Evolution Martial Arts - San Francisco (Noe Valley)

"Staff are all wonderful with the kids, they are very patient and kind. My son has gained a lot of discipline, self confidence and spacial awareness since he started and I'm very proud and amazed at his progress. All from just 2 sessions a week over a few months. We are very pleased and feel like it was a great decision to sign up with evolution martial arts!"

"It takes a LOT to get me to write a negative business review (this is only the second one I've ever written), but our experience at Jaime's was bad enough that I sincerely feel like we owe it to other families. Could your child possibly benefit from increased self-confidence, respect, coordination, and/or focus? Jaime's purports to hold the key. Just come on in for a $99 trial. They'll throw in a t-shirt. At that trial, your child will learn that upon joining, their parent/guardian will be buying them "required" equipment, including combat weaponry (nunchucks! a foam bat! a staff! an axe! a sword!) that they will get to use during combat classes (in truth they don't use all of these weapons). Most will now have a child begging to join. You will be presented with a contract that lays out your obligation to pay an enrollment + monthly fee. Be forewarned: your financial obligation in no way ends there. Though not covered in the contract, besides your enrollment (the cost of one monthly fee + insurance fee) and monthly fee ($240), you will also pay for equipment & uniform (we paid $221 for the initial package then more subsequently as "needed"), insurance ($49 per year), testing for belts ($65 every six - eight weeks or about $500 per year), and various stunts like special grandmaster class with autograph! ($30), special belts! ($20), break balsa wood board today! ($10 per board). In the end, you're on the hook for well over $3,500 per year. If you question any of this, no matter how reasonably or politely, fasten your seatbelt for some master-level flim-flam. They do NOT like to be questioned. It "hurts" them. To be sure, your child will probably have a good time at Jaime's. Classes are not physically demanding, they are short (so as to maximize profits), and kids get to whack each other with foam bats. I would argue, however, that any increased self-confidence, respect, coordination, and/or focus is not caused by Jaime's but correlated to the natural developmental stage of life that most Jaime's students are at anyway. There are PLENTY of other Taekwondo options out there. We found an amazing dojo in San Francisco that is way less expensive, more rigorous, and genuinely cares about students and the art/transformational power of Taekwondo. We could afford Jaime's and we respect that a for-profit business seeks profit. In the end we didn't leave because it was too expensive (though I believe it was). We left because of the way in which Jaime's seeks its profit -- by obfuscating costs and fees and taking advantage of parents/guardians looking for ways to enrich their kid's lives."

"One year after and the review below still holds true; our children are just as excited to go to class as when they started! --- Our children have been taking classes at JMA for over a year now! What started out as "something to do to keep them busy" has become an activity that they enjoy and look forward to. They have progressed not only skill wise, but also in character development. Ms Jaime and the rest of the instructors do an amazing job meeting the kids at their level, making learning fun, and keeping them engaged!"

"Jaime' Martial Arts has been so great to my son. He's learned discipline, patience, and how to work with others in a respectful manner. We are so happy with our decision to join and my son loves it. Facility is clean & classes are well taught. The instructors are amazing. Would highly recommend!!!"

"My girls have been coming here for several months now and truely enjoy it! One of my daughter's had a hard time her first day, nervous and didn't want to participate. Mrs. Jaime took her into her office and provided her with support. She was very understanding and encouraging of my daughter. She even worked on moving her to another class, where my daughter felt more comfortable. Now my daughter loves attending and told me that she has found her sport! She loves coming here and strives to do her best every class. Im thankful for the patience, humor, engagement and care the Jaime family has provided our family."