Opening a class

[Underlink]

hey i do wado-ryu and i have a dan grade

could one of you give me a brief outline on how id go about opening a class

for example do i need a teachning licence

do i have to pay anythink

ect ect...?

[bushido_man96]

Are you talking about begining to teach your own classes? If this is the case, the first thing you will need is a place to teach at.

[ninjanurse]

Besides a place to hold classes you will need insurance and a business permit/license.

[ps1]

The best bet is to get ahold of a business attourney in your area or the area chamber of commerce or local government. This way they can tell you exactly what you'll need to open the school.

I've never heard of a Teaching Lisence being necessary for a martial arts school. That's usually a certification given from the orginization you're affiliated with. If you have no affiliation...you don't need one (I'm 99.9% sure on that one).

Certianly you'll need insurance. Also, make up some flyers (nothing too fancy) or news letters and see if the local town newspaper will insert them. For small distribution papers this can often be free.

Don't forget to have some students. Opening cold can be done...but you'll need to have money in the bank so you can pay for all your bills without students for at least two or three months. Just in case they are slow to come.

A game plan is also great. There's nothing more annoying than when I call an instructor and ask about what they teach. Then I get a response like...well we do this and that and this. It's like they don't know how to describe it. Know exactly how you want to describe your school. Is it self defense focused? Is it sport focused? Fitness focused? And have an answer on why you focus on what you do.

Good luck!

[Underlink]

thank you thats was great advise exactly what i was looking for im going to start proceedings in the next few months.

ill keep you posted on how its going

[DWx]

I don't know whether you're part of a club at the moment (as a student) but it might be worth asking your instructor if you could run a satellite club to start off with. He/She would also be a better person to ask for what your association (if you are affliated with one) requires. They might also know about local laws and stuff like that. ps1 has given you some v good advice though.

[Zanshin]

hey i do wado-ryu and i have a dan grade

could one of you give me a brief outline on how id go about opening a class

for example do i need a teachning licence

do i have to pay anythink

ect ect...?

Hi Underlink,

I have been teaching Wado at a club in the UK for the last ten years. Here is a brief list of things that you will need.

A good hall. Find a suitable venue. Sports centres have all the facilities but tend to charge a lot of money. You can always look at Church and Community halls etc. Make sure the floor is good and they are the correct size.

Consider the night of the week you want to teach carefully as some nights are better than others.

Insurance. You will need a sports instructor’s indemnity and (depending on the hall where you teach) you may have to have accidental damage insurance to cover the hall should you, or one of your students damage it.

My Insurance is with Perkins Slade in Birmingham. I think it is about £ 80.00 per annum.

Affiliation to Governing Body. Our club is part of a larger organisation which is necessary for Perkins Slade to issue the insurance. It’s like an umbrella policy.

CRB - Criminal Records Bureau enhanced disclosure. You will need a CRB Check, particularly if you are teaching children. Many local authorities will not allow you to hire halls if you can’t produce this.

First Aid. You need a competent first aider present during session. Again may cause you insurance problems if you don't.

A bank account. You should start an account in the name of the club. LloydsTSB have a small business' and charities account, which is Ideal.

A child protection policy. These can be obtained from the NSPCC.

Health and Safety. Risk assessments, method statements, and student health records.

It sounds like a lot of fuss but once you have it in place you can go about the business of teaching Karate.

[Underlink]

thats great i will get o that.

i have a problem now though see i live in birmingham and i am at uni in stafford and i only coem home on the weekends and i train myself on a saturday. and i only coem hoem every OTHER weekend

so i cant open in birmingham as i cant offer many lessons

and i cant open in staffs as im only here for another 2 years and its unfair to close down a class after 2 years. as the students wont get to finish there training.

[Zanshin]

thats great i will get o that.

i have a problem now though see i live in birmingham and i am at uni in stafford and i only coem home on the weekends and i train myself on a saturday. and i only coem hoem every OTHER weekend

so i cant open in birmingham as i cant offer many lessons

and i cant open in staffs as im only here for another 2 years and its unfair to close down a class after 2 years. as the students wont get to finish there training.

I'm confused. Surely you knew this a while back, so how come you were thinking about opening a club?

My advise to you is to get your studies finished first, then look at starting a club when your position is a bit more stable.

There is no rush. Learn as much as you can first (Karate that is). Remember, what you get out of the sausage machine is only as good as you put in.

[Sensei Rick]

How about a plan..... you need a plan to get someone from white belt to black belt. You need a curriculum. You need communication skills. You need to understand your own black belt before you can give someone else one. You need to understand feedback. You need customers. You need time to think about whether or not you wanna really get into this.

And you need a reason.... a darn good one... why people should stay with you for 5 years and earn a black belt. and the reason shouldn't be so i can make some extra money and I have a black belt. If you need money go to work at wall mart. I've been a teacher full time for 7 years and part time for my whole adult life. It's tuff and it gets tuffer every year.