My child has studied Goju-Ryu Karate for over seven years. We decided to leave our current school after it turned into a McDojo. We searched for another high quality Goju-Ryu school and visited six other schools. They old seemed styled after the McDojo format. At Prodigy, the owner has legitimate competitive credibility, competing throughout the world. The owner, Sensei Ryan Shields, actually teaches the classes and demonstrates unlike our old dojo and some of the other schools where access to the head Sensei was exclusive and often expensive. Sensei Shields is hands-on and will pull students aside to perfect technique. There is an emphasis on translating traditional techniques into real self defence. My child is new at the school and so far I like what I see. I won't hesitate to change my review if things change.
P.S. For those of you that are looking for karate schools for your kids, be careful of franchise type schools where they follow a set format on selling, merchandising and marketing. Check the credibility of the teacher. Where did they get their black belts? I found a few of the schools were black belt mills and the teachers were giving each other black belts. Most schools emphasize teaching life skills, but there are plenty of activities that teach life skills for less than $1200 -$1800 per year. We put our kids in karate to be able to defend themselves if they need to, and sometimes you can't always walk away. read more
