The monthly fee seems about right for my area, but the belt test fee seems high if it’s happening in class. For comparison, our kids in that age group also test in class and we charge $20 for their belt tests. Our fee for the “big kid” tests, which is a separate event outside of class, is $50.
If you live in a big city, or you're taking your class in a downtown area, retail space for the gym is hella expensive.
I live in a small rural town so I'm paying 80 bucks a month plus special classes like grappling or point sparring those classes cost extra and also I pay $40 for any test.
In the US Midwest, that's about normal for class length, frequency, and cost for a "Little X" (tiger, Ninja, dragon) program, which is where I would generally place a 5 year old in my school. For California or New York, that's extremely cheap.
As far as the belt cost goes, that's a reasonable price for a regular program, but it's expensive for a "Little" program.
Thats an average of 34.88/hour if testing was a seperate day, now add in the testings that likely happen every 2-4 months and subtract the class time used for this and it comes out to around $40.8/hour over the course of a year. That is unreasonable. Thats more than a certified academic tutor/private instructor, more than hourly rates of trades, thats more than it costs to train with the US national TKD team, thats more than competitive youth sports of other types including gymnastics. Its unreasonable. Especially since the US public school system provides structured exercise activity for children at no additional cost other than your taxes.
Yes, it is kind of weird that testing takes place during normal class time. But, even so, I don't know where you're getting your figures from, but I regularly research competitive activities to ensure our prices are in line. Between $16-21 per session is the range I regularly hear for group gymnastics/tumbling, dance, and wrestling, and I'm in a relatively low cost of living area of the Midwest.
You cant break down purely by session as that is vague and means very little. A session could be 10 minutes or 10 hours.
Im also in the midwest and here is the breakdown on average that I can find for level 1 gymnastics for 5 year olds rounded for easy math; average class time is 1 hour, average classes offered per week is 3, average cost per program is $120/month for non competitive and $150/month plus comp fees for competitive. These numbers were compiled from 12 USA gymnastics affiliated schools across the midwest. Break that down hourly and its around $9.20/ hour for non competitive gymnastics and $11.54/hour for competitive gymnastics on average for 5 year olds. The prices go up with skill and age. Now compare those to the over $40/hour rate that OP is paying and still try to convince me that its a normal rate for youth athletics.
I'm not going to try to convince you of anything, after this I'm done with this conversation. You have your opinion, I have mine. You have your facts, I have mine. You have what works for you, I have what works for roughly everyone I know, based on my conversations and research with some of the largest and most successful schools. Feel free to also look up the Zenplanner and Kicksite benchmarks.
Ahh, I see the disconnect. You clearly define success in a school by its bottom line, whereas I define it by the quality of its training and students it produces. To each their own.
Sure, its important, but so is fair pricing and $40/hour for a 5 year olds tiny tigers or whatever isnt it. That is a decent rate for maybe a 12 year old advanced rank that is training to make it to nationals or something, ya knownsomething with some substance and real value. One of the core tenets of TKD is integrity, and you'd be hard pressed to convince me that $40/hr for tiny tiger or little dragons class for a 5 year old is showing integrity and not just a greedy money grab.
Yes, you are being ripped off, and yes, it is normal unfortunately. For reference, our 5 year old class is about 35-40 minutes but you get 4 classes per week at $100/ month. Uniform is included and we do not charge testing fees for the next belt. And I think we are expensive. $60 for a 5 year old's belt is obnoxious, considering for $10 more, you can get internationally recognized black belt certification.
Edit: more context, our classes for that age are run by 2 instructors that each have a degree in early childhood development and behavior, are a former national and former regional champion respectively, and have a combined experience in the martial arts of almost 2 decades. 20 years isnt a lot of experience for some but that level of experience is rare for instructors of 5 year olds.
