09/03/2026
TWO INVESTMENTS. TWO FUTURES.
Parents, everything has a cost. The question is whether you want to pay for guidance now or risk paying much more later when something goes wrong.
Take a commercial martial arts school. At $100 a month, 12 months a year, for six years, you are looking at $7,200. Some people hear that and say, “That’s expensive.” Maybe it is, but look at what those six years can produce: discipline, confidence, self-control, respect, consistency, learning how to handle pressure and understanding that actions have consequences. If they stay with it long enough, it can even become a vocation.
Not every program costs $100 a month. Some boxing and Savate clubs have sponsors, some operate through nonprofits or recreation centers, some are free, and others may only charge $50 or $60. A commercial school is different because rent, utilities, insurance, equipment, maintenance and instructors all have to be paid. Nobody opens the doors every month for free.
Still, some parents say, “Why should I have to pay for that?” Fair enough. But ask yourself another question: who is influencing your child when you’re not there?
Maybe it’s a coach, an instructor or a mentor. Or maybe it’s the crowd, social media or somebody on the street who doesn’t care where your son or daughter ends up five years from now.
And simply putting a kid in a team sport does not automatically keep them out of trouble. Research has found some surprising associations between participation in certain sports and later arrest or incarceration. The name of the sport isn’t what makes the difference. The people around the child, the expectations being placed on them and the example being set matter.
Kenpo, Boxing, Savate, Capoeira—when taught correctly, you’re not just paying someone to teach your child how to punch or kick. You’re giving them a place to learn judgment, self-control, confidence and direction.
Nobody can guarantee a child’s future. But as a parent, you can decide who you put around them.
So when somebody says, “I’m not paying $50, $60 or $100 a month for that,” remember there can be another bill later: an attorney, a bail bondsman, court costs, fines, and consequences that cost a whole lot more money.
One choice helps prepare them for life. The other may leave you trying to repair the damage afterward.
TWO INVESTMENTS. TWO FUTURES.
Choose carefully who helps shape your child.
That is what I have been teaching now for four decades.
Professuer Buitron
