May/June 2021 by MASuccess

MASUCCESS

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MAY/JUNE 2021

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HOW TO

TAKE YOUR SKILLS BEYOND THE DOJO

2019 2019

Distinguished guest Distinguished guest

COVID SURVIVAL GUIDE: When You Can’t Teach Indoors

Written by a Martial Artist Who’s Done It!

A Blueprint for Using ISSN 2380-561 7(PRINT ) 2469-6889(ONLINE )

PRESENTED BY: PRESENTED BY:

SPONSORED BY: SPONSORED BY:

Now available on iOS and Android ma Dri l ls.com

Download the App Today.

Challenges to Supercharge Your Business

3 Top Consultants on Boosting Your

Recruitment, Retention & Revenue

Item Number: MAS16221 Description: MASUCCESS MAY/JUN 2021

Harinder Singh Sabharwal

A c b

S t w

HOW CAN YOU ACHIEVE THE MAIA LIFESTYLE?

After strategizing on how we could better serve our industry, we realized that we needed to create a Pathway to Success which guides school owners to the program they should be in based on their active count, revenue, and goals. Schools with 50 students and schools with 250 students have different needs, which means they should have different types of coaching and resources. Our team has put together what we believe is the absolute best, step-by-step program in our industry.

BUILDING BLOCKS TO SYSTEMATIZE YOUR SCHOOL

TAKING THE NEXT STEP TO MAXIMIZE YOUR GROWTH

REACHING YOUR SCHOOL GOALS THROUGH ACCOUNTABILITY

ACHIEVING PERSONAL FINANCIAL SUCCESS FOR YOUR LEGACY

BEGIN YOUR PATH TO SUCCESS TODAY. TALK TO A COACH AND GET STARTED TODAY AT MAIAHUB.COM/CONNECT

THE WORLD’S LARGEST MARTIAL ARTS INDUSTRY TRADESHOW IS NOW COMING TO YOUR LIVING ROOM! 01 21

VIRTUAL SHOW JULY 7-9, 2021

W TICKETS AT MASUPERSHOW.COM

PR E S EN T ED BY:

CONTENTS FEATURES 24 BEYOND THE DOJO

BY HARINDER SINGH SABHARWAL

Discover the master key to building a business that transcends your martial arts school. How is that possible? By assessing your skills, knowledge and experience and then presenting the package to the masses.

MAY/JUNE 2021

COLUMNS 34 BLACK BELT LEADERSHIP BY NGUYEN “TOM” GRIGGS

How Do You Measure Up?

36 IN THE CLASSROOM BY DAVE KOVAR

That Won’t Work for Me!

58 TURNING POINT BY HERB BORKLAND

38 RISE TO THE CHALLENGE BY CRIS RODRIGUEZ

Yes, conveying your school’s offers to the public will bring results, but presenting a training op disguised as a challenge can work so much better. Here’s a how-to guide to energizing your current students while you throw down the gauntlet to prospects.

Barry Guimbellot: Being Offered a School to Manage

60 HEALTH KICK

BY ERIC P. FLEISHMAN

The Pandemic’s Secret Opportunity

62 YOU MESSED UP! NOW WHAT?

DEPARTMENTS 8 FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK 12 IN THE KNOW 16 HEAR FROM YOUR PEERS 18 PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT 20 THE MAIA REPORT 22 MARKETING RESOURCE 64 SCHOOL SHOWCASE

BY KATHY OLEVSKY

Electronic Roadblock

46 3 PILLARS OF GROWTH BY CRIS RODRIGUEZ, MIKE

METZGER AND SHANE TASSOUL

MAIA Growth is a new program created to help you expand your business. Here, three leading consultants explain the specifics as they pertain to recruitment, retention and revenue, all of which are essential to financial success.

52 OFF LIMITS! BY FLOYD BURK

When the pandemic forces you to conduct your classes outside rather than in your dojo, it’s not the end of the world. These tips will help you make the transition in a way that protects your business while meeting the needs of your students.

