My son attended this studio for about five years, and I wanted to share our experience for parents considering enrolling their children. I'll start with the positives. The instructors are energetic, genuinely care about the kids, and do a great job creating a fun environment. They also emphasize discipline and respect, which is one of the main reasons we kept our son enrolled for so long. Unfortunately, after five years, I don't feel like my son truly learned karate to the level I expected. As a black belt myself, I was surprised that many students in the advanced classes had not mastered basic techniques that I was required to learn before advancing. Even some black belt students did not know how to properly tie their belts because they had never been taught. The studio has a sign that says, "A black belt is a white belt who never quits." While perseverance is certainly important, that philosophy seemed to carry over into belt advancement. My impression was that consistent attendance was often valued more than mastering the required material. I attended several belt tests where students struggled with the curriculum, were coached through the test by an instructor, and were still promoted despite not demonstrating proficiency on their own. Another downside is the constant upselling. There always seemed to be another optional class, event, seminar, or program that required an additional fee. While none of these were mandatory, the requests came frequently, and the extra costs added up over time. Overall, I think this is a studio that does an excellent job helping kids build confidence, discipline, and have fun. However, if your primary goal is for your child to develop strong martial arts skills and earn promotions based on mastery of the material, our experience suggests this may not be the best fit. read more

My son has been attending EFK (Lexington location) for a few years now and is currently part of the Elite Instructor Training (EIT) program. He really enjoys learning how to become a good instructor and appreciates the responsibility that comes with it. He's also been volunteering regularly, and the school has given him space to grow and develop his skills, both in martial arts and in helping others. We've found the environment to be structured and supportive, and it's been a good fit for him overall. If you're looking for a place where kids can train, build confidence, and take on leadership roles, this is definitely worth checking out. read more

Our daughter has had a great experience over the past 5+ years. We've loved all the instructors, especially Sensei Manny. She is part of the black belt club and her black belt with her name on it is up on the wall to give her inspiration. Lastly, she has learned a lot about respect, discipline and determination which will help guide her in the future. We are grateful to have found EFK. read more

Business model is terrible, customer service is awful. They robbed me 600$ under their 60days notice policy, using my credit card. My sons tried karate for 2 months. We quit and I said that we would maybe be back at it later in the year and they just paused the payments and resume them without even asking me, call me or checking if my sons were back. When I got my credit card statement and realized what happened, I called them and they pretended it was all good. I just can't believe it! This is totally inacceptable. read more

Excellent dojo very committed to seeing all of their students strive to be there best. Always encouraging and a positive experience for all of us. Both my younger brother and my son were students and have taken the life skills taught by the staff out into the real world. The Sensei's not only teach karate but also life lessons that can be used in the real world. read more

My 8 yo son attends the North Reading location and I'm thrilled with the results of this program. The sensis are amazing and in addition to the physical skills, the social and life skills he is learning are invaluable and are the perfect compliment to lessons learned at home and school. I'm not suggesting this is a perfect fit for all kids but my son loves it and is disappointed when he can't attend. Yes, the costs are high but comparable to other martial arts facilities and like I said, it's a great fit for my son, so I don't mind the fees or the contract as long as it makes my son happy and there are such clear benefits. As far as contracts go, people should make sure they fully understand the terms before signing. Stick a date reminder on your calendar if you need to but don't blame businesses for upholding the terms of their contracts. read more

I totally agree with other reviewers that this place is after the Money, nothing else. They set up every policy to their advantage, in order to grab $$. For example, you can pause your membership for 2 months, but you are still charged for these two months and the credit never applies to your account until you ask. For busy families like us, this policy often leads to unused credits to the accounts unless people remember to call/email them after 2 months. Also, you have to give them two full months (60 days to be exact) notification. I called them on Sept 7th to cancel and they said this month is not counted towards it. Unpleasant experience... I am totally done with them. read more

The karate instructors are great, the business model is terrible. Incredibly expensive monthly fees, with a contract and constant upselling for additional services (belt tests, etc.). My son attended for years without issue, until I tried to cancel due to COVID. Somehow, YEARS after starting, we were still under contract, despite my son not attending a single class during the five months of pandemic. Instead of giving me any kind of refund for no services rendered, they hit me with the 60 day cancellation "policy", squeezing me for another two months (at nearly $200/mo) for classes my son won't attend. SEVEN MONTHS of payments for nothing, keeping in mind that all they were offering in that time period were "virtual" classes anyways. Bridges burned, we won't be back. Don't spend it all in one place, EFK. read more

Five years later and I'm sad to report that we had been contacted by a collections agency twice. Elite Freestyle wanted the money for the 6-month contract we cancelled. We had contacted our bank to stop all payments after they took the first automatic payment (which we let them keep despite our daughter having never attended a lesson). Luckily our credit rating is so high that collections backs down after we write a lengthy letter explaining the backstory and threatening a lawyer of our own. Beyond ridiculous. read more

