How do I get personal training when I can’t afford it?

[Gyakuto]

Anything running on commercial grounds are bound to be expensive. Our club is run from enthusiats, our instructors do it for the love of their art, and have normal side jobs. And it's a non-profit organisation. This also means that as a student, you never have to doubt that advice give to you is sincerece from deep knowledge of the art and not business tricks or commercial interests. I pay ~ 300 USD for one year. That does not to paying instructors, it's for the club to be able to afford having a nice dojo. And we have top ranked instructors with international experiences, they are not in it for the money so it's priviligie to be part of such community, which is why it grows karatekas that in the future wants to "give back" what has been given to them, for new students.

I think this is more of the ‘European Model’. Enthusiasts teach and only charge to cover the hall rental costs and our are organisations tend to be ‘not-for-profit’. I think this is rare in the US because of it’s more capitalist leanings; people want to make money in anyway they can.

 

[Hot Lunch]

I think this is more of the ‘European Model’. Enthusiasts teach and only charge to cover the hall rental costs and our are organisations tend to be ‘not-for-profit’. I think this is rare in the US because of it’s more capitalist leanings; people want to make money in anyway they can.

I'm not so sure about that. I don't ask to look at the books in office, but based on the number of students I see showing up, the tuition, and the family discounts, and my estimation of the rent based on commercial property square footage in my area... I can say that at least at 3 of the 4 dojos I've trained at, they're likely operating at a loss. And even if they're able to pocket anything, there's no way it can be enough to live on.

 

[Gyakuto]

I'm not so sure about that. I don't ask to look at the books in office, but based on the number of students I see showing up, the tuition, and the family discounts, and my estimation of the rent based on commercial property square footage in my area... I can say that at least at 3 of the 4 dojos I've trained at, they're likely operating at a loss. And even if they're able to pocket anything, there's no way it can be enough to live on.

I wasn’t, in the slightest, suggesting they are well-run businesses (most people don’t have a clue on how to run a successful business!), but the intent is there. For example, I haven’t heard of many U.K. dojo running their own, internal gradings and pocketing the fees for the grading, certificates (menjo), belts etc, instead getting in a national grading panel where the menjo fees go back into running the association and belts etc are bought from third party businesses.

To put things into perspective, I pay £5 ($6.40) to train for three hours with a 7th Dan teacher. What would that likely cost in the USA?

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

I think this is more of the ‘European Model’. Enthusiasts teach and only charge to cover the hall rental costs and our are organisations tend to be ‘not-for-profit’. I think this is rare in the US because of it’s more capitalist leanings; people want to make money in anyway they can.

I can think of plenty of places that I know of/have trained at that are the same. There are definitely for-profit places, and that's likely the majority, but depending where you're living it's not difficult to find a teacher for free or for a very low cost just to cover materials/location. I can think of 3, in 3 different states, that I've personally trained at that did this.

 

[Gyakuto]

I can think of plenty of places that I know of/have trained at that are the same. There are definitely for-profit places, and that's likely the majority, but depending where you're living it's not difficult to find a teacher for free or for a very low cost just to cover materials/location. I can think of 3, in 3 different states, that I've personally trained at that did this.

So the original poster will have no difficulty finding very cheap if not free instruction?

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

So the original poster will have no difficulty finding very cheap if not free instruction?

No difficulty? No. You have to look for those schools, I found them after looking through multiple paid schools because I'm picky (not about price specifically..other factors), and I know how to look for schools/instructors. If you do a quick google search of an area, you will almost definitely find all the profit schools first since they'll optimize SEO. It requires a bit of digging to find cheap/free instruction.

 

[Gyakuto]

Well I don’t think we’ll be hearing from the OP anyway…I think they’re one of those single post bots that we regularly get on here.

 

[Hot Lunch]

To put things into perspective, I pay £5 ($6.40) to train for three hours with a 7th Dan teacher. What would that likely cost in the USA?

At my last dojo, it was $40/hr.

I don't see $6.40 as being fair. That's only a fraction of the minimum wage in the US, and the US minimum wage is garbage compared to other developed countries.

I feel like I took advantage of someone if a haircut is only $20 and it took the barber an hour. I always tip 25% to 50% on haircuts because of this.

 

[Fungus]

I don't see $6.40 as being fair.