6 MASUCCESS

66 CONSULTANT’S CORNER BY KURT KLINGENMEYER

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

5 Things You Should Do Every Day

68 MASTERFUL RETENTION BY CHRISTOPHER RAPPOLD

Plan Your Epic Comeback by Asking the Right Questions

70 THE KICK YOU NEVER SAW COMING BY BETH A. BLOCK

Take It to the Street

“When we lift up women, we’re invariably going to lift the martial arts as a whole.” — GERRY CHISOLM, VEE-ARNIS-JITSU, NINJUTSU, JUDO

38 24

52 46 MAY/JUNE 2021 7

FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK

The Best-Kept Secret BY FRANK SILVERMAN

MAIA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

“I encourage you to spend some time contemplating the difference you have made in your community. Think about how you can let more people know about the benefits you offer. I often believe that we martial arts professionals have the world’s best-kept secret: We know the true value of martial arts.”

8 MASUCCESS

very now and then, we all can use a reminder of how special our profession really is. Of course, there’s the daily regimen of training, teaching, coaching, etc., but as you all know, those things add up to so much more. I received that reminder again just last week and thought now was as good a time as any to share it with you. I was at karate class watching my 6-year-old. She had just moved up to the beginner’s class, having graduated from the Lil’ Dragons program. Since we’re still social distancing and the school’s waiting area accommodates only eight to 10 parents, I was standing outside to watch so others could squeeze in. As I stood there, I noticed another family watching from inside their car. They had parked where they had an unobstructed view of the class. In the car were a mom, her daughter and an aunt, and inside the school were the 6-year-old son and the father. They told me they were heading off for a family stay-cation — but first, they wanted to watch the son’s class. It was his first week of training, Mom said, and he was going to “break a board” and earn his white belt. The way she put air quotes around her description of board breaking let me know that she didn’t think it was serious. The young daughter in the car looked bored. As you might imagine, I jumped in. “This is a big day for him,” I said. “What an accomplishment, to break his first board! You all really need to go inside and watch.” So they filed in. It was tight, but the other watchers found a way to make space while social distancing. The instructors brought up the two new students to break their boards. The school uses Century boards — for the 6-year-olds, they don’t use thick boards, but they are real wood. They won’t break if technique is poor. But when the board is held correctly and the strike is thrown the right way, they make a huge snap when broken. The audio is as impressive as the visual. Their son was up first. Little Johnny, we’ll call him, faced his board, looking nervous and deter-

mined. He hit the board once, twice … to no avail. No break, no snap. Quickly, one of the instructors stepped forward and gave him a few tips, and the crowd shouted encouragement. Johnny stepped back and got into his stance. He threw a perfect side kick. The board split in two, and the crowd went wild. I was watching the parents rather than Johnny. Their excitement, enthusiasm and pride were palpable — no air quotes here. As their son ran over to them, they jumped up to hug him. It turns out that was just what I needed to see that day — a perfect reminder of how important what we do can be. This was just the first step in what I hope is a long journey of training for the boy. But whether it is or isn’t, this was a special memory and a special accomplishment the entire family got to experience. What we do on a daily basis in our schools should never get old and never be taken for granted. We change lives and we make a difference. Don’t ever forget it. I encourage you to spend some time contemplating the difference you have made in your community. Think about how you can let more people know about the benefits you offer. It’s important that we share stories like this within our industry, but it’s equally important to share them with our current and potential customers. I often believe that we martial arts professionals have the world’s best-kept secret: We know the true value of martial arts. Together, let’s make sure we’re spreading the word that martial arts are so much more than kicking, punching and rolling around on mats. Learning martial arts is life-changing, and the millions of stories we all have like the one I shared here prove it.

To contact Frank Silverman, send an email to teamcfck@aol.com. Find him on Twitter and Facebook at @franksilverman.

H Y

M on

HAS COVID AFFECTED YOUR SCHOOL? MAIA Foundations will give you the building blocks to get back on your feet and systematize your school.

Coaches Mike Metzger and Shane Tassoul will dive into the four main components you should master in your business in just two months:

Take action and reserve your seat.

STAFF

FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK

FRANK SILVERMAN IS THE

MELISSA TORRES IS THE DIVISION

Executive Director of the Martial Arts Industry Association, and the owner and operator of 11 martial arts schools in Orlando, FL. He’s also the author of Business Is Business: Passion and Profit in the Martial Arts Industry. Follow Frank on Twitter and Facebook @franksilverman. Contact him at teamcfck@aol.com.

