So you visited the local Karate dojo. You enjoyed the free introductory class, and you’re ready to enroll. One minor detail stands between you and black belt prowess: The Contract.
Curb Your Enthusiasm
The Contract is an irrevocable commitment to a full year of Karate instruction. Should you decide to quit training for any reason—injury, lack of interest, work and family obligations, et cetera—you will nevertheless be obligated to continue paying tuition until The Contract has expired. If you fail to honor this commitment, your delinquent account will be sent to a collection agency.
The Contract allows your dojo to relocate itself ten miles away from its original location, replace its best instructors with bad ones, or shift class dates and times such that you cannot attend. Even if all these should come to pass, you will be required to submit your monthly payments until the term of The Contract is completed.
This describes a worst-case, yet surprisingly common scenario.
Some people, such as Shotokan expert Rob Redmond, advise against signing any Karate contracts whatsoever. Yes, these contracts serve to indemnify the school against its own mismanagement, at the student’s expense. Nevertheless, before rejecting it outright, I suggest you consider whether you have accepted this type of arrangement before, why you were willing to do so then, and why you hesitate now.
There aren’t many colleges or universities that accept tuition payments on a month-to-month basis. What do you think?
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11 responses so far ↓
1 wujimon // Apr 25, 2007
Personally, I avoid contracts and recommend the same for others. If the material and services offered are really good, then I don’t see a reasons for instructors to tie students into something they may change their mind about in the future.
2 Wayne // Apr 25, 2007
I don’t see anything wrong with signing a contract once you’ve evaluated a school and determined that you want to study there.
A contract helps the school have more stable financials, allowing it to stay open. The contract is often executed through a 3rd party loan so the school receives the money up front and the student pays off the loan over the course of the year.
Without that commitment, a school would never know how many students will return the next month or whether they could afford the rent, insurance and electricity needed to run the school.
It also provides a commitment on the student’s part. Yes, students often change their mind. Especially when they realize that learning a martial art is *WORK*.
If you only have month to month, lots of people will come in and try it for a month or two and then leave.. when in those first couple months they require the most attention from instructors. Why should instructors invest that attention in students who could decide not to show up for the next class, when they could focus on those who are determined to progress?
Obviously, I think you should evaluate a school thoroughly before signing a contract. Avoid places that don’t allow you to take a few lessons for FREE. Make sure you are compatible with the instructors and the philosophy of the school. If you are really uncomfortable with the idea of signing a contract, I would take that as a sign that you’re not really comfortable with the school.. Keep looking.
3 seeker6 // Apr 28, 2007
If the school is good it should have no need of this kind of contract.
I would recommend potential student avoid them.
4 Andy Fletcher // May 20, 2007
Definately not! The schools financial viability should rest on the quality of it’s instruction. An individual student should be held accountable for what the instructors are responsible for maintaining. I’ve never heard of schools doing this (here in the UK) and hope I never do.
5 Ian McGregor // Aug 20, 2007
I’d have to say I’ve never heard of contracts (here in Australia), they may well exist, but if it takes a contract to encourage students to persevere with their martial arts training, I would have to question their ongoing commitment to the Martial arts.
and from the school’s side, I’ve been involved with my school for nearly 20 years and we have had our ups and downs with membership and training numbers, but we have never been at a point where we required a contract to help with financial stability.
On the otherside we do have an annual membership fee (very cheap as it is only to pay our insurance costs and up keep of the dojo) but if students want to continue to try us out for any length of time they can just pay the ‘casual’ fee for each training
6 hermione hairpie // Sep 18, 2007
Contracts are for fools!
7 Chris // Sep 19, 2007
Hermione, can I print your comment and give it to my mortgage broker?
8 Rick // Oct 4, 2007
Unfortunately, that’s all I found around Boston. You can’t get into a school without signing a contract. If you’re lucky, you’ll find one that does 3 monhs, but most of them are 12 to 18 months.
I understand why they are needed from a school’s perspective, but they suck from a consumer point pf view. They favor the schools and benefit the school only.
The idea that it is motivation for the student is a load of crap. It’s an excuse for the school to not keep the quality of the instruction or the school up to par.
Want to know how good a school really is? Find out how long the students have bene there. If there ae only a couple who have contacts for more than a couple years, that says a lot about the school.
Bottom line.. contracts suck for students.
9 Devils Advocate // May 7, 2008
I own a self defence school in Fresno California and the only time we require contracts is on long term payment agreements. We dont have enrollments fees we dont have hidden charges. We have a monthly rate and that is it. However we are also private instruction only.
I defend contracts for 1 reason - reduced payment plans. We offer drasticly reduced monthly rates to students who sign a contract to continue training for 12 weeks, AND it offers opt out clauses for death, injury, relocation, change of life. It isnt air tight at all. It is just a monthly payment plan basically.
However our monthly rates are very reasonable as it is and we offer 4 free lessons (private) to test out the system. We wouldnt dream of a contract applied there.
We also only cater to adult self defence. Kicks are never above the waist. Typically they are knee shots to immobilize an attacker.
A McDojo forcing a contract on first meeting is absurd. Even on second or third. Only when someone is well aware of what they want should it even be an option.
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