How much do you pay to train?

[Zujitsuka]

I'm just curious how much guys from other parts of the U.S. and Canada pay for martial arts training.

I live in New York City and one would be hard pressed to find a school that offers instruction for less than $100 per month.

Thanks in advance for responding.

[tarabos]

$0.00 a month for instructors...:D

but i believe our school charges around $90 a month. which i feel is pretty darn expensive for the area we are in, especially when you are competing with the local TKD/$KravMaga$/Napmamania martial arts school down the street. they charge about $100 a month.

i've always felt 60-70 was more reasonable, but you would most likely have to have a day job if you wanted to eat charging that kind of tuition.

but yeah, in NY...i imagine the rent for a school is outrageous, so you'd have to charge a good amount. i mean, rent is bad enough around me, so i can't imagine what it would be in your area.

[cali_tkdbruin]

It's expensive out here in L.A. too, $90-95 a month, and one pays an extra fee to test for rank advancement... :(

You do get a tuition break if you want to go the contract route, or if you train with a family member the SBN gives the 2nd family member a price break.

[tarabos]

Originally posted by cali_tkdbruin
It's expensive out here in L.A. too, $90 a month, and one pays an extra fee to test for rank advancement... :(

You do get a tuition break if you want to go the contract route.

we have testing fees as well, but it's only $20.00. we don't have contract agreements...we're probably one of the few left in our area that doesn't require any contract agreements. you pay by the month, if you don't want to come back the next month you don't have to. we also have family rates.

[Aegis]

I pay £2 (about $3) for every 2-hour session. I train about 3 sessions a week when possible, so I pay £24 a month (about $36). Which I feel is exceedingly good value.

[Kirk]

$149.00 down, you get a gi, mouthpiece, gloves, cup, and a jock,
plus the first month. Then $59.00 a month after that.

[Withered Soul]

About £300 for a 3 year contract and unlimited access to the club. Just have to go to any lesson I want and that's it.:D

[Blindside]

$0.00 for instructors.
$40.00 for adults.
$25.00 for kids.

No belt testing fees.
There is a discout form multiple family members.
Oh, and everybody pays $10 bucks a year for insurance.

Everybody buys their gear through the school at close to wholesale prices.

Ya gotta love a non-profit studio. We just have to pay the electrical, water, and mortgage on the studio and we are golden. What profit we do make goes right back into the studio as training equipment, maintenance, and improvements.

Lamont

[Master of Blades]

Nothing! MWUAHAHA :rofl:

[tarabos]

Originally posted by Blindside
$0.00 for instructors.
$40.00 for adults.
$25.00 for kids.

No belt testing fees.
There is a discout form multiple family members.
Oh, and everybody pays $10 bucks a year for insurance.

Everybody buys their gear through the school at close to wholesale prices.

Ya gotta love a non-profit studio. We just have to pay the electrical, water, and mortgage on the studio and we are golden. What profit we do make goes right back into the studio as training equipment, maintenance, and improvements.

Lamont

sounds like a really nice deal there. you do have to love a non-profit studio. they always seem to be more dedicated to bettering the school, whether it's adding new equipment or just giving it a new paint job. granted, it may be because the profit they make HAS to go into the school or it would not be non-profit.:)

the yearly fee for insurance is a cool idea that i haven't really ever heard of before. i know insurance can really be a pain for a martial arts school. if this is your school, do you find that it helps a lot with the cost of insurance to charge a yearly fee and making it separate from the tuition?

[pesilat]

Well, I don't pay anything since it's my school. And all my instructors give me breaks (often charge me nothing) when I go to train with them.

However, here in Louisville, I teach 4 curriculums. It's $40 / month for the first curriculum. $10 / month for each additional curriculum they want to train in. So if they only want to train in one curriculum, it's $40 / month. If they want to train in 2, it's $50 / month. Etc. up to $70 / month to train in all 4 curriculums. They can switch curriculums from month to month if they're so inclined. I advocate cross training, but not jumping from one thing to the other. The primary reason people might do this would be to determine which of the 4 they like the best, then they'd settle into it to build their foundation.

People who train in more than one curriculum, I make sure that they have a "primary" and that they view the others as "supplementary."

There are 3 hours / curriculum available each week in group classes.

Mike

[Matt Stone]

Varying amounts for annual association membership (depends on grade - juniors pay $25 per year, seniors pay $35 or more).

Nothing for training. I just let Chufeng smack me around every now and then in trade... :D

When I first started, I paid $30 a month for as many classes as I could stomach, 6 days a week.

For some folks, MA just isn't about money...

I taught a class in Japan on the Army camp - for free.

I will be teaching a class here on Fort Lewis soon - for free. I will get paid (they insisted that the contract had to include some form of compensation), but will turn that money around into things for the class... Pads, uniforms for folks, etc.

Gambarimasu.
:asian:

[chaosomega]

When I used to train in Calgary, I paid $70 (cdn) a month. I was in preperation to move to my current location at the time, other wise I would have taken a 6-month commitment at $60/month.

[Blindside]

the yearly fee for insurance is a cool idea that i haven't really ever heard of before. i know insurance can really be a pain for a martial arts school. if this is your school, do you find that it helps a lot with the cost of insurance to charge a yearly fee and making it separate from the tuition?

Well, technically we aren't organized as a non-profit, but since none of the instructors are trying to make a living teaching martial arts, we pretty much treat it that way. The yearly insurance fee only partially pays for the insurance premium (about half), the rest comes out of the monthly dues. Originally we paid all of the insurance premium from dues, but as insurance costs rose we wound up adding the "insurance fee." Because our rates are fairly low it is easy to explain to people the need for a one time per year extra payment.

Lamont

[lhommedieu]

I charge $50/mo. for group instruction, although I will probably start charging per class because I have started to travel quite often, and I don't think it's fair to charge for time that I'm not there.

The Xing Yi class that I have been attending charges $60/mo.

I was charged by the class for another class that I attended - $25/class for a 4-5 hr. class. This was, however, a "closed door" kind of situation.

I pay a lower than usual $/hr. for private lessons - with the understanding that I take them on a regular basis (which I do).

Here in NYC difference between higher and lower training fees has a lot to do with rental costs and whether or not the school in question is a commercial facility. Sometimes a large school needs to rent a large training space to keep up with demand; the corresponding costs are often higher and so the students do not necessarily get a break. The teachers that I train with now teach out of their apartments.

I have found that, in general, higher costs do not necessarily equal a higher level of instruction. There are, however, a lot of quality martial arts teachers who expect you to pay a lot for instruction. On the flip side, there are some who don't charge a lot at all. Ultimately, you find who you want to train with and cost is not really a deciding factor.

Best,

Steve Lamade

[MinnieMin]

Originally posted by Kirk
$149.00 down, you get a gi, mouthpiece, gloves, cup, and a jock,
plus the first month. Then $59.00 a month after that.

You got a good deal, Kirk.

[Marginal]

Right now, I pay $0 for the classes I attend. (College clubs rule.)

[Isshin Dragon]

$75 month, and that includes the gi...not sure if I have to pay for testing or not (dont think so)...hopefully i'll find out in the next month or so.

[Zepp]

Originally posted by Marginal
Right now, I pay $0 for the classes I attend. (College clubs rule.)

Yes they do!

I pay $38 per quarter, but it goes toward paying for our use of the room. Whatever's left over is used by our instructor to buy wood for us to break. There are testing fees, but they all go to the organization.

I'm currently looking to crosstrain again, and I'm hoping to find a school around here for $50 a month or less. (Yeah I know- not too likely. :rolleyes: )

[spook mma]

wow!!! i feel like im getting raped now hearing about your stories! im at $109 a month. at first i thought that was really expensive, but the more places that i talk to in chicago, i hear thats about average (maybe slightly above by $10 or so). do any of you guys know of anywhere cheap to get muay thai or jkd training in chicago?
:confused:

[pesilat]

Originally posted by spook mma
wow!!! i feel like im getting raped now hearing about your stories! im at $109 a month. at first i thought that was really expensive, but the more places that i talk to in chicago, i hear thats about average (maybe slightly above by $10 or so). do any of you guys know of anywhere cheap to get muay thai or jkd training in chicago?
:confused:

I would guess that's probably about right for Chicago.

I don't know their prices (and, in fact, it may be your current school) but have you checked Degerberg Academy?

Mike

[spook mma]

Originally posted by pesilat
I would guess that's probably about right for Chicago.

I don't know their prices (and, in fact, it may be your current school) but have you checked Degerberg Academy?

Mike

lol, yeah, thats my school. to be honest, im very satisfied with the teaching i get there. just wish it was cheaper tho :(

btw, how do you know about Degerberg?

[pesilat]

Originally posted by spook mma
lol, yeah, thats my school. to be honest, im very satisfied with the teaching i get there. just wish it was cheaper tho :(

btw, how do you know about Degerberg?

LOL. Well, my instructor has known Fred for a long time. And a couple of friends of mine have known Fred for a long time. I've been to Degerberg's school a couple of times but never met Fred in person.

In the circles I run in (primarily Kali and Silat, though, peripherally, JKD), Degerberg Academy is kind of legendary because it's one of the few that's managed to be very successful from the business side of things while maintaining high quality instruction. It's rare to find both together.

Mike

[spook mma]

Originally posted by pesilat
LOL. Well, my instructor has known Fred for a long time. And a couple of friends of mine have known Fred for a long time. I've been to Degerberg's school a couple of times but never met Fred in person.

In the circles I run in (primarily Kali and Silat, though, peripherally, JKD), Degerberg Academy is kind of legendary because it's one of the few that's managed to be very successful from the business side of things while maintaining high quality instruction. It's rare to find both together.

Mike

yeah, i just recently started training and by pure fate Degerberg happened to be the first (and only school) that i visited. i thought the instructors were great and Mr. Degerberg's credentials seemed very legit. not to mention what other students thought about the school when i asked them outside of class. on top of that, they offered muay thai. i had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Degerberg this past weekend and he was very passionate when advising us 'lowly' yellow and white belts :asian: just curious tho, would you know if the Degerberg Blend would be considered a jkd concepts curriculum? i havent heard anyone make those claims, but the philosophy behind it sounds very jkd. also, Mr. Degerberg has had some training under Dan Inosanto and Larry Hartsell, so just a lil curious.

[pesilat]

Originally posted by spook mma
yeah, i just recently started training and by pure fate Degerberg happened to be the first (and only school) that i visited. i thought the instructors were great and Mr. Degerberg's credentials seemed very legit. not to mention what other students thought about the school when i asked them outside of class. on top of that, they offered muay thai. i had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Degerberg this past weekend and he was very passionate when advising us 'lowly' yellow and white belts :asian: just curious tho, would you know if the Degerberg Blend would be considered a jkd concepts curriculum? i havent heard anyone make those claims, but the philosophy behind it sounds very jkd. also, Mr. Degerberg has had some training under Dan Inosanto and Larry Hartsell, so just a lil curious.

Well, my guess (and it's purely a guess, don't quote me on it) would be that, yes, the Degerberg Blend could be considered Fred's expression of JKD. I'm sure he has reasons not to use the term (assuming that's even the way he views the subject). If that's the case, it may just be to avoid the politics inherent in claiming "JKD." But I could be completely wrong.

Taking a tangent, I got an e-mail earlier tonight from Ron Balicki that he's going to be teaching a seminar in June at Degerberg. I won't be able to make it, but if you haven't made plans for it yet, I'd highly recommend it. Ron is a great guy and a very good instructor.

I'm sure we'll be able to meet in person at some point since Chicago's not all that far from me and I do make it up there on occasion.

And, if we're going to continue this particular discussion, we should probably take it to PM to avoid completely hijacking this thread :)

Mike

[tarabos]

Originally posted by spook mma
wow!!! i feel like im getting raped now hearing about your stories! im at $109 a month. at first i thought that was really expensive, but the more places that i talk to in chicago, i hear thats about average (maybe slightly above by $10 or so). do any of you guys know of anywhere cheap to get muay thai or jkd training in chicago?
:confused:

maybe i can make you feel better. i know an instructor in Delaware that charges a whopping $120 a month no matter what type of class you want to take (he offers serveral since he has different instructors for them) or how many days a week it is. one of the styles is only taught 2-3 times a week, yet he still charges 120 for it. shame too, because it was a class being taught by a couple of old friends of mine and i really wanted to take it, but i just couldn't justify getting robbed like that. apparantley i'm not the only one who agrees, they have only two or three students in the class now.

[karatekid1975]

I pay $75 a month. That's dirt cheap for the area my school is located. No test fees. They also offer family rates.

[Shinzu]

my shotokan school in NY was $70.

my first TSD in PA was $45

my second TSD in PA is $65, but now i swap dues for teaching classes on saturdays

[fist of fury]

It's normally $65 a month but my girlfriend also goes so instead of having her pay an additonal $65 also, he gave us the family plan so she only has to pay $30 a month. So total we pay$95 for 2 of us.

[DAC..florida]

My class cost me nothing because I teach, but normal price in our dojo is $40.00 a month for unlimited classes.:asian:

[tarabos]

going by this thread it's nice to see that a lot of people in the MA's aren't crooks. unfortunatley a lot are...:mad:

[Kenpo Yahoo]

Carlos Machado, of the world famous Machado Brothers (cousins to the Gracie family), just raised his rates. Anyone care to take a guess how much?

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$180/ month for unlimited classes. If you want a 1 hr. private lesson with the guy, it will run you $350. Hey, the people pay it. Anyway, most of the upper ranks are looking to jumpstart an MMA career, pretty rough crowd.

[Rob_Broad]

Currently I pay $60/month plus tax which comes to $64.20, which isn't too bad for 3 classes a week.

[Shinzu]

some of the prices mentioned here are way to expensive in my opinion. more so if you have a family like i do.

it becomes more than a way of life... it becomes a lifelong debt.

[Nightingale]

personally, I've always traded work for training.

when I was a kid, I'd come in early and vacuum the studio and wash windows, and pay what I could out of my babysitting money. (my parents hated martial arts...still do, so its always been "you want it, you pay for it") I think that made me a lot more serious about it, though. If I missed class or goofed off, it was MY dime.

Recently, I've done web work in exchange for my training.
(www.houseofamericankenpo.com)


However, what the schools I've been at typically charge:

first school:

$100 a month, or $260 for 3 months, or $500 for 6 months, or $900 for 12 months. Unlimited classes... you can go to as many as your belt level will permit...kids couldn't attend adult class, but adults were welcome in kids class (realistic dummies for the kids) .... once I got my brown, I was there for four classes a day! LOL. life? what life?

the schedule was this:
Mon/Wed: kids white belt, kids orange belt, adult white, adult orange
Tues/thurs: kids advanced (purple and up), kids sparring, adult adv., adult sparring
Friday: kids kata, adult kata

new school:

$80 a month flat. $21.99 start up fee, but that pays for uniform and intro private lessons. Four classes a week, one tuesday, wednesday, thursday, and saturday morning.

Schedule:

Monday: off
Tuesday/thursday: kids class, adult beginner, adult advanced
Wednesday: kids sparring, adult sparring
Saturday morning open workout, all ranks welcome.

I liked the format of the first school better, cause I could get a nice long 4 hour workout, but I like the instructors at the new school, plus the location. The first school was a 90 mile round trip for me, so I finally went looking elsewhere. I demoted myself to white belt when I switched schools (they told me I could keep brown, but the format was so different, and many of the techniques were slightly different, so I felt a little overwhelmed and decided to just start over) so I only attend beginner classes, and can't go to sparring, cause I have school that night.

[Cryozombie]

I pay 30.00 per month for 2 classes a week.

[tshadowchaser]

I pay nothing to study with my instructor, but I must drive 3 hours each way to do so.
My students pay thirty dollors a month bit most schools in the are pay 75 to 100 .

[Quick Sand]

I do my training in a university club. We only pay $100 (CDN) for 3 classes/week Sept. through April and 1 class/week over the summer. We have to buy our own uniform and we pay testing fees but they're pretty cheap too. :)

Unfortunately I'm not really impressed with my instruction right now. :mad: We're part of a larger organization and there are some wonderful instructors in the association but they guy that actually does my class isn't great. I just got my blue belt and I find him doing things incorrectly sometimes. I usually don't mention it because of my rank but it gets annoying. (Before anyone cuts my head off as being a know-it-all blue belt etc. We have a manual and I'm taking about things like teaching a slightly wrong move in a kata. Everything is directly in the manual for that stuff.) He's a 1st degree BB and doesn't really actively train these days and has not real interest in trying to get his 2nd dan any time soon. :( The next closest class from my association is like a 2 hour drive and I don't have a car so travelling to a different instructor isn't an option either. :shrug:

It's pretty annoying but I can't afford to go to a real dojang right now as a student. Hopefully when I graduate and become a real adult. . . . :rolleyes:

[DannyE]

Here in New Orleans, the average monthly fee is $50.00. The better schools here, don't make you sign contracts.

Danny