Overhead has a ton to do with it I'm fortunate to have a very favorable deal for my space so I charge $75 per month flat rate come to as many classes as you want. My retention rate is good and I probably make more per student that most but it's only due my low overhead.
70-75 a month is what I look for in a martial arts school. I really dislike the paying per lesson stuff and think it's very sketchy imo, especially since I've trained exclusively at places with monthly fees instead of going off lessons.
Something about the monthly rate for unlimited classes seems right to me and gives me more incentive to go to as many lessons as possible
I will always be flat rate come when you can, we have too many other activities to compete with these days so if a student shows up I will teach them. My rate will vary if my overhead situation changes.
I'm also no contract so I need to have a good retention rate.
That's how my last Hapkido place was and it was amazing. Good on you for not gouging your students, I found a place here for Judo that's very similarly priced to your school (thank God lol)
Thanks this is a labor of love to be honest we keep a year's worth of rent and insurance in the bank and we put the rest back in. I have a partner and we both have full time jobs so our focus is on growing the school and putting out a quality product. We only test twice a year and our testing fees are $30. I'm no where near retirement age but the goal is to have this established to keep me busy when I do.
Yes USD. Actually I just left class tonight at the Goju Ryū place and he’s only going to charge me $85 because I’m a veteran. The Shuri Ryū place charges $180 for a 12 month contract and $150 for a 24 month contract. The Goju place has no contracts.
I have no clue. Besides why does that matter? That’s completely up to the instructor if he wants to offer that to others. He offered it to me and I’m grateful for that
That’s a matter of opinion. You can think and believe whatever you want to. I don’t need you to reply back. I’ve gotten nothing beneficial from your responses
> That’s a matter of opinion
No it isn't.
>You can think and believe whatever you want to.
I don't get the point of this when people say this, it's tautological.
>I’ve gotten nothing beneficial from your responses
Are you on phony VA disability? Most veterans are.
What specifically in what I wrote makes you think that? It sounds like you just can't fathom someone wouldn't blindly worship the military and has no frame of reference for how militaristic the US is. For the most part, the US military is not a service, they are a disservice. People providing a real service receive a fraction of the benefits and acknowledgement, if any, the military gets. Teachers, firefighters, healthcare providers, sanitation workers, Americorps, various state and federal agencies, they are actually serving and doing beneficial things for society.
1. I’m a firefighter and will be a veteran soon in a few months.
And 2. What’s up your ass dude? I get it, most of us in the military don’t like when people say “thank you for your service” and we even celebrate when we get our discharge paperwork.
3. I only asked what country you’re from cuz the reply you had earlier just sounded like you’re from a country other than America.
And last of all, chill out. You bring all this hostility from a fucking Reddit post about karate gym fees.
Our Dojo is $100 +$50 for each additional family member. It helps that it is also a general fitness center so those gym memberships help also cover costs for the facility.
Interesting. That’s little more than half of what San Jose wing Chun charges. They charge $350 initiation fee and $300 a month. The , Ben Der, is a former high school classmate of Bruce Lee. I guess you’re not only paying for learning Wing Chun instruction, you are also learning Bruce Lee history as well. By the way, the school is not the instructors full-time job he has another business, which is his full-time job if I remember correctly
Actually, I don’t pay that tuition since I’m not enrolled. But others do my guess is it’s silicon valley and many of the students are probably well paid software engineers. The school is San Jose wing chun.
Some of these prices seem extreme to me. I pay about $30 a month for two family members total. We can attend as many classes as we want (4 per week, 2-3 hours per session). I'm not sure if karate style matters but it is shotokan.
When I was training shito ryu in Riverside, CA they charged me $60-$70 for the month to train as much as i wanted 4 days/week. I'd get there at 530, help with the kids class as a warm up and reminder for me then stay for the adult class till 730/8pm. They also held non-profit status so it all went to overhead.
Nope! A ghetto part of the Pacific Northwest. The $400 one was in a town known for gang violence and drug addicts, far from a high-income area. Just insane rent prices for the space I'd assume.
I may have learned in a renovated section of an actively used tractor garage in the middle of a vineyard in rural Alabama, but at least he only charged us $20 a month and gave us everything for free or just didn't require it. Sensei Jackie was a corrections officer by profession, so the fees were pretty much just to pay for the AC and stuff.
