Very often people ask us why seminars have fees, or how much they should cost. This is a legitimate question that we have been thinking about for a long time.
Why do seminars have fees?
Unlike large sports associations that can finance events from membership fees and subsidies, we organise our courses privately and without third-party funding. Most of our seminars are led by professional aikido teachers who finance at least part of their livelihood through such events. In addition to the teachers' salaries, travel, accommodation and rental costs are incurred.
The dojo, as a department of a non-profit association, does the work associated with the courses on a voluntary basis. The workload is considerable, but we are happy to do it. To provide space for seminar participants we bought additional tatami - and they are not cheap. On top of that, we subsidise each event from our private pockets to make it an enjoyable and affordable experience for all participants.*
How much should a seminar cost?
This is not a simple question, because there are three ways of looking at it:
- What covers the costs?
- What do comparable seminars cost?
- What is the experience worth?
What covers the costs?
Costs are not very suitable as a yardstick for seminar fees. They vary greatly (e.g. depending on travel expenses), and we do not know in advance how many people will participate. As a result, the fees do not always cover the costs. Therefore, we try to create offers that are interesting for many participants so that we can keep our private subsidies within limits.
As far as the teachers' remuneration is concerned, please bear in mind that they usually sacrifice two full days for the event, which are very strenuous and require full concentration. In addition, there is the time needed to prepare the content. The income from the courses is very modest in comparison, usually no more than a small acknowledgement of the efforts.
What do other seminars cost?
This is the easiest question, because there are comparable seminar prices across the aikido world. These are generally based on the level of recognition and/or the teacher's rank. At Aikido Oberursel we believe that rank is secondary, as it is not a measure for the quality of a seminar. That is why our seminars - with only a few exceptions - have the same fees, in the price range of similar high-value events in Europe.
What is the experience worth?
This is the most interesting question from our point of view! Experienced teachers, who distinguish themselves through special life achievements, prepare a course in such a way that it follows a well thought-out concept. This aims to offer the participants an enriching experience in which they can grow and gain new insights for their aikido. The individual weekend classes build on each other so that the course works as a whole.
For advanced students, seminars always offer new insights, as each teacher looks at aikido from a different angle. This helps to re-evaluate experience from your daily practice and to deepen your understanding of the underlying principles. Almost every seminar has a "now I finally understand..." experience.
In addition, our seminars bring together participants from all over the world, meaning that there is the opportunity to practice with people of different levels and experiences - and to make new friends. This is an essential difference to the daily training in your own dojo.
Why can't I pay for individual classes?
"I'm coming for one class only. Why do I have to pay two classes?" – "You are coming for one class only? But this is a seminar..."
As described above, seminars are very different from daily training in your own dojo, and therefore prices cannot be compared. Seminars follow an overall concept, so you will miss out on essential knowledge if you attend only one single session. It can actually be disruptive for the other participants if you have missed previous classes and therefore fail to see the teacher's overall approach.
Therefore, the smallest fee is for 2 classes which would cover e.g. both Saturday classes for travelling visitors who cannot stay overnight.
If you can only come for one session due to force majeure, remember that your fee supports a good cause by making it possible for us to invite excellent teachers to Oberursel in the future 😀
Are there any discounts?
We want to give everyone the opportunity to join our seminars, so pupils, students and people on low incomes receive significant discounts. (All you have to do is ask for a discount, we don't need to see any proof!)
*As a department of the TV Weißkirchen club, the dojo acts as an honorary helper for the respective teacher. In addition, we lay out the costs and cover them from the cash balance at the end of the event. If the balance is not sufficient, we fill the gap with donations from our members. There is no further financial interest.
