Ligo Dojo Rates, and Rules

Registration, Rates, and Rules

Your training can be just $145/month for a 12-month membership. See other options below!

Registration

     New students can join at any class time. (Please use the Register link to get started!) We do not offer trial classes, although students can sign up for one month, and consider that “a trial month” before registering for longer. All prospective new students or parents should call Sensei Nathan Ligo at 919-923-6915 to arrange first class. Sensei Ligo would like to hear about the new student, and will likely ask basic questions to determine eligibility. Above all, the primary requirements for eligibility are 1. can the student attend classes regularly, 2. does the student WANT to learn these martial arts, and 3. can the student follow a structured class. Sensei Ligo is also available to answer questions at any time about the program. 

    On the first day of class, students should arrange to arrive at least 15 minutes early to be fitted for a uniform and to complete registration paperwork. A credit card is required. Women/girls wear t-shirts under the uniform since it opens in the front. Men/boys should not wear t-shirts.

Rates

     Ligo Dojo is a Nonprofit, and Sensei Ligo and other Ligo Dojo instructors do not receive any compensation for teaching. They receive no salary from Ligo Dojo. All of your dues go towards dojo expenses, especially rent and utilities. Sensei Ligo routinely points out to students that they pay HIM for his teaching by demonstrating their strong commitment to learning what he teaches, and by bringing powerful energy into his classes. Our Team Training art-first mentality means that we are a smaller group than area for-profit martial arts schools. Yet we operate in a commercial space that comes at a premium cost. Since Sensei Ligo supplements dojo expenses at times, it is, in effect, like him teaching AND ALSO SPONSORING his students, so haggling over dues is not appreciated.

    Membership agreements (for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months) are for membership, not participation; they are not transferable, and can only be canceled if you opt for the pay-by-the-month option, and that only with a cancellation fee of half the remaining dues payments. All memberships auto-renew 30 days prior to completion, so if you plan to make a plan change (or discontinue your training!), please be sure to keep track of your membership dates. Pay-By-the-Month Membership Options:

• 12 months $109/month with $109 quarterly belt tests = $145/month
• 6 months $129/month with $129 quarterly belt tests = $172/month
• 3 months $139/month with $139 quarterly belt tests = $185/month
• 1 months $149/month with $149 quarterly belt tests

      Pay-up-front options also exist and save quite a lot per membership, but these memberships are not refundable so please decide with care. Students’ memberships remain good so a discontinued student could always regroup and start again during the membership period. Pay-up-front rates are:

• 12 months paid up front is $1584, saving $160
• 6 months paid up front is $952, saving $80
• 3 months paid up front is $516, saving $40
  

Will your rates ever increase?

     There is an additional $50/month charge once the student OPTS to join the advanced Saturday class (see Class Schedule page). This change generally corresponds with a moment of additional excitement. By this time most students are on annual plans, so the rates have DECREASED for students who started on shorter plans. Adding the advanced Saturday class increases teaching hours from 2 classes per week, to 3. Many students handle the regular dues up front to save money, but pay the $50 by the month, so the upfront charge is not such a large amount all at once. All membership rates increase by 5% per year as does our rent, but will never increase otherwise, unless we add additional services which will always be optional. We charge a 3% credit card fee. (Students can always opt to bring checks to save this 3%). Ligo Dojo retains the right to change the class schedule at any time, but remember we only do so to benefit the group, so doing so to your detriment is unlikely.

Equipment

     We use lots of equipment, but have loaners for a lot of it. The following items are required to be purchased:

• Replacement karate uniform $30. We give one free with membership plans. There are also much higher quality karate uniforms available for the serious student.
• Hakama $45 once the student joins the Saturday (advanced) class. This is the black pleated pants seen throughout the site we wear during Kobudo, Jo-do, and Iaido practice.
• Shin pads, and gloves $30/set for sparring. There are loaners in the dojo but they get sweaty, so you’ll want your own at some point.
• Iaido Obi (sash) $50 required once the student begins the Saturday (advanced) class.
• The weapons that we practice with are sai, tonfa, bo, jo, boken and iaito. We have loaners for all of these, but will encourage students to purchase if our supplies run low, or if they want their own. The Iai-TO is the “practice sword” used for Iai-DO. Although we have loaners, your Iaido training will be much more complete if you have a real Iaito (practice sword). While they do not have sharp blades (and are made of an aluminum alloy that can’t be sharpened), they are weighted like a real sword, so we strongly encourage our serious students to have one eventually. The Iaito we use come from Japan and we can usually get them for less than $300 including shipping.