Confidence is your child’s greatest weapon. It determines the leaders and the followers. A confident child is less likely to be bullied or to succumb to peer pressure. The right school will teach your child self-defense and life skills that will help him/her approach life with a confident attitude.

The news reminds us daily that there are evil people in our society that prey on children. Self defense and awareness skills are excellent tools for keeping your child safer. Our Stranger-Danger and Bully Buster programs assist even the youngest students achieve situational awareness and personal confidence. Our students are taught how to handle a bully in non-violent ways while maintaining their self respect and dignity. We also teach them self-defense skills that enable them to protect themselves or their family if forced to.

At Gautreaux’s Martial Art Center, life skills and character development are our main goal. Our teachers and curriculum are focused on teaching such skills as self-control, self-discipline, focus, attention, fitness, anger management, goal setting, follow through, and effort We are professional Martial Arts Instructors and parents ourselves and design programs with our own children in mind.

There are no standard programs in the martial arts. Each school has different guidelines. Some schools will start children at five or six years of age while others only offer adult training. Most schools lump everyone together in one class, no matter what their age. This is a challenge since children respond to different teaching styles and at different speeds based on their age.

At Gautreaux’s, our curriculum, class planning, and student expectations are organized by age and ability levels. Our Tiger-Tot program is designed for children ages 3 to 6 and children ages 7 to 12 participate in our Junior Taekwondo program. Teens and adults participate in their own specialized training program.

The martial arts hold great potential lessons for your child but unfortunately, there are significant differences in schools. Just like in the movie, “The Karate Kid”, there are good and bad schools and good and bad martial arts instructors. Part-time programs, as found in community centers and Ys’ are sometimes cheaper and usually provide the least in service, program options and schedule flexibility.

Professional martial art schools cost more, but offer much greater student service, educational programs, schedules, equipment and facilities. A part-time instructor has a job or two which provides their income and they do their martial arts as a hobby or side job. A professional martial arts instructor focuses everyday on their students and the development of the program. An organized teacher and curriculum leads to more and quicker success thereby increasing the longevity of the student’s participation. The longer a student stays in class, the more they will accomplish and the greater benefits they will receive.

Gautreaux’s Martial Art Center was founded in 1983 and has grown to be the most successful martial art school in the greater Kansas City area. Gautreaux’s has been recognized nationally for their Tiger-Tots program and their Elite Competition Teams.

Gautreaux’s is successful because our students are having success in their martial arts training with us. Our philosophy is “Student for Life.” Every student that enrolls is considered a future Black Belt in training and we are going to help them reach that goal.

There are many different styles of martial arts with many different concepts and philosophies. There is Taekwondo, Karate, Kenpo, Aikido, Judo and Jujitsu. These are all funny names and they are just a sampling. Each style is going to offer a different type of training. Some styles focus on kicking and punching while others specialize in throwing the opponent or grappling with them. Some styles even mimic animals such as monkeys and birds. The style you choose should be based on your ultimate reason for learning a martial art.

At Gautreaux’s, we exclude the ineffective techniques of years gone by and eliminate the flash that is meant for movies. We mix the best skills from several martial art styles to bring you a world-class self-defense system. Our hybrid program combines Taekwondo, Kenpo, Judo, Jujitsu, Boxing, Kickboxing and Muay Thai to bring you an effective, real world self-protection system.

More important than style of martial arts, is the instructor. When evaluating a school you should try to determine if it has a bad instructor, a good instructor or a great instructor? What is the organization, communication and attitude of the instructor? Some instructors teach their students to fight and have aggressive behavior, which does not match the true philosophy of the martial arts creeds of self-control, discipline, courtesy and respect for oneself and other people. Some schools have religious undertones in their training.

There are two types of teachers to be wary of. The attitude of the “ego maniac” teacher is sometimes mistaken for confidence or knowledge. Attitude does not determine quality. These instructors usually lack any real martial arts knowledge and are the worst kind of teacher. They ridicule, belittle, degrade and even verbally abuse students. The other shyster in this business is the “Mystery Grandmaster.” These instructors hide behind a mysterious image. They typically claim they were champions or trained the secret military in some foreign land. They claim a lot but deliver little.

Gautreaux’s believes that an instructor should be a leader in the school and the community. Our instructors “Walk their Talk” and are great role models. They undergo intensive training to be great communicators and teachers. Gautreaux’s teaches with a positive re-enforcement style that builds upon the positive. We make a great student first, then work on making them a great martial artist.

Life Skills– By not enrolling your child in the right Martial Art school, your child will miss a great opportunity to learn things that will help them be more successful in their lives. Lessons that last a lifetime!

Trying New Things– As a parent, you know how difficult it can be to introduce something new to your child. Once they have had a negative experience, it is impossible to get them started again. Choose the right school the first time.

Wasted Money– Too many times, parents run down to the closest school or look for the cheapest school and enroll their child, only to find their child wants to quit shortly afterwards. Even worst, parents start seeing their child developing aggressive behavior or a bad attitude. Not all schools are the same, as you are finding out.

Safety First– Watch class and make sure the instructor is teaching with safety in mind. Classes should be controlled, supervised and utilizing proper training equipment and flooring.

Teaching Background– Most instructors earn their Black Belt and decide to open a school. They might have a true passion to teach but that does not make them a qualified instructor. Continuing education is important. Instructors should be experts at building confidence in his/her students. Their martial art skills and training methods should be modern.

It makes sense that all martial art schools would elicit great fitness, but the opposite is the case more times than not. Unfortunately, there are many out of shape instructors and programs that work mostly in place, with very little cardio and strength training. Fitness is a primary concern at Gautreaux’s. We have special fitness programs throughout the year focusing on core strength training. Every class builds aerobic and anaerobic conditioning. We work with our students to meet end exceed their fitness goals. Most adult students quit their gym memberships after participating in our classes.

Taekwondo is an Olympic sport with regional, state and national competitions, which lead to the World Championships and the Olympics. Gautreaux’s is nationally recognized for their Olympic training and their Elite Competition Teams. They have produced many National and Junior Olympic champions. Gautreaux’s is a National Training Center.