OKKO Karate Jutsu
Realistic Pragmatic Applied Karate
Dear Students / Parents
As you are all aware OKKO Karate Jutsu is a Non-Profit Organisation, from this Instructors take no financial reward ever, not even for travelling to and from the Dojo.
All funds taken in at OKKO pay for the Hire of the premises, Insurance and equipment, of which OKKO Karate pride itself on being able to offer its students the very latest in Martial Arts training equipment.
In the last 12 months OKKO have handed out Free of Charge hundreds of pounds worth of equipment from sparring pads to Free Uniforms and karate trousers, we do this as we know only too well how expensive a hobby like Martial Arts can be, and as Chief Instructor i feel that OKKO have always gone that little further in helping our students out, over other clubs around who seem to care more for the pound than the quality of instruction it gives, i have never chased anyone up for money that maybe owed to the club preffering instead to allow the money to come back to the club when it can be afforded. I now must take drastic action and stop this from now on. OKKO will be audited on the 25th of June, and i know that there will be a few discrepencies in the audit where i have allowed monies owed to the club to continue to be owed, sadly i cannot do this anymore, so i kindly ask any that owe money to OKKO to please try and pay this back as soon as possible, i still do not wish to chase after it, but do have it written down and will send letters out to students should the need arise.
I have also been checking around other clubs, i do this 3 times a year to ensure that OKKO remain the least expensive Organisation around, and what i have found is; 90% of clubs now use direct debit billing companies, this is done by taking 4 weeks fees out of your bank acount every month, regardless of whether you attend or not, (this is something i find very hard to understand and will not allow this at OKKO) 95% of clubs charge an annual membership fee of between £25 and £75 just for turning up? at OKKO we do not and will not, the only annual fee students are asked to pay for is there Grading licences which are required by LAW. Non attendance charge, this is where you are charged the same amount of money whether your child or yourself attend Karate or do not attend, now ive struggled to understand this rule that so many have now implemented and now the way things are going at OKKO fully understand why clubs are doing this, if 1 student or 35 students turn up to karate all the clubs running costs have to be paid, now although i still can not justify this kind of charge i do understand that a lot of the martial arts instructors who do this kind of billing do so as this may be there only way of earning there wages, Students Insurances must still be paid, and most instructors will not meet this cost themelves.
This brings me to one of the new changes at OKKO, any student not attending the club for 4 or more weeks without word as to why or when they will be returning, will be removed from our books, and a readmittance fee will be charged to place them back on the books, they will not be allowed to grade again until the mandatory attendance has been met, i make no apologies for these changes, this is something i now have to do in order to keep OKKO Karate Jutsu afloat.
Gradings
I have always been more than fair with the Gradings at OKKO Karate Jutsu, we are amongst the cheapest in the UK and do not fail students just for having a foot out of place, however one main rule that MUST be understood is that any Student that fails to attend the mandatory required Karate sessions will NOT be permitted to grade, this is not done out of spite this is done to keep the highest of standards of coloured belts at OKKO, i have always been very proud of the students, how they handle themselves during, before and after gradings and feel i have the best graded students around, and certainly the most knowledgeable students in street applied practical karate, Gradings have been set for the 7th and 8th of June, please note that not everyone will be entitled to grade, if you are a senior level student (Blue belt and above) and have not met the standard session requirement then you will have to wait until the next Gradings to attempt your next level, i have a list of all the names that have already met the level needed to grade, i also have a list of those who can still grade if they attend all the sessions between now and grading, i also have a list with students who are not permitted to grade, although Karate is a hobby i must still ask for comittment from students if i do not get this then i will not reward those students with permission to further themselves up the grade ladder, some of you are heading towards Black Belt either this year of early next year, you guys especially need to attend as often as possible if you wish to be considered for black belt.
All pre black belts must now attend an interview with the Chief Instructor prior to be considered for Black Belt, this is where we can both see what needs working on and also whether the individual is mature enough to go for such a grade.
More to folliow.
Sensei Nigel Lee 3rd Dan B.C.A (Fully Approved Instructor in Bunkai Jutsu)