Today we’d like to introduce you to Tara and Blaise Fitzgerald.
Tara and Blaise, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Blaise started his martial arts journey in high school wrestling. He was a very talented wrestler, gaining state champion stats in both South Carolina and California. Blaise and I started studying Taekwondo about 15 years ago. When he was testing for his 3rd degree black belt, we decided it would be a good decision for our family to open our own school. With a small savings as an investment, we opened our school in Burbank. We started with only 2 students, our own children. 5 years later, we have taught hundreds of students in the Burbank area.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Owning a business is not an easy road. All of the money at stake has been our own, and we expected to be supporting ourselves after 5 years.
Although the business has only grown since our opening, it has not grown to where we need it to even survive in the LA area. Our family also happens to be involved in acting. Luckily, we have been able to supplement the business with acting work occasionally. We are still not quite where we need to be, but we are only looking forward.
Please tell us about Burbank Taekwondo School.
We are a family owned and operated business. We treat our students like part of our family. Our classes are taught in a light, fun environment.
Don’t get me wrong, we make our students work hard. Our students have become amazing athletes and martial artists. We focus a good bit on what I like to call the “lab”: sparring. We don’t want our students to fear sparring. This is all part of self-defense. If you treat sparring as a game of tag, the student won’t fold up, if presented with a real-life fight.
We don’t require students to sign a contract. As parents, we were turned off by this at other schools. Despite the no contract vow, we have a high rate of retention. Many of our students have been with us for over 3 years now. We do offer a deep discount for year paid in full. We have several students who opt to do this, because they know they never want to leave!
We also offer circuit training and Zumba Fitness classes for adults. Blaise and I teach every class we offer. (With an occasional substitute.)
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory as a child was dancing and singing in a production of Singing in the Rain. I actually tap danced across a sidewalk on stage where real water was raining down on me!
Pricing:
- Unlimited Martial Arts: $139/month
- Unlimited Circuit/Zumba: $60/month
- Year in Full: $1380
- Sibling Discount: 2nd 20%, 3rd 30%, 4th 40%, 5th FREE
Contact Info:
- Address: 1701 W. Burbank Blvd
Ste 201
Burbank, CA 91506 - Website: www.burbanktaekwondoschool.com
- Phone: 818-406-1148
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @burbanktkd
- Facebook: /burbanktaekwondo
- Twitter: @burbanktkd
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