Kids Karate & Martial Arts Instructor (Will Train)
$25/hour to start, with a defined path to a $50,000 salary
Livingston, NJ · Monday through Friday, 25 to 30 hrs/week · No martial arts experience required
About Excel Martial Arts
At Excel Martial Arts, we use martial arts as a vehicle to teach character development that transforms kids into the best versions of themselves, on and off the mat.
Founded by Sensei Hany Tawfick, who has taught over 2,500 students and created more than 750 black belts, Excel is the highest rated martial arts academy in Livingston and a Best of Essex 2025 winner.
If you're energetic, positive, and hungry to grow personally and professionally, we want to meet you.
Why we're hiring
The school is growing. We recently expanded to six days a week and our enrollment continues to climb. We need another strong instructor to keep the quality of every class exactly where it should be. You'll join a small full time instructional team.
The role
You are responsible for the experience of every student and family in your classes.
You'll begin by assisting our senior instructors, running drills, holding pads, giving feedback, and learning our curriculum. As you develop, you'll take on classes of your own. How quickly that happens is up to you.
The work is active and it happens on the mat. You'll be moving for most of your shift, setting the tone in the dojo and leading by example. You'll learn every student's name and build real relationships with our families.
Most importantly, you'll help kids become the best versions of themselves. That means knowing when a student needs support and when a student needs to be challenged, and having the judgment to tell the difference. Some days a child needs encouragement to get through something hard. Other days they need someone who believes they're capable of more than they think. Learning to read that is the heart of this job, and we'll teach you how.
Schedule
- Monday through Friday, with shifts falling between 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM
- 25 to 30 hours per week
- Occasionally we'll ask you to work a Saturday in place of a weekday to cover an event or a teammate's day off. You receive the weekday back. You will not work six days, and we give advance notice.
If you need a standard 9 to 5 schedule, this role won't be a fit, and we'd rather tell you now.
Compensation and the path to $50,000
Starting pay is $25 per hour. This position is paid hourly and does not currently include additional benefits.
We're not going to promise you a raise on a calendar. We'd rather show you exactly how it's earned.
You move to a $50,000 full time salary when both of the following are true.
You've earned it:
- You can independently teach three of our five programs, start to finish, without supervision
- Parent feedback on your classes is consistently strong
- Your reliability is not in question. You're prepared and on time, every time
The school has grown into it:
- Excel reaches the student capacity we're planning to hit by spring of 2027
Both conditions, not one. If you perform and we haven't grown yet, that's our responsibility to solve. If we grow and you've stood still, that's yours.
We structure it this way because we'd rather pay you for what you build than for time served. Your raise isn't a favor. It's a target you can see and go earn.
There's more room to grow past that point, in responsibility and in pay. We'll put real numbers on it as you get there.
What we'll teach you
You do not need martial arts experience. We train instructors from the ground up: curriculum, technique, class management, and student progression.
This isn't theoretical. Our most recent hire came to us with zero martial arts background and now teaches three of our five programs on her own.
You'll also learn the business side, including enrollment conversations, retention, and marketing. Most jobs at this level don't teach that. We do.
What we're looking for
- Experience with children. Coaching, teaching, tutoring, camps, daycare, lifeguarding, babysitting. All of it counts.
- Genuine energy. Our classes run at a high tempo. You need to be able to set that tone and hold it.
- Reliability. You're early, prepared, and consistent.
- Coachability. Constant and never ending improvement is one of our core values, and this is where it shows up. You want feedback and you act on it. This is the single trait we weigh most heavily.
- Character. You're comfortable being a role model, because that's the job. Our students watch how you carry yourself.
- Basic tech proficiency. You're comfortable in Google Workspace, Canva, social media, and the everyday tools a modern school runs on. You don't need to be an expert. You do need to be comfortable learning new tools quickly.
This may not be the right fit if
- You prefer working independently over being part of a team
- You're uncomfortable being privately corrected in the moment
- You tend to step back when a room gets loud or chaotic
- You're looking for a temporary position while you pursue something else
- Punctuality is an ongoing challenge for you
We'd rather be direct about this than have either of us discover it in month two.
If you do have martial arts experience, we'd love to know. There's a question in the application where you can tell us your style and rank, and we'll fast track your interview. It's an advantage, not a requirement.
How to apply
- Click Apply.
- Answer the short questions on the application. One of them asks you to describe a time a child was having a difficult day and you turned it around. A few sentences is plenty, and it's the part we actually read first.
- Keep an eye on your phone. We respond quickly, often the same day.
We're conducting interviews on a rolling basis and hiring for one position in this cycle. We're looking to have someone on the mat by 8/31/26.
P.S. If you're hesitating because you don't have a martial arts background, apply anyway. That's exactly who we hired last time, and she's now an excellent instructor who is admired by all of our families.
Job Type: Part-time
Pay: From $25.00 per hour
Expected hours: 25.0 – 30.0 per week
Application Question(s):
- Tell us about a time a child was having a difficult day and you turned it around.
- If you have martial arts experience, what style and rank? If not, write "none."
- Can you be available Mon–Fri afternoons and evenings, approx. 2–8 PM, with occasional Saturday coverage in place of a weekday?
Education:
- High school or equivalent (Required)
Experience:
- Working with children: 1 year (Required)
Ability to Commute:
- Livingston, NJ 07039 (Required)
Work Location: In person
