We were part of the Resolute Martial Arts Family and Fitness community for four years and one…read moremonth, and I want to share an honest, balanced account of our experience.
My son Parker joined at age six, starting in the beginners program, and progressed all the way to black belt. He went through Hyper One and Hyper Two, and competed on the competition team for two years. He won medals across the board, mostly first, second, and third place, along with multiple Grand Champion titles, a Regional Champion title, and eventually a National Champion title. We also used their after-school program and summer camps for two years each. This was a huge financial commitment for me as a single father, but I made it a priority because I believed in what martial arts could do for my son's discipline, confidence, and development.
For most of those four years, our experience was genuinely positive. Parker built real skills and made good friends. He also had a good relationship with one of his instructors, though looking back, it left us wondering whether it was genuine friendship or simply professional courtesy. That said, after an injury kept Parker out for about six weeks, things changed. When he was medically cleared to return, the school had moved forward with Black Belt Bootcamp midterms without him. He had only missed about a week due to the injury and was not behind on skill, but the school's policy meant he couldn't join midterms and would have to wait another six months just to reapply, and six more after that for the actual belt test. In practice, missing one week due to injury cost him about a year and a half in his progress, which felt less about his readiness and more about rigid policy. I accepted it since there was no other option, but it was hard to feel good about. We continued attending regular Wednesday class, since we were still paying for it.
Around this time, I discussed with the owner that Parker had decided he wanted to try soccer instead. Rather than speaking with me directly, she relayed her response through another instructor over the phone, giving us a few options, including moving fifty miles away, paying a fee, or simply finishing out our contract as agreed. Moving wasn't something we could just do over this, and the fee was more than we could afford, so finishing the contract was really our only realistic option. We agreed as a family that Parker would keep attending and try his best until it ended, which I was proud of him for.
Then, when we came to attend our regular Wednesday class, the owner confronted us in person, and that conversation became difficult. She spoke to my eleven-year-old son directly in a tone I found authoritarian and intimidating, repeatedly saying she didn't want his negative mood or low energy, from not wanting to be there, rubbing off on the other kids. This was confusing in itself, since she had just told us through the instructor that finishing the contract was an acceptable option, which meant continuing to attend. But our commitment to this school was never in question. In fact, for about a month before Parker's injury, our car was broken down, and we still biked eleven miles each way to get him to class, rain or shine, sometimes taking up to two hours each way. One time Parker arrived soaking wet, and one of the instructors kindly lent him dry clothes so he could still train. If we truly didn't want to be there, we wouldn't have gone to those lengths to show up.
I felt repeatedly talked over and dismissed in that final conversation, and it never reached a real resolution. A couple of days later, she cancelled our enrollment by message, without any further discussion.
Parker gained real skills and wonderful memories here. I just hope sharing this honestly encourages the school's leadership to handle transitions and tough conversations with more empathy, especially with kids.
