what is a karate licence? im just a bit confused as my karate dojo offers a year licence for karate and i want to know what it is

My guess is it's just a membership

My guess is it's just a membership

I would have to agree.

Some schools offer a pre-paid 12 month payment, usually with a lower per-month cost. If you see yourself sticking with karate for a while, it may be something you should look into.

Adult Joining Pack for £100 includes:

1 year membership

1 year Karate licence

Licence book

Karate suit ( Gi )

Belt

Gum Shield

Mits

1 Plymouth Karate Academy T-shirt

1 Plymouth Karate Academy car sticker

thats what i get but for £120 i get the better gi what confused me was the karate licence

Your club must be affiliated to one of the popular world karate federations and they provide you with a "licence" that needs renewal every year that notes inside your current kyu/dan grade and personal info.

Licence will be a membership to the school and their organisation. As you're in the UK, the licence fee will most likely include some kind of insurance too and certify you for competition. If you're licensed to train it usually = insured to train. Least that's how it works in TKD over here.

I pay a license fee to the KUGB annually which is required to grade, enter competitions and enables you to participate in any of the free courses offered over the year.

It also functions as a record book for your grade and does indeed offer limited insurance.

I also pay a second fee for club membership which goes towards the running cost of our club.

My guess is it's just a membership

In my experience the membership fee is usually separate. The license is normally related to the insurance and qualifies you to grade. The license (book) is also usually your grading record.

While I was training with Blair, I was grading thru the ISKF. But I never had a license, nor was I required to pay for one. The system I'm in now grades under the ASKF. No contract or license though.