Bloomington Karate Center Inc
“My entire family (two grade school kids, my husband, and me) have been going here for about six months, and it's really enriched our lives and improved our health. This school fosters community really well, and I feel like we're all in it together, helping each other pursue our goals.Personally speaking, I'm forty years old and have some chronic health issues. That I'm able to study martial arts with my family alongside twenty-year-old men in peak health speaks to this school's ability to encourage people to grow from wherever they are in life. It has also been a blast learning martial arts as a family (a feat only allowed thanks to this school's pricing structure). I'm able to have fun with my kids while we learn, and sparring with my husband feels like date night.Having never studied martial arts before, I can't compare this place to anywhere else, but here are a few of the things I find striking...The school uses a volunteer format for their instructors. It helps keep the costs low--nowhere else I called could compete with their price--but it also creates a built in sense of comradery. Instructors teach for passion, not a paycheck, and have a personal investment in your success. The instructors rotate on different nights, and students are able to learn from multiple perspectives.Teachers are actively invested in your success regardless of your belt color, but they also care that your belt color *means* something. Students are not bumped up from level to level to make them feel good (you won't find any twelve-year-old black belts here), but as a signifier of knowledge and advancement. It makes this a great place to learn for both beginners and those who are already serious about martial arts.On one recent Thursday night, our two kids received focused instruction in self-defense from a four-time kickboxing world champion, while my husband and I went through our one-steps (a kind of belt-level-based series of movements) with the school's lead teacher. In the background, another black-belt helped students go through form. It all felt so personalized and thoughtful, and I feel privileged to be part of it.This place, in a strip mall basement with aging carpet, is a hidden gem. Give it a try.”
