November 2018

B O B BY A N D C H A R L E N E L AW R E N C E’ S FA M I LY-BAS E D B U S I N ES S B U I L D S A

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FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK

I

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WORDS OF WISDOM

— H. JACKSON BROWN, JR.

MARTIAL ARTS TRIVIA 1

2

3

4

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YOU ASKED DO YOU HAVE A REFERRAL REWARD SYSTEM AT YOUR SCHOOL?

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6

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November 2018

Vol: 18 No. 11

W

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We’re seeking writers MASUCCESS is looking for freelance writers to join our dynamic team of U.S. correspondents. We pay some of the best rates in the industry and all payments are upon acceptance.

Writers should have some knowledge of the martial arts school business.

When responding, please feel free to pitch your story ideas (4 to 5 paragraphs including the type of photos/images that you can supply to accompany your idea).

We prefer email responses. Do NOT send any completed manuscripts. We do NOT have time to read completed articles and they typically do not t our standards or editorial format.

Please email your reply or story pitch to John Corcoran, Managing Editor, at jcorcoran@masuccess.com

We’re seeking story leads MASUCCESS is seeking reader tips and leads to nd successful school owners in the U.S. and Canada. If you know of a highly successful single- or multi-school owner who you believe can teach our readers the tricks of the trade, please submit his or her name, a brief description of his or her degree of success and his or her contact information. We will follow up on all legitimate leads.

Please email your leads to John Corcoran, Managing Editor, at jcorcoran@masuccess.com. jc

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YOUR

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20%

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PERCENT

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your school?

< 1 YEAR

< 5 YEARS

< 10 YEARS

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DURATION

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FAM I LY-BASED BUSI N ESS BU I LDS A

KARATE EM PIRE! Bobby and Charlene Lawrence operate Utahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest chain of karate schools â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 19 locations teaching more than 2,200 active students. Their four children and 20 grandchildren have grown up in the martial arts business. Read how their fascinating, family-oriented approach has built a martial arts empire and influenced tens of thousands of students in the Beehive State.

Interview by Keith D. Yates

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KARATE EMPIRE

O

nce, Bobby Lawrence was a public school teacher, athletic coach and attorney. While he was busy working in the corporate world, his wife, Charlene, turned their martial arts hobby into a one-school business. Today, they run the largest chain of karate schools in the entire state of Utah, encompassing 19 different locations. They are all Bobby Lawrence Karate Schools, some of them licensed (see sidebar story, “Bobby Lawrence Karate School Highlights”). But the husband-and-wife team, who’ve been in the martial arts business since the 1980s, oversee the chain’s operations.

And it isn’t just the two of them. Their sons and even grandkids (they have 20!) are school owners and actively teaching black belts.

They didn’t set out to have a licensing empire. But their family approach to the martial arts inspired their students and others to emulate their student-friendly system. The Lawrences love what they do and it shows up in how they manage their multiple locations, 60-plus employees and more than 2,200 students.

Furthermore, the Lawrences don’t do anything small. From the top of Utah to the very bottom, you’ll find a school bearing their name.

Their inter-school tournament is the largest karate competition in the state.

They are also prominent advocates of the Martial Arts Industry Association (MAIA) and can give testimony on how to tailor a business to the community. Obviously, Utah is a family-friendly state and their style fits right into the culture.

Here’s how these once-traditional, old-school martial artists made the transition to a unique, family-first operation that has influenced tens of thousands of students.

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Bobby Lawrence: “I think MAIA [Martial Arts Industry Association] has brought a level of professionalism to the martial arts that never existed before. There were a few coaching services, but they didn’t have the financial backing or the professional vision that MAIA has. The organization helps all their members with business concepts and new marketing ideas. For us, some of the most successful [marketing] methods are things like birthday parties and School Talks.”

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MARTIAL ARTS SUCCESS: How did you folks get started in the martial arts?

BOBBY LAWRENCE: I started in high school in Las Vegas. I wasn’t big enough for football and was looking for some other athletic activity. I found an Ed Parker kenpo karate school that fit the bill. When I was a sophomore in college, I met Charlene and she wondered why I wasn’t involved in many college activities in the evening. I told her I practiced karate.

CHARLENE LAWRENCE: Yeah, we had started dating and I couldn’t figure out why he was always busy in the evenings. When I found out, I was like, “What’s karate?” I went to watch and decided if I wanted to be around him, I needed to join, too. That was the start of our big adventure.

MASUCCESS: When did you make black belt?

BOBBY: I got my black belt in 1977. I graduated from high school in ’72, we met in ’74, and got married in 1976. We moved to Utah so I could attend a graduate program in history at BYU [Brigham Young University]. That’s where I earned my black belt rank.

MASUCCESS: So, when did you start the martial arts business?

BOBBY: That was quite a bit later. I had graduated and was working. After our youngest son was in kindergarten, Charlene decided she wanted to do something different and went to work for the city. But soon, she said, “I’m going to turn your teaching into a martial arts business.”

MASUCCESS: When was that?

CHARLENE: That was about 1988. Bobby had been the director of the martial arts program at BYU and I was at home raising the kids. Once our youngest went to school, I said, “I think I could run a karate school.”

So, with Bobby’s encouragement, I opened the school in Provo, Utah. The thought was, let’s just have a nice school, me, Bobby and the kids. We didn’t plan on it going big. But what eventually happened was some of our black belts liked the way we worked together as a family and wanted to do the same thing.

BOBBY: I actually had no idea she was such a smart business person. She just liked people and she was really good at it. She would teach the early classes and I would come in and teach the advanced classes in the evening. We soon decided there was nothing else we’d rather do.

MASUCCESS: Where was your first school?

CHARLENE: It was in downtown Provo, and the rent was really cheap. We were there about three years.

BOBBY: But then, Charlene found a building in Orem, which is where we currently are. She actually bought this building in 1993.

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KARATE EMPIRE

BOBB Y L AW RENCE K A R ATE

SCHOOLS ’ HIGHLIGHTS BOBBY & CHARLENE LAWRENCEOWNED LOCATION OREM

125 STUDENTS

SPANISH FORK

225 STUDENTS

HERRIMAN

175 STUDENTS

DALLAS LAWRENCE LOCATIONS AMERICAN FORK

200 STUDENTS

SARATOGA SPRINGS

22 STUDENTS

LEHI

75 STUDENTS

JUSTUS LAWRENCE LOCATIONS LINDON

125 STUDENTS

PROVO

45 STUDENTS

LAWRENCE KARATE LICENSEES ST. GEORGE #1

158 STUDENTS

ST. GEORGE #2

60 STUDENTS

DRAPER

140 STUDENTS

SANDY

138 STUDENTS

W. JORDAN

130 STUDENTS

W. VALLEY

100 STUDENTS

PARK CITY

111 STUDENTS

LAYTON

105 STUDENTS

(D.J. LENHART)

LAWRENCE LICENSED KARATE CLUBS HEBER

50 STUDENTS

PANGUITCH

25 STUDENTS

ORANGEVILLE

60 STUDENTS

Nineteen locations: We thought our readers would like to see how the largest chain of karate schools in Utah is divided into ownership and licensees. Licensees are further divided by actual schools and club locations.

Over 2,200 students.

Each location has slightly different tuition, but at the main location, it’s approximately $140 per month.

They use a three-year contract in the amount of $4,000.

