On Competitions
We believe that competitions are an excellent way to test your skills against a fully resisting opponent. However, we also believe that learning martial arts and preparing for a competition are seperate things.
People have many different goals when it comes to attending a martial arts school - losing weight, getting into shape, learning self-defense, gaining confidence in themselves, finding friends and becoming part of a community. Most of our students are in university or working people with families. They have responsibilities and they cannot afford themselves to have an injury or train with the intensity that preparing for a competition requires. Thus we do not feel that it is fair to our students to pressure any of them to compete.
Moreover, we do not believe that students at the white belt levels should compete at all. The white belt is the most dangerous belt there is because the student is yet to learn the basics of how to protect himself and how to move.
Classes for the people that express a desire to compete at all other levels will be provided and the training sessions there will be specifically focused on sharpening skills and moves in a competition environment, instead of focused on learning.