Manager of the Martial Arts Industry Association. She is a practitioner of kung fu san soo, Cage Fitness and yoga. She is passionate about helping school owners succeed and achieve their goals. She can be reached at mtorres@masuccess.com.

THE MAIA REPORT

DAVE KOVAR OWNS AND OPERATES NGUYEN “TOM” GRIGGS, ED.D.,

BLACK BELT LEADERSHIP

is a sensei in Japanese jujitsu at TNT Jujitsu under Hanshi Torey Overstreet in Houston, TX. He’s the owner of Lead Connect Grow, LLC. Organizations hire him to develop black belt-level professionals in the areas of Teams, Leadership and Conflict Management. Feel

IN THE CLASSROOM

free to email him at tom@ntgriggs.com.

a chain of successful martial art schools. Additionally, he operates Pro-Mac (Professional Martial Arts College), dedicated to helping martial artists become professionals in Business Management, Mat Mastery, Sales Mastery, Wealth Management and CuttingEdge Classroom Concepts. In 2010, he was the recipient of the Martial Arts Industry Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Contact him at dave.kovar@kovars.com or check out his blog at kovarsblog.kovarsystems.com.

HERB BORKLAND WAS ONE OF

TURNING POINT

Jhoon Rhee’s original white belts at America’s first taekwondo school and, later, a closeddoor student of Chinese “soft” styles pioneer Robert W. Smith. For three years, starting on ESPN, he hosted the weekly Black Belts TV show. He did the screenplay for Cynthia Rothrock’s HBO-featured Honor and Glory and is an Inside Kung-Fu Hall of Fame martial arts writer. He can be reached at herbork@comcast.net.

CHRISTOPHER RAPPOLD IS THE

MASTERFUL RETENTION

founder of a successful martial arts organization, Personal Best Karate, headquartered in Norton, MA. He’s a five-time world karate champion and is currently the executive director of the world-renowned Team Paul Mitchell, a championship team supported by sport-karate’s longest-running sponsorship. Rappold is the author of the landmark MAIA program Retention Based Sparring. He can be reached at founder@personalbestkarate.com.

MIKE METZGER IS A MARTIAL Arts Industry Association consultant and the owner of 14 martial arts schools. He has consulted for various school owners around the world. He can be contacted via email at mmetzger@masuccess.com.

BETH BLOCK, A 4TH-DEGREE BLACK

CONSULTANT’S CORNER THE KICK YOU NEVER SAW COMING! 10 MASUCCESS

belt in karate, is the president of Block Insurance in Orlando, FL. Block has protected businesses that serve children for the past 24 years. She is the writer of Martial Arts Minute, a weekly riskmanagement newsletter. You can reach her at (800) 225-0863 or beth@blockins.net.

STAFF MASUCCESS IS PUBLISHED BY

SARAH LOBBAN IS THE ASSOCIATE Publications Editor for the Martial Arts Industry Association. She has trained and fought in MMA and muay Thai, and currently trains in jeet kune do. She can be reached at slobban@centurymartialarts.com.

IN THE KNOW KATHY OLEVSKY AND HER

YOU MESSED UP! NOW WHAT?

husband, Rob, own and operate Karate International in North Carolina. Kathy is the managing partner in their five-school operation. She’s an 8th-degree black belt with 32 full-time years of teaching and operating martial arts schools. She can be reached for questions or comments at kathy.olevsky@raleighkarate.com.

ERIC THE TRAINER (ERIC P.

HEALTH KICK

Fleishman) is a Hollywood-based celebrity personal trainer with over 28 years’ experience. He has worked with top actors and musicians, MMA fighters, and the military. He hosts the popular TV show “Celebrity Sweat,” which you can watch on Amazon Prime. His enthusiastic message of living a healthy life has been adopted by many groups, most recently the American Culinary Federation. For questions or comments, contact Eric the Trainer at Mainemonster@gmail.com.

PHILIP E. GOSS, JR., ESQ. IS a member of the Florida and several other

THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE

Federal Bar Associations. Phil welcomes any e-mail comments or questions at PhilGosslaw@gmail.com and will attempt to respond personally, time permitting.