None of this "$50 per belt test also we have 5 stripes for every one of our 15 kyu ranks that you test for separately" either. He'd just kick your ass a little harder that day, then randomly make you perform kata in the middle of the room, and if you make the cut he slapped a new belt on you. He'd also just do this regularly, so you never knew when you were just training or being evaluated for promotion.
This whole price environment is why I made a little club where I teach my friends, because all of us are far too broke for any of the dojos around and they're all children-focused point sparring dojos that spar once a week as a special treat. This way we can focus on practical self-defense, as that's my background, and only pay for our actual equipment. (That and the after-training weed with the "students", as we're all adults and otherwise friends outside of training)
Agree 100%. I'll never understand the paying for belt bullshit and have never experienced it in 32 years of being alive.
Me and my buddies were spar a little bit when I was doing Muay Thai. Usually beers were involved lol
I may have learned in a renovated section of an actively used tractor garage in the middle of a vineyard in rural Alabama, but at least he only charged us $20 a month and gave us everything for free or just didn't require it. Sensei Jackie was a corrections officer by profession, so the fees were pretty much just to pay for the AC and stuff.
None of this "$50 per belt test also we have 5 stripes for every one of our 15 kyu ranks that you test for separately" either. He'd just kick your ass a little harder that day, then randomly make you perform kata in the middle of the room, and if you make the cut he slapped a new belt on you. He'd also just do this regularly, so you never knew when you were just training or being evaluated for promotion.
This whole price environment is why I made a little club where I teach my friends, because all of us are far too broke for any of the dojos around and they're all children-focused point sparring dojos that spar once a week as a special treat. This way we can focus on practical self-defense, as that's my background, and only pay for our actual equipment. (That and the after-training weed with the "students", as we're all adults and otherwise friends outside of training)
100CAD to 150CAD is pretty normal monthly tuition around my parts. Number of classes vary per month based on the teacher but you can usually expect 2 to 4 classes per week in that price range.
Man this makes me appreciate my sensei. He has made his finished basement into a dojo. He instructs me and about 10 others for about 25 bucks each for a year. He says it’s for the good of the art. He wants it to spread even if only small classes. He says teaching is a passion for him and he will always want to teach others. The 25 a year is just for mats and belts as we don’t buy our own. Also got to say no testing fees help a lot. I wouldn’t be able to train at 400 a month that’s unbelievable to me.
That's the way it should be!!! It sounds like you have a good sensei, you're very fortunate! I don't understand how or why people are paying this much for karate.
Is that a month? Damn. For less than that or the same you can train at a very good BJJ school. I've never paid more than $80 a month for karate, and for a long time absolutely nothing, as my sensei at the time let me train for free.
It's a business so it's priced that way. From your POV try to see it from a cost per class. If you can get there enough days and average $15 or less then You're doing good
$150/month here, but I'm there 4-5x a week, so it's worth the money for me. My dojo has contract and month to month options without too large of a price difference, too, so there is no pressure to actually contract in and be stuck if it doesn't work out.
I only see charging per lesson if they are private lessons. Back in my day [70's & 80's] it was about 50% of the students in knew took private lessons.
You should post the location or area. I think for HCOL (San Francisco/Bay Area) areas, it's normal or more even a bit cheaper. # of available classes and lineage/rank/style is also applicable (to a degree).
Based upon previous threads, training in the US is a lot more expensive than countries (given that you used $).
I pay $4000 a year for one hour private lesson a week, plus a 2 hour group belt specific class on the weekend. Group is normally 3 to 4 students. Rate could be half that if Id use less credentialed instructor.
Its an on open dojo. So I use it about 4 days a week to practice. Usually get some side instruction from instructors present at the time. This has been very helpful.
The students get 3-4 group lessons a week and 1 private lesson a week. I think it's a great price, especially in Los Angeles. My friend's dojo rent is 15k a month. Mines not as bad but it's expensive here.
The students love it. I have students that have trained with me for 15 years or more. Do you know how many karate places just disappear after a few years? Keeping it open is the most important thing. We are good for the community. We are a positive environment for kids and an awesome place for adults to work on improving themselves, their health, and their confidence.
What's expensive to you might be cheap to someone else, so while I appreciate your opinion, I know what our school is worth. Maybe the places that charge less know what they're worth too.
It's extremely classist, it means a large segment of the population will never be able to train there. It's your school's choice to have they approach they do, they could have just as easily run it cheaply out of a community center or even a public park or some other alternative, if that $15k is actually the reason for the cost.
I can find judo dojos in all the major US cities for a fraction of the cost your place is.
