The Letter

I am sending the following letter (and email) to the American Taekwondo Association (ATA), of which ATA Martial Arts in Anthem, Arizona is a member. The co-owner's name has been replaced with "Kay."

Dear Sir or Madam:

We are under contract with ATA Martial Arts, located at 4235 W. Opportunity Way, Suite 100, Anthem, AZ 85086. We have had a series of unsatisfactory interactions with the school manager and co-owner, "Kay."

On March 21, 2009, my wife was testing for her black belt. My mother-in-law, children, and I were in attendance for this important event. At one point, the floor judges were organizing board breaking stations. There was no active testing in progress. Kay felt the children in the spectator area were being too loud, and came over to quiet them. She literally screamed at one of my children.

My mother-in-law was standing in the proximity of the children, and was shocked by Kay’s behavior. She also noted that much of the noise in the area was coming from directly in front of her – from the black belt kids sitting on the mat awaiting the start of board breaks.

Testing ended, and my wife successfully tested for her black belt. As I was getting the kids ready to leave, Kay thrust one of her fingers towards my wife, and rudely told my wife: “You need to school your kids.”

On March 23rd, my wife went to the school to discuss Saturday’s issues with Kay. Far from defusing the situation, Kay made matters worse. At the conclusion of her meeting with Kay, my wife indicated to me that she was never going back to ATA Martial Arts in Anthem.

On March 26th, I went to the school to ask Kay to cancel our contract. She agreed to do so, but requested a follow-up conversation with my wife. She indicated that she would cancel our contract regardless of whether my wife came back to speak with her.

On March 30th, my wife and I had a follow-up conversation with Kay. My wife and I were not impressed with her attitude and bearing. It became apparent that my family would not be able to return to the school. I called Kay later that evening to confirm that we wished to cancel our contract. Kay confirmed to me that she would do so.

Later that evening, my wife received an email from Kay. Kay indicated that she would not cancel the contract as she had previously committed. Kay’s justification was that my wife had posted a couple of private comments on Facebook. The comments were not inflammatory.

I would appreciate it if our contract were cancelled, as Kay originally agreed. Kay’s unprofessional behavior has insured that my family will not return, and it seems inherently unjust to continue paying the school for a situation Kay fostered and exacerbated.

I look forward to your reply, and an acceptable resolution to this issue. Please contact me at the above address or by email at xxxx@xxx.com.

A Review of the Weekend

First, I'd like to congratulate the students that tested and/or graduated to new belts this weekend. Way to go! I trust that "Kay" was better behaved than she was two months ago, and that everyone got to enjoy their accomplishments without the manager being rude or otherwise unprofessional.

I picketed ATA Martial Arts in Anthem, Arizona on Friday and Saturday afternoon. I stood outside the school for a while, and then out on Anthem Way (the closest major artery street) for a time.

A few people spoke with me. One of them commented on Kay's outbursts, and said that their family would not renew their contract. That student also talked about how they don't want to rock the boat.

I agree that "rocking the boat" is a risky proposition, particularly given the personality involved. I certainly understand the reluctance. I would not have imagined myself standing outside the school with a sign a few weeks ago. I've never seen myself as the activist, picketing sort. This is out of character for me. Then again, I don't appreciate how my family has been treated.

"Kay" also came out for a few moments. She said that she was just curious, read the sign, commented on its creativity, and went back inside. As she was headed back, she invited me to come inside if I got too hot outside.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say a few words.

Someone asked whether I have contacted the parent ATA organization. I have not. Based on what I've read, the parent organization will most likely just tell me to deal with the owners. Then again, I should give the parent ATA organization an opportunity to respond, so I will send them both a letter and an email soon.

ATA Martial Arts in Anthem, Arizona: When a Good Relationship Goes Bad

I received my black belt from American Taekwondo Association (ATA) Martial Arts in Anthem, Arizona in January 2009. I enjoyed the black belt classes even more than the color belt classes. I liked the new black belt form – so much, in fact, that I learned the whole form during my first black belt cycle, even though I was just required to learn half of the form. I was excited to learn some joint locks. Even the weapons form was okay, though weapons forms are not my favorite. I enjoyed class so much that I attended more classes during that 1st cycle as a black belt than any other cycle before.

I looked forward to the next cycle even more. We would be learning ground fighting, which could be useful. But more importantly, my wife, Kylie, was testing for her black belt. If she passed testing, we would both be black belts. I was really looking forward to working with her on the black belt material. It was my chance to help her for a change, since I started the black belt material a cycle earlier. Once she had her black belt, we planned to work with our oldest two kids to get their black belts.

Unfortunately, the Saturday of black belt testing is where our relationship with ATA Martial Arts in Anthem took a turn for the worse.

There were two incidents of concern. In the first, the owner and chief instructor of ATA Martial Arts in Anthem was waiting for the floor judges to organize board breaking stations for that part of the testing. There was no active testing in progress. The owner’s wife, the manager, program director and co-owner of ATA Martial Arts, a 1st degree black I’ll call ‘Kay’, felt that the children in the spectator area were being too loud, and came over to quiet them down. She ended up literally screaming at one of our kids.