KAREN EDEN IS A 7TH-DEGREE

INSPIRATION OVATION

master of tang soo do. She’s a broadcast journalist who has appeared nationally on CNN, FOX and Animal Planet as well as on local affiliates for NBC and PBS. Karen is also a published book author and magazine columnist who has written for or been featured in every major martial arts magazine globally. Contact her at renedenherdman@gmail.com.

VOL. 22, NO. 3 // MAY/JUNE 2021 EDITOR EMERITUS John Corcoran

MAIA LLC, 1000 Century Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73110; (866) 626-6226.

EDITOR Robert W. Young EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MARTIAL ARTS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION Frank Silverman MAIA DIVISION MANAGER Melissa Torres ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sarah Lobban MAIA INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANTS Robby Beard Kurt Klingenmeyer Jason Flame Mike Metzger Antonio Fournier Adam Parman Cris Rodriguez Shane Tassoul ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Donna Diamond ART DIRECTOR Paul Duarte DIRECTOR OF MEDIA AND PUBLISHING DEVELOPMENT Patrick Sternkopf COLUMNISTS & CONTRIBUTORS

David Barnett Beth A. Block Herb Borkland Karen Eden Jason Flame Eric P. Fleishman Antonio Fournier Philip E. Goss Jr., Esq. Nguyen “Tom” Griggs IBISWorld.com Perry William Kelly Kurt Klingenmeyer

Dave Kovar Sarah Lobban Mike Metzger Kristin Miller Kathy Olevsky Suzanne Pisano Christopher Rappold Frank Silverman Shane Tassoul Melissa Torres Dwight Trower

CORRESPONDENTS

Herb Borkland (VA) Karen Eden (CO) Andrea F. Harkins (AZ) Andre Lima (CA) PUBLISHER

David Wahl

Perry William Kelly (CANADA) Terry L. Wilson (CA) Keith D. Yates (TX)

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts and photographs submitted to MASUCCESS, if they are to be returned, and no responsibility can be assumed for unsolicited materials. All rights for letters submitted to this magazine will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes and as subject to the editorial staff’s right to edit and to comment editorially. MAIA, its owners, directors, officers, employees, subsidiaries, successors and assigns are not responsible in any manner for any injury that may occur by reading and/or following the instructions herein. As publisher, MAIA makes no endorsements, representations, guarantees or warranties concerning the products and or services presented or advertised herein. We expressly disclaim any and all liability arising from or relating to the manufacture, sale, distribution, use, misuse or other act of any party in regard to such products and/or services. MASUCCESS is a trademark of the MAIA. © 2021 MAIA LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. The mission of MAIA is to grow, promote and protect the martial arts industry, and to provide benefits to its members to help them become more successful. MAY/JUNE 2020 11

IN THE KNOW

BY SARAH LOBBAN

WORDS OF WISDOM A FAILURE IS NOT ALWAYS A MISTAKE; IT MAY SIMPLY BE THE BEST ONE CAN DO UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES. THE REAL MISTAKE IS TO STOP TRYING. — B.F. SKINNER

MARTIAL ARTS TRIVIA 1

Which UFC event was the first to require the use of gloves?

A) UFC 9 B) UFC 14 C) UFC 27 D) UFC 3

True or false: Steven Seagal once broke Sean Connery’s wrist while teaching him aikido for his final James Bond movie.

What is the English translation of hapkido? A) art/way of coordinated power B) art/way of throwing C) art/way of hopping D) art/way of defense

Which famous martial artist did UFC President Dana White call “the father of MMA”?

