Fees for gradings

[jaymac]

We do not test during regular class hours. We have too many students- some who will test and many who will not. It would interfere with those students who are paying a tuition to attend class and then sit and watch others test. We have to open the school on a non traditional day to do rank testing. Again, like I said, we are not charging people 50.00 to test for a yellow belt. It is a small fee to cover the dojo expenses for that day.

[Holland]

At my dojo, (https://www.capefearisshinryu.com) I only charge 10 dollars a month since I am given use of the building for free. That money mostly goes toward helping with the light bill.

My whole philosophy since I started teaching was that I did not want to do it for profit. Thus, I charge six dollars a person when they get ready to test. That simply covers the cost of the obi.

[greenbelt_girl15]

in our dojo testing is free up to two black stripes then it's $100.

[jaymac]

Holland, how long have you been teaching? The more you teach and the more students begin to talk about the awesome classes and teacher they have, the more your class base will grow and the more time and energy you will have to put into running an effective program. I think most people start out by wanting to share their knowledge for free. But as student base increases, the dojo size must increase. Thus, more time needs to be spent at dojo than at home and dojo bills pile up. Now if you are going to limit your class size and remain a small dojo, then it is understandable to not charge or minimally charge each student for class or belt testing. Think about running a dojo for over 300 students. Unfortunately, as I am sure, my head instructor wishes he could share his experience for no or little fees, it is not workable.

[Holland]

I have been running a dojo now for 5 years and I now have about 75 active students. I have promoted 10 to black belt and I am very top heavy with upper ranks...especially in my adult class.

We do a fund raiser once a year in which our kids get sponsors to pay them to stay up all night at the dojo. Half of the money goes to our church and half goes to help pay off the building (which I get to use for free) Last year we raised about 1800 bucks this way...so we had about 900 dollars to upgrade equipment.

Other costs of the dojo are taken care of by the fact that I get some of the money we collect from dues...with 75 student we get about 400 bucks in dues total a month. (I have many families that only pay 15 bucks per family and I don't charge black belts) I give more than half of that to the church and the other half goes to pay off minor expenses the dojo incurs. Students pay six bucks for their belts, which covers that cost (I use Ronin, which are quite nice for the price.)

One of the other things that I chose to do when I started this school was to only teach two nights a week. On Thursday I have the kids class (ages 8-13) from 6:00-7:15 and the adults from 7:30-9:00....we do a small chanbara class after that. On Saturday I have weapons from 2:30-3:30, kids from 4:00-5:15 and adults from 5:30-7:00.

Now, you would think that having the chance to train only twice a week would be a disadvantage, but I see it the other way around. The attendance to any given class is well over 75 percent of the total roster. There are many times when my adult class, who has about 35 participants, will have more than 30 present.

I am also really good at delegating duties...which is necessary as we continue to grow. I have a really great group of black belts, including my older brother and wife, that help with alot of class chores.

By only running two classes a week, and having such a high attendance, we have people gettting a great education, but one that does not completely dominate my time. Karate is my passion, but sadly it can not completely run my life.

As for other things...if you look at our website (https://www.capefearisshinryu.com) you will see a site totally created by me and updated by me. This creates fewer headaches than if I had to deal with a designer. My older brother (a ni-dan) is the head photographer for a pretty decent sized newspaper (New Bern, NC) and does all of the good camera work on the site.

About limiting class sizes...I have not done this yet. I do limit the number of white belts we have at any given time, because they are a time sink and I do not like to have more than 3 or 4 in class at any given point. My students always approach me when they have someone they know interested in working out. Because of word of mouth, and extremely low prices, I do not have to advertise at all.

Now the nicest part about this all is the fact that I am not financially dependent on my school...whether it be to pay my house rent or just to keep the dojo afloat. This means that I do not feel the need to keep bad eggs around just because they are dilligently paying me 50 bucks a month to train. If a student is not progressing, whether it be physically, mentally or spiritually...they might find themselves stuck at a particular rank for a very long time. What then happens is that kid, or adult in some cases, either gets with the program or quits. Either way it is win/win for the dojo.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not knocking people who charge...I understand that it is necessary for many dojos to function. I have been blessed with a church that is willing to have martial arts as an outreach ministry and provide an exceptionally nice training facility for no cost at all. I have an amazing adult class that contains right at 20 regular attendees that are over 30 years and thus are mature enough to help and be counted upon.

I am lucky in many ways that I am alllowed to teach the way I want to, and to who I want to.

[jaymac]

Holland, I meant to get back on here and tell you before your reply, I went to your website already and checked it out. Very nice. You have a great set up and a great looking group of indivduals. You are very lucky to have such a following and a church to back you up. I have heard of other individuals teaching in church basements. Usually a very small group and not a great sponsorship from the church itself. Completely different situation for you. You must be an awesome instructor to get so many students from white to black and beyond.

[Holland]

Actually, as far as my skill as an instructor goes I think the truth of it is that I got lucky. Unlike many instructors, my first 7 black belts are age 37, 29, 38, 29, 34, 42, and 53 respectively.(number 8 and 9 are junior black belts..both 14...with number 10 being 24) This gave me a really mature instructor base that has really made a huge impact on our school. We have managed to keep older students around and their patience and skill at teaching has made all the difference in the world.

Our pastor is a wonderful person as well and has had all the faith in the world in us.

Thanks for the post and the nice comments. Glad you checked out our website!

[jaymac]

Your welcome Holland. Hope your school continues to grow and continues to do well.

[shogeri]

After 27 years, I have found that one should charge what is reasonable and fair, they are running a business afterall.

However, if it is something they truly love, then on occasion they will give it away for free.

To date, I have given away more knowledge about the arts and about the christian faith, than I have anything else.

[Holland]

I agree with that...especially if the person has bills to pay dealing with the arts.

To charge is not wrong, to gouge prices is though.