Black Belt America Karate | Martial Arts School | Madison

Our daughter is in BBA summer camp almost the entire summer and she likes it a lot. It is very well organized with fun activities and field trips every week. My daughter is always excited to start a new day in the morning!

Both of my sons went to Black Belt America. For my older son, the experience seemed to be positive, so after two years we enrolled our younger son as well. He began to have a very negative reaction pretty early on. After massive breakdowns on the days he would have to go to BBA we withdrew him after a couple months. 6 months later, I went in to enroll my oldest in a higher level program. As we went through the fees, I questioned why their was an equipment fee as well as a higher fee, since they had stated that the higher base fee was due to equipment needs. When I questioned the fees, the owner said that the real problem was that I was not supportive of my older son since I had pulled out my younger son months earlier. She accused me of being an absent parent because she did no often see me picking up my son because I have morning school duty in my house and commute an hour to work so pickup was often earlier than I could accomplish. I tried to explain that was not the case and that I just didn’t think my younger son reacted well to their methods. As an example, I brought up a recent example I had witnessed where the same teacher my younger son had, had forced a boy with down syndrome to redo a kick in front of all kids and parents of BBA over and over again until he was in tears simply because he was doing the kick with the wrong foot. I explained how my younger son would not react well to that kind of public humiliation and how I felt that was likely why he had such a negative reaction to attending. By the she had called in her husband and co-owner. Instead of taking the feedback about a teacher needing coaching to heart, they accused me of attacking the other boy. At that point, tears were streaming down my face. They both reacted to that sign of ‘weakness’ but increasing the level of their attack and ended up telling me my son was no longer welcome to attend. All because I asked for clarification on their fees. I have never had an experience like this with a professional organization in my life, much less one trusted with children. Ultimately I am glad in the end it occurred as it clearly showed me that my youngest was not overreacting, and ensured I got my oldest as far away from them as I could. I would not send my worst enemy to their school.

Perfect place for kids. BBA facilitates virtual learning in the Madison school district, and provides training in martial arts for my kids. Their programs reinforce the merits of honesty, integrity, respect and discipline that we try to instill at home. I highly recommend BBA's after-school care, the various camps they organize throughout the year, and martial arts programs!

I applaud Mr. and Mrs. Wideman. Both of my children grew up in their organization, earned their Blackbelts, and continue to hone their karate skills. My daughter has gone from a socially awkward little girl to a confident goal oriented young woman. My son has gone from a boy with ADHD to a young man who has self control and focus. I credit Blackbelt America and it’s staff for a big part of my children’s development. They not only work on teaching their students karate, but they also work on character development. Both of my children have learned to be good leaders, be more conscious of the need to help others to succeed, and how to be good citizens through the leadership program. All through my children’s martial art careers the Wideman’s have treated my children with respect and fairness. Even during the odd times when there were problems with my son and when the children wanted to take time off to pursue other sports. I say thank you Mr. and Mrs. Wideman for helping me make sure my children turn into responsible caring adults. I hope they can continue learning from you for a long time to come.

Black Belt America is a very welcoming space for all skill levels. As a company, I see that they value growth and leadership, no matter your age. I love(d) my experience with them, I especially loved working with Liceth. She always answers all of my questions with kindness and I felt well informed after talking with her a few times.

This place is money hungry. I enrolled my daughter in thier karate class and signed up for 6 months because it was a cheaper option($160 monthly). This was a month before school ended and than I enrolled her in the summer camp program they offer. Well they can't "stop" the direct payments once u sign up for summer camp. So they tried charging me for both summer camp ($240 a week) and after school karate which my daughter was unable to attend because she was enrolled in the summer camp program. I had no problem paying but I'm not going to pay for summer camp and karate when they wouldn't let her attend karate while in summer camp. They don't communicate with you that if you enroll in you kid in summer camp that they can't go to karate or that you would have to pay for both. A few days ago I get an email telling me my last week of summer camp and karate would be cancelled. They could of cancelled the karate until after summer but no they just wanted to try charging me double. As far as the karate my daughter did enjoy it. Also they let other kids cut in front of kids in line when they arrive late when other kids have been there way before the other kid who arrived late. If you want to teach children about responsibility than teach them if they arrive late they can't just cut in line because they been there longer or the teacher likes them more.

When my daughter started at Black Belt America, she was very shy and withdrawn. Throughout the years, Black Belt America has given her so much confidence and helped her develop leadership skills in ways I see reflected in every aspect of her life. Having karate as a constant in her life has increased her self esteem, not only through the confidence she's gained but the support system she received in the BBA staff and the camaraderie between students.I admire the instructors' patience and knowledge in dealing with every child, no matter where the student is at when they walk into the door. Students are not only taught martial arts, but given life lessons they take with them. I love what this program has done for my daughter, and will always be thankful for all of the positives it brought into her life. A thank you goes out to Mr and Mrs. Wideman as well, for all of your patience and hard work in ensuring all of the students receive the best quality in a program.

My five-year-old daughter and six-year-old son have been with black belt America for about a year now. It has been so great for both of them from a discipline standpoint, from a self-esteem standpoint, increasing focus, and just an overall great place to have fun, while working on strength and coordination.BBA has always been incredibly responsive to communication. My son had input regarding one of his instructors techniques... instead of taking it in a negative fashion they were very open and understood that different kids respond to different techniques. That instructor modified his teaching style when interacting with my son. That speaks volumes for me.. I was really impressed. My kids look forward to going every day, They love their instructors.❤️❤️I never had to Sign any sort of contract.Try it out it really is a great place and a great sport!!

DO NOT SIGN THEIR CONTRACT!!! - My granddaughter was attending and signed up for the black belt program. My wife signed the contract without seeing that it was for 24 months. My granddaughter decided after 16 months that she had enough of karate and dropped. She is after all a teenager and trying new things. The contract has me paying for the additional 8 months with no services provided. I can understand 30-60 days notice to break a contract and find replacement students, but there are no clauses allowing you to do so. Consequently I am out $1200. I contacted the owners and they would not adjust their policy. Do not sign their contract as is. Go elsewhere.

We are moving out of state soon and by far one of the most difficult parts will be leaving BBA. After checking out several karate studios last year for our 8 year old son and 4 year old daughter, we chose BBA and couldn’t have been happier. Not only do the instructors teach great life skills along with karate techniques, they also are eager to help children in bringing those same skills home and to school and finding ways to live and act with integrity, excellence, and confidence.In addition to their two classes per week our children have been very excited to have birthday parties at the gym, attend spring and summer camps, and go to the amazing black belt tests. I even joined as an adult after taking advantage of their free-for-parents months in May and June.We would highly recommend. Blackbelt America to a great family considering karate.