Enrollment trends...

[Nyuck3X]

Has anyone noticed a rise or fall in enrollment since 9/11?
The reason I ask is, I am considering starting a commercial dojo
and I thought that with the focus on safety, people would continue
to take classes. However, I was thinking yesterday that the economy
hasn't been doing that great and companies like HP (I'm in California)
are laying off. The first thing families cut from thier budget is
extra curricular activities. Unemployment in my area is around 3.5 percent.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

[Trevor Johnson]

Economy's doing much better than the slump it was in after 9/11. And I don't think that 3.5% is that bad, considering. You might give it a try. Be careful about college clubs, though. There are so many martial arts choices on college campuses, and so many really poorly informed college students, that it's gotten ridiculously competitive in the past few years. Hard to distinguish good karate from the bad karate, bad kungfu, etc. I speak from bitter experience.

The other thing is, how watered down are you planning on making the training. If you use actual violence, people often don't want to show up. Makes them uncomfortable to think about, so they turtle up and don't. Not that you can't teach good stuff, but you're going to have to be careful about how you package it, or people'll freak out. Again, bitter experience.

[Robert Wolfe]

In general, I would say enrollment rates have returned to pre-9/11 levels.

For our dojo, there was a distinct drop immediately after 9/11 -- even though we're in south-central Pennsylvania, there were members directly affected by the loss of clients in the Towers.

Our losses were offset by a corporate aviation department wanting to implement self-defense training for their pilots. We taught three separate, five-part "modules," the first over the course of five weeks, with the second and third sessions based on monthly lessons (the air crews purchased mats which they placed in a corner of the hanger so they could train in between sessions at the dojo). We were lucky to have the chance to do this, because it certainly helped carry the dojo through some bad times.

But then all we have to do is break even on minimal expenses, or at least get close to it -- no one is dependent on the dojo for personal income, and a number of us are willing to do what it takes to keep the dojo.

In your case, the pertinent questions are who do you intend to train, and will you be dependent on the dojo for personal income? If teaching children, you'll likely find that parents are willing to invest in their kids even when money is tight. We work only with adults and a few teenagers, and the fact is most adults will drop training if they have issues with the budget. In addition, we run into the fact most people nowadays view martial arts as a childrens' activity, so if you want to work with adults your pool of potential students is very small, as are your chances of realizing any significant income.

Things to consider. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[Dark Kendoka]

I would have to say that the economy has improved a bit since 9/11. Sure we have the Iraqi conflict and all, but I think that people are a bit more willing to spend money these days than 4 years ago.

I remember having to quit my job at KB Toys a few years ago because I went from working 15 hours a week to only 3...yes, 3. With people not being too sure on the economy and the increase in gas prices, I guess people weren't as willing to spend money on toys. Business was abysmal.

But I do notice more people driving, more people traveling, and more people buying. I think that we just learned to deal with the situation at hand rather than just sit by and wait for the 90's economy to come back.

You can go on ahead and open your own dojo. I think that you might get people that are more into the art since money can be tight these days. But if you are into it hoping to make a little extra money on the side, then you may want to think of something else. If you are just doing it to spread genuine knowledge about your art, then you can go on ahead and open one. There are many factors to training, such as who to train, when to train, and where to train. A good combination of these factors should help in giving you optimal teaching time.

[Nyuck3X]

HI Guys,
Thanks for the replies.
I've been asking around and the attitude I get is that
parents here would rather cut back on something else in their
budget rather than take junior out of his activity.

I guess I'll go ahead and go for it.

Thank-you again.

Best regards,