Are you paying your instructors?

[Lupin1]

That's how it is at my school. The kids pay $1 a class just to help buy and maintain our (sparse) equipment. For adults it's free, so the vast majority of the adults come in early and volunteer with the kids' classes to help out and give back to the club.

why don't the adults chip in?

I think most do at some point. I know I've thrown a $20 at them here and there and most of the adults have bought bos or kicking paddles or things to donate to the club along the way. We just don't do it on a regular basis like we ask the kids to mostly because the adult program isn't entirely official or sponsored by the club. Right now (besides the founding instructors) it consists entirely of people who started out in the kids' program and didn't want to quit after we aged out, so we come, help out with the kids' class, then stay and work with each other for 45 mins or so afterwards.

[devil dog]

Our instructors are paid but it is not much. Most of us do it for free because we love what we are doing and have full time jobs.

Most only charge their students enough to maintain the schools and pay their instructors, what amounts to their dues and what they would pay for instruction. Most opt to just barter as you said. Free classes and no dues intern for instructing classes. Now the head instructors of some of our schools do charge more than others and pay their instructors more but most only charge enough to keep the school operational.

I have never had any of my instructors come to me to ask for a raise because they know that I am not charging even close to half of what the big chain dojo's charge their students. It's kind of a toss up. Pay the instructors more and charge more or charge less and pay them less.

It's pretty simple math really. I personally do not take money for my instruction and instead put it right back into my schools in the form of equipment and such. I work full time and if I wasn't running my schools I'd be teaching in my back yard every night for free because I love what I am doing. For me it's not about the money. It's about passing on the art to worthy students.

Having said that I am not opposed to those that do it full time and make their living off of teaching or being compensated for their time, especially if they are teaching for the head instructor. In fact it's great that they are able to do that.

I'd rather keep my students, which for the most part could not afford what the big chains charge and some can barely afford to pay what I charge them.