Insider Weekly 2025 Best Children's Martial Arts School Award
★ Insider Weekly 2025 ★ Voted BEST Children's Martial Arts School

Common questions

Questions parents ask
before the first lesson.

Straight answers about getting started, tuition, membership and what your child’s experience is actually like.

Getting started

How does my child get started?

Call the school or request a time and we book a private one-on-one introductory lesson. That lesson starts your child’s 30 days of free training.

Does my child need any experience?

No. Most children who walk in here have never done martial arts.

Is there any obligation after the free 30 days?

None. You decide at the end, and plenty of families take the whole month before saying yes.

What ages do you teach?

Ages 3 through 17. Mastery Troy is a kids-only school with no adult classes, no family classes and no summer camps.

The first lesson

What happens during the introductory lesson?

Your child meets their instructor one-on-one, learns a few basics, and does something on the mat they couldn’t do when they arrived. You watch the whole thing and ask your questions afterward.

What if my child is shy or nervous?

That is most children on day one, and it is exactly why the first lesson is private. No group, no audience, no expectation that they already know anything.

What should my child wear?

Comfortable clothes they can move in, and bare feet. No uniform is needed to start.

Schedule

How often should my child train?

Once a week works and is where many families start. Two to three times a week is where habits form fastest, because repetition is what turns a skill into a reflex.

How long is a class?

Tiny Tigers, Little Dragons and Beginners classes all run 30 minutes. Long enough to learn something, short enough to hold a five year old’s attention, and it fits between school and dinner. Leadership Training classes run 45 minutes.

When do classes run?

Little Dragons and Beginners train Monday through Thursday, late afternoon and early evening. Tiny Tigers train Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning. Leadership Training students train Monday through Saturday. See the full weekly schedule →

What is Leadership Training?

Leadership Training is the program that teaches children how to apply the life skill they are working on at home and at school. Karate class is where they practice it. Leadership Training is where they learn to use it everywhere else.

Leadership students stay an extra 15 minutes after their Monday to Thursday class. Once a student is age 7 and up and has reached green belt, they also get the dedicated 45-minute Leadership Training classes Monday to Thursday at 6:45pm, plus Friday evening and Saturday morning, which are open to all leadership ranks.

Tuition and membership

How much do kids karate classes cost?

Tuition runs $149 a month for once a week, $249 for two to three times, and $299 for unlimited. Enroll at the end of the introductory lesson and the 30-Day Pass reduces each of those by $50 a month for as long as your child trains.

How does the 30-Day Pass discount work?

Your child’s first 30 days are free. If you decide at the end of the introductory lesson that Mastery is the right fit, the value of that pass comes off your tuition at $50 a month, permanently. Enroll later and regular rates apply.

What is the membership commitment?

The beginner program is a six-month agreement. Terms, billing and cancellation are reviewed with you in person before you sign.

What if my child has to miss time?

Extended time away can be added to the end of the agreement.

Are there other costs?

Uniform, equipment and belt testing are all reviewed with you before you enroll rather than appearing later. Nothing needs buying for the free 30 days.

Belts and testing

How does my child move up a belt?

By meeting the requirements on their belt sheet, which covers the karate and the character work at home. Testing happens about every two months and nobody tests before they are ready.

How long does black belt take?

About three years of steady training. There are 18 belts across 10 colors. See the full belt order →

How soon is the first belt?

Roughly two months, which is deliberately early. Children need proof before their enthusiasm runs out.

Parents, safety and care

Can parents watch?

Yes, and we want you to. Parents watch every class, not just the first one. You learn the language we use so you can back it up at home.

Will karate make my child aggressive?

Troy parents report the opposite. Self-control is the purple belt, and it is taught from the first class. One dad wrote that he worried his son would start fights and instead found “more self control than I could have ever imagined.”

My child has additional needs. Can you accommodate them?

Call the school before the first lesson and tell us what would help. Children on the spectrum train here, and knowing in advance lets us prepare properly.

Do you teach practical self-defense?

Yes, age-appropriate for each group, along with bully prevention built into the curriculum rather than sold as a separate seminar.

Where you are

Where is the school?

3656 Rochester Road, Troy, MI 48083. We serve families from Troy, Sterling Heights, Rochester Hills, Royal Oak, Birmingham, Clawson, Madison Heights, Warren and Bloomfield Township.

Do you have more than one location?

One school, one instructor team, in Troy. That is on purpose.

MASTERY MARTIAL ARTS — TROY

3656 Rochester Road, Troy, MI 48083  ·  (248) 247-7353

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