Hi all,

For those who are in the management game of their school or operate as a "head instructor" underneath their CI.

How much were you charged or offered to pay to have an instructor to come out to your school? and how did it differ if they were an interstate or international instructor?

People like Jesse Enkamp Sensei or Patrick McCarthy Hanshi could theoretically charge a decent amount, as they are well respected authority figures. And that is in part how they earn their living, by doing seminars.

It varies pretty widely. My Sensei used to charge $500, plus travel/lodging, and I charge a bit less than that, but I believe big name international instructors tend to charge over $1000, plus travel/lodging. With a big enough name, and in the right area, you can usually pull in enough attendees to cover the costs, but it can be tough.

It depends on who it is and how much of a pull they have. At the very least you can expect to pay travel and hotel expenses.

Coming at it from the other side, the most I've paid to attend a course was €250 for a 2 day course.

It varies pretty widely. My Sensei used to charge $500, plus travel/lodging, and I charge a bit less than that, but I believe big name international instructors tend to charge over $1000, plus travel/lodging. With a big enough name, and in the right area, you can usually pull in enough attendees to cover the costs, but it can be tough.

i'm guessing those seminars were primarily in the US?

Being in Australia, I feel like it would put a lot of people off purely because of the expenses.

It varies pretty widely. My Sensei used to charge $500, plus travel/lodging, and I charge a bit less than that, but I believe big name international instructors tend to charge over $1000, plus travel/lodging. With a big enough name, and in the right area, you can usually pull in enough attendees to cover the costs, but it can be tough.

i'm guessing those seminars were primarily in the US?

Being in Australia, I feel like it would put a lot of people off purely because of the expenses.

Yes, this is in the US, but now I'm wondering if I misunderstood your question. I thought you were asking about the cost to the hosting school? The cost to attendees is definitely not the same--generally, the host sets the price per attendee in order to recoup the costs of bringing the instructor out, and depends on both the cost and the number of training hours. For example, a seminar that's just a couple hours might be $30-60. A weekend can range anywhere from $100 to $300, depending on who is teaching. Some special seminar events, like Jesse Enkamp's KNX, can cost more like $600, but that's pretty rare.

Our CI periodically brings in high-level instructors for seminars -- since I've been attending, he has brought James Thompson (judan, his instructor, president of our organizatiton), Darin Yee (kudan, president of the IUKF), and Seishi Itokazu (kudan Matayoshi Kobudo, judan Uechi-Ryu) in to run seminars and advanced dan examinations. I am not sure what the guest instructors charge, but our costs for the seminars have been very reasonable (less than $100).

I hope as COVID starts to get under control, we can see more guest instructors in the future.

What I've done for the most part is trade. I'll go to their dojo and then they'll come to mine, and vice versa. When that doesn't pan out, and they're not charging an arm and a leg, then I'll meet their cost.

Hosting one’s seniors and instructor is one of the ways that might be possible to pursue training if opening a dojo/school.

On this note, I'm available for summer seminars. Fly me, hotel me, feed me, pay me what you feel is appropriate, it's all good. I like to travel and go new places.

Just kidding...I'm old, beat to heck, and very opinionated and will tell you as I see it, like it or not.

This topic is interesting. When there are no others to train with nearby and one’s instructor live too far away. 

for everyone, what is required for inviting the head of your style or high seniors to teach? Being a karate orphan can be challenging, especially when the hanshi and even the nearest senior is an 6~8 hour flight away.