tkd prices

[cbraves85]

I have been in ma for a while and have experience in tkd, kung fu, san shou, and boxing. I thought of possibly cross training between kf and tkd so i called a school and for 2 classes a week the instructor wanted $132 a month. Now isnt that obsurd?

[Artikon]

Yes

[Tosh]

Yup, I get around 4 classes a week with a Master plus discounts on other classes for £40/$65

[Justin]

yes

[BlackBeltCookie]

OMG!!! $132/month?? If I charged that I would :-
A) Extremely Rich
B) Extremely Amazed I could find students that would pay so much
C) The biggest rip-off merchant in the world!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go find yourself a REAL TKD club and not a 'McDojo'!!!

[Jazman]

I pay 50$ a month, which is average, but for the quality of our instruction it is awesome, I would pay much more. We get 3 classes a week plus an extra hour each class if we want. (Starting this year he may rent a real school and much better equipment, yippee!! :D)

[Artikon]

Okay here are some things to consider. What is the economy of the immediate area, of the state/province, of the country? How many schools are around? How well equiped is the school. Does the head instructor actually instruct classes? Is the curriculm dynamic, meaning it's always in development as the head instructor trains himself and visits seminars?

I'm not advocating high prices, and I personally think that is WAY to high but there are tons of things to consider what you may be getting out of the deal. Maybe he doesn't have to pay for testings.

[Chazz]

When i was teaching i was charging 45$ a month. My instructors school charges 50 - 55 a month i think.

[Artikon]

That seems about ballpark and possibly a little lower than average from the prices I've seen in the US and Can

[Chazz]

yeah most that i have seen are about $70 - $80 and higher a month with 4 classes a week at the most

[Taeho]

My school charges $65.00 per month. We have a class we are able to attend 6 times a week. I have myself and my 2 sons enrolled. When my daughter is 4 I can enroll her for free.

Also testing is $50.00 for all gups leading to 1st dan. All dan testing fees are $100.00. The prices include certificate, belt and ID card.

TKDshane Ÿ

[semphoon]

At HWU we pay £30 for the year and 70p (£0.70) for each two hour class a week. Cheers Tosh.
:D :D :D

[Tosh]

Plus £10 registration for the year, so really £40

BTW You paid subs this year?? ;)

Don't forget that this money all get's pumped back into the club for training equipment, transport and affiliation too.

Hopefully, the Sports Union will be pay me and Tintin for our services this year. It's a hard knock life afterall ;)

[Joe karate]

Yes thats high. I live on Lond Island, not far from NYC,USA where cbraves lives. Although now i pay nothing, regular students pay $99 for up to six classes a week and one half hour private lesson a month. With discounts for family members.

[Kwan Jang]

-I know of many schools in some of the high income areas of Florida that charge $200/mo. and their students feel they are getting more than their money's worth. Many of the higher quality professional schools in the USA are now charging between $100- 150/mo. IMO, if you are JUST teaching is fighting skills and giving people a workout, then the $40/ mo. range is appropiate. If you have an effective and systemized way of teaching life skills(as well as top level physical skills) and you are in a area that can financially support it, then you are justified in these prices (have you priced a Learning Center like Sylvan who teaches similar skills). The demographics of the community that my school is not one that would support this, so I don't charge this level, but I am taking my prices up (we are currently between $89-99/mo.). Part of this is percieved value by the students (or parents if the student is a child); they take it more seriously. Also, the people who can afford this are usually more goal oriented and understand commitment and discipline much better. For those who are committed, yet can't afford it, we offer partial to full scholarships according to their need.-BTW-It always amazes me how some will assume that a school is a "McDojo" because they charge more than their school does. Do Harvard, Oxford, or Stanford provide a lesser education than the local community college because their tuition is higher or they have more students? I know very little about vacuum cleaners, but when I need a new one, I go and get the most expensive one because of the perception that it is the best available, (I know this is not always true, but this is what I meant by percieved value by the public). As we all know, there are some programs and instructors that are better at business than MA, but being good at business does not lower the value of instruction.

[Holgate]

at the current time I pay £27.00 a month, which means I can train anywhere in the south west region TAGB and can join other classes outside the area for a couple sessions. I think licenses are £10 per year and gradings £22.50 a time.

not really bad considering the cost of some associations

[wuchang79]

I am aware of a school in Rolando that charges there students 320 for two months of classes. Its an Oom Young Do school that teaches 8 martial arts as one. On top of that the classes are taught by 1st and 2nd degree students. The Master of the school comes through and teaches a few classes every few months.

I've seen many schools open w/ only the thought of financial gain. . these are the schools that have either taken the art out of martial art by teaching the sport aspects only. . .or promises the student mystical/magical powers and superhuman powers by training. . .sad isn't it?

[oni]

I teach ITF TKD out of a local rec center for $35 a month. I'm hoping to be able to build or rent my own place soon, but if I have to charge over $60 a month with the current number of students I will just hold off on my plans. This is what I love doing and I can't stand the fact that some have perverted it for commercial gains.

[Yang, Dae-han]

We charge 80,000 won in Korea (nn average), which is about $68 USD.

Lessons include 5 one hour lessons (and change) with weekend classes here and there at an additional 3 hours.

Shoosh,

Yang, Dae-han

[labeledas]

i pay 46 a month and can train anytime from 12-2 and 5-9 on weekdays the whole time if i want, granted i will be given drills and train alone most of the time with the occasionally pointers, plus i think i am getting a key to the dojo.

but then again my instructor is more concerned with teaching those who want to be taught rather than a big pay check.

[Bulldog]

I think a man is worth his wage...

I only pay 40 dollars a month and there are 5 classes a week that are available...break that down and it's 10 hours a week...4O hours of training time for 40 bucks...that's a good deal to me...1 dollar an hour!
And it's good quality instruction with a good quality training facility...

Excuse me while I go thank my instructor...

Aaron

[47Ronin]

Haha, am I glad I left TKD.

Tae Kwon Do= Take My Dough.

[Infesticon #1]

I pay £20 a month, and the membership was... er I can't remember about £28 for the year I think.

I could train 5 days a week if I could get to Andover.

Ah well, 2 times a week is plenty for me.

[hocsr]

I pay 78 a month for three classes a week in TKD with two Korean masters from yong-in university, one is a former tiger and this clown wants to charge you 123 a month for two classes a week? Shop around, sometimes you don't get what you pay for.

[WorldChampTKD]

I have 3 classes a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) and I pay 40 bucks a month for my classes

[Darkflames21]

i pay $110 a month, but i can take as many as two classes a day discluding sundays.(he has four classes, but the first two are for children.)

[zxrider]

Can you belive that my ITF certified instructor (4th dan) charges only $15/month?! He holds 2 classes a week, typically 5-10 students show up each class. He conducts his classes within a fitness center, so he has no overhead. He derives his bread/butter from cardio kickboxing classes he teaches there, which he charges a more competetive price for.

He conducts his martial arts training at cost and beleives that people shouldn't try to make ludicrous amonts of money off of martial arts instruction. Says that he does it for the love of the sport, not the $$. Obviously, not every martial arts instructor can afford to do it this way, but how fortunate for me!

[Derrick]

I pay $30.00 a month for two classes a week.
We are charged $40.00 for the first 4 gradings, after which it climbs with each belt to finally reach $500.00 for black belt. That is only the grading, not the actual belt of certificate of anything else.
I have also encountered a slight problem concerning sparing gear. The instructor sells the gear and charges $250.00 for head, chest, hand and feet protectors. Since my daughter and I both take it this is a lot of money right now. I asked around about getting some used equipment, but my instructor really tried to talk me out of getting it.
I hate to suggest anything negative about either the instructor or the sport, but it is getting expensive. None of this was mentioned two months ago when we started. Just the $120.00 each for uniforms. I wish all of the expenses had been explained to me beforehand.
I guess I am wondering if these fees sound reasonable, and if there really is any problem using good condition used sparring equipment, and finally does anyone know a good Canadian site that sells new or used TKD equipment?
Sorry to be so long winded.

[Yang, Dae-han]

Originally posted by Derrick
I pay $30.00 a month for two classes a week.
We are charged $40.00 for the first 4 gradings, after which it climbs with each belt to finally reach $500.00 for black belt. That is only the grading, not the actual belt of certificate of anything else.
I have also encountered a slight problem concerning sparing gear. The instructor sells the gear and charges $250.00 for head, chest, hand and feet protectors. Since my daughter and I both take it this is a lot of money right now. I asked around about getting some used equipment, but my instructor really tried to talk me out of getting it.
I hate to suggest anything negative about either the instructor or the sport, but it is getting expensive. None of this was mentioned two months ago when we started. Just the $120.00 each for uniforms. I wish all of the expenses had been explained to me beforehand.
I guess I am wondering if these fees sound reasonable, and if there really is any problem using good condition used sparring equipment, and finally does anyone know a good Canadian site that sells new or used TKD equipment?
Sorry to be so long winded.

