How much money does a Karate instructor make?

Karate is one of the most popular martial arts around and has a global following. As a result, many prospective Karate instructors often ask the question of how much money they can make as a teacher. This question is fairly standard as well. The reason for this is that if you love Karate and plan to teach it for a living, then you may as well learn how to monetize it correctly.

As ever with all martial arts, you should be teaching out of a labor of love – rather than being motivated purely for profit. With this said, if you think you’ll make a fortune from teaching Karate then you’ll probably be disappointed. What’s worth noting though is that if you’re smart – you can still do well earning money as a Karate instructor.

Teaching Karate won’t make you a millionaire

According to websites like Reddit, the average Karate instructor in the USA earns somewhere between $10-20 per hour. In the modern age, this isn’t going to make you a millionaire anytime soon. However, it’s still a wage and is good if you enjoy teaching Karate. One downside of this is that you may not really be teaching too often either.

For instance, if you earned $10 per hour working at Mcdonald’s, then you may work around 50 hours per week. Sadly, if you earned this per hour in Karate, you may only be teaching for around 3-5 hours per week. Therefore, a lot of Karate instructors do it as a side gig, where money isn’t the priority.

Basically, if you can teach at a local martial arts dojo or host a small class a couple of times a week, then you can earn money by teaching Karate. The issue is, structurally it’s difficult to scale this into a full-time income. To sum things up, for most people, teaching Karate is something done in your part-time and is very difficult to make a career from. Even if you do make it a full-time business, the chances are you’ll be working for around minimum wage unless you’re creative.

Owning a Karate dojo is better than teaching

Having said this, don’t be too disappointed. If you’re able to collect enough money together then you may be able to open up your own Karate dojo. This could lead to a more consistent form of income that is more reliable, as well as being more profitable in the long run. If you look at the Mcdonald’s example previously used, there’s a chance you could work similar hours – albeit in your own working environment with you as the boss.

One issue with pursuing this income is that it can be riskier compared to teaching every now and then. For example, you may need to put a deposit down on a lease and invest money into starting your own business. This requires money and time and it may still fail. So, although there’s the possibility to earn more by this method – it still may financially ruin you too.

Of course, this is the risk of business and if you don’t take chances, you’re also limiting your future earning potential. Remember, some people have responsibilities such as family and other commitments, so it’s not always as easy as starting your own gym and quitting your day job.

Owning several dojos is the best way to make good money

Let’s imagine you did manage to create your own Karate dojo and within a few years, it was fairly profitable. At this point, you can afford to employ a teacher which gives you free time. So, at this point you decide to make another gym in a new area under the same blueprint. Potentially, if this business model can be scaled then you could end up running a few businesses under the same style.

In fact, this isn’t just theory either. There are a few martial artists who own a few different gyms which means more money. Of course, implementing this is incredibly tough to do and not everyone can do it. Still, if you’re a good businessman then it’s certainly possible. Under this model, you could potentially earn closer to $50 per hour as a Karate instructor. As said though, putting this into reality may prove very difficult.

Teaching private classes vs group classes

Generally speaking, there are two ways to earn when teaching Karate. The first way is to teach private classes, and the second is group classes. Typically, most people will teach and train in a group environment. This is because it’s good to spar and train alongside different people, as it’s an efficient way to learn.

If you’re teaching a group class, you may get paid a set amount per hour. For instance, if you’re teaching on behalf of a dojo, you may get a flat fee of $15. Similarly, if you own a dojo, you may charge $5 per person. If you get 10 people through the door, then that’s not a bad return.

The other method of income is teaching private classes. Here, you’ll teach either one or two students in a more personal setting. Perhaps they want to focus on a certain technique or kick that you’re good at. In this case, sometimes you can charge up to $20-30 per private session, dependent on your reputation and skill level.

Ideally, if you wanted to maximize your income then you would teach both private and group classes. Ultimately, both have certain pros and cons – depending on how you look at it.

Just remember, you can be a great teacher and bad at business

Just because you’re a great Karate teacher or Karateka, it doesn’t naturally mean you’ll be a great businessman too. In fact, oftentimes it can be the opposite. So, even if you’re a great teacher – it’s important to know that running a Karate gym as a professional may be completely different. Similarly, even if you’re fantastic during training, you may not always enjoy teaching.

In brief, when you take a hobby and make it more professional, sometimes it can go wrong and you end up falling out of love with it. This makes sense considering the dynamic changes and is certainly something to consider. By the same token, just because you can earn money teaching Karate, it doesn’t mean you should do so if you’re underqualified. Ultimately, this decision is up to you and depends on your morals. Nonetheless, Karate is sadly filled with stories of fake black belts teaching to earn a quick buck.

Conclusion

As established, the general consensus is that your typical Karate instructor earns around $10-20 per hour. This amount isn’t a solid $10-20 per hour though, as often these teachers only work for a few hours a week. Although this news may be disheartening, it’s also part of the sad reality of trying to be a martial arts teacher.

In other words, for most people wanting to earn by teaching Karate – it’s a case of not quitting your day job anytime soon. Still, if you’re happy with a bit of side cash then teaching Karate is certainly an option and there’s a lot worse than getting paid to teach something you love.