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CHARLENE: My thought was, we needed to get out of the basement and I was only looking for a place to rent. But I found this location on State Street and I thought, “Man, it’s for sale and I think I can afford it.” Someone told me it used to be a grocery store, but it was most recently a motorcycle place. We had to knock down walls and paint it and, in those days, we put in carpeting.

It’s almost 6,000 square feet and, being on such a busy street, people just started coming in as soon as we opened. Then we started teaching Tae Bo and that brought in even more kids because the moms really liked the Tae Bo [workout].

MASUCCESS: And you have many more locations now, correct?

BOBBY: We have several, yes. We own this building [in Orem] and we have locations in Spanish Fork and Herriman. We had one in American Fork that we just sold to our son, Dallas. Besides the three schools and the one owned by our son, we have 15 other locations in our organization.

BOBBY: One of the great things about karate is that the whole family can do it. We used to go to tournaments and every one of us would compete — mom, dad, the kids. We’d all go to Wyoming or hop on a plane to Las Vegas or California.

CHARLENE: We always called our school “The Family Farm.” Back in the old days, kids grew up doing what their parents did and worked side-by-side. That doesn’t happen anymore. But for us, it did. We’d teach together and our children grew up knowing the business and how to teach and communicate with people.

We are so proud of our children. We could never have imagined that life could be this good running karate schools with our family.

The tournament years were really fun when the kids got old enough and we’d climb in our van to compete in tournaments. Bobby was an amazing coach to all of us and he coached our oldest son, Justus, to be a seven-time world-champion fighter.

three schools and our other son, Justus, has two.

BOBBY: I remember Char always emphasizing what is important to parents. The respect and the discipline that martial arts instills in kids is invaluable to parents. That’s, I think, the impetus that she had to turn this into our family business.

MASUCCESS: So, it is a real family affair?

MASUCCESS: It must be heartening to see your kids carrying on the

CHARLENE: The son that we just sold the school to actually now has

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KARATE EMPIRE tradition of teaching karate.

BOBBY: We are definitely proud. And I should add that we have a granddaughter, Keiki, who is a black belt and teaches in our main location in Orem as well. But of course, we are also proud of the other schools who are run by our students who wanted to go out to start their own locations and teach. Again, we never anticipated growing so much. We never set out to offer a business opportunity to anyone.

I think what happened is people saw how Charlene and I worked together as a team. We made it so successful they just wanted to do the same thing. They began coming to us to ask how they could do it. We just said we would help them and they could use our name.

MASUCCESS: So, this is a licensing arrangement?

BOBBY: Yes, licensing, not a franchise. I want to give them the freedom to do their own thing and to run their business however they want to. But they do teach my style, which is a kind of mixture or blend — which is what everyone in the business seems to be doing now. But our base is still kenpo.

So, we have eight in Utah county, some in Salt Lake county, and a couple in St. George down in the southern end of the state. So, there is a Bobby Lawrence Karate School practically all the way from the top to the bottom of Utah.

MASUCCESS: Some of the schools are pretty close to each other.

Is there a problem with one cannibalizing from another?

BOBBY: The fact there they are close is actually a good thing.

Pretty much wherever a student signs up, that [location] is their school. We hardly ever have a problem with a student playing one instructor against another.

What helps is we are a tight group. We all market together and regularly meet to train and help each other. We are about to have our monthly meeting where we’ll go over things like how to do a certain kata and exchange ideas. That is a neverending process to get everyone marching to the same drummer.

MASUCCESS: How many students do you have total in all 15 schools?

CHARLENE: More than 2,200.

MASUCCESS: Do all the students pay the same tuition?

BOBBY: Because it’s not a franchise, I don’t dictate that amount of control. I do set guidelines, of course. But, because there are physical differences between each facility and in their demographics, each instructor can do it however he or she wants. They run their own specials and have their own events, and so forth. I have to say that the licensing model has worked really well for us.

MASUCCESS: How do you do your testing for rank promotion?

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BOBBY: I’ve divided the state into five regions and we do regional qualifying tests for black belt ranks. Then, we’ll do a big black belt testing of close to 90 students going for first degree or higher. We do this in conjunction with our semi-annual tournament. It’s the biggest tournament in the state, even though it’s just our own inter-school event.

Charlene Lawrence: “We always called our school ‘The Family Farm. Back in the old days, kids grew up doing what their parents did and worked side-by-side.

We’d teach together and our children

CHARLENE: We have to rent the event center where they hold concerts and such. We mark off 18 rings and we have 500 to 600 entrants.

And there are probably 1,500 spectators.

grew up knowing the business and how

BOBBY: The team sparring is really popular. One of the highlights is al-

never have imagined that life could be

ways the demo team competition, where each school brings in a team and they do demos to music.

MASUCCESS: How did you get involved with the Martial Arts Industry

to teach and communicate with people.

We are so proud of our children. We could this good running karate schools with our family.”

Association?

BOBBY: Our oldest son was a tournament champion who fought all over and he knew one of the former consultants with MAIA. That’s when we were introduced to the organization and became an elite member. I have worked with [MAIA Executive Director] Frank Silverman and all those guys. It’s been a great association.

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KARATE EMPIRE MASUCCESS: How has MAIA helped your business?

BOBBY: I think MAIA has brought a level of professionalism to the martial arts that never existed before. There were a few coaching services, but they didn’t have the financial backing or the professional vision that MAIA has. The organization helps all their members with business concepts and new marketing ideas.

MASUCCESS: How so?

BOBBY: For example, each of our schools has a branch manager whose responsibility it is to bring in new students. For us, some of the most successful [marketing] methods are things like birthday parties and School Talks.

CHARLENE: There are tons of little parades all over Utah. We are always represented there and we have a booth in the carnivals, too.

Any event that we can go to, we are there.

MASUCCESS: How does it work with the public schools?

BOBBY: It’s harder to get into the public schools these days, so we’ll talk to individual teachers to set up a School Talk. Whenever we have belt promotions, the kids have to fill out a form ahead of time with questions like, “Have you been doing your chores? Have you been respectful of your parents? How are you doing in school?”

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We have the school teacher fill out a part of the form. Then, we can ask the teacher if he or she would like us to come in a give a School Talk. We do a show-and-tell and talk about what martial arts can do for you. Some schools let us hand out fliers, but others won’t.

We learned this from MAIA: that you should point out how karate can improve a kid’s focus. We’ll give a pass to the teacher that she can present later to the student who shows the most focus. That student can come to the karate school for free lessons.

We try to be partners-in-education with the teachers and the schools. It helps that I’m a former school teacher myself and can relate to the challenges they face. There are many more challenges today with more diagnoses of autism and the problem of obesity.

MASUCCESS: What role does word-of-mouth play in small communities?

BOBBY: That is definitely one of the best ways to get new students.

But I have to say it is most effective when the instructor really cares for the students. Because it’s not just about the martial arts, but about what the arts can do for the student and for the whole family.

I think that is the challenging thing that we face. It’s so easy for the instructor to get distracted by different things when running a martial arts business, like paying bills, rent, taxes. Do you want to be a tournament champion, or maybe a cage fighter? Those are things that can take you in the wrong direction.

MASUCCESS

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You can’t buy into your own public relations. Of course, a karate teacher feels good when a student does well in a tournament or performs well, but this business isn’t about the well-performing student. Some students may not be the most gifted athletes. But when the parents see they have the same opportunities as all the others, then they are happy.

MASUCCESS: Any other words of advice for someone wanting to open a martial arts business?

BOBBY: You have to keep up with the times. When dealing with kids, you have to treat them differently than adults. That was hard for me to initially accept. I was very close, and still am, to the highest-ranking people in traditional kenpo. I was even one of the pallbearers for [American kenpo founder] Ed Parker, Sr.’s funeral.

Some of them will look at what we’ve done and how we are so successful and perhaps think we have sold out the “old ways.”

That’s the camp I used to be in, too. That’s where Char had to help me understand that students benefit in different ways and that I had to modify my approach. I now see that the value of the martial arts is in more than strict adherence to the old, hardcore ways. Those, frankly, are hard for the modern American consumer to buy into. And, of course, my kids have helped me see that as well.

MASUCCESS: Again, it seems like it is all about family for the Lawrences?

BOBBY: Love of family, yes. That’s what Char is so good at. I’ve often said that she and I are the best team. We’ve worked handin-glove for so long. For us, it’s all about helping future generations.

CHARLENE: That’s why we have been successful. When people saw our four kids coming in to help us teach and they observed our family dynamic, they’d say, “I want our family to be like yours.”

That love for each other, and for the martial arts, just kind of radiated. It has been a blast — and the best thing in the world for us! e Keith D. Yates is a veteran martial arts instructor and writer from Texas. He can be reached at his organization’s website, www.akato.org.

To learn more about how hundreds of other successful school owners, both large and small, operate, visit the Martial Arts Industry Association’s website at www.maiahub.com. Through this constantly-enhanced website, members can access a massive amount of useful information on just about any topic from A to Z.

NOVEMBER 2018

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T

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IT’S NOW TIME TO

PLAN YOUR HOLIDAY EVENT WITH THE EXCLUSIVE

Holiday Retail Kit! Including video tutorials from MAIA Executive Director Frank Silverman, the kit is a step-by-step guide containing everything you need to hold the best holiday event ever at your school in three simple steps:

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Watch the video tutorials and download the FREE marketing materials at

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www.CenturyMartialArts.com • (800) 626-2787 “Century” is a registered trademark of Century, LLC. All rights reserved. © 2018 Century, LLC. #15607

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C

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.

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Clean Mats = A Full House Getting new students and keeping the ones you have is always on the mind of a martial arts school owner. And in this age of virulent super bugs like MRSA that can have potentially very serious and even fatal consequences, you must have a good hygiene protocol in place to protect your athletes as well as yourself and your school.

Kenclean Plus is a hospital use disinfectant cleaner that kills the germs you need to kill while leaving behind a clean, fresh fragrance that lets your students know your school is clean, Kennedy Clean!

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DID YOU KNOW...?

IF YOU ARE TEACHING CHILDREN THE SAME WAY YOU TEACH ADULTS, YOU MAY BE MISSING THE MARK.

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MO S T S CHOOL S DO NO T H AV E A SE T S TA NDA R D F OR T E A CHING DR IL L S T O T HEIR 3 -T O - 6 Y E A R OL D S .

T H AT ’ S W H Y C H I L D D E V E L O P M E N T E X P E R T, M E L O D Y S H U M A N , D E V E L O P E D T H E U LT I M AT E C H I L D R E N ’ S C U R R I C U L U M F O R 3 -T O - 6 Y E A R O L D S .

Tr an s f or m your clas s e s .

V isi t Pr e SK IL L Z .c om today.

©2018 MAIA, LLC. #15481

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OCTOBER IS

NATIONAL BULLY-PREVENTION MONTH!

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I Didn’t Look Like Everyone Else Growing up in the early 1960’s Johnny Williamson, often found himself the target of racist bullies, especially in the south.

“I grew up as a military brat in the early 60s,” Williamson explains. “My father was in the U.S. Air Force. I’m African American and, back then, there just weren’t a lot of African Americans in the Air Force. So, when we got stationed somewhere, I really stood out — and because of that, people started picking on me.

“I was young and couldn’t understand why these guys were messing with me. Then, I realized it was because my skin was darker and I didn’t look like everyone else. That made me different and that bothered some people. As we moved from

“

My biggest joy in life is helping people to learn how not to be the victim of a bully. I grew up being bullied, so I understand that mentality. I also teach what to do if someone pushes, shoves or hits you. People have the right to defend themselves.

But in my eyes, fighting is always the last resort.

”

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base to base, I just learned to adapt. But when I got into high school, that’s when it really hit hard.”

Whenever a bully confronted Williamson, he took evasive action. As anyone who has ever been picked on knows, running away only adds fuel to a bully’s fire. He perceive you as an “easy target” which commonly encourages his bad behavior.

In Williamson’s case, there was one particular trio that were doggedly intent on causing the young man grief.

“I have no idea why those guys were always after me,” he says today. “I never did anything or said anything to them.”

Up to this point, Williamson had managed to elude his pursuers most of the time. However, on one eventful day, his luck ran out.

Fight Or Flight “I was walking home and there they were — waiting at the end of a cul-de-sac in front of my house,” Williamson recalls. “I’d been running from those three guys for a long time. Now, they have me cornered. I thought, ‘No way am I going down there.’

So, I snuck through a yard to the rear of my house to avoid them.”

Fueled by a surge of nervous adrenaline, Williamson made it to his back door, but it wouldn’t open! His knuckles pounded with lightening speed against the locked door.

“Both my parents opened the door wanting to know what in the world was going on,” he says. “My dad demanded to know why I was trying to break down the door. I was brutally honest.

I told him about the bullies, and that they were out front. And that I ran to the back of the house trying to get away.”

What happened next played out like a scene from every Western movie ever filmed. There comes a time in such movies when the good guy has got to face down the bad guys. He does so by walking toward them, not away from them.

So, this was Williamson’s OK Corral moment, and it would change his life forever! After pleading his case to his father, the youngster was given a dose of tough love.

“You don’t tell your dad, a sergeant in the Air Force, that you’re afraid to fight,” Williamson points out. “Dad firmly told

MASUCCESS

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National Bully-Prevention Month

Editor’s Note: Our industry is replete with instructors and school owners who teach bully-prevention techniques and programs, especially to their young students. They do so because they sincerely care about their students’ welfare. Others, particularly those instructors who were victims of bullies themselves earlier in their lives, place even more emphasis on such training at their schools.

But few in our field go as far as Arizona’s Johnny Williamson. For him it’s a serious passion. So powerful is his commitment he’s more akin to an anti-bullying crusader or deeply engaged activist.

Consider this: When we made first contact with him about doing this major feature article you’re now reading, he was somewhere over on the East Coast attending an anti-bullying event. We told him half the article would focus on his bully-prevention activities, in association with October being National Bully Prevention Month. The other half would be devoted to his successful school, Starworld Martial Arts in Goodyear, AZ. He was ecstatic — but guess what? Not about the well-deserved praise he’d receive for his thriving school or for his skill as a savvy businessman, but about the national attention his bullying activities would get! He was so excited, in fact, he immediately launched into a detailed account of his multi-tiered crusading efforts! We had to politely ask him to save his explanation for the taped interview.

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me that I had to learn how to deal with people like that. Then, he opened the door and sent me back outside to do just that!”

This time, there was no running away, no back yards to cut through, no place to hide. It was time to face the music.

With a sense of false bravado, the nervous teen began walking forward, closing the gap between him and the three bullies. One slow step after another, Williamson moved toward his destiny as a future anti-bully crusader; he just didn’t know that at the time.

