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Q: What is the price again?
A: The enrollment is a flat rate for everyone -- $30 for the month –no matter if it is the 1st week of the month, the 2nd week of the month, etc.

Q: When do I pay? A: You pay before your first class. After that the next payment is collected the first attended class of the new month.

Q: How can you teach for a total of only $30 a month?
A: To run a Martial Arts program it truly does not cost a whole lot.
If you think about it, other than rent, utilities, insurance and upkeep, everything a student pays goes into the teacher’s pocket.
I primarily began this school for members of the community that might not ordinarily afford (or want to be involved in) a commercial school –that is why I am hardly charging anything for membership.
Personally, I am not making any profit myself. And I have succeeded in my intention for this to be a public service to the community --providing physical fitness and peace of mind for those sincerely interested in Martial Arts activity.

The next question might be "why?"
Let me explain. It is a pleasure to teach and a reward to see other people reap the benefits of what Martial Arts has to offer.
Now to respond to an assumption: “You must not value your teaching to charge so little.”
It is because I know what I have is valuable is why I want to share it with everyone.
I truly believe in Sacrifice and Service. I have grown up in Bellingham and this is my best way of giving back to the community I care about.
On top of that, I have incredibly supportive parents, a protective older sister, and brilliant teachers. I’ve been blessed, and I feel it would be a disservice to them if I didn’t make myself available and pass on the gifts I’ve been privileged to receive.

Q: Who wants the cheapest self-defense at their disposal if they might need to use it?
A: This question strikes me as odd, because I have never heard of a Martial Art defined as cheap or expensive. I have only thought of self-defense as effective or non-effective. If you take the time to see what I teach and train you will know it works regardless of what you paid for it.

Q: Do you offer a free-trial class?
A: No, I do not.
You are welcome to watch a class at any time to assess the program and determine if you want to commit.
To participate in class a person needs to officially enroll. Beginners get a lot of individual attention, especially on their first day, and it would be unfair to the members to cater to people who may only be there for one session.
For the small amount that I charge it is barely an expense to try it out.

Q: Why don’t you teach to children under 16?
A: I set this age limit for significant reasons. Since my classes are more informal compared to a lot of traditional schools there is a necessity for initiative and maturity in the school’s participants. That is why at the present time I have it set at sixteen.
I have witnessed several situations where a parent enrolls their child into a program for their own needs and the child has no actual interest whatsoever in Martial Arts. I would rather teach those that have the curiosity and the ambition to learn about the Martial Arts.
Ages 16 and above has proven to be a helpful guideline and deciding factor, considering that it is the minimum age when teens are allowed to drive and whereas further responsibilities are then allotted to them.

Q: What does it mean to be a non-commercial school?
A: Unbridled Martial Arts is a non-commercial Mixed Martial Arts School strictly for teens & adults.
Want to read more about what continues to set us apart from all others, and find out what it means to be non-commercial? <click here>

Q: What is the dropout rate at your school?
A: Some schools highly pride themselves on the meager amount of new people who abandon ship. What they neglect to point out is that they most likely have very long-term contracts and very high rates. These two characteristics can dramatically reduce the likelihood of a student dropping out, even when the instruction, class material, or overall learning experience is not satisfying or stimulating to the student. Take, for example, a situation when someone, after 2 months, decides to quit at martial arts school that requires a 1-year enrollment contract. That person is still paying for the next 10 months of their 1-year contract, and since they're still on the books, does the school factor them in to their statistics as not having dropped out? Furthermore, don’t costly obligated dues more often than not induce people to continue? I know of several people who have joined pricey schools, didn’t like the lessons, yet kept going because they were trapped. “If I don’t go this month, that’s going to be another $100 down the drain.”

Wouldn’t it be a stronger sign if people continued to train at a school with low rates, no contractual obligations, and the school didn’t automatically extract money from members' bank account?

In his article entitled “Budo & Business: Dispelling A Myth . . .” Gary Gabelhouse, Chairman and CEO of Fairfield Research, Inc.1 and Associate Martial Arts Business Editor of The FightingArts.com 2, states “In our studies of martial artists, only 20% of those who had trained in martial arts are still training3. Basically, you have a high churn rate, regardless of the quality of the instruction.”

In a 1,000 person survey it was discovered half of all people who start exercise programs quit by six months4. Likewise, research shows that half of the people who make positive resolutions at the New Year have given up on them by the end of June5.

It is understood a fair amount of beginners will inevitably drop out. Of course this is not welcomed or embraced, it's just a fact. At UMA every student is taught as though they were in it for the long haul. When investigating a dropout rate at a prospective school it can be far more revealing to find out what amount of their long-term students have abruptly exited. If a senior student has worked through many years of rigorous training what would make them leave the training environment? Rather than focus on the number of newcomers that leave, why not ask if there has ever been a “mass exodus” of employees or advanced students. If so, that might throw up a red flag and say something about the nature of the school operator.

1.Fairfield Research, Inc is a marketing research and consulting firm in the entertainment media and technology industry.
2.FightingArts.Com is a cyber community and network of traditional martial artists, historians, and writers dedicated to the promotion and understanding of their arts through the medium of the Internet.
3. Random survey of 10,000 adults stratified by age, gender, and census area.
4.Berardi, J.M, PhD. (2004). Long Haul Training: An Interview with Gary Homann.
5.“Auld Lang Syne: Success predictors, change processes, and self-reported outcomes of New Year's resolvers and nonresolvers”, by John C. Norcross, Marci S. Mrykalo, Matthew D. Blagys , University of Scranton. Journal of Clinical Psychology, Volume 58, Issue 4 (2002). John Norcross is a co-author of Changing For Good.

“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” –Albert Pike