I cannot tell you how pleased we have been with the EFK experience for our son. He has some developmental delays and since starting the program his confidence, strength and focus have improved so much. Sensei Ethan and Sensei Brittany (Bedford) go over and above to make the classes fun and engaging for the kids and the life coaching featured in the class is fantastic. My son cannot wait for his 'karate days', the sense of belonging he feels as part of the club shines through. The Sensei also take the time to know each of the children in the class and even helped us with a one-off bullying episode by coaching my son on how to stand up for himself in a respectful way. Worth every penny, an investment in my child's future! read more

For me it boiled down to if we were getting our money's worth, and the answer was no. They do a good job with their instructors being enthusiastic, but after a year of training, my kids still did not know how to defend themselves. They really knew very little karate at all. The class sizes were really large (15-20) with one instructor. The kids got very little feedback on anything. EFK was the most expensive thing my kids participated in- 328 a month for 3 kids (!!), and the kids were impacted the least by the teaching. Half the class was either talk or a game. They also have a killer 6 week cancellation period- so beware, they will charge you for 8! read more

My son Massimo is 6yrs old, he looks forward to his Karate class every time. The instructors are great with connecting with the kids and keeping them engaged. There are always multiple instructors helping to ensure form is right, etc. at this young age it has to be fun or the kids get turned off. They keep it fun but they also teach lessons of respect, perseverance, discipline, and of course self-defense.. I think they've got the recipe right!! We've been coming for over 6months now. read more

While the karate lessons are adequate, the program is a trap for parents. I signed up my 4.5 yr old for a three month term (the shortest possible) at $180 per month (which is insanely high, but I needed a Monday activity and this was all I could find), I tried to quit just two weeks before the end of the three months when my daughter was no longer willing to go. I understood at the time that I was on the hook for 30 days notice meaning I had to pay $180 because I quit in between the billing cycle. When I called, I was informed that because I was at the end of the three month term, I was now automatically in the "open program" which requires at 60-day notice. In addition, I was told I needed to have my 4.5 yr old meet with the instructor (I declined since I felt it was inappropriate for her to be guilted into continuing). I've talked to the Arlington studio as well as the main office to no avail. I thought 30 days was ridiculous for a young child's activity, but 60 days is plain old theft. They are taking advantage of parents in well-to-do areas. BEWARE. read more

Like other posts I see here, my family also experienced the fleecing that occurs when you try to cancel your membership with Elite Freestyle Karate. Buyer beware! You can get in easy, but you can't get out without much frustration, unanswered emails, calls, disputes, and in my case $600 of lost money! It is very expensive month by month, but then they add in a registration fee, fees for every belt promotion, fees to see a black belt demonstration, etc. I read the one-page contract and was aware of the 60 day cancellation policy; however, I had planned to use a 60 day credit that I had for freezing my account over the summer towards my last 60 days. I was told I could not do that, even though I still cannot see where it might state that in the contract. I was told the credit could not be used towards cancellation, and so I would have to pay an additional two months on top of the 2 month credit that was already on my account. I was able to salvage a little bit with my credit card company's help, but it was a miserable process all around! Plan your exit EARLY...like 4 months early, otherwise you will likely be paying monthly tuition you didn't plan on! -Aurianne L. read more

They were nice the first 2 months then they got really rude to my child and they said he said something to another student then he said he didn't think he was doing that and he called the sensais a liar and he was mad then kicked us out and no refund read more

Do NOT use this company to teach your children karate. They may have a "good deal" to get you hooked, but then they use pressure tactics to have you sign up for their "extra" sessions. They would tell my children about the camp, get them excited about it, and then I would have to burst their bubble when it was something we could not do. Also, I got short order notice to move (I am military) and they refused to refund me the $300 credit I had on account. Even when I showed them that they were breaking Massachusetts law, they still refused, became rude, and would no longer correspond. They preach integrity and honesty, but this company is far from it. Please don't waste your money on them. read more

Awful experience with this studio. Money oriented and not education oriented. If there is a question not possible to reach higher management/owner. They only put every effort to contact you when they need you to pay for something. Classes are overcrowded with not enough instructors and no discipline. My son went there for over 2years and did not learn any karate or other useful skills. I would not recommend sending kids there. read more

My son has been with EFK since 2008. He has moved from white to brown/red belt and he loves it. He enjoys the structure of the classes. He is proud of the strength he has developed. The instructors are wonderful. Most, if not all of them have grown up in the program and have been trained to be great teachers. My son rarely, if ever, complains about going to class. read more

My seven year old takes karate here. They do a mix of the martial arts. He loves it. They have great instructors. I love how they teach life skills AND karate. They are great at customer service, very accommodating and helpful. I highly recommend this place. read more