Red Phoenix Martial Arts

four instructors teach at Red Phoenix Martial Arts and they are all excellent. My husband and I don't always agree with everything (who does), but have seen changes in our son, from shy to confident, from seemingly ADD/ADHD to focused. He did try out a class, (I pushed him to do so, not sitting and letting him sit watching) and he loved it. He loves coming to class. I am glad they take the time to cover ""rules"" for children. I have had no difficulty with billing but I do know that they changed providers to prevent past errors (gossip). The price is very reasonable; it costs less to send a student to red Phoenix than other programs who change for all sorts of things. The most important thing is that the instructors show respect to as well as expect respect from students. It's amazing to hear a martial arts teacher say, ""Excuse me,"" ""please,"" and ""thank you,"" during class consistently. It works! more

My son goes to Red Phoenix and loves it. They offer a reward system (stickers and stars), home behavior rewards (another star), good grades gold stars, medals, and trophies for attendance and good martial artist behaviors at home, and in school. George (named changed) sometimes doesn't want to go to his martial arts class (who likes to go to work every single day?) but at the end of class admits to having fun.........who can say at the end of a long day at work they had fun? George has learned a lot and has stuck with it. We did not sign him up on an agreement, but after three months we did because it has done wonders -- his grades are up, he listens better, and he is dedicated to going. How many parents can say all that about their 6-year old? BTW: the owner let us try out classes for 2 weeks before signing him up for his first month! George could not wait to get his uniform. They do a great job at Red Phoenix Martial Arts. more

I strongly recommend Red Phoenix Martial Arts. I have two children enrolled and am happy with the classes, prices and the teachers. No one has ever yelled at the children. If there was yelling it was always in jest and commonly used to get attention or to encourage children. Children are encouraged to participate in a class instead of watching and taking things out of context. I was there when the child ""Froze"" outside (not true and exaggerated by a parent who did not take responsibility). The mother did nothing to encourage them to go into the classroom. The mother knew that they were supposed to participate. I am shocked to read an anonymous exaggerated review, with personal attack (how mature and objective!) from the parent who should know better and did nothing to take responsibility. One of my sons classmates went to Yonsei and is now a full time student at Red Phoenix because of the overpricing and all sorts of fees.. So there! I strongly recommend Red Phoenix Martial Arts. Try it out (don't sit there and ""watch"") or one of the instructors might ""yell at you,"" to get in the class. more

Anyone who wants to sign up with Red Phoenix - THINK AGAIN!!!!! Here is my experience. I took my two boys to observe the class and he seemed NICE at first inviting them to go in to observe. He suddenly made a 180 degree change halfway into his class and yelled at my boys to join in and that there is NO OBSERVING in his class. He told them, ""if they didn't want to participate they would have to leave and observe from the outside and he reiterated, ""I AM SERIOUS."" Mind you, he is yelling at my two boys with me present and in front of his students. My boys then left and were standing outside in 50 degree temperature!!! I was shocked and asked the other parents around me if all this was a joke? The parents around me were shocked and even the girl who handles the paperwork in the front desk was surprised. How rude and damaging for my two boys who could have been ""prospective"" students? If you read his credentials he ""seems"" to be highly educated and even goes by DR. but I seriously have my doubts about his educational background. What a way to promote his business!!!!! I have a lot of witnesses who can stand by my HORRIBLE experience. My kids cried and still don't understand why they were treated the way they were. I DO NOT - I repeat, I DO NOT recommend Red Phoenix to any child who wants a warm environment. Doubt you will get it here and the instructor is RUDE RUDE RUDE. He didn't even offer an apology.......and made a comment at the end of the class, I HIGHLY recommend sending your kids to Yonsei Martial Arts Academy. The people are great there and instructors are soooooooo nice. Sorry Red Phoenix, you lost 2 potential customers. DO NOT SEND YOUR KIDS TO RED PHOENIX. more

The only mistake Public Advocate made was doing business with this man! His pompous review of his business says it all. \r \r 1. I believe these sites are for customers to provide reviews; not owners to review their business. This owner gives himself 2 good reviews for every bad review. \r \r 2. Apparently, Bubba is not aware that the BBB cannot side with either party, nor can the BBB do anything further than distributing communications between both parties when the business is not accredited.\r \r 3. I can’t find were Public Advocate said he/she was an attorney. Furthermore, one does not have to be an attorney to represent themselves.\r \r 4. Isn’t the Billing Company’s responsibility to properly reflect payments or credits to a customer’s account? I can’t find where Public Advocate claimed to be Bubba’s accountant, and if this person is an accountant, I’m sure they thought that the credit balance that would be settled at the end of their contract.\r more