ANSWERS: 1) UFC 14. 2) Art/way of coordinated power. 3) True. 4) Bruce Lee. 12 MASUCCESS

YOU ASKED IF YOUR SCHOOL TEACHES SPARRING, WHAT GEAR AND EQUIPMENT DO YOU REQUIRE YOUR STUDENTS TO WEAR? STATS SPEAK

Helmets, boots, shinguards, gloves and mouth guards for everyone, and additional groin protection for boys.” — THOMAS TODD, CHAMPIONSHIP MARTIAL ARTS, OMAHA, NE

ACCORDING TO THE U.S CENSUS BUREAU’S SMALL BUSINESS PULSE SURVEY,

51.4

We require that they wear equipment on their head, hands, shins and feet. Groin and mouth guards are sold in the same package but not checked for in classes — only in competitions.” — WILL AND HEATHER POTTER, BIRMINGHAM ACADEMY OF MARTIAL ARTS, TRUSSVILLE, AL

We require foam-dipped helmets, gloves, shinguards and foot gear. We also require cloth elbow pads, mouthpieces and groin protectors for the guys. We provide an option for a face-shield helmet for people with extensive dental appliances or who want the extra protection.” — KEVIN NEVELS, COPPELL TAEKWONDO ACADEMY AND CHAMPIONSHIP MARTIAL ARTS, LAS COLINAS, COPPELL AND IRVING, TX

14 MASUCCESS

PERCENT OF SMALL BUSINESSES SAY IT WILL TAKE MORE THAN SIX MONTHS FOR THEIR BUSINESSES TO RETURN TO NORMAL POST-COVID.

SOURCE: CENSUS.COM

T H E R E S T FA L L I N L I N E . see the full line of training bags at

C e n t u r y M a r t i a l A r t s . c o m /c o l l e c t i o n s / t r a i n i n g - b a g s

HEAR FROM YOUR

PEERS 16 MASUCCESS

1 2 3

WHICH DEMOGRAPHIC IS THE YOUNGEST THAT YOU OFFER CLASSES FOR?

5 % Younger than 3 64% 3-4 years old 26 % 5-6 years old 3 % 7-8 years old 2 % We do not offer children’s classes

IF YOU HAVE FAMILIES THAT TRAIN AT YOUR SCHOOL, IN WHAT ORDER DO THE FAMILY MEMBERS USUALLY SIGN UP?

80 % First the children, then the parents 1% First the parents, then the children 19 % They begin simultaneously

DO YOU HAVE POLICIES IN PLACE TO PROHIBIT STUDENT-STUDENT AND/OR STUDENT-INSTRUCTOR DATING?

54% No

9 % Yes, to both

37 % Yes, but only student-instructor

MAY/JUNE 2021 17

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

Fitness Training Station Century®

www.CenturyMartialArts.com

This is the perfect complement to any home gym, as well as an amazing standalone tool. The Fitness Training Station from Century Martial Arts is a bag hanger that refuses to be only that. Its durable steel frame features dip bars, pull-up handles and push-up handles, plus pegs for hanging plate weights to boost the unit’s stability. It gives you everything you need for an upper-body workout that hits the chest, biceps and triceps.

And that’s not even mentioning the main function of Fitness Training Station — to hold a heavy bag for your martial arts training! The Station will handle a bag that weighs up to a 100 pounds and can easily be set up anywhere: in your home office, garage or bedroom, anywhere you have the space. Best part is the unit doesn’t require drilling into a wall or the ceiling to install. Bag not included. Some assembly required.

the

Heavy Bag Stand

Century Fitness Collection

Century®

www.CenturyMartialArts.com

Made of durable 3-inch steel tubing, this Heavy Bag Stand lives up to its name, holding a bag weighing up to 100 pounds. It has weight pegs for added stability, making it great for any home gym where you can’t or don’t want to drill holes in the wall or ceiling to hang a bag. Bag not included. Some assembly required.

www.CenturyMartialArts.com

Martial arts and fitness training go hand in hand. You can keep both skill sets up to speed without having to hop from store to store because Century Martial Arts now has an extensive fitness line that includes agility, strength and cardio-training equipment. Many items have multiple uses and make excellent additions to circuit-training or martial arts workouts.

For more information on these and other great Century products, call a helpful Century Sales Representative at (800) 626-2789 or visit www.CenturyMartialArts.com.

18 MASUCCESS

THE MAIA REPORT

Your Pathway to Success Is Now Clear BY MELISSA TORRES

MAIA DIVISION MANAGER

“MAIA Elite is a hybrid of group and individual coaching. You get not only a personalized oneon-one call with your coach but also a monthly group call with all MAIA coaches to see what others are doing in their schools. This program is great for accountability.”