“This was the first time I’d ever shown any courage,” Williamson says. “I had no idea what to expect, but I knew this was the right thing to do.

“As I approached, I looked all three of them squarely in the eyes. They appeared confused now. They were used to me running away. So, I sucked in some air and puffed up my chest. I was trying to make myself look three times my actual size! Then, I gave them a look that said, ‘If you do anything, you will regret it.’

“I was scared. Heck, I was [actually] petrified! But because my parents wanted me to face them, I felt as if I had permission to be tough. And believe me, I am not a tough-looking guy. In hindsight, I now call that puffy thing ‘confidence.’

Discovering the Martial Arts So, guess what? I walked right pass them and they never bothered me again.”

Shortly after joining the U.S. Army at 19, Williamson began training in taekwondo. A year later, he was reassigned and, along with the new post, the young soldier found a new martial art he loved, tang soo do. He’s been climbing up its ranks ever since.

18 years later, the now-seasoned black belt retired from Uncle Sam’s service to, first, open a private security agency.

“After securing all the necessary credentials, I opened my company in 1995,” Williamson explains. “My focus was in bodyguard protection, in addition to a canine unit. I did this for five years. It was wonderful, but I really wanted to do martial arts full-time.

“I ran into [tang soo do] Grandmaster Jae C. Shin, and he suggested that I look up [certain people] for some advice on how to run a school. By getting with them, I started to realize that I could teach martial arts full-time.

“I had just been promoted to master rank in my organization and decided then to open a full-time studio. As time went on, MAIA [Martial Arts Industry Association] came on the scene.”

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Later in this article, we will discuss in detail how applying the knowledge of what Williamson learned in MAIA transformed his school, Starworld Martial Arts in Goodyear, AZ, into a thriving operation will be discussed in detail later in this article. In keeping with the topical focus of National Bullying Prevention

Fighting Bullies With Verbal Judo Month, let’s jump forward and see how he applies anti-bullying techniques to his martial arts instruction.

Williamson’s passion is to help other people achieve their goals in life. He especially enjoys accomplishing that goal through teaching martial arts. At this stage of his life, he has become a successful school owner and respected black belt instructor.

His passion for helping others, combined with the firsthand experience he’d had dealing with bullies, was about to usher Williamson into the next phase of his career — an author.

“

Having the ability to take an adversary off balance with words and confident body posture is the best and safest way to get control of a situation.

This way, you can get them [the bullies] to calm down without anyone getting hurt — a nonviolent outcome.

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“My biggest joy in life is helping people to learn how not to be the victim of a bully,” Williamson says, proudly. “I grew up being bullied, so I understand that. When a friend of mine challenged me to write a book on the subject, I did.”

Coincidently or not, Williamson’s entry into the literary world was greatly influenced by a traditional judo technique called kuzushi, the breaking of balance.

In the sport of judo, a judoka must first control the situation by taking his or her opponent off balance. As a writer, Williamson learned to do this with his words.

“As I began thinking about how to approach my anti-bullying book, I was getting involved with verbal judo,” he says. “Verbal judo was created by Dr. George J. Thompson. In addition to being an expert in judo, he was also an English-professor-turnedstreet-cop.”

Understanding the power of the spoken word can be a useful weapon when used to control a situation. Williamson related how Dr. Thompson developed his verbal judo tactics. He would

watch police officers participate in real-time crises, and observe strategies for talking down violence using, instead of force, what later became known as “verbal judo.”

Williamson infused verbal judo’s wisdom into his book on how to deal with bullies. He preferred using words to defuse a bully over a roundhouse kick to the head.

“Having the ability to take an adversary off balance with words and confident body posture is the best and safest way to get control of a situation,” says Williamson. “This way you can get [the bullies] to calm down without anybody getting hurt.

“There is actually a verbal judo course offered at Wisconsin Technical Institute. As I went through the course, I saw that

The Need for Increased RolePlaying their course in verbal sparring techniques is exactly what I used to do. I just didn’t know that it had a name.”

According to Williamson, “Bullying is the same no matter where you’re from! So, I came up with seven strategies that I use in my method.”

They are: 1. The Tactical Ignore 2. The Confident Insignificant Look 3. Humor 4. The Peaceful Threat 5. Higher Authority 6. Stand Your Ground 7. Be Physically Ready

“We [in the martial arts] roleplay [physically],” says Williamson. “That’s the problem we have in our industry right now: we roleplay fighting and self-defense, but we don’t roleplay verbally.”

Any martial artist understands the value in learning sets or forms, and how to break those moves down into a self-defense situation. But those are just physical applications. Williamson’s verbal katas are roleplaying techniques designed to create a nonviolent outcome.

“I roleplay what to say and how to say it to control a bullying conversation. I roleplay proper stance, which is body language.

I even roleplay the proper way to sit to offset a negative

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“

We [in the martial arts] roleplay [physically].

That’s the problem! We roleplay fighting and self-defense, but we don’t roleplay verbally.

I [teach] roleplay [for] what to say and how to say it, to control a bullying conversation.

I roleplay proper stance, which is body language. I even roleplay the proper way to sit to offset a negative situation. And, I roleplay the proper way to look at somebody that’s said something he shouldn’t have said. I call it ‘The Confident Insignificant Look.’

situation. And I roleplay the proper way to look at somebody that’s said something they shouldn’t have said. I call it ‘The Confident Insignificant Look.’ To describe it, I tell kids, ‘That’s the kind of look your dad or mom would give you after you’ve said or done something you shouldn’t have.”

“I teach people how to give that look and how to ‘ignore’ a bully. Ignore also works. You can’t show fear. You can’t show that you’ve heard him, let alone acknowledge him.

“To teach that look to a kid, I say, ‘Pretend that you’re playing your favorite video game and winning, when your mom and dad tell you to stop and come eat.’ You don’t flinch, you don’t do anything. You just go about your business as if you didn’t hear a thing,” Williamson says.

“Kids need to be taught how to ignore bullies. You can’t just say, ‘Son, ignore them.’ Kids don’t know what that means or how to do it. And that’s what I do and what my book [explains]. It shows people how to teach others these techniques.

“I also teach what to do if someone pushes or shoves you or hits you. People have the right to defend themselves. But in my eyes, fighting is always the last resort.”

To date, Williamson has written two well-received books, Bully Prevention and 7 Strategies to Defeat a Bully: Defeat the Bully Without Fighting.

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“My first book, Bully Prevention, became popular within my little circle of people who wanted to teach my techniques,” Williamson says. “So, I wrote a second book on how to teach it.”

The rapid and exponential proliferation of social media in the New Millennium sadly brought with it an ugly new platform for bullies that also saw a massive increase in the number of young females targeting female victims. Williamson also addresses this hi-tech problem: What you should do if you are a victim, or the parent of a child, who is dealing with cyber bullies.

Last, he offers private lessons when it’s necessary.

“I work with people one-on-one that are really having serious issues dealing with a bully,” he says.

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Switching Gears: No One’s Doing Marketing Like This!

From the moment in 2015 when Williamson opened MAIA’s monthly Success Kit for school owners, he was sold on the Martial Arts Industry Association’s unique marketing strategies and the way in which they were presented.

“

When I started doing [theme events], a lot of people starting coming in. And [MAIA] taught us how to do back-toschool events, too. That got us into the [local academic] school system and things began to skyrocket from there.

