I’m going to say this right up front and without meaning to hurt anyone’s feelings, but if you’re teaching martial arts and there is no written agreement that is contractually sound between you and the recipient of your teaching (services).. you’re foolishly putting yourself and worse, your family’s assets at extreme risk. You may think that your keeping it real by not having a clearly defined document of expectations between you and your students, but you’re actually being stupid.
I don’t mean to offend anyone, but ask yourself this; should anyone have a role teaching any model of self-defense when they don’t even protect their own assets as well as risk the safety and compromise the rights of those who come to them for teaching? Were it outside of the martial arts paradigm, the answer is obvious. Why then is it not easy to have this discussion inside the paradigm of a Budo Dojo? If you’re one of those too cool for school types who think that student agreements are the spear head of the devil and are alright with hanging yourself out to be ravaged in litigation, kudos to you – but get off the mat. Let those of us who know what we’re doing take care of students who want to learn.
Those of us who understand the need for student agreements get that they’re in place to serve the rights of students and the general health of a Dojo. Unfortunately, it’s the result of ultra-conservative traditional wanna be’s on one side, combined with the self-serving school owners who take their students to court for failure to fulfill their payment terms on the other side, that have both demonized membership agreements in the discussion of professional martial arts instruction.
Saying that obligation did not exist in the history of fighting arts around the globe only demonstrates one’s ignorance and a total lack of understanding in something they’re supposedly to master. The commitments one had to make in an old Dojo were as severe as the ritual of keppan, the inking of one’s namesake in the blood of their own severed hand, vowing to never share the teachings of the ryu and commit to absolute servitude as a deshi. Actually, in some old schools, these commitments are still retained. As well, a family would petition instructors, sometimes for years, to allow entry of their son into a Dojo. When the young student was accepted, the expectations placed on them were borderline maddening. In comparison to the commitments the young bushi of olden days, men whom today’s martial art students emulate, we’re a bunch of sorry cowards who find more purpose in bickering over a piece of paper that means nothing in the end, rather than pursue the pure goal of attaining the Bushido. Being held to one’s word, one’s obligation, should never be what separates a student from the tenants of the Bushido, instead I argue that it is what cements it. Commitment. Enjoy your time at the gym from month to month, but Budo is not for taste testers.
This discussion is not about you nor I and the perversion of this topic has been a result of it being solely about us. In the landscape of commercial martial arts, never have I witnessed a discussion for or against contracts to be about the student. From the perspective of a Budo teacher, the first obstacle we must overcome in this discussion about contracts is letting your prospective members know that their safety, rights and fulfillment of their expectations are your number one priority. This must be at the very top of this document.
The second obstacle in the contract discussion is to understand that it’s an absolute must for every school to have a clear and comprehensive itemization of their terms of attendance, tuition, business policy and liability. Yes, I did say business… Look, if they are paying you anything , cash or chocolate chip cookies, in exchange for your time and service – you’re in business. As resistant as you want to be to this idea, as yucky as it may sound, it is what it is.
Here is a common scenario. A parent wishes to enroll their child in my martial arts program. They counsel the child’s black belt uncle on the other side of the country to help and the uncle gives some sage advice,
“Ask if they use contracts and if they say ‘yes’ .. don’t go there!”
I’m sure you’ve heard this. In fact, I’m certain a few of you have even been that uncle. Well intended… but dumb advice.
Here’s how that discussion will go down in my Dojo:
“Do you guys use contracts?” I will then reply with a smile and a confident “Yes, of course.”
Then I will usually get some sign of let down with sentence that basically says,
“Well we don’t really want to train here then.”
I’m prepared for that and I clearly understand their misinformed concept of what is happening here. I need to be careful though, as there are other possibilities for their hesitation, possibly they’ve been burned before at another martial arts school or fitness center. Regardless, I role with it and keep their best intentions in mind.
“OK, but just out of curiosity, why wouldn’t you want to use a contract?” I ask.
“Well we’ve heard horror stories of people getting taken advantage of by signing contracts.” They’ll answer.
“Hmmm… Yeah, I understand this… By the way, if I told you that there is no term obligation and you could pay as you train, what method of payment would you prefer, cash, check or credit card? Or possibly there’s another form that you’d prefer?” I’ll admit, it is sort of a loaded question. Almost everyone will say that they’ll bring a check in at the end of the month. Some will say cash, but most working folks like to keep the green in their pocket.
“I could bring a payment in at the end of each month.” They say.
