Barrett Hapkido is a unique martial arts school. They are traditional in their teaching approach. A student learns principals and philosophy instead of memorization. Barrett Hapkido does not teach, ""if an attacker does this, you do that"". What they do teach is ""if an attacker does this, there are several potential possibliities?. The major difference is if you ?memorize? a counter move and it does not work, you are stuck thinking about what do to next. When you learn principals and philosopy, when one counter move does not work, you will fluidly move to the next. In many schools, a student can memorize a few moves, pay a ?testing fee? and ?earn? their next belt. In some cases, you can pay extra to get on the ?accelerated plan?. At Barrett Hapkido there are no ?testing fees? and there is no ?accelerated plan?. When you have trained and learned the necessary skills to promote to the next belt, Sabunim will call you to the front of the class and promote you. You know you have truly EARNED it. In today?s society, people want instant gratification. When parents can pay extra so their child can get the next belt, this not only creates a false sense of security, but also teaches negative life skills. Would you rather teach your child, work hard and earn something or pay a little extra to get what you want? I know what I am teaching my son. If you walk into a school and see a 12 year old black belt, ask yourself, ?Has that student MASTERED the necessary skills or simply PAID the necessary funds?? It is no different from getting ready for open-heart surgery and seeing a 12 year old ?doctor? getting ready to cut open your chest.
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