It worked so well that we were running out of room. We didn’t know where we were going to put all these new students!

”

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“I was very impressed with the package,” admits Williamson. “I thought, ‘Wow, there’s no one doing marketing like this!’ MAIA’s presentation was very effective and very pretty. I have a master’s degree in business and understand marketing, so I knew what they had to offer was unique. I started with MAIA and I’ve been with them ever since.

“When I say ‘it was pretty,’ I’m referring to the fact that MAIA paid attention to their color schemes. It’s the little details [that impressed me], such as the size and type of font used that matched the headline and subheading that set them apart. Plus, the package had great [written] copy. And the Call to Action was left blank, making it easy to fill in. MAIA made the entire system easy to plug in and play.”

As most martial art school owners know all too well, the business has its slump periods as well as its peaks. When Williamson’s peak began to stagnate at his Starworld Martial Arts in Goodyear, AZ, he again turned to MAIA for more advanced help.

“My business was kind of stagnated at 100 students or so,” Williamson says. “Then, I got to 120, but was having a hard time busting past that 130 mark. I had a friend visiting me. He was going to a MAIA Wealth event. He told me what that was all about, in addition to informing me about MAIA Elite.”

Williamson checked out both programs and decided to hop on board. Once the decision was made, the high-ranking black belt knew he had made the right call.

“I felt like they really knew what they were doing,” he says.

“The reason I felt that way was because it wasn’t a one-man show. So I took a leap of faith, and I’ve been with them for three years. I went from 130 students to where I now have 230.

“It’s the little tweaks they have you do that make the biggest difference. For instance, my MAIA coach, Adam Parman, told me I should be using themes for my events. Like, a Ninja Turtle event, for example, then have another one that’s a Super Hero event, then do an anti-bully themed event.

“The event theme worked great!” Williamson says. “When I started doing that, a lot of people starting coming in. And they taught us how to do back-to-school events, too. That got us into the [local academic] school system and things began to skyrocket from there. It worked so well that we were running out of room.

We didn’t know where we were going to put all these new students! That’s a good problem to have.”

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MAIA’s Problem-Solving Ability “Because MAIA had already solved this problem — too many students, not enough room — for other school owners, it was an easy fix for me,” Williamson says. “When you’re dealing with MAIA, you aren’t dealing with just one person. They have a team of people they can go to for a solution to any problem.

“The people at MAIA are great and I recommend them highly.

Everyone in MAIA is like a family. Everybody shares, and I really like that because that’s how my karate organization is. I’m with the World Tang Soo Do Association. We are a tight group. We share; we don’t expect anything in return and we don’t charge to help somebody out.”

Williamson was also quick to endorse MAIA’s philosophy regarding the importance of building relationships. It matched his own high value he had already placed on relationships through past personal experience.

“Like I said earlier, [tang soo do] Grandmaster Shin was very important to my career. Over the years, I’d built a relationship with him. When I was in the army, I worked at the University of Pennsylvania in the ROTC department for three years.

The headquarters of our association wasn’t too far away in Philadelphia. So, at lunchtime I’d go there to work out.

“I lived in New Jersey and that was where my main instructor, Master Britt, was. So, I’d work out in New Jersey at night, then the next day, at lunchtime, I’d be at the headquarters where I’d run into the Grandmaster and others.

“Those relationships started building. That’s important because you never know who or when you’re going to meet someone that will be important to your career down the road.”

Martial arts is also a family affair for Williamson. His successful school business will eventually be passed on to his heir, his black belt daughter.

“I have a daughter, MoShay, a 3rd-degree black belt who’s also a world tang soo do champion,” Williamson says. “She just turned 30 and she’s eager to pick up the business when the time comes.”

One of the many lessons Williamson heavily applies from his MAIA education is the importance of creating strong bonds with people. Professional school owners all know and practice very astute level of customer service today. It’s part of the modern business-success model. But Williamson takes it a big step farther in one markedly unique way.

“We really work on customer service a lot,” he explains simply, before throwing his business curveball at you. “If someone isn’t happy [training at my school], I don’t say, ‘Well, too bad. You’re stuck to a contract.’ Instead, I let them leave [without enforcing the contract payments]. That’s because I’ve come to realize that karate isn’t for everybody. And also, sometimes people just grow out of it. So, when they want to quit, I let ‘em go.

“We live in the same town,” he adds, to bolster his reasoning.

“I don’t want a former student to run from me when they see me because they’re stuck to a contract. I want to be a part of my community. This is where I live and I’m proud of that.”

In the final analysis, it seems pretty clear that Johnny Williamson, a formerly bullied kid, has captured the coveted American Dream — but, in his case, on a rare dual level. He’s integrated his two main goals in life: Doing martial arts full time and teaching students how to handle the serious social problem of bullies/bullying. Presumably, he’s gotta be one of the happiest and most fulfilled black belts in our field!

His father was right. That day he forced his son to confront his fears was perhaps the most important turning point in the young man’s life.

That day when he bravely walked up to and right past the trio of bullies was the day Johnny Williamson quit running away and started running toward all the various goals he set out to achieve: Veteran military man, university grad, teacher, successful businessman, social crusader, author, and father.

And we especially like this one: Role model. e To read hundreds of articles and columns vital to your school business, visit the Martial Arts Industry Association’s website at www.maiahub.com. Through this constantly-enhanced website, members can access an enormous quantity of useful information on just about any topic from A to Z.

NOVEMBER 2018

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A GUIDE STEP

BY

STEP

For Maximizing Holiday Sales November can be one of your most profitable months if you hold a Holiday Event at your school.

Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a helpful guide showing you how to do it right!

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STEP 1: Decide when you’re going to have your sale. We recommend your sale be held the second or third Saturday of November. Remember, all custom orders must be placed to Century no later than December 1st in order to guarantee delivery by Christmas.

Four hours is usually a good time window for your sale. The best time of day is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

STEP 2: Stock up! Check Century’s holiday catalog for fun new holiday items in addition to classic best-sellers. It is recommended that you stock up on these items in particular: • Items with your school’s logo, like engraved belt displays • Items fundamental to your school, like uniforms, weapons you use, targets, gloves/sparring gear, etc.

• Several BIG items like Wavemasters, BOBs, and Versys bags • Fun items like Nigel the Ninja, ornaments, trinkets, the Ultimate Ninja stuffed dragon toy, etc.

Offer items in a variety of sizes and prices – you want there to be something for everyone. Be sure to stock up, but don’t over-order. Remember, your goal is to run out. Having to order more items is preferable to having to deal with excess inventory.

Stocking stuffers are always a top-seller. They are affordable and parents love them.

Display your stocking stuffers and smaller items together in a fun, creative way.

Your big-ticket items need to be displayed creatively as well. For example, add a bow on top of or around your Wavemaster bags for a cute, festive touch.

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STEP 3: Start promoting! You’ve probably seen holiday decorations up in some large stores as early as October – follow their lead. Start spreading the word about your sale no later than November 1st. Hang posters in your school, hand out flyers, and send out reminder emails. You’ll find free downloadable tools, like posters, in this kit. Use them to help promote your sale.

Don’t forget about the power of social media! Facebook Live videos, stop motion videos, pictures and flyers are great ways to capture attention.