20 MASUCCESS

or the past few months, the MAIA team has been busy collecting feedback, monitoring the questions posted in our Facebook group, and delving into new strategies and solutions that will let us have the biggest impact in the industry. We’re looking for the best way to put you on the right path — the one that leads you to the success you want for yourself and your school. After strategizing, our MAIA coaches realized that the problem wasn’t a lack of programs. It was that with the diversity of programs MAIA offers, school owners weren’t sure which one was best for them. Schools with 50 students and schools with 250 students have different needs, which means they should have different types of coaching and resources. Our team has worked tirelessly to put together what we believe is the absolute best step-by-step guide to direct you to the MAIA resources you need based on your active student count, revenue and goals. Your pathway to success starts with the MAIA Edge resource center. While Edge has been around for years, the content stays current with monthly ad slicks, howto videos, social media ads and even a done-for-you marketing calendar. You have all the tools you need at your fingertips along with assistance from the Edge team through a private Facebook group. The next step on the pathway takes you to group coaching with MAIA Foundations. Here, you’ll develop the basic building blocks you need to systemize your school. This coaching program has changed from past versions of Foundations. The coaches put together four topics they consider vital to success: pricing structures, class schedules, upgrades and mass intros. The best part is that the program is now only two months long and you can repeat it anytime for free if you need a refresher. After graduating from Foundations, your next step is our brand-new group-coaching program: MAIA Growth. Coaches Mike Metzger, Cris Rodriguez and Shane Tassoul will take your school to the next level by focusing on maximizing growth. MAIA Growth takes place through a bimonthly group-coaching call that gives you the business and operations help you need, followed by the digital

marketing tools. With two group calls a month and access to the coaches anytime through a private Facebook group, you’ll have the resources you need elevate your school to the next step: MAIA Elite. MAIA Elite is a hybrid of group and individual coaching. You get not only a personalized one-on-one call with your coach but also a monthly group call with all MAIA coaches to see what others are doing in their schools. This program is great for accountability. In a separate group call, MAIA’s Digital Marketing Expert Cris Rodriguez will give you the latest and greatest updates on all things digital marketing and social media to maximize the results for your business. Oh, and there are a few (huge!) added bonuses: You’ll get access to three live workshops a year; two free tickets to the Martial Arts SuperShow, MAIA Foundations and MAIA Growth; and discounts on wholesale pricing with Century Martial Arts. It’s an amazing deal in and of itself. The final step focuses on your personal wealth and legacy for your family. MAIA Wealth is led by Executive Director Frank Silverman, with whom you’ll work one-on-one to plan your future finances. You’ll also have access to monthly group coaching. This program covers a variety of topics including investing, saving and protecting assets, real estate, banking, loans, accounting and retirement. With personal accountability and advice from Silverman and his team of subject-matter experts, you’ll reach your goals for your school and beyond. The MAIA team truly believes in this pathway to success. The more successful you are, the greater impact you’re able to have in your school, in your community, and in the lives of more and more students. I encourage you to look into starting. If you aren’t sure it’s right for you, schedule a call with one of our coaches and get advice on your personal situation. You can book a free call through MAIAHub.com/Connect. We also have events throughout the year that we’ve recently opened to the public. Review them on MAIAHub.com/Events. We hope to see you at a live event soon!

To contact Melissa Torres, send an email to mtorres@masuccess.com.

MARKETING RESOURCE

EFFORT BRINGS RESULTS

June 2016

“ “

EFFORT:

WEEK ONE WEEK ONE IF YOU’RE NOT GONNA GO ALL THE WAY, WHY GO AT ALL? – JOE NAMATH –

– JOE NAMATH –

IF YOU’RE NOT GONNA GO ALL THE WAY, WHY GO AT ALL?

” ”

Giving 100 percent all the time is a challenge, but one that will define you as someone who values the pursuit of excellence.

EFFORT:

WEEK TWO WEEK TWO

DO THE BEST YOU CAN IN EVERY TASK, NO MATTER HOW UNIMPORTANT IT MAY SEEM AT THE TIME. NO ONE LEARNS MORE ABOUT A PROBLEM THAN THE PERSON AT THE BOTTOM.

