Hands of Life Martial Arts Academy

I have 2 sons who are as opposite as can be. My older one has been with Hands of Life since he was about 5 and now he is 9. He deals with attention issues, as well as social and anxiety issues. My younger son started about a year ago and now he is 6. He can be so sweet but cannot keep his hands to himself if his life depended on it. I have them both at Hands of Life for very different reasons.
I truly respect and admire the teaching principles at HOL. Not only are the kids engaged and also having tons of fun while learning martial arts/​physical activities, but for my kids specifically, it helps them work on improving their areas of concern. I especially like the chats (example — healthy food ideas) that are given at the end of class. Working on their inner strength is just as important as their physical strength. Their instructors have nothing been short of amazing and Sensei Arthur runs an extremely well organized martial arts school.
HOL offers some really fun events such as Jedi academy (with light sabers) which my kids LOVE! My only wish is that I could bring my kids to HOL more than once a week, but as a working parent, I just cannot. We are exceptionally proud and fortunate to be a part of this family!

Our son enjoyed his time at Hands of Life. Sensei Arthur is great with the kids — he has an excellent demeanor for that role and great command of the room. Students respond very well to him and are developed throughout — not just physically either; he also instills a solid set of core values into the classes. Most, if not all, kids will get something positive out of it (some probably more than others). Theyre also tech-​savvy with a never-​ending supply of fresh ideas.
But they lost a full two stars with me because the whole place is structured to squeeze as much revenue out of each pupil as possible. Classes are often packed, cable company billing tactics (surprise rate increases that show up unannounced on the credit card bill, unfriendly termination fees/​cancellation policies), lots of twofer-​type deals, belt sub-​levels (white w/​a yellow stripe, orange stripe, blue stripe…), etc. The way the belts work is that once your child has attended enough classes, they’re eligible to move up to the next sub-​belt. But that’s going to be an extra $ 40 or something to attend the special «belt-​testing session» (which i don’t think anyone ever fails). They also weren’t very forthcoming with us (or some other families i spoke to) about all of the available plans/​rates they offer. Definitely saw a pattern of steering families toward the costlier ones. Implied that two classes/​week were the minimum when much later we learned that’s not the case at all. Be clear and ask direct questions if you have a budget in mind. To put it into perspective, we spent a couple thousand $$ in the last 12 months there.
It’s definitely a business, first and foremost.
Ultimately, we left because we weren’t using it enough to warrant the cost. There was probably value there for us in the past, but our son reached an age where he’s becoming much more involved in, and prefers, team sports.
I would still recommend Sensei Arthur/​Hands of Life, but would caveat that with a heads up about the potential for it to get pricey if not careful.

Hands of life martial arts has done wonders for my shy little one. He started about a year ago in the You & Me class. Since then, he has gained confidence, self esteem and has a really fun time. We are very proud of Kevin and grateful to Sensei Arthur and the staff for their continued support.