I always do my research prior to commiting myself to a product or service. After hearing from others that there may be some concerns with this company, I'm glad I read the reviews. The reviews just sound strange and definitely appears that there are issues out there. Went with another company and happy with that decision. more

1. Classes taught and other instructors-in-training supervised by a real teacher.\r 2. You do not need to sign up for a contract. You never need to signup for a long-term agreement. At least 4 students signed up for month-to-month and changed over to a one-year agreement. Say this to yourself when you sign up any agreement: ""I need to take responsibility for myself when it is time to renew.""\r 3. Classes are fun. Skills are taught using a variety of current creative methods.\r 4. Students can come to as many classes as they wish. no restrictions.\r 5. Students who are signed up for three months or six months almost ALWAYS sign up for a longer agreement.\r 6. Two students just signed up for the 18-month leadership program, the most costly monthly agreement Red Phoenix offers.\r Regarding complaints:\r \r Red Phoenix Martial Arts follows the rules regarding agreement renewals and are flexible. All you need to do is talk and ask.\r \r ""Public Advocate"" lies. The ""matt talk,"" common in most martial arts program, covers ""Rules for Children"" no more than 10 minutes at the end of class. She is LYING!\r \r ""Advocate"" is apparently angry for not taking responsibility for her inaction (she DIDNOT let Red Phoenix Martial Arts know that she wasn't renewing on time- try that with AT&T and you will pay to get out of the renewed agreement!. \r \r In addition, imagine an accountant failing to notify a billing company that she was over charged 13 months later! Where's the accounting. Her employer needs to know! In addition, she's making believe she knows the law with her comment about ""breech of contract."" What a lie!\r \r After a lengthy evaluation by the Better Business Bureau she has proven herself wrong, with wrong data, wrong assumptions, wrong ""legaleeze"" and mean lies. The BBB chose to side with Red Phoenix Martial Arts. She is in trouble!\r \r Red PHoenix made mistakes, and did everything possible to fix the problem. It is not within our realm to fix anger and personality issues. \r \r Don't believe that ""Public Advocate"" is advocating for you! more

This review is in regards to ""Public Advocate."" We at Red Phoenix Martial Arts are dedicated to our students and to our curriculum. There are many, many inconsistencies and incorrect statements in “Public Advocate”'s review, all of which could be resolved with a simple conversation, one she has not yet been willing to have, though she seems to have ample time to discuss this matter with internet forums. ""Public Advocate"" has publicly complained about our practices, including a correspondence with the Better Business Bureau, from whom we have received a letter in which they have “determined that the response from [our] company addresses the disputed issues and exhibits a good faith effort to resolve the complaint.” We cannot stop “Public Advocate” from giving a negative impression of our practices and we cannot force her to settle her dispute with our company, though we are willing to do so, but we can defend ourselves in return. Our contracts are in clear writing in black and white – we hide nothing, we are open to questions and discussion and always have been, we amend our mistakes – so long as we know a mistake has been made and that it has not been rectified, and our students excel in our classes and in their own lives, which is more important than anything. It is a shame the ones who wish to review on one of these forums are negative and uncooperative. For every negative comment we receive there are dozens upon dozens of satisfied families who have benefited from our school and our services. We recommend you find the truth out for yourself. more

1. Red Phoenix Martial Arts drafted my checking account in excess on $545 before payments were due in May and June of 2009 resulting in a breech of contract. To date these funds have never been refunded. I provided Red Phoenix Martial Arts numerous opportunities to cure the breech via email notifications and telephone calls in 2009. \r 2. When I terminated the contracts after fulfilling my 12 commitment, I was notified that the contracts were self-renewing. I was never given advance notice that my contracts were nearing expiration. It is my opinion that these “self-renewing” contracts are unethical. Any business which needs them for their survival will eventually go out of business and deserve to go out of business. In the future, Red Phoenix Martial Arts will need to take an additional step before they are allowed to self-renew existing contracts. Beginning in August 2010, new Louisiana Legislation, R.S. 9:2716, will require the obligor to provide a 90 day written notice prior to the expiration of the contract of the automatic renewal and the right of the obligor to cancel the contract. \r 3. I believed key values of marital artists were to act with honesty and integrity. These are not values that Red Phoenix Martial Arts adheres too. When informing Red Phoenix Martial Arts that I wanted to terminate the contracts, they wanted to charge me a 4 month cancellation fee per contract. Per the Red Phoenix Martial contracts, there should only be a 2 month cancellation fee per contract. \r 4. The class is poorly planned and not well executed. Most of the time is spent going over “Rules for Children”. I signed up for martial arts lessons not a bi-weekly lecture. I can discipline and teach my children values at home.\r Cons: Numerous overbillings, Self-newing contracts w/o notice more