Let me stop here and point out something extremely important. Regardless of what method of payment you accept, regardless of what your calendar is… never, and I mean never allow your students to determine for you when they are going to submit tuition to the Dojo. This is not a what-I-say-goes thing either. It’s a fairness thing. If your expectations are one way for all of your students and then you let someone take a different course, unknowingly you’re screwing your other students. Same goes for tuition rates. Keep it the same for everyone. Regardless of how hard it is, stick to your policies or you will see your Dojo’s potential collapse around you and you won’t know why.
Back to the discussion…
I will tell what our policies for accepting payment are and that we accept cash, check or they can use a credit card. Considering most working folks like to keep the green in their pocket, I will always get either a check or a credit card reply. Prepared, I explain to them the fault of their concern. You see, a credit card, electric funds transfer and a signed check are all, by the signor, promissory notes that have a payment terms and schedules due to the banking institution they were drawn on – aka, a contract! Unless they want to pay you cash on the day that you request, anything else is in one way or another contractually based no matter how you cut it.
Once I make this point clear, I will usually support my point with,
“Let me make something clear to you, even if we never see each other again; you are looking to enroll you child into a program that involves safety concerns, physical contact and interaction with adults you really know little about. As well, there is a financial and time investment on your end… And chances are it’s going to be a long term relationship as you do hope your child reaches some degree of proficiency, correct? Knowing this, I would highly recommend that you do consider a professional facility to deliver the finest care for your family and one that defines for you with absolute clarity, what you can expect from them in return for your valuable time and investment.”
Not just as a professional, but also as I parent, I just can’t get my head around people who actually brag about putting their future at risk by not having any type of formal, written agreement. That’s not traditional, it’s not professional. It’s just reckless. All professional operations that are worth their weight will make certain that the relationship between their customer and themselves is clearly defined in a membership or customer agreement of some kind. They are mindful of the rights of their customer and the commitments they make to them. I’m sure you’ll agree that not addressing this is careless at best and is not something I want to see in a person who is working with my child.
One of the reasons this topic has become a monster in the closet is because it’s been common practice for almost 30 years to mistakenly identify a purchase agreement with a membership agreement. To this day, profit hungry program directors are quick to pull out their wrongly titled membership agreement, that is usually provided to them by their third party, outsourced tuition management company, and nowhere does it detail exactly what the expectations of the academy are from the rights perspective of the student. These are NOT membership agreements. Instead, the document commonly used in the martial arts industry should be more accurately seen as a continuity purchase agreement that assures the academy will receive calendared payments over a set time-frame. These contracts have nothing whatsoever to do with the right of the student, they are only meant to legally shake down a student when they stop coming, regardless if services are rendered or not. This is the warrior way?
So what then is the ideal framework for a student membership agreement that a traditional martial arts school should use? I believe it offers the following elements, in order:
- What the student can expect from my Dojo as a member regarding service expectations, safety and rights of membership
- Dojo policies and student guidelines, expectations of each member
- Member contact details and pertinent details such as emergency and medical details, etc.
- Membership financial terms, schedule of payments and method of payment
- Release of liability
It’s my proposal that a traditional martial arts program have the reverse attitude when drafting their membership agreements, stepping away from the conventional purchase agreement that only serves the needs of the business and not the student. Student expectations and rights should be the first thing a new member reads. Your words must convey a strong message that your number one ambition is to protect the student and their experience with your Dojo. Such items as making sure that there will always be a qualified instructor on the floor during training, that the Dojo will always always be open for scheduled classes, that student safety is your priority and that you have first aid certified instructors present at all time in case of an emergency (you do, right?) are all critical to making your prospect know that you’re not in it for self serving reasons. Once you show the prospect that your main concern is the wellness of their experience and protection of their rights, then they are more open to taking the discussion to the next level.
Following, there should be a student code of conduct that briefly spells out the general expectations of each member. Examples may be that you do not allow people with a violent criminal record, drug possession, food in the Dojo, etc. As well, the code of conduct should give a summary of student protocol, attendance and other expectations that you as a teacher has of each member. Student conduct should be more clearly detailed your Dojo Student Manual, where your policies and regulations are very clearly defined. This book should have an attached sheet of paper that a student signs and returns to you stating that they have read this manually from start to finish and clearly understand what is expected of them. That piece of paper is then put into their student file. My students do not test for their first belt until I have that signed piece of paper in hand.
