How much should tae kwon do black belt test cost for 11 year old?

Question

My goddaughter is testing for her black belt in tae kwon do and it's $500! Belt tests cost $40 for yellow, $45 for orange, and so on up to pre-black, which was around $85. $500 is a huge leap for a very similar testing procedure as before. Is this reasonable? Is there a website that lists reasonableness for TKD fees?

Answer 1

if you do WTF taekwondo, then the belt test fee for a first degree black belt (in your god daughters case its called a poom, what children get but not a full black belt. it becomes a full belt at the age of fifteen or sixteen I think) is 70 dollars if I remember correctly. thats payed to the kukkiwon, the governing body of TKD. if you pay more than that, then that is to the discretion of the instructor administering the test. One of the reasons why a belt test can cost so much is because if the instructor is a 3rd degree black belt, then he must get a 4th degree to submit the belt test for him.  and sometimes the 4th degree ask's for his fee, which could be 100-300 dollars or whatever he wants it to be. and not to mention that the belt itself cost like 100 or so dollars (the kukkiwon does not issue belts with certificates, thats extra!). of course, there are instructors who want to make their wallets fat. 1000 dollars is way to much for a first degree testing fee. and I think 500 is up there too, but you and your family have to decide if she should test for it. Ive heard there are masters who will test people for just what the certificate cost AND for what the belt cost, no matter what dojang your from, but you have to seek them out. I dont know of any personally.  

Answer 2

Yes, that is way too much.  Huge belt test fees are a sure sign of a McDojo.

Edit:  $500 is going to sting for sure, but someone was on here earlier asking if $1000 was reasonable for a TKD BB test.  At least you're not that person.

Answer 3

500 i paid 700 for 2nd degree kukkiwon

Answer 4

You're kidding, right?  Let me guess, she's been studying there since she was 8, right?

No, I know you're not and that's a shame.  This is why you need to look into costs to be sure you're not getting ripped off by a McDojang.

My school charges $25 for colored belt testing which basically pays for the belt and certificate.  Black belt testing is $150 but that requires registration (about $100), $25 for the belt and certificate, and the rest goes toward renting a hall for the presentation ceremony and dinner.

Answer 5

first things first, a child that is under 16 should not ever be a black belt. That is significant of becoming an adult and an 11 year old is quite far from being an adult. The child is going to a school that is doing nothing but taking your money and giving the child a false sense of security.

Secondly what in the world is the 500 for? To make the instructor's wallet fatter, that's it.

Answer 6

Oh, he is a 9th dan....in what taking your money. Really about $100-150 is about right

Answer 7

mcdojo alert.

i had a tkd school do that to me and i played along til i was green belt, expensive for each test, and they have striped belts so you test more, and you could get your black belt in 2.5 years if you went enough.

i've also had kung fu sifus have no tests what so ever and you only learn something new if you practiced and showed progress. and other ones that only charge you 15$ for the cost of a sash with only 6 tests yellow orange green blue brown black sash, taking over 10 years of daily training to attain black.

claiming an 11 year old is a black belt is only going to give them false confidence. and your overpaying for that confidence (500$ lol)