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What is the total cost of your child's black belt program?


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Yikes! Our Judo dojo is $5 for a new belt color, all testing is free. In Judo, though, you can't become a black belt until 18 (well, it's rare to become a black belt before then). The black belt test is $150 and our state Judo league conducts the test 2X a year (local clubs cannot award black belts).

 

Our dues were $30/month for the family, but now that I'm a coach it's free.

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Holy cow! DS is enrolled in TaeKwonDo. Our monthly dues are $79 for unlimited classes for DS, DH and myself. Uniforms are $40. Belt testing is $50. His two Masters are 5th and 6th degree black belts so DS is being taught by two people with quite a bit of experience.

 

We sign up a year at a time for a 20% discount, but the money is only paid in monthly installments. A large sum of money to complete a program was never mentioned.

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I would check out other dojos.

 

Ours in owner-operated. We pay month-to-month with sibling discount. There is not time frame for earning a black belt. Junior black belts can be earned for those under 16. Testing is $15-20 per belt and only done when the student is deemed ready by the instructor. We have been attending the same dojo for 6 years and my boys are going for their junior black belts in a few months. Fee may be higher because it's a two-day test done over a weekend.

 

I would stay far, far away from a dojo that promised a black belt within a time frame. Just like a school that promises a diploma within a time frame....

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Yah, that sounds about right. Ds just earned his black belt, after about 4 years of Kenpo (with a few tiny breaks). It was about $129/mo and usually like a $50 belt advancement, $200 black belt testing, $200 testing guide...probably other expenses (honestly, I always felt like we were being nickle and dimed).

 

We paid per month, with a yearly contract. We "locked" into a rate when ds was getting closer to black belt, since then that became more than a yearly contract (contract to black belt).

 

It is crazy expensive, I agree. Maybe the community centers? I know in our area our community centers offer various martial arts, in fact, ds teacher started leading classes in the community center first before opening the studio.

 

ETA: Can you negotiate. I know one homeschooling family was able to negotiate at our studio for reduced/ free lessons as there son was motivated, etc....

Edited by RamonaQ
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Well, if your child wanted to take music lessons to get to a certain ability and you priced it out....you may be shocked then too :lol:

 

My dd takes violin at $130/month. That is $1560 a year. In 4 years her teacher believes she will be playing Vivaldi. Let's say my dd wants that goal. It would cost me $6240 assuming no tuition increases.

 

My son is playing ukulele at $160/mo. He is costing us $1920 a year. And if he wanted to become the best and he could do it in 4 years it would be $7680.

 

These activities cost money and I bet most black belts paid about what you are talking about if they added it all up. I took piano for 10 years....I can only imagine what that cost my parents, but I don't think they regret it.

 

I suspect your only doubt is that not all the kids can do something at the same time......and I have no words of wisdom at all on that. I have a friend who works part time in the afternoons so her son can go for free. She drives the afterschool bus and then checks people in. just an idea.

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My son has taken TKD from our YMCA for the past several years. "average" monthly classes (they were up then gave a discount, now back up) have been about $50. Belt testing is about $35 and black belt testing is $300 (a deal from what I've heard :001_huh:). We pay monthly with no contracts and classes can be up to three times a week (depending on your belt). Kids 8 and up take regular classes but munchkins take "little dragons" (geared toward a shorter attention spans and wiggly bodies).

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I would consider our school a McDojo. I don't know that I've actually looked at it in full like that but I believe around $5400 per kid.

We pay $150 per month for one kid and $125 a month for the younger. It's a 36 month program. My son takes 4-5 classes a week and my younger takes 2-3 per week. We are commited but we are by far not one of the hardcore families that are working toward championships. We have other interests and adjust our tae kwon do schedule throughout the year to accommodate and make time for those other areas of interest.

Our testings vary by belt rank. $45-65 for testing every other month usually. It's the weapons, sparring equipment and special skills seminars that kill me.

We don't do tournaments which run about $100 per kid for entry fees for the day. That doesn't include travel and food. I know a lot of parents get their kids private lessons which also run $100 per hour. We aren't that into the the competitive end of it all.

We do take advantage of the summer camp that runs at his level for one week during the summer.

