Opening a school in a small town...questions

[Azmyth]

Hi,

 

I haven't posted in a while...

 

I'm a low rank blue belt in Tae Kwon Do.

 

I have to go through high rank blue, low rank red, high rank red, reccomended black belt, and then black belt.

 

I would like to open a small dojang in a town nearby where my school is, but in another town. The area I live in is so monopolized by only having one school within an hour radius. I would like to open options for people to choose. I know I have a ways to go.. but this is something I have thought about doing for a long time.

 

I wanted to know about what u have to do in order to become an instructor.. what certification one would need.. if any. My teacher is the type that will not give out info, clearly.. since he is kind of in it for the money which sometimes I wish there was somewhere else I could go because of that. I'm learning alot.. but at a price. The classes are full of unruly kids who have no manners, who often times forget to wear their uniforms, who talk back to the instructor.

 

Anyhoo.. I just would like to go on my own, and not be affiliated with this school. I want to either be independent or be a member of another affiliate. I intend to rent a small building, and start off with the very basic needed to gain some students. I will probably do this along with my normal job until I can see that I can support my family with the school alone. I just need to know how to get "certified" to teach. Our instructor doesn't allow for assistance in class.. but I have trained professional wrestlers.. (former pro wrestler) So I have exp. in teaching. I'm 22 right now.. but I would be older by the time I open this school... any help would be nice.

[CanuckMA]

Need your BB, preferably 3rd or 4th Dan. Are you going to associate? Who is going to recognize your gradings?

[equaninimus]

A) I would probably wait until I was at least 2d dan.

 

B) As others have mentioned, test the waters first with a parks and rec type program. There is no overhead for you that way, and they also have insurance that will cover you.

 

C) Get friendly with local schools, charitable organizations, etc... Offering free women's self defence, or general self defence classes will go a long way toward generating students.

 

D) Go to local tournaments, and do well. You need to get to be on friendly terms with other MA in your area.

 

E) Take an EMT-Basic class, coaching classes, and other sorts of courses that would be helpful. Most can be accessed at a community college.

 

F) Spend the money for an annual criminal background check, and have the results somewhere in your brochure.

 

A little background. I worked as a paramedic in rural Nebraska for six months in the later 1980s, and "inherited" a "karate" class, that I promptly ran into the ground, so this advice is offerend with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight.

[granmasterchen]

first aid and cpr

 

lots of advertising

 

make friends with the community

 

get as much martial arts knowledge as you can

 

have a second job, that way you dont have to struggle for money, make the school your hobby or something not your primary job, if you make it your primary job you may become an instructor just looking to pay the rent, charging lots of money and falling away from your teachings...

[karatekid1975]

All good advice here. My personal opinion would be, wait till you get to 4th dan. You are a TKD person so I would suggest reading the book from Yeon Hwan Park (Black Belt Tae Kwon Do). In the back of the book, there is sound advice about openning a school. He strongly suggests that you should wait till 4th dan, and I agree with him.

 

After that, like it was said above, start at a rec center or YMCA. Build a good student base and get your name out there. Take a course in small business management, and first aid. Make sure you have something to fall back on (job-wise) incase it doesn't work out.

 

I wish you luck

[White_Tiger]

Sure...wait until 4th DAN!!! Of course that is 7 years down the road, and about 3 or 4 other schools will be moved in by then!! Listen...I started running my school as a 1st DAN. I have learned a tremendous amount since then, but I was as good as the other schools in town at the time. Sounds as if the only game in town is not a good one, and you recognize this. Get your 1st DAN, offer solutions to the current schools problems, and you will do fine.

 

GO FOR IT!!! Let me know if I can help!

[monkeygirl]

I don't think you really need an association/federation at this point...my school was never part of one. They may be helpful later down the road if you find one you like (or if you join your master's association). But for now, I think they charge admission fees and membership fees and whatnot, which isn't exactly the best thing, financially speaking, for a brand-new school. Then again, I'm going completely off of assumption, I've never owned or started a school before....after all, I'm still only 16.

 

I'm sure we probably have people here on KF who started their schools both ways: with and without a federation.

[tommarker]

I think you need to at least be a 6th dan... at least that's what I've heard. Maybe by then, all the competition will have died off.

[Shorinryu Sensei]

What has already been mentioned, I agree with, except the high ranking black belt part. 1st Degree, IMHO, is fine for starting a new dojo/dojang. However, if you're a blue belt now, not many (if any) people will want to take classes from you just because of your experience level. Also, and I don't know how old you are, if you're under 21 years of age, many won't take classes from you for the same reason. No real life experiences yet to draw upon.

 

My suggestion is to stick with your dojang and get at LEAST one black belt before striking out on your own. A black belt at least gives the general public the perception that you know what you're doing....whether or not you really do!

 

Also, from my experiences watching many TKD classes, a blue belt level student barely (and I stress barely) has enough knowledge other than very basic techniques, let alone anything of a more advanced level in techniques and self-defense.