Be careful signing a contract with this man. I signed my grandson up for lessons in which he attended only 4 classes (of which I found he could be quite rude to students and parents). My daughter moved away with my grandson on short notice. I contacted them to see if I could cancel the contract and was told that I had to prove her move with a utility bill. I informed them that she had moved in with someone else and did not have utilities in her name. I thought all was ok since they had received $456.00 for 4 classes. I received a late notice and responded again and thought all was ok. I never heard anything else then a year later I receive a call from a collection agency stating that I owed $1,212.00 for the balance of the contract and collection fees. I informed them that I would pay if he would offer to give me a certificate for 6 months of classes. He refused to give the classes. In order to keep my credit report clear, I have now paid $1,668.00 for 4 classes in which my 4 year old grandson did not even learn to bow in and out of the class or receive a belt. more

Red Phoenix Martial Arts offers much more than self-defense skills and martial arts training. Character development is the focus and I am happy to say that it has made a difference with my two children. Both are more focused and disciplined. I was surprised to read a negative review (below) and asked Dr. Michael, the lead instructor, if someone had a negative experience. He said, ""They did but it was the repair of my Hurricane Katrina damaged home. I thought I could trust his work but instead had to hire a lawyer to get them to take responsibility for the leak they caused by one of their nails. He was angry that I made him take responsibility. You can tell because all he did was slam our program. We've had students here for 3 or 4 years, finishing up their black belt. That had to be him. We're not perfect, but we're very far from being 'a total waste'!"" Red Phoenix is a wonderful program for boys, girls and adults. I know. I'm there with my kids three times a week! Pros: BEst Educator in Town Cons: Classes are short more

I love to bring my children in for lessons. They are rewarded, and they are respected. They have developed skills they thought they could never learn. I usually drop off my children, but parents are allowed to stay and watch. Leadership team members (formerly black belt club) are required to do community service activities, which I think are fun and a great way to teach ""giving something back."" \r The major difference between this and many other karate programs is that the lead instructor is doing this as a full time business. He is focused on this business and operates it like a business. I had my son and daughter in another program and switched to Red Phoenix Martial Arts after an unsuccesful attempt at trying out one of those part-time programs. After talking with other parents who love it, I tried out a few classes (for free!) and moved over to Red Phoenix. The other programs were typically untraditional, didn't do things like bowing into the class, and too lax in their operation. There is a difference and it's not all good for the guys who run their programs out of their sheds or in a strip mall! \r I know of only one angry negative mom who would trash Red Phoenix Martial Arts. It turns out that she signed up for one year and pulled her son out after 3 months, expecting not to pay. I suspect that the person who wrote ""amature,"" (should have been ""amateur"") in a previous review was that person. You've got to wonder if you can rely on anything coming from such a negative person. Pros: Children love to attend! Cons: Recent storm damage still not repaired! more

Great classes, fun, respects students, respects parents (even if they are talking and using cell phones during class when they have been asked to be quiet!). I have seen a change in my child. He is more confident, and focused. He is a green belt and, when compared to the tae kwon do franchise in the area, he is better skilled than their red belts. My child loves to come to class. He is encouraged and pushed in terms of skills. \r \r One doesn't need to sign up on a contract, even though that does teach perseverance to the student and the parents. Part time programs don't require contracts because they're making a living doing other things. Red Phoenix Martial Arts is a full time business and you can tell... the staff's focus is on martial arts, not floor cleaning or music! \r \r I've talked to student's parents who quit before completing their ""contract"" and they are unhappy because they had to continue paying on the contract. What did they think would happen? Anything negative about this program probably comes from parents who quit and are unable to understand the concept of ""contract."" As an attorney, I see more contract cases because people don't respect them and feel that they deserve a break to break a contract. Pros: excellent teaching skills and small classes (average of 12 per class- I was there!) Cons: not enough teachers like the lead instructor, but he has some great part timers. more

Very weak Kata and skills, very inexperienced and amature instructor. Makes fun of the kids and embarrasses them, defeating the purpose of developing high self esteem. Laughs at his own jokes. \r Disrespectful to parents and children. \r \r Total waste of time and money. Cons: service more