Nam's Korean Karate Inc

I purchased 2 36-month Black Belt programs (for me and my son) at Nam's Korean Karate School and paid in full at the time of signing a contract. Two months later, due to unforeseen circumstances, I needed to move 500 miles away to a different state. Although the contract stated that no refunds would be given after 3 business days, they were willing to provide a partial refund. Unfortunately, it took several communication attempts and the amount offered was negligible, not reflective of their pricing structure, and presented as a final decision.

For those of you contemplating joining Nam's Korean Karate School (or any martial arts studio in this area), please learn from my experience. I suggest researching the 1997 Commonwealth Fisher v. Tiger Schulmann court case (argued in 2001) which ruled that these businesses are not required to comply with the Pennsylvania Health Club Act because they do not meet the definition of a health club ("a person, firm, corporation, organization, club or association engaged in the sale of memberships in a health spa, racquet club, figure salon, weight reduction center or other physical culture service enterprise offering facilities for the preservation, maintenance, encouragement or development of physical fitness or physical well-being.") The PA Health Club Act provides certain protections to consumers entering long-term contracts and can be found in its entirety online. It is my understanding that some martial arts studios in PA willingly comply even though they may not be required to by law. Even at the time of writing this review, this business's own Yelp page lists "physical fitness" and "improving strength and flexibility" among the specialties it offers.

If I had purchased a membership somewhere that elected to follow these regulations, then I would have received a fair refund under my circumstances (i.e., moving more than 25 additional miles away from the facility).