Jesse was nice to give some free intro classes and a month of assistance to work with me and their schedule, but one thing I don't appreciate is dishonesty. I do some online work, and i had asked him about wifi. He said he would get it in the next 2 weeks. In the meantime, my child was missing out on some of the classes because I could not work while she was in class, so sometimes she had to miss it (which is why she was given the assistanc for that month). Also, the times that I did take her, I would literally have to spend gas on traveling somewhere else JUST TO USE THEIR WIFI, and then DRIVE BACK to pick her up. I left her with a phone so that she could communicatie with me since i did not feel comfortable leaving her there by herself. To go back and forth every 2 days a week because there was no wifi available, was extremley stressful. Not only that, but the following month (WAY PASSED 2 week's, so wifi should have been set up, right?) he brought up payment (which was weird because payment's were on th 15th of each month, and I was already aware that that month, we were going to be charged for it), and then added how this program may not be the right fit for us, witout even bringing up the wifi issue. So, if you could not get the wifi, or weren't willing to, WHY in the world tell a parent that, get their hopes up (AND THE CHILD because they absolutley loved that place and they thought Lauren was a superhero!!!), just to sort of wish us good luck in finding another program. I thought it was really sketchy, and i did not appreciate the lack of open honesty AT ALL. Omg, not to mention, it was SUPER HOT IN THERE during the summer time and WAYYYY to crowded. I hope they can move to a bigger place in the future because good lord! I really was not comfortable being inside. Not to mention, that skinny latina lady was super paranoid with me standing near the office door when it was crowded and there were no chairs, or maybe it was the fact that I was standing near the water? I'm not sure, but my experience as a parent was not a positive one. For my child, unfortnatley, they were sad.They even drew on one of their "best thing that happened this week"a ssignment, a drawing of Tucson's Rising Phoenix. But i guess it's not about some of the kid's here. The hassle and stress I had to go through to try and work around taking my kid here was ridiculous. Lack of communication sucked, the place itself was uncomfortable, some of the instructors were weird and didn't make you feel comfortable, and in total, we both agreed that was not the right place for us after evaluating everything.
(* Also, my child was the only child i noticed who was not white. Not sure if race had anything to do with how I was treated, but maybe if I was a white parent who was putting $300 down for monthly payments, maybe then he would have been more eager to assist me or work with me to find a solution to how we could have kept my kid in their program, especially if they really liked it and actually looked up to them. So, just a heads up to any other race out there who is not the typical white american, reading this. Heads up. Be causious*).
Very...
Read moreI called the number for the school and spoke with the owner, Jesse, inquiring about their pricing for their classes. Jesse proceeded to make me feel bad about how they pay $10,000 to keep the place open, and tried to make me feel bad and get me to donate for their donation-based system. I didn't like how he was trying to make me, a first time caller inquiring about the place, feel bad about how they pay over $10,000 to keep the place running, and try to get me to give a donation. Jesse informed me of the Women's Self-Defense Classes on Fridays and Saturdays, so yesterday I decided to go, which was the day I called for the first time. I decided to give the place a chance, despite how the owner Jesse treated me, and went into the school. This. Place. STINKS. Like, literally stinks. The smell in the place was awful and it looked unclean. There were a LOT of decorations up everywhere that made the place look busy and I'm not sure if decoration costs are accounted in that $10,000 Jesse mentioned. It smelled horrible and there was a certificate of Master Instructor for Jesse himself - for the YEAR 2025. Why is it that the owner Jesse has a certificate validating his instructor title - from only this year? I was confused when I saw that and sat down, but I still decided to give the place a try. I've never taken a Self-Defense class or any kind of martial art class, so forgive me for how I will explain the class, but to me even as someone that is new, I didn't feel that the instructors were qualified to teach. I forget her name, but she's the girl with the colorful blond and short hair and looks very young. She stated that she, "LOVES violence!" But "in a good way" and honestly I wasn't sure I felt so good with her saying that. I'm not so certain if the class I had was good or not, but overall the place seems unpleasant and to be honest, the people that work there and go there, don't look very trustworthy. It's unfortunate, but I didn't like my experience. I won't...
Read moreMy experience...my daughter was getting bullied at school and I wanted to get her self defense classes. After many days of research i felt Rising Phoenix was the right fit. When we arrived we were met by the owner Jesse who gave us great details on what they classes would entail. My daughter and I were very excited by what she would be learning. The first class is complimentary to see if it was right for us which I appreciated. After just the first class my daughters confidence level skyrocketed. Jesse even tailored some of the his teachings specifically for how high school girls fight (hair pulling) so my daughter would know what to do in those situations. We became members and he made it very reasonably priced for me being a single mother of 2 even though the skills him and his team are teaching are worth so much more. All the staff and coaches are very welcoming and knowledgable, they made us feel right at home. I love this place and so does my daughter. The best thing is the confidence and skills it has given my daughter which she can take with her through life to be a successful and confident women. I highly recommend this place and can't say enough good things about...
Read more