Karate is A Rip Off

[Anonymous]

I "won" the Karate auction at my kid's school which provides for a one month trial. My jaw hit the ground when I saw how expensive it was to enroll. I'm looking for a reasonably priced Karate place in upper montgomery county. I'm not expecting my son to be in the Olympics. I just want him to have fun. Any suggestions for a $50 a month program? Seems like that cost should be in that range rather than the $100 to $150 range that I am seeing around our area.

[Anonymous]

BTW I am not willing to sign a one year contract either.

[Anonymous]

I heard of a studio that charges $240/month and your child can attend any day, even every day...
Not sure if this is good r worth it, but k don't know why all marital arts places are a rip-off....

[Anonymous]

Seems to me that it is your opinion that the studio is charging more for the classes than you wish to pay. However, there must be some families in the area who are willing to pay that otherwise the studio would drop their rates. So while you think it is rip-off, it must be worth it to others.

[Anonymous]

And there is a sucker born every minute too.

[Anonymous]

Check out your local YMCA. That's where I learned.

[Anonymous]

We pay $150 a month for karate classes 3 X week. Also pay $25 for an abacus class. I don't feel it's a rip off - my son loves japanese karate. I didn't feel $150 a month was expensive...am I wrong?

[Anonymous]

100 bucks a month is pretty decent to me.

[Anonymous]

Thanks. I've called many studios and it seems like 150 is the going rate. Personally, I think it is a rip off compared to the other activities that our family is involved in including gymnastics and dance which are much cheaper.

[Anonymous]

It's what the market bears. But 150 is remarkably expensive for a three day a week activity.

But, by comparison, I recall it was around 30/month in early 1980s for unlimited visits. Any economists know how that compares to today's prices?

[Anonymous]

For little kids, up to 7 year olds, $100-$250 it's too expensive. They are usually not serious enough about it to pay that kind of price for it.
As somebody mentioned, that is way over the top in comparison to other children's classes like soccer, gym, etc. plus I really don't see ANy benefits for a 3-7 year old in that kind of sport. They utilize it wrong and have no real understanding of it other than "fight". It is counterproductive at that age.

[Anonymous]

Try the Montgomery County Rec Dept. Tompkins Karate Association offers classes through them at community centers throughout the county and you only have to sign up per session (usually $60-$70 per 3 month session). My daughter and I have both taken their classes and enjoy them. The only down side is that they don't have a dojo -- so you only attend class at a community center. If you child eventually wants to study karate more seriously you can always sign up at a studio sometime down the road. I think the rec classes are especially good for beginners, but there are actually quite a few upper level belts who have stuck with the rec classes for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's what the market bears. But 150 is remarkably expensive for a three day a week activity.

But, by comparison, I recall it was around 30/month in early 1980s for unlimited visits. Any economists know how that compares to today's prices?

$30 in 1980 is about $84 in 2013

[Anonymous]

OP I totally agree with you. I called several karate/tae kwon do/ ju-jitsu places and ALL of them wanted me to sign a long term contract -a year- after the first month. There wasn't a one day a week, month to month option. I also noticed when I observed the classes that many of the kids were not very coordinated. I would have expected more progress if they have been attending 2 to 3 times a week for months. In comparison, the gymnastics classes I observed the kids seemed like they had learned more skills. I am sure there must be some super coordinated kids doing martial arts, I just didn't see many. Perhaps I didn't visit any competitive studios.
Additionally, when I asked about extra fees they all said you have to pay extra for "testing" for a new belt color.

[Anonymous]

Martial arts are a lifestyle and philosophy. To the majority of their younger clients, all this is lost in translation and not worth the price. However, starting at 7 or so, children can really benefit from the greater focus, precision and mentality and morality of martial arts. This is when the sport stops becoming entertainment/exercise and comes into its own.

And OP, music classes range anywhere from $25 to $50 per 30 minutes - that's $50 to $100 per hour!

Straightforward sports are really the cheapest activity you can enroll your child into.