Simply charging a ton of money doesn't equate to skill or knowledge. Given the awful state of karate, your school likely is not good. It's probably the typical sport centric Japanese style with a focus on the "three k's."
I don't know what that means, "three k's" but I also teach for two local cities and have given many students free training when they're not able to afford it. You don't know me, and making assumptions about me is a bit foolish.
I didn't say charging a certain amount means we have more knowledge. I said I know what my classes are worth. I dedicate myself to this full time and do a great job. I deserve to not have a broken down car and worry about teaching outdoors for 8 hours on hot summer days.
What experience do you have running a karate program or school? I'm curious if maybe you had a bad experience or if you're just, you know, talking.
Figures that's what you'd latch onto. You seem pretty negative. Maybe you're just having a bad day but I hope it gets better. Good luck with your training. Any time you're in Southern California, you're welcome to stop in and show us how amazing you are.
Overhead has a ton to do with it I'm fortunate to have a very favorable deal for my space so I charge $75 per month flat rate come to as many classes as you want. My retention rate is good and I probably make more per student that most but it's only due my low overhead.
70-75 a month is what I look for in a martial arts school. I really dislike the paying per lesson stuff and think it's very sketchy imo, especially since I've trained exclusively at places with monthly fees instead of going off lessons. Something about the monthly rate for unlimited classes seems right to me and gives me more incentive to go to as many lessons as possible
I will always be flat rate come when you can, we have too many other activities to compete with these days so if a student shows up I will teach them. My rate will vary if my overhead situation changes. I'm also no contract so I need to have a good retention rate.
That's how my last Hapkido place was and it was amazing. Good on you for not gouging your students, I found a place here for Judo that's very similarly priced to your school (thank God lol)
Thanks this is a labor of love to be honest we keep a year's worth of rent and insurance in the bank and we put the rest back in. I have a partner and we both have full time jobs so our focus is on growing the school and putting out a quality product. We only test twice a year and our testing fees are $30. I'm no where near retirement age but the goal is to have this established to keep me busy when I do.
There's a story that says Funakoshi sensei said that Karate was the discipline for "elegant people" ( $$$$) . So, there's that.
USD?
Yes USD. Actually I just left class tonight at the Goju Ryū place and he’s only going to charge me $85 because I’m a veteran. The Shuri Ryū place charges $180 for a 12 month contract and $150 for a 24 month contract. The Goju place has no contracts.
Sounds like goju for the win, great style to find too.
That's cheap
Lol what does being a veteran have to do with that? Does they also offer that discount to teachers, firemen, and sanitation workers?
I have no clue. Besides why does that matter? That’s completely up to the instructor if he wants to offer that to others. He offered it to me and I’m grateful for that
Because it's stupid and contributes to the blind hero worship Americans have for the war machine.
That’s a matter of opinion. You can think and believe whatever you want to. I don’t need you to reply back. I’ve gotten nothing beneficial from your responses
> That’s a matter of opinion No it isn't. >You can think and believe whatever you want to. I don't get the point of this when people say this, it's tautological. >I’ve gotten nothing beneficial from your responses Are you on phony VA disability? Most veterans are.
Holy shit broski. What country are you from?
What does that have to do with anything?
You phrase it in a way that sounds like you’re European or from a country getting its ass kicked by America
What specifically in what I wrote makes you think that? It sounds like you just can't fathom someone wouldn't blindly worship the military and has no frame of reference for how militaristic the US is. For the most part, the US military is not a service, they are a disservice. People providing a real service receive a fraction of the benefits and acknowledgement, if any, the military gets. Teachers, firefighters, healthcare providers, sanitation workers, Americorps, various state and federal agencies, they are actually serving and doing beneficial things for society.
1. I’m a firefighter and will be a veteran soon in a few months. And 2. What’s up your ass dude? I get it, most of us in the military don’t like when people say “thank you for your service” and we even celebrate when we get our discharge paperwork. 3. I only asked what country you’re from cuz the reply you had earlier just sounded like you’re from a country other than America. And last of all, chill out. You bring all this hostility from a fucking Reddit post about karate gym fees.
I’m $125 for two days a week
Seems normal unless you are in the middle of nowhere, then maybe 100-120. 180 is on the high side but not crazy.
Our Dojo is $100 +$50 for each additional family member. It helps that it is also a general fitness center so those gym memberships help also cover costs for the facility.
