Question 1

How old does my child have to be to start?

Accepted Answer

At Legacy Martial Arts, we begin teaching lessons to children as young as 2 1/2!  In our leopards classes (age 3-6) our lessons are generally focused on building balance, coordination, focus and excellent listening skills all while having fun.

Question 2

Will my child enjoy martial arts training?

Accepted Answer

Yes! We only want our students to experience a fun, welcoming and comfortable vibe here. We feel this is the best way to retain education and dedicate oneself to this commitment. In every class, we provide fun drills, great instruction and a little joking here and there. We believe anything you do, you should enjoy! Don't expect to come just for a martial arts class, we welcome you to our LMA family!

Question 3

What is Kempo?

Accepted Answer

https://www.ridgefieldkempo.com/whatiskempo

Question 4

Why Choose Kempo? What are the differences from other Martial Arts?

Accepted Answer

There is no, one Martial Art system that is superior to another, in truth it all comes down to the practitioner.  Compared to other systems that rely primarily on  striking, or grappling, Kempo uses a combination of these concepts to its advantage.

Kempo uses a blend of logic and concept combined with techniques derived from Karate and Kung Fu to manipulate the opponent. Most other systems will teach you to create distance from your opponent to stay "out of range" from your opponents strikes. While this indeed is effective, Kempo teaches closing the distance between you and your opponent, keeping you safe and having more opportunity to apply successful self defense techniques.

Kempo is an all-inclusive martial arts system based on ancient martial arts methods and congruent with modern martial arts concepts. These concepts are used to solve modern day violent scenarios using logic and practicality.

Kempo like many other systems incorporates the mastering of morals such as discipline, self-control, patience, compassion, humility and more.  Kempo is a journey of character development and building a healthy, balanced lifestyle.

Question 5

Will my child use Kempo outside of the Dojo?

Accepted Answer

During our verbal lectures in class, our students learn to efficiently perform their material while developing patience, balance, self control, understanding the energy of the body, breathing correctly, clearing the mind, observation, and making wise, educated decisions based on these skills.

If there is ever a time one of our students displays outside use of Kempo in self defense, we carefully congratulate them as we want our students to feel confident in standing up for themselves. Martial arts is never about starting or pursuing a fight, but to instead diffuse and avoid a fight safely while using ones lessons to develop self character.

If one of our students wrongfully uses Kempo, this is against our principle on self discipline and self control and so they are penalized accordingly. In these cases, we usually see the student might have an emotional issue that needs recognition in order to be nurtured and overcome in their personal life. Unacceptable behavior won’t be tolerated here, but we understand no one is perfect, especially growing, developing children, and we take these opportunities to compassionately discipline, and teach our students right from wrong.

Question 6

Will Kempo make my child violent?

Accepted Answer

No. Martial Arts systems are admired because they are built on traditional morals such as respect, humility, discipline, honor, and loyalty. Based on these traits, the “student” is on a path to shaping and perfecting their character. What Martial Arts aims to teach students is learning to develop skills like self-control, patience, listening, and perseverance. Martial arts is said to actually help those with anger as it can help with filtering and relieving anger, anxiety or stress. While it may be hard to believe, Martial Arts are very beneficial on the contrary to overcoming anger issues. 
At Ridgefield Kempo, we primarily focus on the state of mind the art influences. We don’t believe in any art that only educates on the physical traits. We make sure that each of our students receives the physical training their rank requires, but mostly the attitude, and the spirit behind that. We encourage those who suffer from anger issues to join our program so that they can learn how to diffuse their anger/aggression, channel it in a healthy way, and more importantly learn that there is no need for anger, as it hinders our personal growth, affects our energy in an unhealthy way, and can hurt those around us.

Question 7

Does Kempo teach self defense?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. Learning how to use your body's performance to properly execute techniques can help you in any self defense scenario. In our world today, there are many cases where self defense saves lives, and we especially make sure our students learn how to use their material to succeed in situations like this. We also provide a sparring class in which our students have the chance to experience sparring against others to develop a practical state of mind in real life encounters. We encourage all of our students to participate in the sparring classes. Learning your material is one thing, but performing it with an opponent to protect yourself trains you to effectively understand your material and allows the ability for your mind and body to unify in performance.

Question 8

How much are your classes?

Accepted Answer

Our rates for classes entirely depend on the experience you'd like to have. Most students will have a choice between group or private instruction. However, all of our rates are broken down to fit any family's budget as we have various different pricing plans to suit your family's needs.

Kempo goes beyond kicks and combinations by incorporating invaluable morals such as discipline, patience, open-mindedness, self-control, stress-management, compassion and more

Our programs ensure that you have the possibility to reach your highest potential as an individual. The combined effort provided by us and submitted by you makes our program 100% worth it. We’d like our students and members to view our service here as a crucial investment for building character and a healthy lifestyle. We promise that your commitment to us will improve and impact all areas of your life.

Question 9

If I've attended Martial Arts elsewhere, how can I get started with LMA

Accepted Answer

Culturally this is not a valued way to honor the ranking systems in Martial Arts. However we understand that your need to switch from one facility to another is based on your desire to receive more informative instruction and education; and willing spirits, we cannot deny, as that is the exact attitude we encourage here at Legacy Martial Arts. Please come in and we can discuss your continuing Martial Arts journey with us.

Question 10

How often can I attend class?

Accepted Answer

Sustainablly, most students in our facility train between 2-3 times per week. We offer all age / skill level classes throughout the week so you can have the chance to flexibly come when you please.

Question 11

Can I take lessons if I have a health condition or limitation?

Accepted Answer

One thing we are passionate about here at Legacy Martial Arts is being able to help everyone, especially those in need. Also part of our criteria here is teaching our students this as well. We believe everyone deserves a chance to experience activities that involve self growth and physical improvement. We make sure that we can accommodate those with health issues, because physical activity is incredibly beneficial despite health conditions. It also creates a healthy state of mind as Martial Arts greatly impacts one mentally and emotionally.  We want to be able to provide the most comfortable and versatile atmosphere for anyone and are more than willing to work with those who have health issues or disabilities. Please come in, let us know your concerns and we can set up a special plan for your path here as a student.

Question 12

Do you have students with Special Needs or Development issues?

Accepted Answer

We have many students who come to us with special needs. Learning to quiet the mind, control your breathing, use your physical performance efficiently, helps those develop hand-eye coordination, motor skills and strengthen all these abilities. We have seen great improvment in our special needs students. We feel it is our duty to provide the guidance to those in need, because if it can improve their state, there should be action taken to do so, and we want to be a part in helping in every way that we can.

Question 13

What age is too old to join?

Accepted Answer

This is a great question. We joke a lot with our parents here at the dojo who feel it's silly at their age, or that they are not qualified to participate. Yes you are qualified, no it is not silly! We encourage all ages, health issues or not, injuries or not. We make sure we leave the door to possibility wide open, to touch the lives of those around us. The more, the better! Take a class, learn something about yourself, develop better breathing, or build your strength. This is always a great opportunity for you to use Martial Arts to positively affect other areas of your life!

Question 14

Do I need to be in shape to participate?

Accepted Answer

If anyone ever needed to be in shape for any activity, no one would have the chance to begin. We encourage those to use our committed program to advance physically, and stay in shape. Martial Arts will improve your balance, breathing, flexibility, strength, coordination and over all physical performance. It is a great for those who have interest in advancing their physique. The only way to develop is to start!

Frequently asked questions