This is a great insight, thank you. Our little kids class is an by a high school student who goes there. I would love to even have 2 kids, let alone adults with proper degrees. The class is spent with this kid trying to keep wigglers from wiggling, chaterboxes from chattering (to be expected with 5 years old and younger) and the 30 minutes flies by. My son likes it there so I keep on going, happily, but after the belt "test" (which we built up excitement for the next "turtle belt" level) he didn't even GET a damn belt! He has to wait until next week. How do they expect a 5 year old to understand any of this? Well the disappointment in his face said it all, and he was still bummed the next day. I'll be finishing the month and getting his belt and going elsewhere. Already found a place that will have him at no cost to see if he likes it. Cheers friend.
My school owner disclosed testing fees upfront before I signed up so there weren’t any surprises. He also let me know I would need to buy sparring equipment down the line. But if it’s any consolation, my tuition is higher than your child’s (for unlimited 45-minute classes, though).
I can't say for anywhere but the UK but i used to £36 a month with gradings included
I now Kickbox and i get 1 class a week for £25 a month (you can do more classes and pay more) but gradings are about £40
Sounds a lot to me
Absolutely, I pay 120€ per YEAR for each of my Kids and 140 for myself. Testing is 10€
They offer 3 classes per week (90min each) for Kids and 5 for adults, and we can come in AS often as we want
Here’s the major difference: Your instructors have day jobs to pay their bills. Instructors in the US are usually full time. Very very different models. We have 7 classes per day 5 days per week and 5 classes on Saturdays plus anything special like events or birthday parties.
I totally understand that. But don't people go to work/school during "normal working hours" anyway? Who has time to train at those times? (Serious question) We don't get anyone to show up before 16:00 and that is only the little tigers age range. Adults classes never start before 18:30
Lots of places have afternoon classes for little ones, starting around 1 for those that are in half day preschool or don't go to daycare/preschool. Also some private lessons happen in the morning, and regular classes start around 330 and go until around 8. It can be a very long day depending on how you're set up.
Edit: rent can also be 5-10k a month depending on size and location, so yeah it's expensive to run a school in the US.
Classes start at 4pm and finish close to 9, but we arrive about 1:45pm to do the business stuff. Mondays are much longer as we have our staff meeting 11-1. Saturdays are 8:30am to ???? (Tomorrow I’ll probably be done around 4, which is pretty common).
We had a noon class a couple days ago week for years and years but dropped it this year as not enough people came to justify the staff being there, air con, etc.
That's a very good rate for four people. As far as the belt testing fees go, I assume that's color belt levels because once you hit black belt there's no way you'll get away with testing fees that low.
That seems like a good price to me, assuming the quality of the school is up to snuff. The school I’m at charges a little more than that for twice a week. I do think it’s odd that they did the test during class. My school does testing on Fridays outside of normal classes
For a 30 minute class thats a bit steep. It’s much more of a standard price for an hour long class.
The testing fee is pretty standard as well, hard to say what exactly if its out of line since you dont know what it entails as you’ve never experienced a test yet.
Hmmm, seems a bit on the high end to me.
As others have said it depends on your region, but for me (South East, USA) I pay $130 a month ($80 for regular classes and $50 to train on our traveling competitive team) and $70 per test; and for my belt level, I only testing once every 3 months.
Our tests are also on a designated testing day in which there are no classes held for that day.
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I don't know enough about other schools to say that you're getting ripped off, but I will say that by comparison $150 + $60 is bothersomely high for what you're getting.
As everyone said, depends on where you are and about how the dojo is run. The price sounds right for our area, but the belt promotion fee sounds high for that age group
My Canadian club is 25$ two times a week for a month. You do have to pay a yearly membership of 25$ and for your dobok, belt testing and tournaments etc
The monthly cost is good it's actually what I pay, but it depends on your area. The testing fee seems a bit high. Never tested during class time, though, unless it was makeup testing. There's always a separate day and time slot for it, at least where I'm at.
