To keep the dues to a minimum, our chief instructor (Kyriakos Papadopoulos) and instructors have never been paid for their teaching.  As Tulane faculty, alumni, and students, they see their teaching as a gratifying service to Tulane students and to karate.  The instructors (Dimitri, Devin, Sharon) are students of the advanced class and have their dues waived.  All instructors feel fortunate to teach the dedicated students of the club, and believe that the experience has improved and continues to benefit their own karate. 

For university students, the membership fee is $25 per semester.  Non-students fee is $75 per semester.  Those who have no membership to Reily Center also need to buy a daily Reily pass that allows them entrance at the times of karate training. Beginners will need to purchase a karate uniform (unless they already have one), which is procured through the club at a discounted price of $25.  This is the traditional all-white two-piece Japanese Karate uniform called gi (pronounced gee; plural is written  gis and is pronounced geese).

Other Miscellaneous Fees

If you only join for a brief time and are not interested in rank advancement,  there are no additional fees.  If, however, you want to test to be promoted through the color-belt system that leads to black belt, then the fees are as follows:  Each belt test costs $18, and you must also become a member of JKA-AF, which has a yearly membership of $30.  Based upon availability of club funds, Tulane students may get their  yearly JKA-AF membership paid by the club.  Your $18 test  fee gets divided between the examiner (Sensei Mikami) and the national organization; part of the money is used largely to pay for national team travel expenses.  The color belt itself costs around $5 (unless you borrow one from the club till your next rank).  When and if, after a few years, you test for your JKA black belt, the fees are significantly higher and your black-belt certificate is issued from the world headquarters in Tokyo. 

Some students (a minority) also choose to attend seminars and camps, or enter tournaments, which are frequently outside of New Orleans and therefore can be expensive.  None of these are required.