The best thing you can do is give each student or their parents a personalized phone call, and recommend an item you think will benefit their training specifically. This is NOT an opportunity for you to stretch the truth to upsell products – you’ve worked with these students all year; you have the knowledge and resources to make a genuine suggestion. Are little Joey’s gloves wearing out? Is Erika almost ready to upgrade to your Black Belt Club, for which she’ll need a new uniform? These are the kinds of things to mention to parents so they can use your sale to get meaningful, purposeful gifts that their kids will truly appreciate.

STEP 4: It’s the day before – time to get your sale set up! Make sure there’s plenty of open space. You don’t want crowding, and you want your employees to be able to see what’s going on at all times. This will enable them to provide the highest-quality customer service, and will reduce the chance of any items going missing (your students and families have good integrity; however, if your sale is open to the public you should always be mindful. Also, young children may innocently pick up small sale items to play with and take them on accident).

Be sure to use fun, festive décor to add to the experience and get shoppers in the holiday spirit. Christmas trees, Menorahs, dreidels, stockings and wrapped presents are a nice touch.

Provide customers with visuals of gifts they could get their loved ones. Seeing a personalized example helps customers envision what they’ll be giving friends and family.

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STEP 5: The day of the sale, black out your windows so no one can see what exactly is inside. This builds suspense!

Don’t let anyone into the sale early (except, of course, your volunteers and staff). Your doors should open at exactly on the hour you schedule your sale to start, not a second sooner!

STEP 6: Make sure you have enough people working on the floor and as cashiers. Your staff should be readily available to answer shopper questions, and there shouldn’t be long check-out lines. If you have enough people, you can even offer gift-wrapping services!

(This is something you should plan for in advance.

Know how many workers you will have, and if you’re able, set one or two aside specifically as gift-wrappers.

If you’ll be able to offer gift-wrapping services, be sure to include that detail in your promotions!)

STEP 7: If you ran out of anything during the sale, don’t worry – write down any orders you weren’t able to fill, compile them, and place your own order with Century. Remember to give your customers the sale price if they order an item from you on the day of the sale, even if you don’t have it in stock!

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YOUR NEW SOLE MATE Featuring a comfortable nylon construction with a neoprene mat gripping sole, you may just fall in love with Mat Sox.

SEE OUR ENTIRE SHOE COLLECTION AT CENTURYMARTIALARTS.COM

World Leader in Martial Arts Since 1976 “Century” is a registered trademark of Century, LLC. All rights reserved. © 2017 Century, LLC. 08/2017 #137496

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THE

FINE ART OF TEACHING STUDENTS WITH DOWN SYNDROME

Dwight Trower has dedicated his time and skill to teaching kids and adults with Down syndrome at his Family Martial Art Academy in St. Louis, MO. These special-needs martial artists never pay for a lesson.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a labor of love for Trower that comes back tenfold with every kick and punch thrown by his students in this unique class.

BY TERRY L. WILSON IMAGES BY RON GADDIS

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TEACHING STUDENTS WITH DOWN SYNDROME

BORN TO TEACH KIDS Dwight Trower was in a trade school learning how to be an auto mechanic and, at the time, saw it as his clear-cut future. That is, until he took his first karate class. From that moment forward, he was propelled on a path that would eventually forever change his life and the lives of untold numbers of special-needs students.

“Even as a blue belt, I was an assistant teacher,” Trower says today. “My instructor told me that I had a gift for teaching, especially working with kids.

“With a class full of students, there were usually one or two of them that were on the autism spectrum or had Down syndrome.

So, we’ve always had special-needs students, and the desire to help them grow has been a natural passion of mine.”

Down syndrome (DS) is a congenital disorder occurring at birth that arises from a chromosome defect. It causes intellectual impairment and physical abnormalities, including short stature and a broad facial profile.

Kids with DS tend to share certain physical features such as a flat facial profile, an upward slant to the eyes, small ears and a protruding tongue. Low muscle tone (called hypotonia) is also characteristic of children with DS. Down syndrome affects kids’ ability to learn in different ways, but most have mild to moderate intellectual impairment. Kids with DS can and do learn, and are capable of developing skills throughout their lives. They simply reach goals at a different pace, which is why it’s important not to compare a child with DS against typically developing siblings or even other children with the condition.

There is no current cure for this disorder and life expectancy is usually between 50 to 60 years with proper healthcare.

“I’ve been in the martial arts for 36 years and have owned and operated my own school since 1991,” Trower says. He owns and operates Family Martial Art Academy in St. Louis, MO. “Like most martial arts schools across the country, I’ve had students over the years with Down syndrome or other disabilities,” he adds.

Trower’s passion for working with DS students caught the attention of Dee Dee Pujols of the Pujols Family Foundation.

Baseball fans around the world know that famous last name. First baseman for the Anaheim Angels, Albert Pujols is rapidly setting new batting records every time he steps up to the plate.

Pujols’ daughter was born with Down syndrome. This motivated the iconic baseball star to use his fame to bring awareness to the challenges and needs of a child with Down syndrome. The philanthropic Pujols family provides hope and tangible needs for families who live with DS. “Albert’s daughter was attending a self-defense class I was teaching in January of 2010,” explains Trower. “That’s how I got to know the Pujols family. The girl’s mother, Dee Dee, asked me if I’d like to teach a summer self-defense class for teenagers and adults with Down syndrome.”

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“ Trower’s passion to work with Down syndrome students caught the attention of Dee Dee Pujols of the Pujols Family Foundation. Baseball fans around the world know that famous last name. First baseman for the Anaheim Angels, Albert Pujols is rapidly setting new batting records every time he steps up to the plate. Pujols’ daughter was born with DS. This motivated the iconic baseball star to use his fame to bring awareness to the challenges and needs of a child with DS.”

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TEACHING STUDENTS WITH DOWN SYNDROME

WHO’S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD WOLF? Trower was openly excited about the idea. He and Todd Perry, the director and CEO of the Pujols Family Foundation, put their heads together and came up with a winning program.

“Todd came up with the name, ‘Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf.’

I set about developing a curriculum for the program: a six-week, fun, self-defense class,” Trower explains.

“My three primary goals were for the [DS] class to be safe, fun and educational. I think we had 15 students in that first class. It was only a six-week course that met once a week for 45 minutes.

“The students learned how to do a front stance, downward block, lunge punch, rising block and front kick, along with simple selfdefense techniques. Those drills included basics like escaping from wrist grabs and using verbal skills. We did a weekly fun drill at the end of each class, where each student was awarded a medal at the end of the program. We had a blast,” Trower says.

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Understanding the unique needs of individuals with Down syndrome was something that Trower had experience with in his own family.

“My then-17-year-old niece, Katie, has Down syndrome; she has been taking classes with me since she was six,” he says. “Katie was also going to be in the Down syndrome self-defense class. I knew she would set a great example for the other students to follow.

Katie is now 24 and actively involved in our school.”

Taking those early lessons learned by working with his niece as a starting point, Trower thoroughly researched the disorder until he created the perfect format for this one-of-a-kind class.

Trower’s original summer self-defense program was an unheralded success. Driven to do even more, the 7th-degree black belt went back to the drawing board. His goal was to create a long-term program that involved a partnership with the Pujols Family Foundation.

MASUCCESS

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EXPANDING THE PROGRAM “By the end of that first summer, I was already planning a yearround curriculum that would expand what we were doing in the summer,” says Trower.

In his mind’s eye, Trower could see the new program being a success. However, the schedule and commitment level needed by his special-needs students was of concern to the foundation’s program manager, Jen Cooper.

