want to run a taekwondo dojang

[Peace & Harmony]

hey everyone, i would think it would be a really good idea to run a dojang for martial arts. i plan to ask my instructor about it and maybe he could help me (hes 26 and a second degree black belt) any other suggestions about the long porcess of running a school?

thanks

 

[Gemini]

Why do you think it would be a good idea? What do you envision when the thought comes to mind?

Be honest. This could be a very good thread or completely worthless if you're not honest.

 

[Peace & Harmony]

because i love taekwondo, even though i am a white belt im surprised that i have fallen in love with it so quickly. i love helping people in general, and what better way to combine my two loves, helping those that ask for it and taekwondo. it would be a very good idea because i see the effects already, not only the physical aspects of it but also the mental aspects of it. taekwondo has made me try harder even though something is hard to do or hard to perform, it has made me for confident in myself. those values are somthing that kids and also adults should always have if they dont have them already. i see it in my own dojang that we have instil those values. people in my dojang are having fun, sometimes laughing and at the same time determined, confident, not afraid to make mistakes and also helping each other. i remember this one day, a blue belt student had to do 50 knuckle pushups and he couldnt do it and we all coached him through it and he finally did and we all clapped when he reached fifty. that is the dojang that i want to run. i want my students to come in with a sense of seriousness but also with the sense of calm and peace that the person or persons will learn values that will carry them through the rest of their life. i can understand why you asked me why i wanna run one, cus i have heard of people who do these things just for the money and for me, thats not the case, i want my students to have the same driving passion that i do.

 

[jks9199]

Learn how to run a business before you try to open a dojang. Then treat it like a business. Nothing says you can't enjoy how you earn a living -- but if you run your business like a club or a game, you'll fail. Expensively.

Are you sure that the market in your area can support another dojang? I'm not far away, and I'm sure not.

Do you have a business plan? Proposed location? Do you know what the rents run? Advertising costs? Insurance prices? How about employees? Employment law?

If it sounds like I'm suggesting at least taking some college or continuing ed classes on small business -- you're right.

 

[Omar B]

I would wait till I'm at least a black belt before I start worrying about running a school. If I remember correctly you are a white belt and chances are good you may drop out for whatever reason before getting there. I suggest seeing it through till black belt, everyone can say they are committed in the honeymoon beginner period.

You forgot to ask about insurance JKS.

 

[Gorilla]

Your goal to be an Olympian and Run you own school are admirable. My first piece of advice would be to concentrate on getting promoted to Yellow belt. If you are aspiring to such high goals I applaud you and would not discourage you. Make sure that you learn as much as you can during your journey so that you are ready when the time comes. These are long term goals 10-15 years. Slow down and enjoy the trip.

 

[Peace & Harmony]

thanks everyone for the advice you guys are awesome! and gorilla i know i have such high goals and im happy that i do! taekwondo is sooo amazing to me and im glad that im doing it now i practice alot not only in my room, but outside and people stare at me all the time lol i guess its because not many people have seen a guy do martial arts on my campus before lol either way, i love taekwondo and i want it to make it my life. but i know i have to study on getting my psycology degree so while im doing my training, i will have a job that will me with my financies while im pursuing my dreams of taekwondo.

 

[Omar B]

Be cognizant of where you practice outside, some of those curious looks might lead to chuds picking fights.

Slow down, learn the curriculum, there will be lots of time for opening your own dojang when you get to black belt.

 

[Peace & Harmony]

thanks omar, and your def right, you think practicing in my room is easier? it kinda sucks because the floors in my dorm arent carpet, so its really hard for me to pivot my foot when i do a roundhouse kick sometimes. but i have a kicking paddle so i use that when i have the chance. im mainly focusing on increasing my flexibility by doing stretches a couple times a day, before and after i go to bed.

 

[Omar B]

Thanks Omar, and your def right, you think practicing in my room is easier? It kinda sucks because the floors in my dorm aren't carpeted, so it is really hard for me to pivot my foot when I do a roundhouse kick sometimes. But I have a kicking paddle so I use that when I have the chance. I'm mainly focusing on increasing my flexibility by doing stretches a couple times a day, before and after I go to bed.

I don't know your room so I can't say. But you are a member of a dojang you know, how about practicing there? Or anywhere less public than ... out in public making a poppy show of yourself.

 

[ATC]

Thanks Omar, and your def right, you think practicing in my room is easier? It kinda sucks because the floors in my dorm aren't carpeted, so it is really hard for me to pivot my foot when I do a roundhouse kick sometimes. But I have a kicking paddle so I use that when I have the chance. I'm mainly focusing on increasing my flexibility by doing stretches a couple times a day, before and after I go to bed.

Ha ha ha...Took me a second to figure out what you were doing with all the bold letters and words. Gave me a good chuckle.

 

[Gemini]

because i love taekwondo, even though i am a white belt im surprised that i have fallen in love with it so quickly. i love helping people in general, and what better way to combine my two loves, helping those that ask for it and taekwondo. it would be a very good idea because i see the effects already, not only the physical aspects of it but also the mental aspects of it. taekwondo has made me try harder even though something is hard to do or hard to perform, it has made me for confident in myself. those values are somthing that kids and also adults should always have if they dont have them already. i see it in my own dojang that we have instil those values. people in my dojang are having fun, sometimes laughing and at the same time determined, confident, not afraid to make mistakes and also helping each other. i remember this one day, a blue belt student had to do 50 knuckle pushups and he couldnt do it and we all coached him through it and he finally did and we all clapped when he reached fifty. that is the dojang that i want to run. i want my students to come in with a sense of seriousness but also with the sense of calm and peace that the person or persons will learn values that will carry them through the rest of their life. i can understand why you asked me why i wanna run one, cus i have heard of people who do these things just for the money and for me, thats not the case, i want my students to have the same driving passion that i do.

Sounds to me like you're experiencing the infatuation of a new event, much like we all did in the beginning. Everyone goes through it. The reality is, very few make it past the first year of training much less getting their black belt, much less owning a school.

I don't want to discourage you by any means, but being starry eyed isn't going to get you a successful school. You have to be clear on what's required and determined to see it through.

It requires primarily 2 things from you. It's the ABILITY to teach, not just the DESIRE to teach that will determine how effective you are as an instructor. I know some instructors that love what they do, but they really aren't all that good at it. It's not measured bu your passion, but by the quality of the students who practice there. How many teachers in school do you have/had that are really smart, but have half the class failing from confusion. Desire is desirable, but ability is essential.

The other is a good business sense as has been mentioned above. I think many instructors here would teach for free if they could, but it's not realistic. Folks that do this for a living still have to eat, and while you may be critical of what you referred to as "people that do this just for money" are really few and far between. More schools are open because of the desire to build something good than to make money. In larger towns there are some "chains" that may do well and are often referred to as belt factories, but most schools are independant and success is an ongoing, never ending struggle. Sometimes these schools may progress a student that outsiders might consider unqualified, but I've met very few owners that don't struggle daily weighing values vs overhead. Sometimes the poor choice is the only one you get. If you're going to own a school, you'll be making those decisions too.

Set your goals in shorter milestones. It's easier to gauge your progress, which in turn helps to motivate in what you're going to find is a long journey.

Good luck! I want to be there for opening ceremonies!

Regards,

 

[Archtkd]

thanks omar, and your def right, you think practicing in my room is easier? it kinda sucks because the floors in my dorm arent carpet, so its really hard for me to pivot my foot when i do a roundhouse kick sometimes. but i have a kicking paddle so i use that when i have the chance. im mainly focusing on increasing my flexibility by doing stretches a couple times a day, before and after i go to bed.

If you are seriously thinking about having the knees, hips and and back to compete in the Olympics and run your own dojang pay attention to what surfaces you are training on, now. Carpet on concrete and other surfaces that make it hard for you to pivot your foot -- and offer no shock absorbtion or some resiliency -- will guarantee you knee, hip and back problems sooner than you think.

 

[T43]

I have a question regarding WTF, Kukkiwon and running your own school.

I have been in TKD for 25 years, on/off. 5th degree, ITF. I switched to WTF a while back and am interested in what the requirements from the Kukkiwon are to run my own dojang. I drive 30 miles from the small town I live in to practice now with my Sabumnim. I want to open a small dojang in my small town, but, I don't know if I can promote color belts as a 1st Dan Kukkiwon. I have considered the Skip to 3rd, but I am waiting to skip to 4th or maybe 5th at some later point.

Does the Kukkiwon have a Dan requirement to promote color belts? What about Black Belts?

Thanks for reading.

 

[Archtkd]

I have a question regarding WTF, Kukkiwon and running your own school.

I have been in TKD for 25 years, on/off. 5th degree, ITF. I switched to WTF a while back and am interested in what the requirements from the Kukkiwon are to run my own dojang. I drive 30 miles from the small town I live in to practice now with my Sabumnim. I want to open a small dojang in my small town, but, I don't know if I can promote color belts as a 1st Dan Kukkiwon. I have considered the Skip to 3rd, but I am waiting to skip to 4th or maybe 5th at some later point.

Does the Kukkiwon have a Dan requirement to promote color belts? What about Black Belts?

Thanks for reading.

Why do you need the Kukkiwon or any organization to run your own independent business in the U.S.? Is the Kukkiwon or any organization going to help you with capital, staffing; money for rent, utilities, insurance, , business license, marketing, advertising, etc. Those are the things you need to worry about if you are thinking about opening a dojang.

That said, here's the skinny if you plan to follow Kukkiwon rules. You have to be be at least a 4th Dan Kukkiwon certified to test and directly recommend students for promotion to any Kukkiwon Dan or Poom grade. You have to be at least 4th Dan to promote students to any Gup grade.

 

[ATC]

I have a question regarding WTF, Kukkiwon and running your own school.

I have been in TKD for 25 years, on/off. 5th degree, ITF. I switched to WTF a while back and am interested in what the requirements from the Kukkiwon are to run my own dojang. I drive 30 miles from the small town I live in to practice now with my Sabumnim. I want to open a small dojang in my small town, but, I don't know if I can promote color belts as a 1st Dan Kukkiwon. I have considered the Skip to 3rd, but I am waiting to skip to 4th or maybe 5th at some later point.

Does the Kukkiwon have a Dan requirement to promote color belts? What about Black Belts?

Thanks for reading.

KKW only registers and certifies Black Belts. That is it. You do not need anything other than your requirements to promote color belts.

 

[ArmorOfGod]

I have a question regarding WTF, Kukkiwon and running your own school.

I have been in TKD for 25 years, on/off. 5th degree, ITF. I switched to WTF a while back and am interested in what the requirements from the Kukkiwon are to run my own dojang. I drive 30 miles from the small town I live in to practice now with my Sabumnim. I want to open a small dojang in my small town, but, I don't know if I can promote color belts as a 1st Dan Kukkiwon. I have considered the Skip to 3rd, but I am waiting to skip to 4th or maybe 5th at some later point.

Does the Kukkiwon have a Dan requirement to promote color belts? What about Black Belts?

Thanks for reading.

Just go full independent. If you are a 5th degree, you can promote someone else to 4th degree black belt (or 3rd degree black belt, depending on your point of view).
Check out Pellegrini's Independent TKD group: http://www.dsihq.com/#the-independent-taekwondo-association-ita-4c5084 or AIKIA www.aikia.net/

Those are good groups that will let you teach without answering to the Kukkiwon, ITF, or WTF.

AoG

 

[T43]

Thanks for all of the help in this thread. It has helped a ton. Before this thread, this is what I looked like -

 

[Balrog]

hey everyone, i would think it would be a really good idea to run a dojang for martial arts. i plan to ask my instructor about it and maybe he could help me (hes 26 and a second degree black belt) any other suggestions about the long porcess of running a school?

thanks

I've been a school owner since 1994.

Be prepared to do a TON of work before you open your doors and several TONS afterward. Some of the things you need are:

1. Location, location, location. Are you going to be a standalone business or operate as a club attached to a Y or something similar?
2. What are the demographics in a 5 mile radius of your desired business location?
3. Create a Subchapter S or LLC business entity and do *everything* through it. Do not sign one single piece of paper as yourself, but always as an officer of the business.
4. Create a pro-forma income statement with projected expenses and earnings for one year. Make it realistic; err on the greater side for expense and the lower side for income if you have to estimate. Take the total expense amount and multiply it by 2.5. You need to have that much cash available before you even think about opening a business.

And after the doors are open, advertise like crazy, but only within that 5 mile radius. That's where 99% of your students will come from; concentrate on that area alone.

I've only scratched the surface here. You might check for a local chapter of SCORE and get with them. Their advice will be invaluable. http://www.score.org/index.html

And don't forget - you absolutely have to build time into your schedule for your own personal training. Never stop growing, never stop learning!

Good luck!

 

[Peace & Harmony]

thanks everyone so much!! you all rock