How to Open a Karate School

How do I start My Own Karate School?

My name is Colton Woodard and I’ll be your host. I am a 7th Dan in ShitoRyu and Vice President of the National Karate Kobudo Federation.

I help host a wealth of Shitoryu Karate & Ryukyu Kobudo lessons & content at nkkf.org.

We’re constantly adding new members around the globe and welcome you to join us as well!
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My Father Bill Woodard ran a Karate Dojo for over 35 years, and I’ll be using insights from this business model periodically throughout the podcast.

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Want to share your Karate School story on our podcast?

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Email honbu@nkkf.org to set up an interview on the Karate School Podcast! Have a product that would be great in the Karate and Kobudo community that you would like to share? We'd love to hear about it as well.

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Do you have Karate School questions or ideas? Please share your thoughts via email and we might answer your question on air during our next episode!

Are you thinking about becoming a karate teacher?

Teaching Karate, Judo, TaeKwonDo, Kung Fu, MMA or martial arts in general can be extremely rewarding but it comes with a lot of trials you'll need to face to succeed.

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Our podcast covers just about everything you will need to know to succeed in opening a karate school, starting a karate school, running a karate school, and growing your karate school.

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Becoming a Karate Teacher, or Sensei, is a great way to share your expertise with your local community, build confident and healthy students, and share the joy of Martial Arts (as well as make money doing so!).

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If you are considering becoming a Karate Teacher, doing your research and determining the correct steps to become successful will save you from failure.

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According to this article around 4,338 martial arts schools open each year. Of which, 46% fail to last even 1 year in business.

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These statistics are scary but true, many Karate Teachers think just renting a building and putting up an open sign may be enough to succeed.

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In reality, running your own Karate School will take a lot of determination and creative marketing in addition to great lessons.

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Karate Online? Online Karate Classes / Virtual Karate Class?

In the past, Sensei relied on students coming into the dojo off the street ready to start their journey to black belt.

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With the appearance of COVID-19 in 2020, we have a transformed economy that has normalized the use of digital media delivery (Online Karate Classes).

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If you are looking to teach Karate Online in 2021, there are ways to host your Virtual Karate Class on a number of platforms including free (public) or paid (private).

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You can host one on one karate lessons LIVE on platforms like Skype, FaceTime, DUO, dialpad, ring central, zoom, Facebook live and more.

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Teaching a full classroom may be difficult on Zoom and other video platforms.

First, make sure you secure a nice webcam and mic as well as adequate lighting for your Online Karate Classes.

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Then, host an online calendar and utilize social media and email to notify students of upcoming Virtual Karate Classes.

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To set up a consultation on what method might be best for you, simply email us at honbu@nkkf.org.

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Want to learn Karate at home?

Are you looking to boost your knowledge, add a new style, get fresh lesson plans for your karate school, or simply learn karate at home?

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Paid memberships are available with weekly new videos and a large archive of past lessons right here at National Karate Kobudo Federation.

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There's even a basic karate program for only $1 per month.

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We also have dojo affiliation available for those looking to certify their authentic martial arts.