Inspired by Cobra Kai, my kid wanted to try martial arts, so I asked around. The consensus was…read moreSawbuck Dojang, but their class schedule didn't work, so I gave SBG a shot. The first red flag was that they don't post prices on their site.. So I made an appointment, where I found myself in a small room getting the kind of hard sell treatment I usually associate with buying a car. $2000 is how much it would cost for a school years worth of classes if you pay for it all up front - 2 one hour sessions a week. Way expensive, but it was either this or disappoint my kid, so I bit the bullet. I was told there would be a partial refund if we quit. That turned out to not be true. More on that later. The good: Beautiful facility. Nice staff. Fun classes. There was a lot of variety. They'd learn techniques, do rope climbing, play dodgeball and tug-of-war. My kid loved it for a few weeks, then her interest started to fade. She would ask if she could skip class, to which I had to remind her of the commitment she made to attend this very expensive class. One day she tells me she has advanced to the next level and hands me a letter. The letter said I needed to set up another appointment. Oh boy, they are going to ask for more money, aren't they? Yep. Back to the used-car-salesman room where I was asked to pony up an additional 2k to advance to the next level. I asked what she had done to earn this promotion and was told it was for 2 months of participation. No skill requirements. Pay to play. If you want to wear that cool blue Gi, your parents have to cough up the bucks, otherwise you are stuck with the basic white Gi. It's clever tool for manipulation. Goodness knows how much it costs to advance to the elite black Gi. Bruce Lee took 20 years to earn his black belt, SBG can get your 10 year old there in four months for $6k. The salesman said the promotion comes with the privilege of helping kids in another class and access to a Friday sparing session - so you do get something extra for your money, but you are barred from advancing unless you pay. This meeting gave me bad vibes, so I gave my kid permission to quit - which she did without hesitation. I was told I would receive no refund. The fine print (on the lengthy contract I didn't read) did indeed say there were no refunds, so it is my fault for taking SBG at their word. There is a lot to like about the instructors and classes. I'm sure they are just following orders from corporate. But the Pay-to-Play and hard sell aspects are just not the kind of thing I want to support in any way. Hopefully my story is helpful to other parents deciding how to spend their hard earned money.

Home away from home when I'm up in Whitefish. I really love it here. Professor Mike is a very…read moreknowledgeable guy will get you rolling the right way. Check it out if you get a chance 5/5