If you have the opportunity to work with Mr. Cruz - Take It! This isn't just Karate. The studio is…read morean incredibly safe and ever evolving environment. Mr. Cruz is incredibly patient, calm, controlled, focused, kind, honest, consistent, and adaptive. He can teach multiple skill and focus levels with the way he chooses the individual and group activities. I have 3 children in 3 different classes all on the same day. He keeps a steady atmosphere, but there are marked differences between each class as the overall maturity levels increase. Also, if you are homeschooling, the child's ESA will pay him directly, as a qualified business that's already in the system, so you don't have to wait for reimbursement. My oldest is a dancer, I felt tight for time so I had everyone do the same thing :) But she says there's similar concepts in learning to control the body, and now she sees herself as safer and more confident and thinks every little girl should take Karate. My next child is a young boy who towers over everyone his age and it's physically unsafe for the other kids when he acts out. Since he started Karate, he is so much happier and confident. Just the other day, he was frustrated and started hitting and having a tantrum. He thought he needed to fight to "teach" people to "be kind". My 2 year old does this, grown men can do this, it's normal and there are healthier ways to deal with frustration. He doesn't practice at home yet, because he imagines himself busting blocks like Mr. Cruz and being a master fighter already. We talked about how important self defense is, but Mr. Cruz wouldn't start with brute force - and he can probably be rather forceful if he wanted to be. He starts with persuasion, and even then, he honors choice. He probably waits to use brute force to protect people from danger - not to control people. My son said "I don't think Mr. Cruz forces anything with anyone, he asks nicely even if he takes away my turn and then I get another turn later" My son calmed way down and we talked about choosing where to put his time based on what he wants to do - rather than trying to force people to play a certain way. I was amazed, he was so irate at first that I expected this to plague our house for a while. But we were done in 20 min. My youngest son is really little for his age and struggles with speech so he can be mistaken for a very coordinate toddler. He has become way more assertive and willing to take risks since he got to start Karate with Mr. Cruz. He doesn't practice either yet. He just jumps around and shouts "KIA". He has the option to go home with a parent during his siblings' classes, but he likes just being in the studio and watching.