Cost of testing

[Rough Rider]

I'm currently a 2nd Dan in KKW style TKD. I'm scheduled to test for 3rd Dan later this year. I feel that I'm ready, but I'm stressed out about the money (The same thing happened with my previous tests.) The test costs $600. My 2nd Dan test was $500. I don't remember how much I paid for 1st Dan and Probationary, but they were expensive too. The price doesn't include a KKW certificate (that's extra).

I'm tempted to forget about and stay a 2nd Dan, but I've already invested a lot. See, at my school, a black belt must take 5 intermediate tests (earning tape stripes on the belt) before testing for the next Dan level. The intermediate tests cost $55, which is the same price as color belt testing. I have my 5 stripes, so I've already paid $275. I think I'm going to scrape together the $600, get my 3rd Dan and then never test again.

I'm also considering checking out other schools, but since I have no KKW certificate (I didn't pay the extra fee), I probably won't be able to transfer as a black belt. I'm also under contract until November.

Any advice would be appreciated.

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[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Ouch. That is a lot of money. I wouldn't even bother advancing with that.

The three options I see are either

-pay the extra for the KKW on this upcoming test then transfer schools,

-talk with another school and see if they will allow you to keep your black belt status (in the same style) and

-wait for a skip dan testing for KKW if that's important to you, or just not test and stay at 2nd dan forever (or until you eventually change schools).

Personally I would have been looking for another school long ago...I pay enough in fees I don't need to pay almost $1000 (combined) just to advance and learn new curriculum.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Missed the contract part...my advice is still the same, with the caveat of waiting until November to switch schools if that's what you choose to do.

 

[DanT]

Speak to your instructor about your concerns, ask to pay the fee over a larger time frame, maybe break up the $600 into 3 payments of $200 or something like that. Remember it's a business not a charity. Speak to your instructor.

 

[Flying Crane]

I'm currently a 2nd Dan in KKW style TKD. I'm scheduled to test for 3rd Dan later this year. I feel that I'm ready, but I'm stressed out about the money (The same thing happened with my previous tests.) The test costs $600. My 2nd Dan test was $500. I don't remember how much I paid for 1st Dan and Probationary, but they were expensive too. The price doesn't include a KKW certificate (that's extra).

I'm tempted to forget about and stay a 2nd Dan, but I've already invested a lot. See, at my school, a black belt must take 5 intermediate tests (earning tape stripes on the belt) before testing for the next Dan level. The intermediate tests cost $55, which is the same price as color belt testing. I have my 5 stripes, so I've already paid $275. I think I'm going to scrape together the $600, get my 3rd Dan and then never test again.

I'm also considering checking out other schools, but since I have no KKW certificate (I didn't pay the extra fee), I probably won't be able to transfer as a black belt. I'm also under contract until November.

Any advice would be appreciated.

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These fees seem atrocious to me.
May I ask: how much is monthly tuition?
And how much is a KKW certificate?

 

[JR 137]

Wow. Seems quite excessive. How much is the monthly tuition?

I’ve heard 1st dan in my organization is around $400. We go to NYC, and the school is a few doors down from the Flatiron Building, so the overhead is quite high, which helps me to justify why the price is what it is. And his tuition is lower than the norm for that area.

Our colored belt tests range from $45-$60. Our tuition is $55 a month with no contracts, which is less than half the commercial dojos and still less than the non-commercial ones. So when I see the $400 for 1st dan (my teacher doesn’t get money from it), I look at the overall cost of attending.

If your monthly tuition is dirt cheap, look at it as the overall cost rather than individually. If not, I’ve got nothing to really say except I’d be looking elsewhere. If you genuinely can’t afford it, speak to your teacher. He/she may be able to pull some strings. My teacher reportedly has in the past.

 

[Headhunter]

Taekwondo really does = take ones dough it seems lol

(Not I'm kidding I've got a lot of respect for taekwondo and actually plan on training it myself soon just to try it out so I'm not a hater on the style just a joke)

But yeah those prices are ridiculous

 

[Rough Rider]

My tuition is $100 per month.

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[Rough Rider]

My tuition is $100 per month.

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I don't know how much the KKW certificate is, but I do know that if I want it I have to pay for 1st Dan, wait 1 year, pay for 2nd Dan, wait 2 more years and pay for 3rd Dan. From what I've read online, Skip-Dan isn't an option because you have to have at least a 1st Dan already.

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[Rough Rider]

My instructor has given me breaks on tuition in the past. For example, when I got out of the military, he stopped charging me altogether until I found a job. Another time, my daughter wanted to quit but still had 8 months left on her contract. He let her out of the contract by adding 8 months to my contract, which I was willing to do since I had no plans on leaving at that time. I'll talk to him again, but I really don't want to be the guy who is constantly asking for breaks.

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[pdg]

I don't know how much the KKW certificate is

Allegedly, about 75usd is what the kkw charge to issue a cert.

The instructor/examiner has to fill out the application though, and from what I've seen they seem to like charging a lot for that...

 

[Tony Dismukes]

If other TKD schools in the area charge less, you might consider just paying for the KKW 1st dan certificate and not worry about testing any more at your current school. I don't know what is typical for TKD schools.