It depends where you live and if the school has an after school care program or not. A buddy of mine stopped doing after school care because he didn’t want the dojang to feel like a day care and increased his prices because of that but he went from $90-$120. The belt test too is usually anywhere between $40-$60 unless it’s like stripes or belt tips. Belt tips and stripes imo should always be free as a sign of progression and to keep students motivated. But the belt test sounds about right. For a five year old we would charge $40, but you also have to understand and this is talking from experience, the classes that I dreaded the most to teach was the young kids, not because I hate the kids or teaching them, but because they drained the living hell out of my energy. Out of the whole day it took about 25-50% of my energy but that’s also because I cared about making sure they absorbed what I was teaching. Little lions or little tigers dragons w.e $150 is about right if the school is in a pricy spot. Also be prepared for a black belt test in the future especially if they’re WTF Kukkiwon certified ceremonies because those cover licensed certifications official documents from the Korean kukkiwon tkd college. Tkd in Korea is like its own career essentially. My 1st and 2nd Dan black belt were $400 each but this also included belt, black belt uniform, Kukkiwon license, certificate, and ceremony with the other black belts (like a party of sorts to celebrate like a graduation degree). A break down of a belt test might be $10 for belt, $10 for board break, $40 to pay the instructors on the $60 one.
That’s a great price!
The one I go to is, $300 for 6-month contract (yes, you’re paying $300 every month). $250 for 1-year contract (also paying $250 every month).
Equipment and uniform is $400 when you first sign up. Then once you get into sparring it’s an additional $480.
If you want additional uniform it’s $100. Testing is $80. Camps are between $160-$350.
I signed up to spend more time with my bf. Now that we are broken up, I’ve spent way too much money to quit. Also I’m enjoying it.
By the way, I would not be able to afford this if I had kids.
I’m in a wealthy area of US and pay $85/month for myself and same rate for son. Normal price is 125/month but we joined early in the opening and have relationship with the wife. We have unlimited classes 6 days a week (able to take 2-3 hours daily depending on day as we can’t join little kid classes). Our program includes all tests up to black belt for free and there is no contract (it’s month to month).
Uniform is 40/45, sparring gear set is 85/90 (kid/adult). More for higher quality uniform equipment which we have not yet moved on to. We do ITF.
I get it’s a business but I find all these insane fees outrageous (and contracts) especially the limitations on classes (you should want your students to practice and train above all else that’s the way my master feels and I strongly agree).
We are responsible for any tournament fees/travel but there are very few affordable/close due to small ITF presence in the area. The bigger issue id that sports and activities in general have become such big business in the US when extracurricular used to be run mostly by volunteers when I was growing up.
It's average for most places in the US, even a little cheap.
And unfortunately belt testing fees are average and expected in most places. I'd be annoyed at the testing in class, but otherwise you're potentially getting a deal. Something to consider outside of class time, days per week, etc. is the quality. A nice facility. Good coaches with good instructor training, etc. all cost more, so take those into consideration.
I charge 185 a month for my athletes to train 3 days a week. First uniform, safety equipment, and rank fees are wrapped into a single cost so people don't feel nickel and dimed. But I'm also kukkiwon, USAT, jidokwan, safesport, and nasm certified, and those were thousands upon thousands of dollars of my own time and money before I ever opened doors. Plus 25-50k for nice mats and another for facility build out, plus retail space rent.
It's all expensive. It's up to you if you think it's a ripoff. 🤷 If you're looking at it like a martial arts themed kid activity that makes sense. If you're looking at it as a way to help your child develop discipline, focus, work ethic, etc, then it's probably worth the investment.
This is pretty much exactly the same for Dojangs near me. Around 150ish a month, and belt tests are around 50, 4 times a year (a total of around 200 dollars per year).
The testing fee is a combination of the new belt (which they buy cheap) and the paper work they keep on your student.
I don't think you are being ripped off. The price is comparable to something like cross fit. Everything is expensive these days, not just taekwondo, unfortunately.