My mother-in-law, who was standing right there, was taken aback and was shocked by Kay’s behavior. The kids in the spectator area were behind my mother-in-law, and she noted that a lot of the noise in her proximity was coming from directly in front of her -- from the black belt kids sitting on the mat awaiting the start of board breaks.

In any event, testing continued. Kylie had successfully tested for her black belt! After years of work, she made it, and she was very happy. Kylie’s happiness was short-lived. As we were getting ready to leave, Kay thrust a finger towards Kylie, and rudely told Kylie that she “needed to school her kids.”

Instead of Kylie being able to enjoy her accomplishment, she was instead thinking about Kay, and Kay’s unprofessional behavior. The two events became linked. Kylie was cheated out of her moment as a new black belt, unable to enjoy her accomplishment.

Kylie went to the school on Monday morning to talk to Kay about what had happened. The goal was to try to insure that the negative events of the Saturday before would not recur. Up until that conversation, the situation was completely salvageable. At the conclusion of Kylie’s meeting with Kay, Kylie called me, crying. Given how the conversation with Kay went, Kylie indicated that she would not return to the school. Under the circumstances, we did not feet comfortable bringing our kids back to the school, either.

I went back to the school on Thursday, and asked Kay to release us from our contract. Kay agreed to do so. Kay and I also talked, and there seemed to be a possibility that my family would not have to break ties with the school after all. Kay asked to speak to Kylie again. At the conclusion of our discussion, Kay asked whether she should go ahead and cancel our contract. Given Kay’s willingness to cancel the contract if we wished it, and my hope that we would not have to leave the school, I wanted to first see if things could be worked out.

Kylie and I went back to the school a few days later to speak with Kay. I had pretty high hopes. My conversation with Kay a few days earlier seemed productive. When Kylie and I met with Kay that day, the conversation was a lot different.

Kay was aloof. Kay was judgmental. Kay did not seem at all receptive to talking to Kylie or me. Kay kept repeating that if we left, there would be no hard feelings. Kay did not seem to care if we stayed or left. Kay’s demeanor was completely different with Kylie in the room. I was a little shocked.

Kylie and I discussed our latest conversation with Kay and the situation in general. It became apparent that we needed to leave the school. Kylie was not comfortable going back to the school. We didn’t want to bring the kids back. I certainly didn’t like how Kay treated my wife or kids. After discussing the matter, we decided that we should ask Kay to cancel the contract. I called Kay that evening, and she agreed to do so.

Later that evening, Kay sent an email to Kylie stating that she would not release us from our contract as she had previously committed. Kylie posted a couple of private comments on Facebook that were shared with Kay. Kay accused Kylie of slander, and elected to use that as justification for her decision to break her word to let us out of the contract. Kylie’s comments were no big deal, which leads me to believe that Kay was just using the Facebook comments as a pretext to break her word, when it became apparent that we did not want to come back to the school. In other words, it looks like the willingness to cancel our contract was just a ploy.

So, where does that leave us? We are paying on a $360 a month contract to a Taekwondo school that my wife and kids will no longer attend, due to Kay’s unprofessional, demeaning, and rude behavior.

I’ve kept quiet up until now. In the beginning, it was my (naïve) hope that we could come an understanding, and me and my family would be able to go back to classes. With that hope dashed, I wanted out. I did not want to make a big deal out of it, make waves, or air dirty laundry. Even after Kay indicated that she would not let us out of the contract as she said she would, I remained silent. I hoped that she would reconsider her position. I had a great deal of goodwill for the school, having attended and enjoyed classes for the past couple of years.

I’m stuck, but the least I can do is share my experiences with you, in the hopes that you don’t get caught in a similar situation.

Please consider the following when selecting a martial arts school:

• Think long and hard before signing a 3 year contract with any school. Three years is a loooong time. Even if you’ve been at a school a while, a good thing can go bad quickly. I have lived that first hand. In the case of our ATA contract, there is no “out,” unless you move more than 25 miles away from any ATA school. You are at the mercy of the school owner, and as a student under contract, you are guaranteed money for the owner(s). Don’t assume that the school’s management will do the right thing. She might just decide to profit from her own bad behavior. 


• Our contract contains an auto-renewal clause, which means it can be automatically renewed by the school for another year, unless we specifically tell the school that we do not wish to renew. I feel that this is a shady business practice. It’s pretty likely that you won’t remember the auto-renewal stipulation after 3 years, and you could be on the hook for an additional year, just because you failed to “opt out” of the renewal. A reputable, high quality school should not have to rely on such measures to keep students, and one should wonder about schools that employ such provisions in a contract.
  


• Talk to the parents and students that have been at the martial arts school you are interested in. Ask about their experiences. But keep in mind that those parents and students may be under contract, so you may not necessarily get a direct answer.
  

My hope is that you not get caught up in a similar situation that we find ourselves in.