For comparison, in my 37 years of martial arts training, the most I have ever paid for a rank test was around $30. The most I have ever paid for a rank certificate was $100. The median rate I have paid for ranks is $0. (I have been promoted at seminars a few times, but I was paying for the training, not the rank. Even so, the seminars were all less than $100 each.)

(I also never had material held back from me on the basis of my current rank.)

 

[Gnarlie]

Apply for your KKW 1st dan and then leave so that you have something transferable. Those prices are mean. Find a qualified high dan grade KKW examiner and ask them about your options.

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[skribs]

I'm in much the same boat as you. I'm a 2nd Dan, going to test for 3rd Dan in June. Our test is about $850, but that includes the test, the KKW certificate, an embroidered black belt, a new uniform (which are usually in the $125 range), semi-private lessons, and a few other things.

As to not getting the KKW certificate...that's really strange to me, because you have to wait the appropriate amount of time with Kukkiwon. So if your testing schedule is similar, you could be a 4th Dan at your school before you get your 3rd Dan with Kukkiwon.

 

[Rough Rider]

I'm in much the same boat as you. I'm a 2nd Dan, going to test for 3rd Dan in June. Our test is about $850, but that includes the test, the KKW certificate, an embroidered black belt, a new uniform (which are usually in the $125 range), semi-private lessons, and a few other things.

As to not getting the KKW certificate...that's really strange to me, because you have to wait the appropriate amount of time with Kukkiwon. So if your testing schedule is similar, you could be a 4th Dan at your school before you get your 3rd Dan with Kukkiwon.

To be clear, my lack of KKW certificates is due to my own choice to save money. If I had paid for them at the time of my 1st and 2nd Dan tests, I would be eligible for a 3rd Dan certificate after passing my next test.

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[hoshin1600]

hold the pickles and the lettuce.....and the rank and the certificate.
not saying the training isnt good, im just not a fan of charging a boat ton of money for everything.

 

[skribs]

View attachment 21396

hold the pickles and the lettuce.....and the rank and the certificate.
not saying the training isnt good, im just not a fan of charging a boat ton of money for everything.

Except that rank and certificate is going to be required if he goes to another school.

If he moves, or if he changes schools for another reason (his school shut down, falling out, etc) then goes to another school in KKW TKD, they can acknowledge him as a white belt, because he's not ranked in KKW. At that point, he'll have to start all the way over, which means all the time, tuition costs, and testing fees to catch up to where he was.

I don't think there's anything wrong with starting over as a white belt if it's YOUR choice. I was a green belt in TKD as a kid, but I chose to start as a white belt at my dojang because it was 15 years later. I chose to do another art as well (Hapkido) where I started as a white belt. It wasn't my choice to be a white belt, but it was my choice to pursue an art where I knew I would have to start as a white belt.

However, to have earned a second or third degree rank, only to have it stripped away because you don't have an authoritative certificate, can be pretty tough.

Rank doesn't matter until it does. Rank might not matter now, but in the future it might. Being a black belt might get certain benefits at a school, or be required to participate in certain classes and events. For example, at my school, black belts learn weapon techniques, have different sparring rules (which is common among WTF schools) and a black belt is required to be an instructor. If you want to open your own TKD school, you can do that at any time, but to be affiliated with KKW (or any other major organization) you need to be ranked in the organization.

 

[jobo]

I'm currently a 2nd Dan in KKW style TKD. I'm scheduled to test for 3rd Dan later this year. I feel that I'm ready, but I'm stressed out about the money (The same thing happened with my previous tests.) The test costs $600. My 2nd Dan test was $500. I don't remember how much I paid for 1st Dan and Probationary, but they were expensive too. The price doesn't include a KKW certificate (that's extra).

I'm tempted to forget about and stay a 2nd Dan, but I've already invested a lot. See, at my school, a black belt must take 5 intermediate tests (earning tape stripes on the belt) before testing for the next Dan level. The intermediate tests cost $55, which is the same price as color belt testing. I have my 5 stripes, so I've already paid $275. I think I'm going to scrape together the $600, get my 3rd Dan and then never test again.

I'm also considering checking out other schools, but since I have no KKW certificate (I didn't pay the extra fee), I probably won't be able to transfer as a black belt. I'm also under contract until November.

Any advice would be appreciated.

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well they are charging you 600 for something that has no intrinsic value, your the same person with the exact same skills if you part with the money or not. Who needs this 600 more, you or them? Normally I'd say you are paying for the piece of paper. But the seemingly charge an additional amount for that.

I don't know about giving you breaks, it sounds like they are milking you dry

 

[pdg]

Not having the certificates issued when you passed the tests may (or may not) cause problems with getting them now - I'm unsure as to the procedure with retrospective applications. So even if you choose to stump up the cash you may only be able to get 1st dan.

As far as I've been told, most other kkw schools would at least honour your colour belt progression, maybe with in-class assessment, and allow you to test for 1st dan again...

Makes the ITF testing look exceptional value

 

[Tony Dismukes]

For the OP - did you at least get an in-house rank certificate from your instructor?

For other KKW instructors - if you had a new student join your school who had an in-house rank from another KKW instructor, but had not paid for the KKW certificate, would you honor their rank (knowing that they had gone through the same test that could have gotten them KKW rank if they had just paid for the certificate)? Why or why not?