Starting a school

[Fred Claus]

Has anyone ever started a Krav Maga school? I was thinking about starting one but when I looked at certification for instructors I was a bit put off. You have to be a "black belt in another martial art" to train as an instructor for this one company. How do you prove such a thing? I have taken classes when i was a kid in Kung Fu but the school doesn't exist anymore. How can I prove that I'm a black belt in Kung Fu? Do I need "Certification" to teach Krav Maga or is it just to open as school associated with KMW or GMAU?

 

[Headhunter]

Well do you adtually train Krav Maga?

 

[Fred Claus]

Yes I am a Blue belt right now. If I wait a couple more years, I will be a black belt and it won't matter, but I was hoping to start something where I could do women's self defense classes, and beginner training.

 

[Headhunter]

Yes I am a Blue belt right now. If I wait a couple more years, I will be a black belt and it won't matter, but I was hoping to start something where I could do women's self defense classes, and beginner training.

I don't know about all that. My Krav Maga doesn't have belts but then wait until your a black belt then you'll have the relevant experience there's to much mediocre Krav Maga out there as it is that makes the whole system look bad. Not saying you would be bad but it makes sense to get the proper rank needed before teaching

 

[Headhunter]

If you really want to do a class I suggest fitness based on Krav Maga movements like a boxercise class but with Krav Maga but be honest and say it's a pure fitness class that way you can still do some classes but not full Krav Maga

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

If your school says you should wait to teach, then wait to teach. How long have you been training, and how long does it take to reach black belt, on average?

Also, why does it matter if you can prove you have a black belt in a different martial art, if you don't have one yourself (taking classes as a kid does not equate to a black belt in kung fu. Besides kung fu not being a style, and most CMA systems not having belts).

 

[Headhunter]

If your school says you should wait to teach, then wait to teach. How long have you been training, and how long does it take to reach black belt, on average?

Also, why does it matter if you can prove you have a black belt in a different martial art, if you don't have one yourself (taking classes as a kid does not equate to a black belt in kung fu. Besides kung fu not being a style, and most CMA systems not having belts).

Yeah I'd think if you got a black belt or whatever the equivalent in Kung fu. You'd have some sort of certificate or acknowledgement of it

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Yeah I'd think if you got a black belt or whatever the equivalent in Kung fu. You'd have some sort of certificate or acknowledgement of it

To be fair, I got a certificate in SKK for black belt, but I have no idea where it is. I got another one in my okinawan kenpo, and I'm pretty sure its in my 'miscellaneous documentations' folder, but I couldn't guarantee it.

 

[Fred Claus]

Thanks for the advise. I guess what the school was saying was if you had a blackbelt in another form of Martial Art, you don't have to have a black belt in Krav to take the certified instructor program. I think I will just do it after I earn my black belt. I've been studying for 6 years, but the first two I didn't do anything with belts. It takes about 5-6 years of constant study and belt testing to earn a black belt.

 

[Kababayan]

Your original question has a lot of different facets to it. The first being the desire to start a school. When I first read your question, I thought you were going to ask advice on how to start a school. But as I read on, I feel that you are more asking about Krav certifications. Let me address what I think you are asking, from the perspective of someone who owned a dojo full time:

You do not need a certification to teach any art, whether it be Krav Maga, Kung Fu, TKD, etc. Certifications are given by the individual organizations that you are a part of, and there is no governing body requiring anything when it comes to teaching a particular art. It all is based on who you intend to market with. If I want to teach with and advertise with Krav Maga World Wide, then they want me to get a KMWW certification. It would be the same with KMG, etc. The general public wouldn't know the difference. You could even claim to be a Black Belt (even if you are not) and most of your students wouldn't know the difference, unless you are a really bad martial artist and instructor. I told this story on another thread, but I knew a Green Belt who opened a dojo and began wearing a Black Belt. His students didn't know the difference because he was a pretty good teacher. He went on to become a multiple-time sport karate champion and a hold many world records for breaking. He lied about being a Black Belt, but he grew into the rank and became a very good martial artist.

A lot of people open dojos without having any certification, other than maybe a Black Belt certificate. Teaching certifications are a great way for organizations to make money off of people who want to open dojos. That's not meant to sound insulting; it's actually a really smart way to make additional income. Many organizations have an "Instructor's College", but you don't need any certification if you are opening an independant dojo. I'll put it this way, as a six-year student of Krav, if I decide to open a Krav school I'm not going to spend money getting a certificate to teach the art; I'm just going to teach it. If I were to advertise that I am a KMWW dojo, then I would have to get their certificate. None of this applies to the quality of instruction, but to address your question about certificates, you do not need a certificate to teach an art or open a dojo. I am generalizing when I say this, but certificates are more for us - the experienced martial artists. The general public wouldn't know the difference.