Kru Mark DellaGrotte of Sityodtong Muay Thai recently dropped in for a seminar at ZenQuest.  A great group showed up on Saturday, March 26th, for our first seminar since the pandemic hit.  As usual, Kru Mark did not disappoint with over two hours of solid knowledge that benefitted everyone there.
This time Kru started out by focusing on the principles of footwork in the ancient art.  Next he reviewed important concepts in shadow boxing.  He finished with some incredible drills for executing strong kicks.
Kru Mark is widely known as one of the top Muay Thai masters in the world.  His knowledge of this amazing martial art is only surpassed by his ability to communicate and help others improve their game.
Thanks to everyone who participated in the seminar and special thanks to Kru Mark and Marie DellaGrotte for making this happen!

The original plan for ZenQuest when it opened in the Lenox Commons Plaza back in 2010 included two training rooms for classes, plus a fitness room.  For years, the fitness room had basic equipment in it like treadmills, an exercise bike, a squat rack and bench, and a variety of other fitness and training gear.  When the pandemic hit, most of the bigger equipment items were removed from this room to allow for one way traffic through the building and the addition of more punching bags (used primarily for individual Muay Thai training.) 
Now that the pandemic is winding down this space is going to be repurposed to expand the back training room.  This is partly because the fitness room has been notoriously under-utilized during the time it was available to students.  It is also becoming necessary due to the fact that some of the classes at ZenQuest are often filled with students.  Expanding training room 2 will allow us to accommodate the larger classes at the school better going forward.
The plan is to remove the wall separating the back training room and the fitness room to create one large space.  The existing main entry into the back room will be closed off so that the entry into the new room will be the door into the existing fitness room.  Additional mats have already been ordered to match the existing black mats in the back room.  The new room will include some Karate decorations so that some of the biggest children’s classes can be held there.
Once plans are finalized and the proper permits are in place the expansion project work will begin.  The goal is to do this in a way that does not disrupt the class schedule at all.  Based on the expected delivery of the mats the project will likely be completed in July of this year.

In recent years ZenQuest has been recognized as the best martial arts school in it’s home area...the beautiful Berkshires.  However, it is also a family run business that has survived many challenges, including two years of the COVID19 pandemic.  With all of the crazy trials and adjustments we’ve gone through during that time, there has been some confusion recently on the part of some students about our membership and tuition policies.  We will review those here and offer some additional options that can make things easier for everyone.
For years now we’ve offered an autopay or ‘subscription’ option for membership here at ZenQuest.  This the most convenient and low-maintenance choice available to our students.  It also provides a discounted rate AND locks the student’s tuition so that it cannot increase for as long as they remain enrolled with it.  To activate an “EasyPay” enrollment, students simply fill out a form designating an account to make payments from, and that’s it!  This is best for serious students who want to attend classes on a continuous basis for a longer period of time.  
As an alternative to our EasyPay autopayment option, students can now choose to receive monthly reminders in the form of an invoice sent by email.  This will also provide an option to simply pay via the invoice on a monthly basis.  Although this offers a lot of convenience, it does not provide the other benefits that our EasyPay does.  This may work well for students who are somewhat seasonal or just not comfortable with a subscription type of commitment.  This is only available on a monthly basis.
Students and parents who choose to enroll with incremental memberships paid in person must realize that they are ultimately responsible for making payments according to their chosen increments of time (one to twelve months.)  This ‘old school’ system requires them to keep track of their tuition dues dates and make payments on or before those dates.  We do our best to provide helpful reminders on the attendance sheets at the front desk, but students need to use these sheets and respond when a reminder is present.  In situations where younger students sign themselves in but cannot respond to reminders it is, again, the caregivers’ responsibility to keep track of tuition.
Given the fact that space is at a premium at the gym/dojo at this point, we are going to have to start being a bit more strict with some enrollment policies going forward.  For students who seem to struggle with the incremental enrollments we recommend our EasyPay or Invoice payment options.  Either of these can easily solve any problems with tuition. For those who want to stick with incremental enrollments in person, we ask that you stay mindful of tuition due dates and make payments accordingly.  Students who prove to be unable to do that will ultimately be given a choice between the EasyPay and Invoice options.
Going forward students will not be allowed to attend classes without an active membership.  Also, for tuition payments made more than five days after a student’s due date a $10 late fee will be charged.  These policy items are actually noted in the registration paperwork that each student or parent signs at the student’s initial enrolment.  We’ve been lax about this recently, but need to resume enforcing these rules again. 
Please contact us if you have any questions on this or would like to go ahead with ZenQuest’s Easy Pay or Invoice options.