Cost of Martial Arts Instruction in U.S. vs. U.K.

[Dobbersky]

A $100.00 should cover you most places unless you're in a MAJOR metropolitian area. Even BJJ schools in the Chicago suburbs will rarely run over one and a quarter.

Wow this dear (is it $100 a month)!!!, in the UK we tend to have pay as you attend£5 or monthly of around £20 to £40 a month

There's a big difference in what charged between the 2 countries, I wonder if its similar in other countries too

[Patrick]

Your comment piqued by curiosity, Dobbersky. So, I did a little research to see if there was a great disparity.

£5 = $7.80

£20 - £40 a month = $31.19 - $62.38 a month

Wouldn't you say that "in the U.K." too vague? I am sure that you can find $7.80 per class or $31.19-$62.38 a month in plenty of places in the U.S. But, price can vary, based on any number of factors. On geographic location, on physical location (downtown, convenient, safe area, not safe area, etc.) on the type of school, on whether the teachers do it full time, on other, club related benefits and access, etc.

Alex said $100 should cover you in a major metropolitan area. Manchester is a decent sized city, from what I know. I looked it up on Wikipedia, and I'm not sure how accurate this is, but it says that there is a population of 498,800 in the city and 2.6 million in the metro area.

Chicago, according to Wikipedia, has 2.7 million in the city alone. The city itself is the Manchester metro. The Chicago metro is 9.8 million. This would be more comparable to London, which is 7.8 million and 13.9 million, respectively.

I did some Google searches for "downtown London martial arts" and "downtown London martial arts pricing" (no quotes on both) and it seems like many schools are hesitant to put pricing online. But, on the first page of results on Google.co.uk, I found:

http://www.londonfightfactory.com/costs (a one time joining fee of £25/$39.01, plus £90/$140.36 monthly for unlimited classes, £70/$109.17 for three classes a week and £55/$85.84 for two classes per week)

http://www.kravmaga-eastlondon.com/ (no pricing, but they sell a "beginner's package," which is £60/$93.57 for 10 classes)

http://bmsmartialart.com/studying-bms-2/studying-bms (£70/$109.17 introductory fee and then £70/$109.17 monthly or $467.85 per term, which run from 13 to 15 weeks)

http://www.centrallondonshodokanaikido.co.uk/ (£60/$93.57 monthly, plus annual membership and insurance fee of £30/$46.79)

http://www.changshapkido.net/london/ (£75/$116.96 registration fee, plus monthly tuition of £110/$171.64 for unlimited classes, £80/$124.76 for five classes a week, £70/$109.17 for three classes a week and £60/$93.57 for two classes a week, plus various fees for uniforms, grading, etc.)

So, I don't know if there is a great disparity here. I am sure that, in London, you can also find many lower priced martial arts classes, as well. But, they offer different things, different experiences and different levels of service.

Hope this helps!

Patrick

[Wastelander]

@ Patrick - You will certainly be able to find comparable pricing in the UK to the US, but I think that the key is that the gap is much wider--you are going to find lower prices for training in the UK than you will in the US, with some exceptions. Judo in the US is sometimes free, and when it isn't it tends to run between $40 and $60 per month. That said, most other martial arts training tends to start at $80 and go up from there, with about $110 being the average. That's been my experience, at least.

[Patrick]

Hey Wastelander,

You mentioned $40-$60, but that is essentially (give or take a few dollars) what Dobbersky said that they "tend" to pay in the U.K. Although obviously many places charge much more. With that in mind, would you say that it is difficult in the U.S. to find a school that charges between $31.19 and $62.38 monthly?

Patrick

[tallgeese]

I think, across the US, you could easily find schools in the 40-60 dollars/month range. It's just not going to be in the suburbs where I live, or will be severely restricted on access (times/week).

In fact, the school I started in (and got GREAT training in by the way that has served me well ever since) was a mere $20 per month for two nights a week. Granted, this was in a tiny town in southern IL. Where I live now, you'll not see this price for anything, even with restricted days.

For the $100-$125 per month you'll find at most schools (towards the 80-100 for traditional karate schools, nearer the 125-135 for BJJ) you'll also find unlimited class attendance. So, if you have the time, you'll end up going 5 times plus per week.