“We‘ve been working with Dwight for quite a while and having great success with his classes,” says Cooper. “Subsequently, we decided to put a new program together for our Down syndrome family that was on a bigger scale than the self-defense class. His plan was to meet once a week in a yearlong program. That way, the students could build up their skills and possibly earn a black belt.

“Dwight said that it might take a student three or four years to accomplish that goal,” Cooper explains. “And I admit, I was a bit skeptical because that was a pretty hefty time commitment.

“To begin with, the class started at 7:45 every Thursday and meets in a part of town that’s a bit far west for some of the students to travel. But we decided to give it a try, and I was completely blown away by the program’s success. Everyone at the foundation couldn’t have been more pleased with the results,” she admits.

“The program has been in effect for six years now, and I cannot begin to tell you what a positive affect it has had on our Down

syndrome family. For them to show that kind of commitment for years on end is unbelievable.”

Trower’s class was initiated free of charge in March of 2012 with the mantra, “I can and I will because I believe.”

In 2017, five years after the launch of his DS pilot program, Trower promoted 19 of his original 40 students to the rank of black belt. The fortitude and will to succeed shown by his DS students set a glowing example for others to follow.

“While I was aware of the challenges and limitations of students with Down syndrome, what I wasn’t aware of was how much they were capable of,” says Trower. “Every time we have revised and adapted the program, the students have continued to raise the bar.”

“ In 2017, five years after the launch of his DS pilot program, Trower promoted 19 of his original 40 students to the rank of black belt. The fortitude and will to succeed shown by his DS students set a glowing example for others to follow.”

AGE-APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION FOR DOWN SYNDROME CHILDREN “I’m a big believer in age-appropriate instruction,” says Doug Trower. “We have a young children’s class, then we have the older children followed by teenagers and then adult classes.

“The first thing before teaching someone with Down syndrome is to find out what their mental level is, then treat them with respect to their age.

“Our teenage and adult classes know they have Down syndrome, and they know they are adults. We treat them with the same respect we would with any other teenager and adult.

We don’t treat them like children or talk down to them. They are adults and we interact with them accordingly.”

Those individuals who are fortunate enough to live a disorderfree life often harbor an array of misconceptions about what DS

is, and how it affects those with the syndrome.

“Individuals with Down syndrome are capable of doing much more than they’re given credit for,” says Trower. “This is true of their physical ability and their ability to learn and comprehend things that we’re doing in our regular classes.

“That’s one of the most impactful things I saw once we started doing the class,” he says. “The response from the parents and the siblings of the Down syndrome students was amazing.

They were seeing their child or brother or sister doing things for the very first time that they’d never had the opportunity to do before. In addition, the student was doing these things at a level that most people didn’t think that they could.”

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TEACHING STUDENTS WITH DOWN SYNDROME

BELTS ARE EARNED, NOT GIVEN AWAY All of Trower’s students earn their black belts one stripe at a time, and his Down syndrome class is no exception.

“In my regular classes, we still do traditional testing. But with our Down syndrome class, their ranking system was based strictly on attendance,” points out Trower.

“Every time a student comes to class, that person will get a black stripe on their belt. After a student gets seven black stripes, we replace them with red stripes. Then, after 24 classes they will have three red stripes and will have their new belts awarded to them in class.

“To earn a black belt in my school can take five or six years. That same amount of time holds true in our Down syndrome class as well.

However, in that class students don’t have to learn any required material. We have them repeat what they’ve already learned at their particular level of training.

“For the special needs students testing for black belts, we do a formal exam with our board of black belts,” Trower explains. “Those testing will perform all of their basic blocks, kicks and punches. The only jump kick I have them do is a jumping front kick. I don’t do a lot of those because maintaining balance is difficult for a Down syndrome student. We don’t want anyone to take a fall and possibly get injured.”

The black belt candidates also need to demonstrate their patterns (forms/kata) as part of the test. Trower and his staff of instructors walk the prospective recipients through each pattern before they perform it on their own.

“Next, they do a series of self-defense techniques that we have worked on with them over the years,” Trower says. “I’ll pick three or four techniques, and just like the patterns, we practice the selfdefense drills with the students before they do them with our black belts for the test.”

When it comes to putting their lessons into action, these unique Spartans love to spar. Of course, it’s all done under the very watchful eye of Trower and his assistant instructors.

“Our students do some light sparring with our black belts and assistant instructors, which they seem to really enjoy,” says Trower.

“Then, just for fun, we’ll do a two-on-one round where they fight multiple opponents. We teach them how to circle and move around a little bit and that’s usually the end of the exam.”

While their black belt test is based on a unique criterion that’s different from his regular class, the commitment and dedication level is the same.

“You must physically put in the effort and make physical gains to get a new belt,” Trower says. “And that’s the key to the program.

“Individuals with Down syndrome are capable of doing much more than they’re given credit for,” he adds. “This is especially true when it relates to their physical ability and their ability to learn. Down syndrome students are capable of comprehending the same lessons we teach in our regular class.”

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Trower and the staff at the Pujols Family Foundation were in awe at the positive impact the class had on each student and their entire family.

“They were seeing their child or brother or sister doing things for the very first time that they’d never had the opportunity to do before,” Trower points out with pride. “Not only were they doing the techniques well, they were doing them at a level most people didn’t think was possible.”

Want more proof? Check this out.

“We started a second class the first of March,” Trower says. “And we’re using those that have gotten their black belts in the program to be my assistant instructors.”

THE NEXT CHALLENGE: AUTISM “I was accustomed to adapting our typical karate program to meet the special needs of my Down syndrome students,” explains Trower. “I was made aware of the challenges facing Down syndrome students while training my niece, Katie.

“I’ve also had a number of students with autism through the years, in addition to one with Fragile X syndrome. Since they didn’t fit into our regular program, I began giving them private lessons.

Autism impacts the nervous system. The range and severity of symptoms can vary widely. Common symptoms include difficulty with communication, difficulty with social interactions, obsessive interests and repetitive behaviors.

Early recognition, as well as behavioral, educational, and family therapies may reduce symptoms and support development and learning.

Nevertheless, teaching martial arts to a person with autism presents its own set of unique challenges.

“I took what I had done with two of those students with autism and combined it with my own experiences with my [DS] sister, Katie.

Plus, I did lots of research on the subject, in addition to getting input from speaking with special-education teachers and physical therapists. By combining that information, I began designing a more traditional, year-round, weekly autistic martial arts class.”

Trower broke the class down into two areas. Number one: Focusing on building students up physically. Number two: attention on their mental training. Motor skill development, balance and coordination were key elements for his new program.

“For the mental side of the program, we focused on a good positive-discipline structure,” says Trower. “I believe that with physical confidence comes mental confidence. We help students build confidence in themselves. And that’s where a student with autism is no different than any other student in our typical karate program.

“It’s that never-ending achievement cycle that benefits all of us that train in some form of marital art. To succeed, you must put in the physical effort. That’s true of our regular classes and our specialneeds classes.”

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TEACHING STUDENTS WITH DOWN SYNDROME

CLASS STRUCTURE “Our basic class structure starts out with calisthenics warmups,” Trower explains. “And of course, there are some exercises a teenager or adult with Down syndrome can’t do, because there is the potential for a serious neck injury.

“So, we don’t do anything where the head or neck will impact anything. We are very aware of those kinds of things. Balance is a key issue. So, we’ll do lots of standing-on-one-leg drills to help improve balance.”