Succinctly, no, the fees are not reasonable.

First, check my post concerning WTF Dan/Poom testing fees. Anything above that is just greed from an instructor.

$120CDN for uniforms, well, pricey for my tastes...as I get Addidas 50% off (thankfully I get them AT the factory).
However, I got curious and visited this site....seems your uniforms may be a fair price, depending on which brand. Vast differences in prices.
http://www.awma.com/index.cfm/action/displayProducts/level/6|39.htm

Your instructor tried to sway you into buying new equipment? No, don't. In fact, why doesn't the school have equipment? I would only suggest buying your own equipment AFTER you realise that you'll be in TKD for the long haul, and/or will be competing (even then, your school should supply). If you want to find used gear, I suggest stores like 'Play It Again, Sports.' I'm not sure how likely you'll have one about, but it is just a store that sells used (and new) sports equipment...sometimes at steals. If you can't find one, try the phone book, or even calling up a sports-related shop/association/group, and ask...they'll know where they are.

Oh, and all this dosh for 2 classes a week, for sure you need not spend it on equipment. As for $30 a month for 2 classes a week, fair, I suppose.... as I pay roughly $68CAD for 5/6 days a week (10 hours-ish weekly).

Though I have only visited the site once, possibly www.ebay.com will have something for you.

[Derrick]

Thank you Yang, Dae-han
We live in a very rural area, so shopping is limited:D . I have however taken an ad out in the local paper and had a couple of calls already, and if that doesn't work out I did take a look on ebay and seen a few, so that is another possibility.
It did occur to me that we have only been involved for a few months and it is early to be spending so much money. My daughter at 7 loves it now, but as with all kids that could change anytime. Myself at 40 am not going to be entering to many competitions :D , so I don't need anything fancy to get by in class.

I would love to take more than 2 classes a week, but unfortunately that is all that is offered.

[hocsr]

Originally posted by Derrick
Thank you Yang, Dae-han
We live in a very rural area, so shopping is limited:D . I have however taken an ad out in the local paper and had a couple of calls already, and if that doesn't work out I did take a look on ebay and seen a few, so that is another possibility.
It did occur to me that we have only been involved for a few months and it is early to be spending so much money. My daughter at 7 loves it now, but as with all kids that could change anytime. Myself at 40 am not going to be entering to many competitions :D , so I don't need anything fancy to get by in class.

I would love to take more than 2 classes a week, but unfortunately that is all that is offered.

You are being taken for a ride. You can buy cheap sparring equipment and uniforms on line: http://martialartssupermarket.com/index.cfm
http://www.karatedepot.com/

Uniforms should be free with a contract. The most a student uniform should cost is $35 (check the websites). The most expensive uniform out there right now is the new Nike grand master uniform at $120 (way above the adidas in price and quality) and there is no way he is selling you one of that quality, nor do you need one that nice (I bet he is selling you an 8 ounce student uniform that cost him 20 bucks with a silk screen logo of his stupid school). So, $120 is pricey for anyones taste, unless you are a master and getting it for free. My school sells the sparring gear (including bag) for $150. The set my master sells is good, but I wanted better, so I bought an adidas set for less than than he charges for rhingo at the first site listed above (my master had no problem with that because he isn't a dink like yours). I pay 75 a month for 3 classes a week. My black belt is $500 as well, but includes an adidas or Pil Sung uniform with school name (at least $80), certificate, and 6ft trophy.

Get two uniforms and beginner sparring gear from the sites listed above (new can be as cheap as used on ebay so forget that, look at lightning, macho, or proforce on line). Tell the clown that is running your school that I said he was a clown that is interested in nothing but taking your money. I am sorry if his rent or insurance is high, but he is soaking you. If he gives you crap about buying your gear elsewhere or what I said, leave. He isn't worth the time. If you don't have another school near you, than I am truly sorry that you will be missing out on all that a good quality TKD school has to offer.