Is it a contract? Sure. If you have two people agreeing, verbally or in writing (though nobody does business with verbal contracts because they are so hard to enforce in court - neither party is ever truly sure what the terms of the agreement were, so it is best to have it reduced to paper), then you have a contract.
The first contract I signed when I started martial arts training in 1986 was a three month contract, outlining my responsibility for payment of $40 per month each month, due on a certain date. After the first three months, I think I signed up for the 12 month contract, which reduced my payments down to $30 a month (the 6 month contract was $35 a month).
No tests, belts, etc., were "guaranteed." They weren't even mentioned. All the contract covered was that I could attend X number of classes per week for $Y tuition each month. Period.
Contracts are not a qualifier for McDojo-hood. Just good business sense. When you are guaranteed belt grades or anything of that sort along with your contract, you should ask to "super size" the contract and substitute the drink for a shake...
Gambarimasu.
:asian: