Before you apply, please consider the role of the karate school in accepting scholarships.

 

The scholarship is relatively easy to receive: there are no complicated formulas for income per household and the family can provide any documentation available to show financial need. We will rely on the credibility and integrity of both students and karate schools to confirm that the scholarship is being used for its intended purpose. The accountability is inherent: As martial arts instructors, we see our students constantly. We don’t need to see their tax forms because we know them as people. We believe it will be rare if not impossible for a family that is financially comfortable to take advantage of this system.

 

The scholarship goes directly to the karate school, not the student. Any karate school participating in this program is the kind that genuinely knows their students. The scholarship is only available to active students – meaning it’s not to be used as a recruiting tool. There are rare exceptions for extreme hardship, such as if a neighborhood family suffers a horrible loss and the karate school wants to extend an offer for a karate scholarship.

 

In general, the students who receive scholarships will be ones that your team can personally vouch for and attest that they have both a need and desire to stay in martial arts. You are expected to see them at least twice a week: training, working hard and contributing to the karate lifestyle.

 

We don’t want to waste scholarships on kids who are late for class, not prepared, show up once a month and complain. That’s not to say we want A+ students – we want to help ones who are struggling, who will truly benefit from martial arts. We want the scholarships to benefit the families who will most appreciate it.

 

The instructors should generally have a good sense of the family’s needs and will need to review and approve/recommend the scholarship recipient every 3 months. The goal of this scholarship fund is to give karate schools an easy tool to extend goodwill and opportunities to families with financial struggles but a determination to stay in martial arts.

 

There is no embarrassment or humiliation of not having a job: a simple arrangement where the fund is available to ease the burden. A seven-person scholarship board will review and vote on each application.

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