Reviews of Mountainside Martial Arts Ctr

I've left several reviews for this place. From Yelp to yp and all have been removed. Think about this, Mountainside has been in business since 1980's and there are no reviews? Good or bad, I find this highly suspicious. And the fact mine were removed..just be careful with this place. It looks nice from the outside but don't be fooled! There are better Martial Arts teachers out there, Ask questions and shop around, this place WILL mislead you in the prices.Ask how much it will cost if you make it to brown belt and want to go for your black. Owner will not tell you until you have so much time and effort into it, but sit down because it's in the 1,000''s , AND your kids will be made to clean the dojo on weekends if they want their black belt. Please Beware, it's NOT about the kids.

From the outside the Dojo it is clean and prides itself to be better then their competitors because they will not charge for belts, patches and advancement. That belts are only earned not purchased. This will be what you hear, BUT what you do not hear unitl your children have now made friends and have become attached, have set a goal of achieving black belt....this is what REALLY happens... My children have been attending here for several years, I'd love to take them out. The owner will raise the monthly rates by 5-10% every year. Yep, twice as much as inflation. Even during the horrible recession. Yet, parents will pay and he knows it because the kids have now become invested in it. It's very frustrating for the parents! When it comes to belt ceremony's you are no longer aloud to take pictures of your children receiving there newly earned ranks. He has an agreement with an outside photographer. If you want pictures of your children be prepare to pay big bucks for this "privilege". Also private lessons are additional costs each month that will become mandatory if you want them to advance, which will be told to you at a later date once your children have already invested time and you will not have the heart to pull them out. The owner relies on parents not wanting to break their kids hearts. This has nothing to do with the instruction, which seems ok, but they are really not taught about sparring, this is only focused on for about 10 minutes once a week.Also, most instructors are black-belt teenagers that are great kids but do no have any experience in actually teaching children. Before you join be careful and ask questions that are important to you, Ask about the rate increases and private lessons and exactly whom will be teaching you or your children. I want to recommend this place but I can't. There is also a huge turnaround of established teachers that leave quickly, another red flag to consider. Better Dojo's out there to choose from.