I do know that our school gives you the 3rd kid free. Monthly fee, not testing or equiment. A lot of parents take classes too because of this. Our school also will put your membership on hold for up to 3 months because some kids take summer off or other sports seasons. I like knowing that the flexibility is there if we need it.

I hope you find a place that fits your lifestyle and budget. They really are a dime a dozen so shop around!

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Well, if your child wanted to take music lessons to get to a certain ability and you priced it out....you may be shocked then too :lol:

 

 

 

Yes! My daughter's ballet lessons have cost us at least $50,000 over the fifteen years she's been dancing. Passion is expensive! :D

 

Hope it works out for you.

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It's expensive when you look at the total package.

 

There's always the option of taking longer between tests, taking a month off here and there. If you have a black belt club, it's a big chunk up front, but with ours, it gives you free testing through the rest of the career, and should transfer to other dojos (you'd have to check, though).

 

it has turned out to be quite the expensive sport compared to what we thought it would be early on. And there's never a seasonal break LOL.

 

(something you might try is to ask if you can perform a service for them in exchange for tuition breaks. We clean ours once a week for free tuition for one of our boys).

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Sounds almost exactly like where my youngest just got her Black Belt (Kyuki-Do) here ...the studio is the original one founded 60 years ago, and they just opened another new studio across town (plus have studios in several states.) Same price overall, too, and time frame.

 

Having just attended the big annual Black Belt Extravaganza for all studios (at Wisconsin Dells) and seen the demonstrations by 5th,6th,7th+ Masters I am impressed. My kid wants to keep going and get her 2nd Dan, now.

 

Growing up, my kid brother did baseball, football, track - the overall cost in time and MONEY over four years was the same or greater than that of my dd for her black belt (with 4 - 6 or more hours a week of lessons). I have four kids - and am glad only ONE of them wanted to do a sport.

 

Here, there have been other studios of various martial arts that have come and gone in various storefronts. Cheaper, maybe...but also GONE. The Kyuki-Do studios have remained open.

 

It is a combo of Judo, Tae Kwon Do and JuJitsu. I know I did not spell two of those correctly :-)

 

 

Anyway, like the others noted, compare it to music lessons or another sport and only look at the weekly or monthly cost, not the overall.

 

My 14-yr-old dd still takes lessons 4 nights a week (down from 5), and helps teach a middle-range class!!!!

 

PS - the nonrefundable even if you move part seems fishy - our studio will break the contract if you move or get a medical condition precluding further participation.

Edited by JFSinIL
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Yes! My daughter's ballet lessons have cost us at least $50,000 over the fifteen years she's been dancing. Passion is expensive! :D

 

Hope it works out for you.

 

This is what I was thinking too... We pay about $3000/year for soccer for ds10 and another thousand or so per year on Chess for all of the kids. Passion is expensive but worth every penny :001_smile:!

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I study Okinawan Goju Ryu with my boys. We pay $80/month for the first person, $70 for the second. The 6 year old should be $40/month but my sensi let me bring him along for free when she saw that I was going to leave him home because of finances.

 

Our dojo is VERY small, and the "dojo" is sensi's garage. But, it is authentic goju ryu (where most schools around here that claim to be goju are actually a blend) with my sensi traveling to the dojo in Okinawa every year to keep up her own techniques. Our school may appear kind of "fly by night" at first glance, but the training is really very good.

 

We don't pay anything for grading until we reach blackbelt, and that fee goes somewhere higher than our dojo, as our Shodan rank is given out by a national or international board. Blackbelts aren't given before age 16, so my 11 year old would have to train for 5 more years, making the total cost $4,800. But we pay month to month with no contract, so if we need two or three months off to save some cash we can do that.

 

To find a dojo like mine you would have to ask around, check for facebook karate groups in your city and things like that. Some one who isn't spending all their money on advertising and fancy equipment might be more willing to work with you.