[Groinstrike]

I think, across the US, you could easily find schools in the 40-60 dollars/month range. It's just not going to be in the suburbs where I live, or will be severely restricted on access (times/week).

In fact, the school I started in (and got GREAT training in by the way that has served me well ever since) was a mere $20 per month for two nights a week. Granted, this was in a tiny town in southern IL. Where I live now, you'll not see this price for anything, even with restricted days.

For the $100-$125 per month you'll find at most schools (towards the 80-100 for traditional karate schools, nearer the 125-135 for BJJ) you'll also find unlimited class attendance. So, if you have the time, you'll end up going 5 times plus per week.

You wouldn't believe the amount of people that complained when they raised the price of a monthly membership from $20 to $30. This being at the same gym that tallgeese referred to, cost of living here is very low and we sometimes forget what other people have to pay for what we take for granted.

[MasterPain]

I think, across the US, you could easily find schools in the 40-60 dollars/month range. It's just not going to be in the suburbs where I live, or will be severely restricted on access (times/week).

In fact, the school I started in (and got GREAT training in by the way that has served me well ever since) was a mere $20 per month for two nights a week. Granted, this was in a tiny town in southern IL. Where I live now, you'll not see this price for anything, even with restricted days.

For the $100-$125 per month you'll find at most schools (towards the 80-100 for traditional karate schools, nearer the 125-135 for BJJ) you'll also find unlimited class attendance. So, if you have the time, you'll end up going 5 times plus per week.

You wouldn't believe the amount of people that complained when they raised the price of a monthly membership from $20 to $30. This being at the same gym that tallgeese referred to, cost of living here is very low and we sometimes forget what other people have to pay for what we take for granted.

Let me note that that $30 also gets you into aerobics, yoga, 24 hour access to weights, treadmills, exercise bikes and such. And we tend to have class 4 nights a week.

[Wastelander]

Hey Wastelander,

You mentioned $40-$60, but that is essentially (give or take a few dollars) what Dobbersky said that they "tend" to pay in the U.K. Although obviously many places charge much more. With that in mind, would you say that it is difficult in the U.S. to find a school that charges between $31.19 and $62.38 monthly?

Patrick

I did mention that price, but that was for Judo, specifically--it tends to be a very cheap art as far as the cost to train in it. I haven't, personally, seen karate any less than $70 per month unless it was free from someone teaching out of their home, although I've heard of people teaching it in park buildings for $5 a month. I haven't seen BJJ cost any less than $90 per month and have seen it as high as $225. As mentioned, I'm sure there are places out there that have very low costs for their martial arts classes but they are probably in very small communities or have very small windows of time in which to train. There are exceptions to every rule, but I think that if you averaged the cost of training martial arts in the US and training them in the UK, the cost would be less in the UK and that is because there are more schools in the lower end of the price range there than in the US. I could be wrong, of course, but that seems to be the impression I get from martial artists on the other side of the pond.

[Patrick]

Thanks for sharing that, Wastelander. I went ahead and gave this it's own thread.

Thanks,

Patrick

[Lrtucker]

£5 = $7.80

£20 - £40 a month = $31.19 - $62.38 a month

Patrick, I think that comparing teh price after converting it is kind of unfair. A better comparison would be the price in pounds per lesson compared to the average income in the UK versus US class pricing compared to US average income. Please allow me to digress from martial arts to explain my thought:

I studied in London twice in college and saw similiar logic being applied by cohorts regarding exchange rate. It is unfair to think about the pound to dollar conversion if your income is in pounds.

My fellow students would always claim that England was very expenseive because a bottle of water cost $2 (1 pound- with a 2:1 exchange in 2004) at a conviences store in the UK versus $1 at home in North Carolina. I would always bring up the point that if you make $100 in the US and buy a $1 water it is the exact same price if you were buying making $100 pounds and buying a 1 pound water.

If Dobersky (assuming his income is in pounds that have been exchanged at a 1:1.56 rate) comes to the US to visit and pays $5 US for my class he is actually paying 3 pounds 20. Clearly, that would be cheaper for him than a US based student.