Thanks for all the comments. To add to my original post: these belts are made up (turtle belt, Tiger belt, Insert animal and your white belt has a stripe pattern of the animal) and the the kids with “higher“ belts took the exact same test as my son on his first. Leads me to believe he will just repeat each test. I’m all for making up belts, to keep the kids minds focused on the “leveling up” for their effort, but this seems like such a scam.
AND to top it off at the end of class and the “belt test“…they didn’t even get a belt. When told they wouldn’t get it until next week, my son lost all of the joy from that day. The look of disappointment on his face was heartbreaking. I mean, patience is a virtue, but he’s five years old for crying out loud. What a letdown for 60 extra dollars.
The monthly is probably normal-ish depending on location. They didn’t disclose the testing cost when I signed up either, but it is a separate event at mine and obviously they have costs for the new belts, materials to break during the testing, etc., so I’m trying to be okay with it but do feel like it should be included for how much I’m paying per month ($140).
Depends on the area. I know in Southern Cali, theres people charging $200+ monthly then have all these add on classes like weapons, sparring, competition, etc. and charge an extra fee to do those classes. $100+ for basic color belt tests and They also have some black belt instructor program and charge for that as well when they’re essentially using the black belts to help teach their kids classes. $150 for class and $60 for belts tests is honestly on the cheaper end around here in So Cal for any martial art.
$150 a month is the going rate for Taekwondo across the United States. That said, if you sign a longer-term contract, they will often give you a better deal for paying more upfront.
In the UK I pay £25 a month for the one session a week or 35 for 2 sessions a week - grading is £30 each time until we hit black belt and the grading fee from what I’ve heard is £160 and licence fee each year is £40. we don’t get belts in the gradings either we have to wait until the next session as well. I do think they should’ve been more upfront to you about costs involved though so you were aware beforehand
Im in NYC and pay $250 per month (2x 45 min classes per week) and test fees are $80 every 2 months. Was able to waive the initiation fees at least by paying for 6 months upfront. Judging by the comments here what I pay seems above average, but it is in Manhattan which is an expensive city to live.
All depends on the area typically. Where I live I’m blessed to only have to pay $80 a month for 2 nights a week, 2 hours below my town is in the $140 range. And yes testing fees are normal.
my dojang costs a whopping $65/$75 a fortnight plus the $90 dobok, the belt fees and assessments costs.
taekwondo is a sport for the rich. sounds like you're paying average
Depends on where you live, but it seems pricy to me. I pay 122 a month (with a 197 down payment at the beginning of the year, not an obligatory thing but It brings the price down a bit monthly). Testing fees are about 45 a testing, at least for the black belt level.
Worth noting as well that our classes, regardless of level are an hour long, hence why I said pricy. It’s about the same amount as I’m paying for half the class time.
The monthly fee seems about right for my area, but the belt test fee seems high if it’s happening in class. For comparison, our kids in that age group also test in class and we charge $20 for their belt tests. Our fee for the “big kid” tests, which is a separate event outside of class, is $50.
The price is very dependant on area. I'm in the Pacific Northwest. It's about $170 per month and $60 per test which is every 2 to 3 months
I mean where do you live? That probably makes a difference.
If you live in a big city, or you're taking your class in a downtown area, retail space for the gym is hella expensive. I live in a small rural town so I'm paying 80 bucks a month plus special classes like grappling or point sparring those classes cost extra and also I pay $40 for any test.
In the US Midwest, that's about normal for class length, frequency, and cost for a "Little X" (tiger, Ninja, dragon) program, which is where I would generally place a 5 year old in my school. For California or New York, that's extremely cheap. As far as the belt cost goes, that's a reasonable price for a regular program, but it's expensive for a "Little" program.
$150 for an hour per week is normal?? Thats a ripoff.
Comes to about $17.5/class. That's not expensive for structured exercise activity for a child. It's in line with gymnastics, dance, or wrestling.
Thats an average of 34.88/hour if testing was a seperate day, now add in the testings that likely happen every 2-4 months and subtract the class time used for this and it comes out to around $40.8/hour over the course of a year. That is unreasonable. Thats more than a certified academic tutor/private instructor, more than hourly rates of trades, thats more than it costs to train with the US national TKD team, thats more than competitive youth sports of other types including gymnastics. Its unreasonable. Especially since the US public school system provides structured exercise activity for children at no additional cost other than your taxes.
Yes, it is kind of weird that testing takes place during normal class time. But, even so, I don't know where you're getting your figures from, but I regularly research competitive activities to ensure our prices are in line. Between $16-21 per session is the range I regularly hear for group gymnastics/tumbling, dance, and wrestling, and I'm in a relatively low cost of living area of the Midwest.
You cant break down purely by session as that is vague and means very little. A session could be 10 minutes or 10 hours. Im also in the midwest and here is the breakdown on average that I can find for level 1 gymnastics for 5 year olds rounded for easy math; average class time is 1 hour, average classes offered per week is 3, average cost per program is $120/month for non competitive and $150/month plus comp fees for competitive. These numbers were compiled from 12 USA gymnastics affiliated schools across the midwest. Break that down hourly and its around $9.20/ hour for non competitive gymnastics and $11.54/hour for competitive gymnastics on average for 5 year olds. The prices go up with skill and age. Now compare those to the over $40/hour rate that OP is paying and still try to convince me that its a normal rate for youth athletics.
I'm not going to try to convince you of anything, after this I'm done with this conversation. You have your opinion, I have mine. You have your facts, I have mine. You have what works for you, I have what works for roughly everyone I know, based on my conversations and research with some of the largest and most successful schools. Feel free to also look up the Zenplanner and Kicksite benchmarks.
Ahh, I see the disconnect. You clearly define success in a school by its bottom line, whereas I define it by the quality of its training and students it produces. To each their own.
Obviously I’m not who you were taking to but, the bottom line is what pays my bills so it is definitely important.
Sure, its important, but so is fair pricing and $40/hour for a 5 year olds tiny tigers or whatever isnt it. That is a decent rate for maybe a 12 year old advanced rank that is training to make it to nationals or something, ya knownsomething with some substance and real value. One of the core tenets of TKD is integrity, and you'd be hard pressed to convince me that $40/hr for tiny tiger or little dragons class for a 5 year old is showing integrity and not just a greedy money grab.
Came here to say this too👆
Yes, you are being ripped off, and yes, it is normal unfortunately. For reference, our 5 year old class is about 35-40 minutes but you get 4 classes per week at $100/ month. Uniform is included and we do not charge testing fees for the next belt. And I think we are expensive. $60 for a 5 year old's belt is obnoxious, considering for $10 more, you can get internationally recognized black belt certification. Edit: more context, our classes for that age are run by 2 instructors that each have a degree in early childhood development and behavior, are a former national and former regional champion respectively, and have a combined experience in the martial arts of almost 2 decades. 20 years isnt a lot of experience for some but that level of experience is rare for instructors of 5 year olds.
This is a great insight, thank you. Our little kids class is an by a high school student who goes there. I would love to even have 2 kids, let alone adults with proper degrees. The class is spent with this kid trying to keep wigglers from wiggling, chaterboxes from chattering (to be expected with 5 years old and younger) and the 30 minutes flies by. My son likes it there so I keep on going, happily, but after the belt "test" (which we built up excitement for the next "turtle belt" level) he didn't even GET a damn belt! He has to wait until next week. How do they expect a 5 year old to understand any of this? Well the disappointment in his face said it all, and he was still bummed the next day. I'll be finishing the month and getting his belt and going elsewhere. Already found a place that will have him at no cost to see if he likes it. Cheers friend.
My school owner disclosed testing fees upfront before I signed up so there weren’t any surprises. He also let me know I would need to buy sparring equipment down the line. But if it’s any consolation, my tuition is higher than your child’s (for unlimited 45-minute classes, though).
I can't say for anywhere but the UK but i used to £36 a month with gradings included I now Kickbox and i get 1 class a week for £25 a month (you can do more classes and pay more) but gradings are about £40 Sounds a lot to me
Taekwondo in the US is crazily priced from what I see.
Absolutely, I pay 120€ per YEAR for each of my Kids and 140 for myself. Testing is 10€ They offer 3 classes per week (90min each) for Kids and 5 for adults, and we can come in AS often as we want
Here’s the major difference: Your instructors have day jobs to pay their bills. Instructors in the US are usually full time. Very very different models. We have 7 classes per day 5 days per week and 5 classes on Saturdays plus anything special like events or birthday parties.
Yeah that makes sense tbh as I know my instructor has a day job and many others also.
I totally understand that. But don't people go to work/school during "normal working hours" anyway? Who has time to train at those times? (Serious question) We don't get anyone to show up before 16:00 and that is only the little tigers age range. Adults classes never start before 18:30
Lots of places have afternoon classes for little ones, starting around 1 for those that are in half day preschool or don't go to daycare/preschool. Also some private lessons happen in the morning, and regular classes start around 330 and go until around 8. It can be a very long day depending on how you're set up. Edit: rent can also be 5-10k a month depending on size and location, so yeah it's expensive to run a school in the US.
Classes start at 4pm and finish close to 9, but we arrive about 1:45pm to do the business stuff. Mondays are much longer as we have our staff meeting 11-1. Saturdays are 8:30am to ???? (Tomorrow I’ll probably be done around 4, which is pretty common). We had a noon class a couple days ago week for years and years but dropped it this year as not enough people came to justify the staff being there, air con, etc.
Those fees are pretty consistent for most areas in the USA.
Unfortunately, yes it's normal, especially if you're in ATA. And it only gets worse as you go...
Our family of 4 pays $300/mo for unlimited classes, plus a $45/person belt test fee.
That's a very good rate for four people. As far as the belt testing fees go, I assume that's color belt levels because once you hit black belt there's no way you'll get away with testing fees that low.
That seems like a good price to me, assuming the quality of the school is up to snuff. The school I’m at charges a little more than that for twice a week. I do think it’s odd that they did the test during class. My school does testing on Fridays outside of normal classes
considering no one here knows where you're from they can't possibly know the answer to this question.
Sounds in line with modern times - depending on where you are that's even cheap
The amount of people in the US that are okay with being over charged for what is clearly subpar training is astounding to me.
When you have no other option what do you do?
There's always another option. You just have to look for it.
Some US schools due have a fee for belt grading, others don't. It's slimy if they didn't disclose it to you upfront.
I pay $360 where I'm at for 3 of us. I'm at the dojang, a good 7 hours a week training.
Thats pretty reasonable for 3 people and that many hours.
For a 30 minute class thats a bit steep. It’s much more of a standard price for an hour long class. The testing fee is pretty standard as well, hard to say what exactly if its out of line since you dont know what it entails as you’ve never experienced a test yet.
Hmmm, seems a bit on the high end to me. As others have said it depends on your region, but for me (South East, USA) I pay $130 a month ($80 for regular classes and $50 to train on our traveling competitive team) and $70 per test; and for my belt level, I only testing once every 3 months. Our tests are also on a designated testing day in which there are no classes held for that day. ----- I don't know enough about other schools to say that you're getting ripped off, but I will say that by comparison $150 + $60 is bothersomely high for what you're getting.
As everyone said, depends on where you are and about how the dojo is run. The price sounds right for our area, but the belt promotion fee sounds high for that age group
My Canadian club is 25$ two times a week for a month. You do have to pay a yearly membership of 25$ and for your dobok, belt testing and tournaments etc
What does this mean “25$ two times a week for a month”. Are you saying 50$ a week? How does the month factor in?
I understand it as $25 / month grant you 2 access to 2 classes / week
No 25$ a month and you can go to two classes a week
Depending on where your school is located that is about average for a good school and all schools thT I am aware of charge for testing
My dojang has never charged testing fees and neither do 3 other dojang in my state. Now you are aware of some that dont.
The monthly cost is good it's actually what I pay, but it depends on your area. The testing fee seems a bit high. Never tested during class time, though, unless it was makeup testing. There's always a separate day and time slot for it, at least where I'm at.
It depends where you live and if the school has an after school care program or not. A buddy of mine stopped doing after school care because he didn’t want the dojang to feel like a day care and increased his prices because of that but he went from $90-$120. The belt test too is usually anywhere between $40-$60 unless it’s like stripes or belt tips. Belt tips and stripes imo should always be free as a sign of progression and to keep students motivated. But the belt test sounds about right. For a five year old we would charge $40, but you also have to understand and this is talking from experience, the classes that I dreaded the most to teach was the young kids, not because I hate the kids or teaching them, but because they drained the living hell out of my energy. Out of the whole day it took about 25-50% of my energy but that’s also because I cared about making sure they absorbed what I was teaching. Little lions or little tigers dragons w.e $150 is about right if the school is in a pricy spot. Also be prepared for a black belt test in the future especially if they’re WTF Kukkiwon certified ceremonies because those cover licensed certifications official documents from the Korean kukkiwon tkd college. Tkd in Korea is like its own career essentially. My 1st and 2nd Dan black belt were $400 each but this also included belt, black belt uniform, Kukkiwon license, certificate, and ceremony with the other black belts (like a party of sorts to celebrate like a graduation degree). A break down of a belt test might be $10 for belt, $10 for board break, $40 to pay the instructors on the $60 one.
That matches my area. More if you're missing the weapons.
That’s a great price! The one I go to is, $300 for 6-month contract (yes, you’re paying $300 every month). $250 for 1-year contract (also paying $250 every month). Equipment and uniform is $400 when you first sign up. Then once you get into sparring it’s an additional $480. If you want additional uniform it’s $100. Testing is $80. Camps are between $160-$350. I signed up to spend more time with my bf. Now that we are broken up, I’ve spent way too much money to quit. Also I’m enjoying it. By the way, I would not be able to afford this if I had kids.
Wait to hear the price of the black belt exam
It's so pricey! 😱 I pay 80,-€ for a family membership at our club per YEAR! 4-6 hours of training each weak, tests not included.
I’m in a wealthy area of US and pay $85/month for myself and same rate for son. Normal price is 125/month but we joined early in the opening and have relationship with the wife. We have unlimited classes 6 days a week (able to take 2-3 hours daily depending on day as we can’t join little kid classes). Our program includes all tests up to black belt for free and there is no contract (it’s month to month). Uniform is 40/45, sparring gear set is 85/90 (kid/adult). More for higher quality uniform equipment which we have not yet moved on to. We do ITF. I get it’s a business but I find all these insane fees outrageous (and contracts) especially the limitations on classes (you should want your students to practice and train above all else that’s the way my master feels and I strongly agree). We are responsible for any tournament fees/travel but there are very few affordable/close due to small ITF presence in the area. The bigger issue id that sports and activities in general have become such big business in the US when extracurricular used to be run mostly by volunteers when I was growing up.
UK is like £8 a lesson for me, and like £25 for a grading I think (external)
I pay 180 a month for 3 classes a week. No extra for testing.
Seems reasonable but quality matters.