Not everyone with DS can jump very well, so Trower doesn’t have them do a full jumping jack. They do half-jacks, where the arms go halfway up.

“Also, we have lots and lots of footwork drills, like hopping on one foot, step-and-slide movements and skipping. Those are done in line drills and we have a lot of fun with them.

“Those footwork drills are very similar to what we’d do as boxingfootwork drills in a regular boxing class. We do a lot of mirror-image footwork drills too, where a student will face someone and they’ll

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follow you working their feet in the same direction. We incorporate that into sparring as well.”

Following the calisthenics, the DS students perform the very same blocks and punches and kicks and stances that everybody does in a conventional class.

“We do pattern development, also,” he says. “We take four of our traditional taekwondo forms and modify half of them. So, they do half of a pattern that has been modified to fit the individual needs of the class or the student.”

Trower always concludes class on an upbeat note with some fun drills, by turning the class loose on Century’s Obstacle Course Kits.

“We do lots of feet-in-and-out of the rings, jumping over low hurdles, zigzagging in and out of cones. It’s all motor-skills-driven training.

“I also use lateral-movement drills, which is basically dodge ball,” says Trower. “I throw focus pads at them and they have to get out of the way. For the students, it’s a game and it’s fun. But in reality, they’re learning to move and respond to something.”

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TAEKWONDO TRAINING IS, SURPRISINGLY, A PERFECT MATCH! Because taekwondo is known for its amazing airborne and spinning high kicks, it’s reasonable that one may question if this style of martial art is a good match for a student with DS. However, according to Trower, that’s one of many misconceptions people have about DS. In fact, he says his students have surprising flexibility.

“While it’s true that some individuals have low muscle tone to a certain degree, it’s also true that teenagers and adults are much stronger than you might think,” Trower points out.

“Because of the low muscle tone, they are an amazingly flexible group. They can throw their leg very high. But we try to avoid high kicks for safety reasons, because of the problems they have with maintaining their balance. So, we teach them to kick lower, which allows them better control and better form.”

From day one, Trower knew his formula would morph into a successful program for students with DS and their parents and siblings. But even he was surprised at just how much his class would improve the quality of life for everyone involved.

“Even I was amazed at the overall effect the class had on everyone,” says Trower. “Everything worked; they [students with DS] were more physically fit for sure. Some of the teens and adults were physically challenged their entire life. To watch them get stronger as time went on was very gratifying.

“The teenage girls in the group became very conscious of that. A whole bunch of them started to work very hard and lost a lot of weight in the process. Now, that wasn’t something we were aiming for since they only came in once a week.

“The weight loss was a result of them adopting a healthier and more active lifestyle in addition to taking our class. This was a very big step for them and it had a positive effect on everyone they came into contact with.”

“ Even I was amazed at the overall effect the class had on everyone. They [students with

SUMMARY “Our Down syndrome program is a vital part of the community and of our school and me, personally, as well,” Trower admits.

“Teaching these students has been very impactful on my life.

“What’s interesting is that you offer up a part of yourself for a very worthy cause, because you think you have something to offer.

You feel like you can make a difference in someone else’s life. And in the end, it’s your life that’s impacted the most.

“You’re touched more than the people whose lives you are trying to touch. As a human being, not just as a martial artist, I’m in awe of these students and their families. They inspire me to be better and to do more.

“We are such a competitive culture that we don’t realize that everybody needs to be supported and encouraged in life. Our program does just that. Everyone has a talent and his or her own unique gift. But maybe they just don’t know it.

“One of the things I’ve learned is that the Down syndrome community as a whole is a strong, supportive group,” says Trower.

“The parents and the family support and encourage everybody just like they do for their own kids. You watch that kind of love and support and you ask yourself, ‘Why isn’t all of society like that?’

“I believe that people can accomplish great things,” Trower concludes. “Not because they believe in themselves, but because somebody else believes in them first. And that is part of the culture of who we are as a school.” e m Dwight Trower may be contacted at trower61@swbell.net and Pujols Family Foundation at info@pujolsfamilyfoundation.org.

San Diego’s Terry L Wilson is a multi-Emmy-Award-winning TV personality and freelance writer. You can reach him at tleewilson@ gmail.com.

To read many more insider tips about becoming a better instructor and successful school owner, visit the Martial Arts Industry Association’s website at www.maiahub.com. Through this constantly-enhanced website, members can access a massive amount of useful information on just about any topic from A to Z.

DS] were more physically fit for sure. Some of the teens and adults were physically challenged their entire life. To watch them get stronger as time went on was very gratifying. A whole bunch of the teenage girls started to work very hard and lost a lot of weight in the process. The weight loss was a result of them adopting a healthier and more active lifestyle in addition to taking our class.”

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YOUR FUTURE AT CENTURY MARTIAL ARTS, LLC. Century is looking for remarkable talent to join our ever-growing company! Here at Century, we possess a tight-knit culture that fosters a creative spirit. We offer professional and personal growth with the opportunity of longevity. Please check out our website for current positions or reach out to our HR Recruiter if you’re interested in a proactive application! We have a high-energy environment and pride ourselves on the great benefits of becoming a part of the Century team!

• Manufacturing • IT • Martial Arts Industry Association • Product Development • Sewing • HR • Quality Control • Sales • Customer Service • Marketing • Accounting/Finance • Management • Health, dental, and vision insurance plans • 401K savings plan with company match • Life insurance • Flex Spending Account {FSA} • Employee Assistant Program {EAP} • Short/long-term disability

• Paid time off and 8 paid holidays • Tuition reimbursement plan • Product discount • Free on-site martial arts classes • Free on-site weight gym • Near-site care clinic

Check out all available Century careers at http://www.centurymartialarts.com/careers Send your resume to aleewright@centurymartialarts.com and mention this ad!

Join the Century Martial Arts Talent Network today and stay up-to-date on our openings as they continue to become available!

Please visit http://www.jobs.net/jobs/centurymartialarts/en-us/

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CONSULTANT’S CORNER

BY ANTONIO FOURNIER MAIA CONSULTANT

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LET’S UNITE ON

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MACKENSI EMORY WORLD CHAMPION TEAM PAUL MITCHELL KARATE

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MASTERFUL RETENTION

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THE KICK YOU NEVER SAW COMING

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#UnifySelfieChallenge Team Paul Mitchell Karate and Century Martial Arts have joined forces around the mission of bringing an end to the silence of bullying. Together with UnifyAgainstBullying.org we are encouraging your schools to get involved in sending a strong message to your community.

TAKE OVER SOCIAL MEDIA THIS OCTOBER 13TH Here’s how you can team up with us and be part of the solution: How to do a #UnifySelfieChallenge It’s easy! Just write the word Unify on the back of your hand or a piece of tape, place it over your mouth, and take a selfie! When you post on your social media just use the text below. Make sure to challenge your friends, favorite martial artists and celebrities!

Write your own post or copy this: I have accepted the #UnifySelfieChallenge! The hand over my mouth represents the silence associated with bullying.

The word UNIFY shows that we are all coming together to do something about it! I challenge (TAG 3 PEOPLE HERE) to UNIFY with me! You have 24 hrs to repost with your own Unify selfie and challenge 3 or more to do the same, or make a donation to UnifyAgainstBullying. org. #UnifySelfieChallenge #TeamPaulMitchell #CenturyMartialArts TYLER WEAVER WORLD CHAMPION TEAM PAUL MITCHELL KARATE

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