Martial Arts - $?

[Wilma]

Hey y'all.  I'm curious about your martial arts costs.  We've just started with Taekwondo, and I'm surprised at the cost of belt testing!  I had no idea that it would even be a separate cost from the monthly membership, but there it is.  What do you pay for belt testing?  And is it weird to have almost no other classes during the week of testing?

[klmama]

Our school increases costs with higher belt ranks.  I think it starts at $20 for testing for the lowest belts, $40 for intermediate and advanced, and $100 for black belts.

 

Having/not having other classes that week depends on the format the instructor is using for tests and the number of students testing.  The testing time has to come from somewhere, KWIM?   Is he having tests during the usual class times?  Maybe yellow/orange testing Monday, green/blue Tuesday, purple/red Wednesday, brown Thursday, and  black Friday? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Wilma]

We've not actually been yet, so I'm not sure about the format for the testing.  But there are a couple of belt levels testing per evening - so I totally understand that they can't run the evening classes at the same time.  Cancelling the other classes is what seems odd to me, since we're paying both the regular membership costs AND additional $$ for the belt testing.  Maybe they're thinking nobody would come, since they're hypothetically turning up for the testing?

[hjffkj]

My dh is a kung fu instructor so I've heard all the explanations behind the various industry pricings. Test fees are completely normal, some places build that into the cost while others don't. having higher test fees for higher belts is also completely normal but entirely unnecessary and is really just a way to make more money off your students. It is really up to the customer to decide if a school that charges different fees for different ranks is worth it to them.

 

Not running other classes would depend on the nature of the tests. At dh's school they offer tests for each level during their normal class times so it doesn't interfere with any other classes such as their Tai chi class, class for 3 and 4 year olds, and combat fitness class. So those 3 classes are still offered during the week. Aside from testing kubg Fu class isn't. They have tests roughly every 3 months and everyone tests unless they feel they aren't ready.black belts test on Saturday after classes since their test is a few hours long.

 

If during test week your are missing classes other than the specific class being tested for I'd complain about being charged for classes that aren't being held unless you were aware that no classes during test week was part of the monthly fee you pay. At dh's work they lay all that out there before anyone pays anything so parents know their monthly fee includes the week after Christmas that the school is closed and Easter weekend when they are closed

[Butter]

$50 or $60 if you pay for one at a time?  I don't know anymore.  I think it averaged $35 or $40 because we pre-paid through 1st degree black belt three years ago.

 

Canceling class is pretty much necessary.  You can't run class and testing at the same time.  Testing is generally more or less about the same time as classes people are coming to anyway (so it means, for most people, you miss one class since most people do either M/W or T/Th, but you are testing in place of that second class of the week).  Testing weeks we have regular classes Monday and Tuesday and then various ranks of testings all afternoon/evening Wednesday and Thursday.  Friday and Saturday we do belt graduation/potluck.  We have to split it in two because we have so many students and a tiny school so everyone would not fit all at once.

Edited April 6, 2017 by Butter

[TABmom]

Ours tests on Saturday morning so classes aren't affected. It's about $50/test. Not everyone tests every time, only if the instructor feels like you're ready.

[Wheres Toto]

Our dojo is $35/belt test so far.  The kids are blue belts now.  I'm not sure if Black Belt tests are more.

 

They usually do testing on Thursday (through orange belts), and Friday (higher belts) of testing week.  Those classes will be cancelled because testing usually takes a few hours.  They will have regular classes the rest of the week.  

 

Our dojo offers 5 classes at each level and 2 combined classes per week so there are plenty of opportunities to take classes outside of testing.

[Beaniemom]

We do not pay a belt testing fee. Belt tests are held one Friday evening out of every month. Regular classes are cancelled but there are opportunities to make up the missed class on another day of the week. We pay $290 a month for 4 of us to take class so I guess you could say belt test fees are rolled into tuition.

 

Eta: You must wait 4 months after obtaining a new rank before tou test for the next one at this school.

Edited April 6, 2017 by Beaniemom

[Garga]

I think ours is $40 for the belt test, but my memory is a little fuzzy.  Once a month classes on Friday nights are cancelled and it's Belt Test Night.  It takes many hours.