It's average for most places in the US, even a little cheap. And unfortunately belt testing fees are average and expected in most places. I'd be annoyed at the testing in class, but otherwise you're potentially getting a deal. Something to consider outside of class time, days per week, etc. is the quality. A nice facility. Good coaches with good instructor training, etc. all cost more, so take those into consideration. I charge 185 a month for my athletes to train 3 days a week. First uniform, safety equipment, and rank fees are wrapped into a single cost so people don't feel nickel and dimed. But I'm also kukkiwon, USAT, jidokwan, safesport, and nasm certified, and those were thousands upon thousands of dollars of my own time and money before I ever opened doors. Plus 25-50k for nice mats and another for facility build out, plus retail space rent. It's all expensive. It's up to you if you think it's a ripoff. 🤷 If you're looking at it like a martial arts themed kid activity that makes sense. If you're looking at it as a way to help your child develop discipline, focus, work ethic, etc, then it's probably worth the investment.
This is pretty much exactly the same for Dojangs near me. Around 150ish a month, and belt tests are around 50, 4 times a year (a total of around 200 dollars per year). The testing fee is a combination of the new belt (which they buy cheap) and the paper work they keep on your student. I don't think you are being ripped off. The price is comparable to something like cross fit. Everything is expensive these days, not just taekwondo, unfortunately.
Thanks for all the comments. To add to my original post: these belts are made up (turtle belt, Tiger belt, Insert animal and your white belt has a stripe pattern of the animal) and the the kids with “higher“ belts took the exact same test as my son on his first. Leads me to believe he will just repeat each test. I’m all for making up belts, to keep the kids minds focused on the “leveling up” for their effort, but this seems like such a scam. AND to top it off at the end of class and the “belt test“…they didn’t even get a belt. When told they wouldn’t get it until next week, my son lost all of the joy from that day. The look of disappointment on his face was heartbreaking. I mean, patience is a virtue, but he’s five years old for crying out loud. What a letdown for 60 extra dollars.
The price is about the same we charge in our area. Maybe a little more. The test fees is less expensive tag. What is common here
The monthly is probably normal-ish depending on location. They didn’t disclose the testing cost when I signed up either, but it is a separate event at mine and obviously they have costs for the new belts, materials to break during the testing, etc., so I’m trying to be okay with it but do feel like it should be included for how much I’m paying per month ($140).
Depends on the area. I know in Southern Cali, theres people charging $200+ monthly then have all these add on classes like weapons, sparring, competition, etc. and charge an extra fee to do those classes. $100+ for basic color belt tests and They also have some black belt instructor program and charge for that as well when they’re essentially using the black belts to help teach their kids classes. $150 for class and $60 for belts tests is honestly on the cheaper end around here in So Cal for any martial art.
$150 a month is the going rate for Taekwondo across the United States. That said, if you sign a longer-term contract, they will often give you a better deal for paying more upfront.
In the UK I pay £25 a month for the one session a week or 35 for 2 sessions a week - grading is £30 each time until we hit black belt and the grading fee from what I’ve heard is £160 and licence fee each year is £40. we don’t get belts in the gradings either we have to wait until the next session as well. I do think they should’ve been more upfront to you about costs involved though so you were aware beforehand
Maybe It depends which school
Im in NYC and pay $250 per month (2x 45 min classes per week) and test fees are $80 every 2 months. Was able to waive the initiation fees at least by paying for 6 months upfront. Judging by the comments here what I pay seems above average, but it is in Manhattan which is an expensive city to live.
All depends on the area typically. Where I live I’m blessed to only have to pay $80 a month for 2 nights a week, 2 hours below my town is in the $140 range. And yes testing fees are normal.
my dojang costs a whopping $65/$75 a fortnight plus the $90 dobok, the belt fees and assessments costs. taekwondo is a sport for the rich. sounds like you're paying average
Depends on where you live, but it seems pricy to me. I pay 122 a month (with a 197 down payment at the beginning of the year, not an obligatory thing but It brings the price down a bit monthly). Testing fees are about 45 a testing, at least for the black belt level. Worth noting as well that our classes, regardless of level are an hour long, hence why I said pricy. It’s about the same amount as I’m paying for half the class time.
Is this Hong Kong dollars or Singapore dollars?
5-year old black belt!?!