carolina romero-thompson
December 22, 2019 04:14
Heads up: I do not recommend ever paying for large packages. This place is not willing to be flexible, if situations arise. Our first attempt to leave this place was after being in an uncomfortable situation with Sifu's family. (For details, feel free to message me, I am more than willing to explain everything.) He insisted that we stay. My husband kept asking, "are you really going to make us stay longer knowing that we are unhappy there?" Many of my friends, that know the family as well, told us to just give up and take the loss. Unfortunately, we are in a bad financial situation and decided that we'd rather have them attending this sport than have them in no activities at all. At some point we were considering relocating to better our financial situation (with family). Once again my husband reached out to Mario, Mario was completely apathetic, said he can not be flexible due to the dojo's policies, policies that he created.
But let me tell you more. A friend of mine was trying to save money so she bought the uniform online, and used my kids uniform (until the uniforms arrive). Mario decided to go ahead and charge her for the uniforms anyways.
Mario, "Sifu" hired his brother who has no experience in Kung Fu. I don't know about many of you, but if you are paying for Kung Fu, I wouldn't want someone that has no experience in Kung Fu to teach my children.
Another FYI for those looking for a Kung Fu or martial arts dojo. I went ahead and did research looking for other locations when we thought we would be able to leave in good terms. Most, if not all, martial arts do not charge for tests or sashes. It is an award/recognition given by the dojo. 5 elements is the only dojo that appears to charge for tests, sashes, extra activities. Also, other dojos also have competitions. It is a way to measure what one has learned in their dojo in comparison to other dojos. It creates unity within the dojo but also test our skills, takes us out of our comfort zone, improves how quickly one will react to a threat. At one point I did go up to Sifu Mario and ask him why he didn't compete. He stated something about its better to teach children form. Honestly, after speaking to others with experience in martial arts, it appears to be more of a cop-out. If you don't compete, then you won't know if what you're learning will work, keep you safe, is up to par with other studios. Keep that in mind! For now it's an activity, it may be active and fun, but what are the chances of your children obtaining skills to keep your child safe?
More about what you should consider when attending this dojo. 5 Elements does not honor Kung Fu and its culture of which Kung Fu originates, instead they offer a watered down version of what Kung Fu should be. Growing up I took Tae Kwon Do, where we were expected to learn how to greet, numbers, colors, forms all in Korean. My son has been taking Mandarin for about a year. When he would speak in mandarin like throwing out "thank you" and "you are welcomed," Sifu didn't understand what he was saying, and told my son that he didn't see necessary to learn another language. Most martial arts will integrate some of the language into whatever martial art they are practicing. To have no interest in the language or culture of the martial arts one is teaching is dishonorable.
Another reason why I was considering leaving 5 Elements is because I know too much. It's unfortunate but while having a relationship with this family, I learned a lot about who Mario is as a human being. His real characteristics aren't in correlation with what someone who teaches Kung Fu should be. On his website he posts a quote that he clearly doesn't live by: "IF YOU CAN, HELP OTHERS; IF YOU CANNOT DO THAT, AT LEAST DO NOT HARM THEM".
Mario is a business man, so remember this when dealing with him.