Money is not the sole motivator for things and not all rewards are measured in $.

 

[Fungus]

I feel like I took advantage of someone if a haircut is only $20 and it took the barber an hour. I always tip 25% to 50% on haircuts because of this.

When I goto the barber I don't charge for politely listening to the barbers compulsive social talking to customers about things that does not interest me one bit. He gets partly paid in money, the rest in serotonin boost, I get a cheap haircut, and get a mental drain, so who is taking advantage of whom? So that makes it fair enough for me.

 

[Hot Lunch]

Money is not the sole motivator for things and not all rewards are measured in $.

Then why charge the $6.40 at all?

From my perspective, it's about valuing and respecting other people's time. You only get 24 hours in a day, so if I know that there's something else that someone would rather be doing for three of those hours, I'm going to do what I can to make it worth their while.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Then why charge the $6.40 at all?

From my perspective, it's about valuing and respecting other people's time. You only get 24 hours in a day, so if I know that there's something else that someone would rather be doing for three of those hours, I'm going to do what I can to make it worth their while.

From people who have done similar (and from what I would do personally) is that helps pay to rent out whatever space is being used, potentially for insurance depending on how that works in the UK, and to have materials on hand/in good condition for repairs and to loan to new students.

Just because someone does not want to make any money teaching, does not mean they want to lose money in the process.

 

[Hot Lunch]

From people who have done similar (and from what I would do personally) is that helps pay to rent out whatever space is being used, potentially for insurance depending on how that works in the UK, and to have materials on hand/in good condition for repairs and to loan to new students.

Just because someone does not want to make any money teaching, does not mean they want to lose money in the process.

You can get far more money towards rent and insurance in three hours than $6.40 by doing something else. So that explanation won't cut it.

 

[Fungus]

Then why charge the $6.40 at all?

It's for covering overhead costs of the dojo etc as Monkey said. In our club we also have insurace etc, all included in the fee. But we also get public contributions due to the health benefits of engaging people in activity.

Having a student, that really WANTS to learn, and carry on your legacy or knowledge may be worth alot to some and give satisfaction. I also think that hope that the instructors in our club feel the gratitude of all students for their time. That can easily be worth just as much, not everything is about $.

I think we all sometimes help not not family, but friends or similar minded people with things for free? For example, if you help a friend with a computer problem, you may not want to buy the parts, but can offer your free assistance. Beeing able to help, and feeling that your knowledge is appreciated is a reward itself, not to be underestimated.

 

[Hot Lunch]

It's for covering overhead costs of the dojo etc as Monkey said. In our club we also have insurace etc, all included in the fee. But we also get public contributions due to the health benefits of engaging people in activity.

$6.40 is not making enough of a dent in the costs for that claim to be believable by any reasonable person.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

You can get far more money towards rent and insurance in three hours than $6.40 by doing something else. So that explanation won't cut it.

That explanation cuts it just fine, actually. Even if you don't understand it.

 

[Hot Lunch]

That explanation cuts it just fine, actually. Even if you don't understand it.

Three hours to make $6.40 towards thousands per month in costs... nah. You're not going to insult your way out of having to make that make an ounce of sense.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Three hours to make $6.40 towards thousands per month in costs... nah. You're not going to insult your way out of having to make that make an ounce of sense.

You're making up thousands per month in costs. Plenty of places you can teach and have pretty much 0 in rent, or close to it. Making even 50 bucks a month might be enough to cover everything.

 

[Gyakuto]

At my last dojo, it was $40/hr.

I don't see $6.40 as being fair. That's only a fraction of the minimum wage in the US, and the US minimum wage is garbage compared to other developed countries.

That’s partly the point, it’s a wage because of US economic philosophy. In Europe it’s not.

I feel like I took advantage of someone if a haircut is only $20 and it took the barber an hour.

$15 for an expert 30 min haircut from a wonderful Palestinian man.

I always tip 25% to 50% on haircuts because of this.

I tip him $4 and give him medical advice!

 

[Gyakuto]

It's for covering overhead costs of the dojo etc as Monkey said. In our club we also have insurace etc, all included in the fee. But we also get public contributions due to the health benefits of engaging people in activity.

Oh yes…my Finnish friend had a beautiful dojo built for them by their government. Insurance fees are paid directly to our association £30 ($38.40) for a year