children, let alone special needs children. This camp is getting $1000 per week from the regional center to cater to special-needs kids and cannot even keep track of them. The bottom line is they were completely negligent, had no buddy system, in place and took several days to get their story straight about what allegedly happened and submit a report to the regional center and to myself. This camp is taking advantage of the special needs community and should be shut down immediately for the safety of the children. They do not have the skill set to manage or staff to manage children and keep them safe. I strongly advise that you consider the risks before you send your child to this camp. They are simply in this business to make money and do not care about the kids whatsoever. read more