Frequently Asked Questions
Can I come and observe a class?
No, our classes are semi-private and taught at a residential location so we are not set up to accomodate observers.
I'm interested in attending an introductory class, what do I need to do and wear?
Email or phone us to make an appointment. Show up about 15 minutes before your appointment time. We recommend you wear some loose fitting clothing that is appropriate for sports, a t-shirt and sweat pants or shorts will work fine. Be sure your finger and toe nails are trimmed. We will give you a quick overview of our school and system and ask you to sign a participation waiver and you will be ready to go. We love having prospective students in class and look forward to you joining in.
I'm a little nervous about coming to a class!
A bit of nervousness is normal but we will do our best to put your mind at ease once you are here. We love to see new faces in our academy! Our classes are small enough to accomodate new student needs. Although we do train for real world situations we do not tolerate wanton aggression or inordinate competitiveness in our students. We hope you will find our school inviting and friendly.
How much are your classes?
We hope that you will make your decision on what school to attend based on content rather than price. We feel that it is necessary that you come to the school and participate in a couple of classes before you decide if the school is right for you. For this reason we do not discuss student membership until you have had a chance to evaluate the school on its merits and decide you want to attend.
What types of student memberships do you offer?
We only offer Adult memberships (18 and up) on a monthly basis. This means no contracts or obligations for you.
Is there a limit to the number of classes that a student can attend?
We do not impose a limit. The more you train the faster your advancement.
What style of martial arts do you teach?
We do not teach any one style of martial arts but borrow and blend the best of many styles togther. We believe in the philosophy of Jeet Kune Do as conceived by Bruce Lee. The teaching of Jeet Kune Do typically incorporates portions of other martial arts styles including Wing Chun, Kali, Silat, American Boxing, concepts from fencing as well as borrowing from many other martial arts. We also incorporate some Japanese arts as well as Muay Thai and Brazilian Jujitsu into our curriculum.
Does your style include weapons training?
Yes, we include Escrima stick training, knife, staff, and sword training in our core curriculum. We utilize practice weapons in our training regime. We also have other practice weapons available for training purposes that are not a part of our normal curriculum such as nunchaku, tonfas, three section staffs as well as others.
What organizations are you part of?
We are proud of our community involvement. In 2009-2010 we were members of the Donelson-Hermitage Chamber of Commerce. From 2009 to 2010 we were members in good standing in the United States Muay Thai Association and the USA National Karate-Do Federation, and provided certification through the United States Martial Arts Association. We also sponsor the Middle Tennessee Martial Arts Meetup Group. Since we are now a small private school we no longer maintain our association memberships.
I am out of shape, should I get in shape before I attend classes?
Practical Black Belt Academy's primary focus is imparting and improving martial prowess. You will need to be in good physical condition to keep up with the regiment. Because of our focus we do not spend as much time on cardio conditioning or strength training. You will find that much of the training that we do will challenge you physically and mentally but not work up a sweat. Proper diet combined with our classes should be enough to get you in shape though and as the weeks pass you will be doing more and more and find things that were once difficult for you to be easy! If you are particularly out of shape we recommend supplementing class time with two to three hours a week of Cardio Kickboxing. Don't put off starting classes just because you may be out of shape!
I have trained in another martial art and would like to come to your school. How do you handle students with previous martial arts experience?
Since our system utilizes techniques from many systems you may be familiar with some of what we offer. At the same time much of it may be totally new to you. We like to honor and show respect to students who have trained in other systems and therefore evaluate each student on a case by case basis. Once we determine where you fall in our ranking system we expect you to quickly fill in any gaps that you may have for the given rank and progress quickly from there.