what’s the going fair market rate for a one-on-on session these days??
It depends on what you’re offering.
If the rate includes facilities and equipment, then a regular gym type membership personal trainer fee is not out of range.
IE: 60 - 120 an HR (cdn)
If you are “in the park”, then charge what the student can afford.
Otherwise, charge what you feel the market will bear. 
It’s only money and it doesn’t last as long as the lessons.
cheers
just a second to KL’s commentary.
although, I do know a soke who charges $120/half hour to discourage privates, his words.
The last three teachers I met who were doing private lessons
were charging $65, $50, and $35 per hour, and all three were pretty much unqualified to teach in my opinion. I don’t know how many takers/students they had
my instructor charges £15 an hour
if you catch him at his “drop in” sessions you can pay £20 for 2 hours
regards
Peter
I pay $30/hr, either in the classroom or (weather permitting) in the park.
who on this wacked out planet charges that much?? As popular as Royce is, he only charges $20 an hour. Dr. Yang Jwing Ming, sifu francis fong and adjarn chai sirusute charge about the same. Brazilian Top Team member Adriano Lucio trained us for a month and he only charged $120 (Admittedly, he gave us a HUGE discount though, as he’s pretty close to some of us) I don’t think there is anyone I’d pay 65 an hour or more to see. A friend of mine sponsors workshops evey year, and Hop Gar grandmaster Ku Chi Wai, Wah Lun Syn, An Tien Rong and various other serious CMA guys hold workshops there, but they don’t even charge that much.
Royce Gracie only charges $20/hr? Wow
shocking, ain’t it? but yeah, a two day seminar from him is $160, which is 4 hours of training per day. If you want him to, he’ll do a third day also for the same price.
7*, seminars aren’t usually private!
-David
I’ve actually been thinking about this question over the last couple of years.
How much do each of us value the arts we learn, be it martial or otherwise.
Granted, if you find a gifted student you will want to give that person a break according to what they can afford as an opportunity of passing the information.
But, why not put a higher value on martial arts training? Why not raise it up to a level where it has a dollar value associated with it in the general perception?
Is it so bad? I mean, here in the west, everything has a dollar value associated with it. people regularly pay 70$ a month plus extra fees to learn how to roll on a ball!
Or how to lift, or how to run, etc etc. Does not martial arts have as much value as these forms of training? If not more?
In my opinion, Martial arts training has far more value than these types of training which people are willing to pay a lot of money for.
cheers
Wow, those are really expensive prices! But I’m not surprised about the $70 an hour charge for rolling on a ball. That exercise is marketed towards women and they’ll usually pay almost anything for the ephemeral chance of restoring their lost youth or trying to capture that slim, fit look: tae bo, electric shocks to the face, Botox treatments, ball rolling, etc. :rolleyes:
What suckers. Not at all like men who might spend thousands of dollars on guns, camouflage, boots, knife, and other special equipment to sit in the freezing cold all morning in order to shoot a turkey and then feel like they’ve accomplished something important in the grand scheme of things.
Come to think of it, ball rolling and tae bo makes a heck of a lot more sense after all…
I agree with Kung Lek. While I think everything is overpriced, really what value do you put on learning something like a martial art, one-on-one with a capable instructor? I believe martial arts is far more entailed in its instruction than weight training or running, and it’s a bit more life-useful and therefore should take on a higher dollar value.
That said, we should be careful not to take advantage of the situation like gas prices right now in the U.S.. We shouldn’t gouge (spelling?), but we should have a good asking price.
If the teacher/sifu/instructor is qualified then they should get something in the same range as any other professional. Plumbers, Electricians, HVAC guys will charge you 50-75 an hour. Graphic Design will run you 35-60 an hour.
I think that’s good for one on one situations. Cost of living in different markets is always a factor in any situation.
Seminars are different. I’ve always thought that there was a % cut between the school owner and the guest sifu brought in for the seminar. Over the years I’ve seen seminar prices go through the roof. Personally, I saw GM Presas over double his asking price for seminars over a 5 year period.
If a seminar costs much more than about $10 an hour to attend then that person should be pretty durn special, imo.
Our Sifus charge 50/hr.
Guys, this is NOT expensive for privates. NO way is 50/hr expensive. I taught music lessons for years for 30/hr 15 years ago. Good tennis lessons cost 50/hr or more, and golf at least that much or more.
You are buying a persons undivided attention and TIME. This person takes an entire hour to look at you, condider YOUR strengths and weakness, and can TAILOR a response that is geared specifically to YOU. Then in addition, you are also buying thier expertise. If they are not good, get somebody else. But their time is well worth the money.
You are buying something that you get to keep for a lifetime. A good date costs 50.00 or more.
Who else is going to take an hour for the sole purpose of making you as good as you can possibly be, given your mental and physical abilities. Who cares that much about you, except you? That is why we pay for it. And it is worth it. You are worth it.
Remember, you are not really trading money for private lessons, you are trading whatever it is you did to get that money, for the lessons. Time for time. Think of it that way.
Originally posted by SevenStar
shocking, ain’t it? but yeah, a two day seminar from him is $160, which is 4 hours of training per day. If you want him to, he’ll do a third day also for the same price.
Dude, that’s not a private class. How much would Royce charge for a private session, just you and him, for an hour? The way the Gracies market and merchandise, I reckon it would be way more than anything else mentioned yet in this thread.
Originally posted by David
[B]7*, seminars aren’t usually private!
-David [/B]
I was reading like serpent yesterday - that explains my confusion. Even still though, Adriano did private sessions for 25. I can’t remember how much Royce’s was, as I didn’t set up one.
My sifu charges 35 an hour for private or semi-private lessons (1 other student say 50% of the time), and if you do a long-term deal it goes down to $220 for 8 hours in a month. I found it a great way to train and learn, without a big time commitment for going to class and no ranks, belts, seniors, class discipline and other bullcrap that has nothing to do with MA. He spars you too. Half of that money goes to the kwoon owner. You get some of your training sessions on video or CD for only 15 bucks. This is for one of the best MA teachers in Chicago - he does it for the love more so than the dough.
Hell, you buy me a jar of marmite and some crackers, I’ll teach you anything I know.
Stuart B.
ok, finally assuaged, my curiosity about Marmite.
not really sure what to think but if it’s a beer byproduct it has to be ok.