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I live in an inexpensive area thank goodness. We pay $47/month for 3 plus karate lessons/week without being locked in. Violin private lessons for $60/month and group violin for $250/year. Do you have a YMCA? They may have karate and have discounts based on income. Also for music, music students at local colleges may be a good choice:)

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I believe that the black belt "package" at my daughter's Taekwondo school is just a bit under $5000, but I could be off. We did not do that, because my husband is a firm believer in *not* handing over his hard-earned money for services years in advance! It's a ridiculous notion, if you ask me. We pay it out month by month. The fee is $90 per month for unlimited classes, plus belt tests, which vary by level, from around $30 to $100. But the final, black belt, test is $500. That's going to hurt.

 

I can sympathize. My daughter is very passionate about TKD, and I can imagine how devastated she would be if she had to give it up. There are tons of martial arts schools here where I live. There are far fewer good ones. But maybe you can find something that will fit your budget, and/or maybe you can negotiate. I know that people at my daughter's school have done this! One parent built a nice website for them in exchange for classes, another advertises for the school through her business. Also, maybe you can just say to them "here's what I can afford, what can you do for us?" It's worth a try!

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I'd stick with the month to month payments, but the overall cost doesn't shock me. We pay $60 a month per kid and that's a substantial discount because it's during the day, so off-peak for the dojo. We're not in it for the belts as much as for the consistent physical activity. It compares favorably to gymnastics and ballet classes in my area.

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I have no idea! My kids started at 5, 6, and 7 and they've been taking classes ever since. We don't pay by the year or month. Their instructor has you pay per session or class. It's $50 each and they last 8 weeks. My older boys take 3 classes/week and they are Jr. Instructors a couple times a week too.

 

She doesn't advance until the student is ready - there's no set time. Testing is $20. Black belt testing is $150. A couple kids took 5 years to reach black belt. My kids took 5.1/2. My youngest will probably take 7.

 

I don't want to add it up!!!

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I would not go to any school that had a "black belt program." What the heck is that? We can pay by the year or by the month. Testing is extra and could not be paid in advance because who knows how many times you'll test in a year until you are through? How can he guarantee that he'll get a black belt within any time frame and would you respect a black belt that was purchased via a time based contract? No way would I pay for that. On the other hand, our black belt fee- once you are ready- is way too high for me but I believe our instructor and school is worth the extra money so we will suck it up and pay or maybe barter for some services to get the price down.

 

I want to add that if we added up what we have paid for one child to get to be a deputy black belt, not including testing fees, it would be close to that price and the black belt test will be on top of that so it will be much more expensive in the end. My DS has a ways to go before he will be ready to test. It's $100 a month for the first family member, 60% for the second, 40% for the third, and everyone after that is free. Our instructor is an 8th degree black belt and has 2 Olympic gold medals and we think it is worth it even though he's more expensive than the others around here.

Edited by Paige
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We pay $80 a month for three classes a week. Uniforms, which we buy as DS outgrows them, cost $40. In this particular dojang, sparring class is $50 a month but it not required. Belt testing is an extra fee but I'm not sure how much (something like $40) because DH takes care of taekwondo now. There is no special "black belt club". Typically, articles I've read say to steer away from places that offer these kind of contracts.

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I would not go to any school that had a "black belt program." What the heck is that? We can pay by the year or by the month. Testing is extra and could not be paid in advance because who knows how many times you'll test in a year until you are through? How can he guarantee that he'll get a black belt within any time frame and would you respect a black belt that was purchased via a time based contract? No way would I pay for that. On the other hand, our black belt fee- once you are ready- is way too high for me but I believe our instructor and school is worth the extra money so we will suck it up and pay or maybe barter for some services to get the price down.

 

:iagree:

 

My boys' karate school does not have a "black belt program." You pay for lessons. I think it is $80 per month with unlimited classes in the regular program (XMA and Kenjutsu Swords are extra.) You can pay on a month by month basis or you can prepay 6 months to get a discount. They also have family discounts.

 

As far as belt progressions go, if you Sensei says you are ready, you can pay the fee and test. It is rare in our dojo for someone to make black belt in less than 6 years. There is just too much to learn and master. Each test is cumulative - every single thing is tested from day one. The black belt test is 6 - 8 hours long. The under-belt tests are anywhere between $15 and $35. The black belt test is about $100. About 15 - 20 black belts from the area come in to help with the test and stay for the belt ceremony. At my son's test, a group came in from a school in Arkansas to test with my son - their Sensei had a long relationship with ours.

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