In this page we will explain how much Karate classes cost, and what fees you can expect.
The cost of Karate training varies depending on what part of the United States you are, and if you are in a major city, but you can expect pricing to be in the $100-$250 range.
The number of times you are allowed to practice per week, as well as how many martial arts you want to practice will be a factor in the price.
The main factors that can make your monthly pricing more expensive are:
Typically gyms will offer a minimum of 2 times per week for a certain price, but the price will increase if you'd like to train every day.
Additionally, many gyms will offer discounts for families that enroll their kids into the children's program.
It's important to know and prepare for additional costs for training gear.
Just like any other sport and martial art, there is equipment required to safely train.
Some of the training equipment costs to prepare for include:
There is normally only two types of passes:
A Daily Pass is perfect for those who are traveling, or would like to try out the gym before committing to a full month.
A Daily Pass usually ranges from $15-20 for the day, which entices guests to sign up for a full month due to the higher upfront cost.
Most gyms do a month-to-month basis with all of their students, and you can simply contact the gym in order to cancel your membership.
However there are also gyms that have initiation fees, just to begin training, and some that also offer contracts.
The contracts typically are at an overall lower cost than it would be if you paid monthly, but you'd be responsible for fulfilling the duration of the contract.
If you know a certain gym is the one that you want to go to for a year, contracts can save you a lot of money.
On the other-hand, if you're unsure that you can commit to that period of time, it may be worth it to stick with the month to month basis.
Karate can be effective in street fights to an extent. Karate teaches striking techniques from a combination of use of the hands and feet. It also teaches coordination and self defense. Fighting against others who have little to no martial arts experience can be very easy for a 'Karateka'.
The low stance, the proper footwork, as well as direct and precision techniques can be very effective.
The moves of karate can be done in single strikes or in a combination of strikes. Either way, they can strike and disengage immediately after any strike, which means that they can do just enough damage to defend themselves and then disengage from the opponent.
Karate can be very effective in street fights however the student will have to be extremely self aware when defending themselves.
They will have to use the strength of their skills, such as stand up striking from a distance, in order to stay in their 'comfort zone' and not put themselves in a dangerous situation.
As MMA has risen in popularity in the last decade, so has MMA training. Due to this, you never know if someone has great wrestling skills and will try to take the fight to the ground, or if they're great boxers and even kickboxers.
In a street fight, your best option will be to deescalate the situation completely, and if your only choice is to defend yourself, then use your skills to properly defend yourself while being aware of what situation that you are in.
Karate punches can be effective, however they are nowhere near as powerful as Boxing punches.
The reason for this is that Boxers put their entire body weight into their punches and are comfortable fighting from mid to close range. On the other hand, in Karate, most of the techniques are taught to be executed from mid to long distance.
Additionally, Boxers use heavy gloves which allows their hand to throw with more power without worrying about injuring their hands.
Karate gloves don't have nearly as much padding as Boxing gloves, which can make Karate students more susceptible to hand injuries.
On your first day of Karate you will not have a uniform like everyone else, and that's okay.
You can simply wear an athletic t-shirt, and running shorts with no pockets.
The reason that you want to avoid pockets is due to the risk of the pocket catching someone's toes when they kick.
If you've ever accidentally kicked or thrown a hand strike where you become stuck inside the pocket, you'll know it's extremely painful.
Additionally, although you may feel out of place wearing 'Normal clothes' next to everybody else, you'll realize that every single person has had to take their first class.
The instructor and students will all be understanding and will do their best to help you, and make sure that everything is explained at a pace that you can follow.
As a Karate student you are expected to wear your Karate uniform, also referred to as the Gi.
The Gi must not be wrinkled, stained or full of pet hair (use a lint roller to remove pet hair).
The belt must be tied around the waist and around the top portion of the gi.
Undershirts are allowed under the gi.
Your arm and pant sleeves should not be rolled up in any capacity (Unless the uniform is too large and you were instructed to do so by the instructor).
Although Karate is normally practiced barefoot on the mats, there are Karate shoes specifically made to practice on the mats that you are able to wear.
If you have sensitive feet, or are healing from some type of cut/wound, the below shoes are a perfect solution.
These are the only types of shoes that are allowed to be worn on the mat, any regular sneakers should be taken off, before entering into the mats barefoot.
As a Karate student, you will need various items to be prepared for the Karate curriculum that often changes including: