Belt Testing Fees?

[JMC]

Hello,

I am new this forum as well as Martial Arts in general. I have always wanted to take a Martial Arts class but until now never had the time

or the money. Recently though we enrolled my 5 year old son into

a training program and he loves it. I also saw a big change in him

so I decided to join as well. So far I love it and everyone there is

great but my wife has issue with the Belt testing fees. It is $30.00 for

my son to test and $50.00 for me to test. I dont really mind the price

and for me Karate is not about the Belt rank so much as it is for

fitness. I really like the instructor but I do not want to test unless I am

really ready for the next rank. Is this standard practice ? My wife sees it as sort of paying a bribe to get to the next rank. What do you think????

[ninjanurse]

Testing fee are common at many schools and can depend on many things. For instance: costs of belts and certificates, paying instructors extra to be there, visiting VIP guests from the association or other schools, etc. Some schools build these fees into their monthly costs, others don't and charge per test. Personally I have paid fees up to 350 dollars and I have never considered it a bribe...only an honor.

[Aodhan]

Hello,

I am new this forum as well as Martial Arts in general. I have always wanted to take a Martial Arts class but until now never had the time

or the money. Recently though we enrolled my 5 year old son into

a training program and he loves it. I also saw a big change in him

so I decided to join as well. So far I love it and everyone there is

great but my wife has issue with the Belt testing fees. It is $30.00 for

my son to test and $50.00 for me to test. I dont really mind the price

and for me Karate is not about the Belt rank so much as it is for

fitness. I really like the instructor but I do not want to test unless I am

really ready for the next rank. Is this standard practice ? My wife sees it as sort of paying a bribe to get to the next rank. What do you think????

Unless you are training in a garage or backyard, probably 99% of dojangs (dojo's, etc) that you go to will have testing fees. These cover the cost of the belts, instructor/class time, fees to national governing bodies, etc.

It also ensures that if you move, you can go to the same style at a different school, present your rank certificates and have them honored (Barring any long downtimes.)

$30 and $50 are about average for what I know of various styles. For my style, my midterms (Once you get the BB rank in the ATA, you have midterms between your belt tests to test progress in the rank), cost $25 per, and belt tests start at $100 for 1st degree and go up slightly each rank. (My 2nd degree was $150, I think my third degree will be around $200).

Aodhan

[Ryokeen]

Testing fee are common at many schools and can depend on many things. For instance: costs of belts and certificates, paying instructors extra to be there, visiting VIP guests from the association or other schools, etc. Some schools build these fees into their monthly costs, others don't and charge per test. Personally I have paid fees up to 350 dollars and I have never considered it a bribe...only an honor.

In another point of veiw, it get's you to solidly think if you really know all that's required. It's a way of saying, look you'll waste 50.00 if you're really unsure. That'd make me train harder. Luckily we don't have to pay anything for belts. But the tests are often hard and confusing lol. Our blackbelt test is atleast 6-9 hours long. AT the very LEAST. I wounder how long my sensei's was. His sensei was very sinceare(sp) about the martial arts and made sure my sensei knew everything like the back of his hand.

Anyways I feel that's a good idea. Just explain to your wife that you aren't just paying for a chance, there's alot of costs for the schools leader and most of the money fi not all will go twords getting everything straitend up.

Aaron

[usc96]

For what it's worth, our testing fees are $20 for the lower ranks.

[Shorinryu Sensei]

Myself, I don't charge any testing fees, provide certificates at no charge, and the student buys their own belt. $350 for a belt test is, IMHO, totally outragous ninjanurse!

[ninjanurse]

You should have been there!!

Well worth the cash.

[karatekid1975]

I agree! Heidi worked her butt off for that money! She earned it!

Anyways, she is part of our "org" but different schools. I pay $5.00 for testing fees (I'm only a color belt). That pays for the belt and the cert. I'm at the main school. The sister schools pay more ($30 or more, I believe).

My old dojang charged $35. But that paid for the belt, the cert (from the main school) the instructors, the boards to break, and what was left went back to the school for gear.

[White Warlock]

My wife sees it as sort of paying a bribe to get to the next rank. What do you think????

I agree with your wife. And Ninjanurse, i agree with SS.

I agree! Heidi worked her butt off for that money! She earned it!

So then, why did she have to pay?

Unless you are training in a garage or backyard, probably 99% of dojangs (dojo's, etc) that you go to will have testing fees. These cover the cost of the belts, instructor/class time, fees to national governing bodies, etc.

Then i guess 99% of dojangs are doing something i don't agree with. Oh, and i only attended 'one' school (out of the 'many' i studied at) that had testing fees ($10 for the belt and certificate), so i don't agree with your percentages.

[tkdBill]

A testing fee is never a "bribe" to get to the next rank. Just because a student pays a testing fee does not influence whether or not he passes. (I have plenty of "no changes" at my testings)

There is nothing wrong with an instructor charging for his services unless his services are not worth anything. Some instructors may charge more for the monthly fee and nothing for testing, others charge less per month but charge a testing fee. Either way, the instuctor should be paid what he is worth. If his monthly fees + testing fees exceed his value, then don't train with him.

In my own experience in suburban Dallas, martial arts training (including testing fees) cost less than tennis, dance, cheer, or gymnastic training. In my opinion, MA training is more valuable than any of those.

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