Recently, we’ve had a lot of members get very upset with us when we don’t make an exception to our rules regarding being on time or dressing in uniform for classes. We don’t make exceptions for three reasons: in order to have integrity in all that we do, and to teach a lifestyle of discipline, and to ensure the safety of our students, facility, families while keeping class disturbances to a minimum.
We MUST ensure the safety of every person who walks into our doors. It simply is not safe for a child under the age of 8 to be left on our premises without a guardian in the lobby. We provide martial arts instruction, not child care – and it is simply uncourteous to assume that the other adults in our lobby will do so for you. Additionally, children ages 8 and under are more likely to follow their impulses and cause harm to our facility. While there is never any ill intent, we know that kids 8 and under need guidance to not always follow impulses such as throwing paper towels into the toilet.
The most overriding reason students join our school is to learn discipline. Most often, when I ask what they see as discipline, parents tell me they want their children to have good habits, like being a first-time listener. What many don’t realize, though, is that in order for you to have one or two great habits, you really have to have discipline in every aspect of your life – in other words, it must be a lifestyle. So, it’s our goal for each and every student to have a lifestyle of discipline. That’s what takes them from being ordinary to extraordinary. And its why we make sure that every aspect of the school teaches this – including upholding our policies without exception.
Our third tenet is Integrity. Having integrity means holding true to your values – your “rules”. It literally means having “wholeness” of character. That means, in order to be fair to all of our members, we have to hold true to our policies, too, and not allow students in who are late or not in the correct uniform for any reason (and the reasons are many).