5 Elements Martial Arts & Wellness Center — Local services in La Mesa

Heads up: I do not recommend ever paying for large packages. This place is not willing to be flexible, if situations arise. Our first attempt to leave this place was after being in an uncomfortable situation with Sifu's family. (For details, feel free to message me, I am more than willing to explain everything.) He insisted that we stay. My husband kept asking, "are you really going to make us stay longer knowing that we are unhappy there?" Many of my friends, that know the family as well, told us to just give up and take the loss. Unfortunately, we are in a bad financial situation and decided that we'd rather have them attending this sport than have them in no activities at all. At some point we were considering relocating to better our financial situation (with family). Once again my husband reached out to Mario, Mario was completely apathetic, said he can not be flexible due to the dojo's policies, policies that he created.

But let me tell you more. A friend of mine was trying to save money so she bought the uniform online, and used my kids uniform (until the uniforms arrive). Mario decided to go ahead and charge her for the uniforms anyways.

Mario, "Sifu" hired his brother who has no experience in Kung Fu. I don't know about many of you, but if you are paying for Kung Fu, I wouldn't want someone that has no experience in Kung Fu to teach my children.

Another FYI for those looking for a Kung Fu or martial arts dojo. I went ahead and did research looking for other locations when we thought we would be able to leave in good terms. Most, if not all, martial arts do not charge for tests or sashes. It is an award/recognition given by the dojo. 5 elements is the only dojo that appears to charge for tests, sashes, extra activities. Also, other dojos also have competitions. It is a way to measure what one has learned in their dojo in comparison to other dojos. It creates unity within the dojo but also test our skills, takes us out of our comfort zone, improves how quickly one will react to a threat. At one point I did go up to Sifu Mario and ask him why he didn't compete. He stated something about its better to teach children form. Honestly, after speaking to others with experience in martial arts, it appears to be more of a cop-out. If you don't compete, then you won't know if what you're learning will work, keep you safe, is up to par with other studios. Keep that in mind! For now it's an activity, it may be active and fun, but what are the chances of your children obtaining skills to keep your child safe?

More about what you should consider when attending this dojo. 5 Elements does not honor Kung Fu and its culture of which Kung Fu originates, instead they offer a watered down version of what Kung Fu should be. Growing up I took Tae Kwon Do, where we were expected to learn how to greet, numbers, colors, forms all in Korean. My son has been taking Mandarin for about a year. When he would speak in mandarin like throwing out "thank you" and "you are welcomed," Sifu didn't understand what he was saying, and told my son that he didn't see necessary to learn another language. Most martial arts will integrate some of the language into whatever martial art they are practicing. To have no interest in the language or culture of the martial arts one is teaching is dishonorable.

Another reason why I was considering leaving 5 Elements is because I know too much. It's unfortunate but while having a relationship with this family, I learned a lot about who Mario is as a human being. His real characteristics aren't in correlation with what someone who teaches Kung Fu should be. On his website he posts a quote that he clearly doesn't live by: "IF YOU CAN, HELP OTHERS; IF YOU CANNOT DO THAT, AT LEAST DO NOT HARM THEM".

Mario is a business man, so remember this when...

Sadly after 6 months or so of having my three kids in this Kung fu program, I cannot say I would recommend this place to anyone, and to make matters worse if you pay a year in advance like we did they do not return your money for the unused portion of what you pay for. According to the owner, his reasoning is that he has a small business and therefore cannot afford to return money for classes paid in advance. Now as business owner I understand this to a certain point, due to having employees and overhead. The problem with that argument is that when you pay in advance it translates to unearned income in accounting terms, which means that the money is there but it should not be spent until it is technically earned. With that said. I would understand fining one month of the credit or requiring a 30 days notice to cancel, but telling me that none of the money can be returned seems a bit shady and can't be legal? (Which by the way the owner purchased a Tesla shortly after we paid in advance) I will be there for the rest of time that we have paid for,by force, due to the fact that they refuse to return our money. If you have any questions or wish to hear more about our experience we will be in class reluctantly because the owner has forced our hand and has protected himself by stipulating it in a contract that no one reads in good faith! So think twice before going here and definitely do not pay...

My daughter has been coming to this studio for almost a year. She loves it! Her mental and physical discipline has improved so much. Instead of not knowing how to harness her own strength, she's become more observant of her surroundings and precise with her movements. She also comes home tired from her Kung Fu class, which is wonderful because she has so much energy. I also enjoy and respect the way Sifu speaks to the kids. His language, choice of words, and his guidance is something that kids need more of these days. I'm grateful for his knowledge and the way he shares that with the youth. I highly recommend this studio for kids (or even young adults) who need focus, strength, discipline, wisdom, and just a fun way to...