How much do instructors make?

Discussion in 'General Martial Arts Discussion' started by Einstein Mcfly, Feb 6, 2007.

  1. Einstein Mcfly

    Einstein Mcfly New Member

    I know this depends on a lot of factors, but how many people out there can afford to ONLY teach martial arts? Is it mostly just the owner, or is it him and his two top guys or what?
     
  2. Cait

    Cait da Bionic is BACK!

    depends on how big the school gets.
    right now i get nothing, teaching 4-5 days a week, but my training is free, and i get lots of cool stuff. keeps me honest, & about the tkd. but i also know my master wants to pay me - we're just not big enough to afford it.
     
  3. Tommy-2guns...

    Tommy-2guns... southpaw glassjaw

    TKD and some Karate styles teachers make quite a bit compared to other styles due to the amount of child interest in these arts,they normally get masses of children joining each year or each time a new ninja turtle fad comes out,most drop out so its not always long term, but with membership fee's and lots of gradings they make more than most id imadgine.

    verry good MMA gyms and BJJ is also becoming quite big on the money front but it depends on the gym and its rep.

    your more obscure styles such as a lot of kung fu styles,kendo,WMA are not going to be making as much due to the comparativley little interest when compared to the major playors.

    boxing,muay thai and judo instructors always seem to make the least amount of money in my experience of talking to instrcutors.

    but there are so many variables,such as class size,advertising ability etc that make it hard to find a common earning bracket for the majority of teachers, but its apparent that most people who teach martial arts simply cannot cover all of todays living costs just by teaching,quite a few only just cover the cost of runninbg the class in the first place.

    on the surface it looks like the instructors make a packet,with them normally schmoozing a uniform out of you and sometimes charging a cost much higher than its worth,all the grading fee's,liscence fee's,tournament fee's but a lot opf these payments go over the instructors head without them seeing much cut of it. and your averadge instructor is going to have to dish out for his own insurance,equipment,gym/hall costs(nowerdays often verry pricey),a CRB check, and numerous other little costs that add up.

    so to be honest verry few are going to be making any significant profit really, most teach forb the love of the art and the desire to pass on the skills of said art even if in the end it may not make them anymore than the spending on running the place.
     
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2007
  4. Kwajman

    Kwajman Penguin in paradise....

    $20-30k if they are lucky. Though the school owners can make a bundle gross not net income. An instructor back in Wisconsin told me his school was grossing between $500-600k from the number of students he had and the cost of the contracts he was selling. Not bad but I'm sure thats a rarity.
     
  5. bassai

    bassai onwards and upwards ! Moderator Supporter

    It depends on how you run your school , if you decide to go the route of contracts , gradings every other month (i've heard more regular than this :eek: ) and think of lots of other ways to sting your students then there is money to be made.
    But if your only real intention is to teach people your chosen style the best you can then no one i know localy can afford to give up their main job and just teach.
     
  6. 19thlohan

    19thlohan Beast and the Broadsword

    Of course the answer will vary greatly depending on the success of the school and the teacher. I had one teacher who was lucky to break even each month. On the other hand Dr Yang quit being a mechanical engineer to teach kung fu full time and a few years back i helped him move from his old house to his new one and all I can say is that's one rich mo fo.
     
  7. Teebs

    Teebs Valued Member

    For my instructors not a penny (I'm not even sure if they cover their own travel e.t.c.). Any profit for the club goes into things like trips and equipment.
     
  8. Mitch

    Mitch Lord Mitch of MAP Admin

    No way I could stop working and just teach with the 40 students I have.

    No way I would really feel I was teaching if I had many more than that, unless I started teaching every night and I like training on those other nights!

    Mitch
     
  9. axelb

    axelb Master of Office Chair Fu

    I only teach as a part time thing and it barely covers the cost of travel.

    There are many tkd, karate and judo schools around here that seem to make most profit based on the uniforms and gradings.
     
  10. taekwonguy

    taekwonguy Very Valued Member :)

    some instructors who only do private lessons earn a fair bit!
     

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