There’s only one employee we’ve had a good experience with. Mike, the instructor for Ninja class, is awesome and so good with kids! He’s very patient and a good judge of what is safe. He seems to genuinely enjoy teaching children.
However...some of the instructors don’t know what they’re doing!! It can get dangerous, especially for littles. The first class of the new year, my son suddenly had a different instructor because his previous instructor, Mike, moved gyms. This new instructor, a girl who couldn’t have been more than 5’4”, had five-year-olds doing forward flips off of a six foot ledge and onto a mat that was no more than a few inches thick (approximately). That is way too high to be doing those stunts, especially for five-year-olds who are just beginning. My friend’s son hurt his neck doing that maneuver. The kids felt pressured into doing it. If your child goes here, make sure they know that they do not ever have to do a move they’re not comfortable with. This was the reason I decided to make the longer commute to the other gym so that my son could be with his previous instructor.
Also, keep a close watch on what you’ve paid and have documentation, specifically when dealing with the lady with the white hair in a pony tail (I never did catch her name). Because what seems to happen is you will be verbally told you’re paid up THROUGH a certain month, only to later be told that what was said was you’re paid up TO the previous month. Thus, you’re charged late fees. This happened to me twice. The first time, I was confused about where she was getting her numbers but I reluctantly paid anyway thinking I had made the mistake. But the second time, I knew I was being scammed because I made it a point to write down what she said the end date was. I saved my receipt and everything. I noticed in my email that the end date was conveniently left blank, even though the start date was on there. So...Just watch your back and your wallet.
As for the facilities, I’ve been to the Pearl Harbor gym and the Waipahu gym. Out of the two, the PH gym is way better/cleaner. Just know the restrooms for the PH gym are porta-potties. The Waipahu gym is basically under a giant metal canopy and it is a shared space with what appears to be something like a restore/goodwill/salvation army/scraps type business.
I wanted to like Hawaii Academy...but because most of the staff was rude/untrained and we were getting surprise charges added to our account...today was our last day.