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This Newton Black Belt Academy is a real scam! It does not teach anything of substance. It's main goal is to make money and not teach any real martial art.
We made a mistake of falling for their trap and signed a 1-year contract, which the salesman/instructor (and the owner - a "7th Degree Sr. Master!) kept referring to as "commitment"!
We were interested in learning Taekwondo but knew nothing about it, or what to expect at a martial art school.
I noticed posters their class, and on their website that said "karate", so I asked the salesman/instructor why "karate" when it was supposed to be a Taekwondo school. He just said, "oh, we just say that, but it's all the same. It just makes it easier for people to remember"!
I should have noticed that red flag that very day, but was was too trusting! However, remember, I did! I remember that deceptive and ridiculous answer and many more red flags during our time at this school. I am sharing them, hoping that I can help other people from falling into the same trap that our family did.
ONE IMPORTANT ADVICE: Don't sign their contracts!
Newton Black Belt is a SCAM.
definition: dishonest scheme
So-called martial art school, but only there for the $$$.
The owner's - Sr. Master Katpiuk -scheme in 6 steps:
1. Hook you in with at least a 1-year contract (ei. Financial chokehold) - we signed this contract, but left after 8 months because it was a waste of time! Yes, we wasted our money, too, but at least we could stop wasting our time! We found a real school and have been training at our new school since we left Newton Black Belt Academy.
2. Frequent expensive belt exam fees - $70 apiece, last time I knew.
Every 6-8 weeks there was a belt exam, even if they have taught nothing, or if you didn't attend class. Just before we left, we hadn't been going to class because it was the EXACT same thing that we had already done 6-8 weeks earlier ( and "earned" a belt for it). We came to class maybe 3-4 times during this new "belt cycle". And just a few days before the new exam date, the instructors rushed to add stripes to our belt do that we could "register" for the belt exam. I finally had enough and told them that we were not coming back and told them the truth: because we felt that they just doling out belts do that they could make money through belt exam fees. It was clear that they had NOT taught anything new for the last 6 weeks or so!
3. Pushing for longer EVEN MORE EXPENSIVE contracts - maximum length of time permissible by law - 2 years! Using tricks like, pay for 2 years, get the third year free. Legally and technically, the contract is 2 years (as allowed by law) but in reality, Sr. Master Karpiuk got his hands in your bank account for the next 3 years! Pretty savvy scam.
They kept calling us at home, in the evening, during dinner, or at our kids' bedtime, "offering" their "Black Belt Club" promotion!
I actually sat down with them one time. They offered a 2-year "commitment" and the third free! Sounds good? It would be $9, 500 for 2 years, and the third year is free - whopper saving of $6, 335! Wow! Oh... by the way, I'd need to buy the ATA gear required for this program at $400 a set!
"If you need financing, we can help!"
Oh no, thank you!
Every time we came to class, either the salesman/instructor or the owner (the 7th Degree Sr. Master) kept asking why we still had not sign up for the "more challenging" program. It got to the point where it became uneasy for me because it felt like harassment!
4. Mandatory EXPENSIVE ATA gear for "advanced" programs. (Re: #3 above)
5. Offer financing for contracts: same idea as point #3 above.
6. Sr. Master Karpiuk and his staff call their contracts "commitments"! They gloss over the "fine prints" in the financial chokehold they are trying to place in you, hoping that unsuspecting victims will just trust them and the wonderful things that their school can offer!
All this also makes this Sr. Master Karpiuk a Master Con Artist.
Definition of con artists:
Inspiring confidence in their victims in order to defraud them.
BTW, "con artist" is short for "confidence artist."
Some of the tactics he uses to "inspire confidence": HUGE posters of him in his Sr. Master garb, and in different "martial art" poses; asking students and parents to join him in prayers at certain event; tell kids in front of parents, " you must obey your parents".
I found a description which I find very fitting for this Sr. Master Karpiuk/owner. "Unlike most kinds of crime, the grifters have not actually done anything overtly illegal - they've simply used lies and manipulation to get their victim to willingly hand over their own money."
Pretty smooth and much more dangerous than the illegal kind because these scammers can get away with it!
Unlike most kinds of crime, the grifters have not actually done anything overtly illegal - they've simply used lies and manipulation to get their victim to willingly hand over their own money.
More dangerous than the illegal kind!
The owner's goal is just to win over people's confidence long enough for them to sign the contract, then their hooked for at least a year!
Don't trust his « 30-day guarantee » because he knows that it's not long enough for you to see through his performance. Come to think of it, he knows most people are new to martial arts and din't know what to expect. Also, in a 30-day period, realistically, a new student (customer!) would have attended about 8 classes at most. That's too little to realize that there is no real teaching, no clear curriculum - but just pushing customers along to pay for their belt exams, at which they'd get a new belt regardless of the lack of teaching, or the lack of skills.
Do not fall for their « con artist » tactics! AVOID THIS PLACE!