 

We go to the daytime homeschool classes, and sometimes the instructor will have a belt test after the homeschool classes are done for the day.  Those are done randomly when there are enough people ready for the test.  The instructor says it's because it takes sooooo long to do the belt tests in the evening and if he can have the daytime students test in the day, it makes it a little less longer on the Friday nights.  But if you can't make the daytime test, then you go to the Friday night test like all the other students.

 

I guess yours closes for an entire week if it's done less than once a month.  Our guy chooses to do the tests once a month and they still last for hours.

[elegantlion]

I'm taking a HapKiDo class this semester at school from a local instructor. His fee for going from white to yellow is $50. The school has an excellent reputation and I'm assuming the testing fees get more expensive later on. He also did not encourage anyone to test whom he felt was not ready. 

[G5052]

Mine have been involved in Aikido for over a decade. My oldest was nine when he started and is a sophomore in college now and is an instructor at the local dojo.

 

Testing is far less frequent in Aikido, but it was $35 for each level up to black (Shodan). Shodan is $100.

 

In fact (beaming), my 12th grade receives her Shodan tonight after eight years of study.

 

Her testing took two full class periods and is observed by the rest of the class. This gives her a local credential, and then she has to continue to practice and then be evaluated at the "home dojo" in California which gives her the international credential for that branch of Aikido. That is another $100 for that evaluation and certificate. We were fortunate in that we were able to do that in Boston for my oldest in conjunction with a seminar because the proper people to do that were there, but we will need to go to California now.

 

After that and another year of study, she can apply for her Aikido credential from Japan, which is about $250. That comes with a beautiful certificate with calligraphy.

[Wilma]

Okay, thanks gals.  It seems like what we're paying for belt testing is a little high (white to yellow is $60!), but probably we're still getting a pretty good deal with our family rate for classes.  I was just surprised at an unexpected cost.

[Wilma]

Mine have been involved in Aikido for over a decade. My oldest was nine when he started and is a sophomore in college now and is an instructor at the local dojo.

 

Testing is far less frequent in Aikido, but it was $35 for each level up to black (Shodan). Shodan is $100.

 

In fact (beaming), my 12th grade receives her Shodan tonight after eight years of study.

 

Her testing took two full class periods and is observed by the rest of the class. This gives her a local credential, and then she has to continue to practice and then be evaluated at the "home dojo" in California which gives her the international credential for that branch of Aikido. That is another $100 for that evaluation and certificate. We were fortunate in that we were able to do that in Boston for my oldest in conjunction with a seminar because the proper people to do that were there, but we will need to go to California now.

 

After that and another year of study, she can apply for her Aikido credential from Japan, which is about $250. That comes with a beautiful certificate with calligraphy.

 

Congratulations to your daughter, and the whole family!!

[itsheresomewhere]

We are 250 a month for a family with unlimited lessons per month.  It includes all belt testing and belts expect black and uniforms.   

[Clemsondana]

At ours, it's $25 for belt testing, $50 for black belt. Our testing is done on F or Sat am, so they only end up canceling competition practice and some of the adult 'exercise' type classes or private lessons. Most of the regular lessons are M-Th, so they're not affected. Stripe testing is free and done during class.

[Ausmumof3]

Ours has a separate grading fee but if you add it to the term fee it still costs roughly the same as gymnastics or any similar sport.

[happypamama]

I pay a very reasonable amount for three students to take a total of five classes a week (my 15 and 12yo take two classes a week, and my 8yo takes one), because our instructor gives sibling discounts, and belt test fees are included in the monthly tuition, even black belt testing fees (which, our instructor explained, can be pretty high because you're paying for an embroidered belt, registration with an organization, etc.).  For as much as we get (I puffy heart our school and its instructors -- it's an excellent environment with instructors who both know their stuff and truly care about the students), I feel that we pay a very decent amount.  I know what I paid when DD did ballet at a local private studio, and it's comparable.

 

Testing is about once a month in the evening, in place of that evening's classes.  And since our school offers daytime homeschool classes, if they have a lot of homeschoolers ready to test at once, they'll hold a daytime test after the homeschool class.  The homeschool students can do day or evening tests; we've done both, depending on which timing works better for us.

 

(Garga's kids and mine go to the same place.  She's right -- the evening tests take a looooong time.  Some of it depends on whether it's mostly lower belts testing or higher belts.  Higher belts have more skills to test, so theirs can take longer.)

Edited April 7, 2017 by happypamama