Contracts must also have a liability release form built into them. My recommendation is to not have two separate forms, but a simple release waiver on the back side of your student agreement. My student agreements have two vertical columns, where the financial details are written on the left and the liability terms are on the right. I am not going to get into detail about your liability release as this should be taken up with an attorney. Take the time and make the small investment to have your liability release waiver drafted appropriately. Cover your ass.
Some advise about communicating with your attorney about your liability release. Make sure that you tell them you want it as simple and concise as possible and not including words like death, dismemberment or anything that is going to make a prospective member quickly raise their eyebrows. Remember, you’re doing physical activity that is inherently risky, so having nothing in place that will protect you from liability is extremely risky. Heed my warning… If you’re in this game and think you’re too cool for these agreements, make sure your attorney has an affordable retainer. You will need them.
What about finances? Should these be contractual, should you tie someone to a financial post and whip them when they fail to pay you for your services not rendered? Well, no of course not. But the reality again is that very clear expectations of how a student is compensating the Dojo for your teaching is vital, regardless of the size of your Dojo. Like my points before, an agreement is meant to serve the student as much as it is the Dojo. If they are paying you anything, you need to clearly define and give metrics to what you’ll be providing them with.
Also, the fact that a contract is in place between you and your student prevents them from not coming to your Dojo based on some external, impulsive reason. For example, a parent pulls their teenager out of the Dojo because she got in trouble and the parent is furious with them. In the heat of their anger they call the Dojo and they yell into the phone,
“We really love you Sensei and you’ve done great things for our daughter, but she needs to grow up and is being punished. Maybe we’ll see you again sometime when this little brat gets her head together.”
If there is a contract in place, the parent understands they can’t use your Dojo as something to hang over their kid’s head. Your agreement will work as a shield from the frequent emotional baggage so many people seem to have. Another example is when a student has been working overtime and when they do have free time to attend training, they feel reluctant to show face because they’ve fallen behind. This happens all the time when there is no agreement in place. This has to be one of the most common reasons people quit martial arts. Without a contract in place for your students, you will be victim of impulse constantly and the health and longevity of your Dojo will depend on the ups and downs of the lives of your students. Do you really want this?
With this understanding, I’m going to step into murky waters and highly recommend that you use term obligations so that your members stick it out. I have never taken anybody to court for quitting my Dojo, but I know school owners who have and sadly not one of their past students I’ve ever met holds them in a high regard. Do you want to be one of them? How then do I have my members gice me a term agreement? With their word.
I know it sounds silly, but I cannot think of anything more challenging to my conscience than breaking my word to someone who has made it a goal of theirs to do good by me or my kid. Contracts are meant to be broken, meanwhile a man is only as good as his word. Therefore, giving a prospect a framework of one year, eight months or whatever is conducive to your Dojo calendar and curriculum schedule is the way to bind our students to commitment. It is through honor. And if they cannot stand at the side of their own word, their own honor and commitment, ask yourself if you truly want them as a student of your Dojo.
That said, I understand that life breaks our routine. We get relocated, illness and opportunity happen, life turns a page… For courtesy sake alone, I do expect a 30 day notice prior to a student’s discontinuance of their commitment. I know this model goes against your ability to accurately build and budget a viable business, but I have the statistics to prove that a commitment model based on one’s word versus a signed purchase agreement holds an incredibly longer student retention than the prior in the traditional martial arts space, by over 200% over my 10+ years of recording stats. I’ll side with honor any day and I trust my students so there’s no need for me to tie them down.
In closing, I feel that the scare tactic of a continuity purchase agreement has no place in the environment of traditional martial arts. But the absolute demand for student commitment to their Dojo is a fundamental article of Budo and it’s history. This type of commitment is what separates us from all characteristics of modern eclectic, sport based or franchise model martial art schools. Make it a cornerstone to the culture of your Dojo. This type of commitment cannot and should never have been demanded in a purchase agreement, rather it should be accepted by the Dojo in exchange for the nurturing of the student, absorbing them into the timeless fabric of the Dojo and providing them with the ability to go beyond their potential as a martial artist. When agreed upon, rather than shown a document that speaks to the school owners distrust of the new prospect, it requests the word of the new member to come forth and be counted among those of a timeless tradition – now made available to them.
To learn more about how to build and use a student agreement that best serves your students, check out Adam’s Running A Dojo Mentoring Program for school owners clicking the above image
Thanks for reading that long article LOL! Hey, if you got some value from it, please hit the Facebook LIKE button below, share with someone you know or let me know your thoughts. The opportunity we offer people has never been more needed. Let’s help each other to help many. – Adam
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