I pay the same amount but per year
that’s not bad
Interesting. That’s little more than half of what San Jose wing Chun charges. They charge $350 initiation fee and $300 a month. The , Ben Der, is a former high school classmate of Bruce Lee. I guess you’re not only paying for learning Wing Chun instruction, you are also learning Bruce Lee history as well. By the way, the school is not the instructors full-time job he has another business, which is his full-time job if I remember correctly
Jesus Christ, how do you guys afford that a month? That is absolutely insane
Actually, I don’t pay that tuition since I’m not enrolled. But others do my guess is it’s silicon valley and many of the students are probably well paid software engineers. The school is San Jose wing chun.
I pay 130 euro (43 eur per month) for three months (2x a week) in my country (Malta)
Yea, the American prices are insane! I pay 160 eur per half year. (Sweden) And I get that money back when I file taxes....
Wow, that's incredible and worth it 👌
But there is an extra 20 eur to graduate... 😆 But yea, prices here are great!
That's amazing 👏 🤩
For one year? Do it. For a month? hmm.
Some of these prices seem extreme to me. I pay about $30 a month for two family members total. We can attend as many classes as we want (4 per week, 2-3 hours per session). I'm not sure if karate style matters but it is shotokan.
bruh I pay $110 for month for access to 4 classes. But thats in AUD, so $74/month USD.
That's far more reasonable. Who are these people paying so much. Talk about a class barrier for people, dang.
Wild to see how much people are charged some places, my Goju Ryu shorei kan dojo charges $125 for 4 months
Yeah no kidding. It sounds like only wealthy people can train karate where they live, and if you're gonna pay $180 a month you may as well do BJJ.
When I was training shito ryu in Riverside, CA they charged me $60-$70 for the month to train as much as i wanted 4 days/week. I'd get there at 530, help with the kids class as a warm up and reminder for me then stay for the adult class till 730/8pm. They also held non-profit status so it all went to overhead.
Not bad, a lot of places in my area will charge double that One place I called was charging $400+
Do you live in Monte Carlo or something?
Nope! A ghetto part of the Pacific Northwest. The $400 one was in a town known for gang violence and drug addicts, far from a high-income area. Just insane rent prices for the space I'd assume.
Or so had to pay the gangs too
Literally is a scam at that price. NO martial art lesson is worth 400 a month, even if Bruce Lee himself was resurrected and teaching the classes. Lol
I may have learned in a renovated section of an actively used tractor garage in the middle of a vineyard in rural Alabama, but at least he only charged us $20 a month and gave us everything for free or just didn't require it. Sensei Jackie was a corrections officer by profession, so the fees were pretty much just to pay for the AC and stuff. None of this "$50 per belt test also we have 5 stripes for every one of our 15 kyu ranks that you test for separately" either. He'd just kick your ass a little harder that day, then randomly make you perform kata in the middle of the room, and if you make the cut he slapped a new belt on you. He'd also just do this regularly, so you never knew when you were just training or being evaluated for promotion. This whole price environment is why I made a little club where I teach my friends, because all of us are far too broke for any of the dojos around and they're all children-focused point sparring dojos that spar once a week as a special treat. This way we can focus on practical self-defense, as that's my background, and only pay for our actual equipment. (That and the after-training weed with the "students", as we're all adults and otherwise friends outside of training)
Agree 100%. I'll never understand the paying for belt bullshit and have never experienced it in 32 years of being alive. Me and my buddies were spar a little bit when I was doing Muay Thai. Usually beers were involved lol
I may have learned in a renovated section of an actively used tractor garage in the middle of a vineyard in rural Alabama, but at least he only charged us $20 a month and gave us everything for free or just didn't require it. Sensei Jackie was a corrections officer by profession, so the fees were pretty much just to pay for the AC and stuff. None of this "$50 per belt test also we have 5 stripes for every one of our 15 kyu ranks that you test for separately" either. He'd just kick your ass a little harder that day, then randomly make you perform kata in the middle of the room, and if you make the cut he slapped a new belt on you. He'd also just do this regularly, so you never knew when you were just training or being evaluated for promotion. This whole price environment is why I made a little club where I teach my friends, because all of us are far too broke for any of the dojos around and they're all children-focused point sparring dojos that spar once a week as a special treat. This way we can focus on practical self-defense, as that's my background, and only pay for our actual equipment. (That and the after-training weed with the "students", as we're all adults and otherwise friends outside of training)
What does him have another job have to do with the value of what is offered?
Sounds within the realm of reason to me. Senseis don’t grow on trees.
100CAD to 150CAD is pretty normal monthly tuition around my parts. Number of classes vary per month based on the teacher but you can usually expect 2 to 4 classes per week in that price range.
Man this makes me appreciate my sensei. He has made his finished basement into a dojo. He instructs me and about 10 others for about 25 bucks each for a year. He says it’s for the good of the art. He wants it to spread even if only small classes. He says teaching is a passion for him and he will always want to teach others. The 25 a year is just for mats and belts as we don’t buy our own. Also got to say no testing fees help a lot. I wouldn’t be able to train at 400 a month that’s unbelievable to me.
That's the way it should be!!! It sounds like you have a good sensei, you're very fortunate! I don't understand how or why people are paying this much for karate.
Is that a month? Damn. For less than that or the same you can train at a very good BJJ school. I've never paid more than $80 a month for karate, and for a long time absolutely nothing, as my sensei at the time let me train for free.
Break it down to how much per class? Per hour? If it's 150 a week, class 3 hours per week that's only 12.50 an hour.
$100 a month for Shotokan, Midwestern USA medium cost of living city. Sensei has a different full time job, the dojo is his passion project.
It's a business so it's priced that way. From your POV try to see it from a cost per class. If you can get there enough days and average $15 or less then You're doing good
I pay 145 a month for Goju, 3 classes a week at 1.5hours each.
$150/month here, but I'm there 4-5x a week, so it's worth the money for me. My dojo has contract and month to month options without too large of a price difference, too, so there is no pressure to actually contract in and be stuck if it doesn't work out.
I pay less per semester
I pay less per semester
I only see charging per lesson if they are private lessons. Back in my day [70's & 80's] it was about 50% of the students in knew took private lessons.
You should post the location or area. I think for HCOL (San Francisco/Bay Area) areas, it's normal or more even a bit cheaper. # of available classes and lineage/rank/style is also applicable (to a degree). Based upon previous threads, training in the US is a lot more expensive than countries (given that you used $).
I pay $4000 a year for one hour private lesson a week, plus a 2 hour group belt specific class on the weekend. Group is normally 3 to 4 students. Rate could be half that if Id use less credentialed instructor. Its an on open dojo. So I use it about 4 days a week to practice. Usually get some side instruction from instructors present at the time. This has been very helpful.
It depends on the area. I'm in L.A. and we charge $215 a month.
WTF
Do you mean WKF? Because no, we're not affiliated with them.
Lol. Hahaha. $215 a month for karate is insane.
The students get 3-4 group lessons a week and 1 private lesson a week. I think it's a great price, especially in Los Angeles. My friend's dojo rent is 15k a month. Mines not as bad but it's expensive here. The students love it. I have students that have trained with me for 15 years or more. Do you know how many karate places just disappear after a few years? Keeping it open is the most important thing. We are good for the community. We are a positive environment for kids and an awesome place for adults to work on improving themselves, their health, and their confidence. What's expensive to you might be cheap to someone else, so while I appreciate your opinion, I know what our school is worth. Maybe the places that charge less know what they're worth too.
It's extremely classist, it means a large segment of the population will never be able to train there. It's your school's choice to have they approach they do, they could have just as easily run it cheaply out of a community center or even a public park or some other alternative, if that $15k is actually the reason for the cost. I can find judo dojos in all the major US cities for a fraction of the cost your place is. Simply charging a ton of money doesn't equate to skill or knowledge. Given the awful state of karate, your school likely is not good. It's probably the typical sport centric Japanese style with a focus on the "three k's."
I don't know what that means, "three k's" but I also teach for two local cities and have given many students free training when they're not able to afford it. You don't know me, and making assumptions about me is a bit foolish. I didn't say charging a certain amount means we have more knowledge. I said I know what my classes are worth. I dedicate myself to this full time and do a great job. I deserve to not have a broken down car and worry about teaching outdoors for 8 hours on hot summer days. What experience do you have running a karate program or school? I'm curious if maybe you had a bad experience or if you're just, you know, talking.
You teach karate, charge over $200 a month and don't know what the 3k's are?
Figures that's what you'd latch onto. You seem pretty negative. Maybe you're just having a bad day but I hope it gets better. Good luck with your training. Any time you're in Southern California, you're welcome to stop in and show us how amazing you are.
Depends on location and level of instructor.
Id just spend that money on Boxing a Gym Membership and maybe a Nutritionist
Yes. Actually usually boxing is way cheaper.