MARTIAL ARTS TRAINING. OF THE GOALS OF

3. How can you learn to be more patient and put in 100 percent effort?

patiently learn practice while giving your forms, youand might rush through them100 percent effort, you most likely would pass your and may forget something important. If you test and move along your friends.to would have taken thewith timeall inof the beginning Learning to slow down takes practice and can patiently learn and practice while giving 100 be done.effort, It just you needs to be developed overyour percent most likely would pass time. test and move along with all of your friends. Learning slow down takes practice and can Ask Your to Students: be It just needs 1. done. Do you know howto tobe bedeveloped patient? over time. 2. Why is it important to not rush Ask through Your Students: things? 1. How Do you how to 3. canknow you learn to be be patient? more patient 2. and Whyput is itinimportant to not rush 100 percent effort? through things?

– SANDRA DAY rush O’CONNOR– your forms, you might through them and may forget something important. If you would have taken the time in the beginning to

DO THE BEST YOU CAN IN EVERY TASK, NO MATTER HOW – SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR– UNIMPORTANT IT MAY SEEM AT THE TIME. NO ONE LEARNS Patience is a virtue. MORE ABOUT A PROBLEM THAN THE PERSON AT THE BOTTOM.

CITIZENS IS JUST ONE

” ”

is giving 100 percent effort? It you is hard We have all heard that we never Giving 100should percent all the time is What a challenge, but one that will define as work, perseverance, and dedication as well withholdwho effort but should instead give it our someone values the pursuit of excellence. as a give-it-your-all attitude. If you have a all when we do anything, including pursuing a positive attitude, you will beeffort? more likely to give black beltall inheard martial arts. it is playing What is giving 100 percent It is hard We have that weWhether should never something your full effort. a sport, earning a black belt, learning how to work, perseverance, and dedication as well withhold effort but should instead give it our play a musical or leading a team, a as a Your give-it-your-all all when we doinstrument anything, including pursuing Ask Students:attitude. If you have a working tointhe absolute of your ability will positive attitude, you will be more likely to give black belt martial arts.best Whether it is playing 1. What does giving 100 perfect effort mean? result in earning better outcomes along with personal something your full effort. a sport, a black belt, learning how to 2. Do you give everything you do 100 pride a job instrument well done. One hundred play afor musical or leading a team, Ask percent Your Students: effort? percent does not mean perfection, and there working to the absolute best of your ability will 1. If What giving perfect100 effort mean? will always be room for improvement no result in better outcomes along with personal 3. you does do not give 100 something percent matter what, successful. 2. effort, Do youwhat give happens? everything you do 100 pride for a jobeven wellwhen done.you Oneare hundred percent effort? percent does not mean perfection, and there will always be room for improvement no 3. If you do not give something 100 percent matter what, even when you are successful. effort, what happens?

June 2016

EFFORT:

“ “

Patience is essential when it comes to giving

the tendency to just rush through things to

something 100 percent Everyone has EFFORT: Patienceeffort. is a virtue.

BECOME BETTER

get them is completed. I am sure you all Patience essential when it comes to have giving rushed to get bedroom so youhas something 100your percent effort.clean Everyone can go play with yourrush friends, but in the end, the tendency to just through things to your bedroom is still messy because you get them completed. I am sure you all have did not to putget your fullbedroom effort into cleaning it. rushed your clean so you Everyone wants seefriends, results but andin a positive can go play with to your the end, return on any investment instantly, not over your bedroom is still messy because you a long Withfull theeffort goal of giving 100 it. did notterm. put your into cleaning percent effort and of your skill, Everyone wants to 100 see percent results and a positive attention commitment, rushingnot anything return on and any investment instantly, over is at best counterproductive at worst a long term. With the goal of and giving 100 it is destructive. would happen percent effort Imagine and 100 what percent of your skill,at your belt test you rushed through learning attention and if commitment, rushing anything is at best counterproductive and at worst it is destructive. Imagine what would happen at your belt test if you rushed through learning

HELPING STUDENTS

June 2016

” ”

WEEK THREE WEEK THREE – CATHERINE PULSIFER –

IT TAKES EFFORT AND BELIEF TO PERSEVERE AND STAY DEDICATED TO ACCOMPLISH YOUR GOAL.

– CATHERINE PULSIFER –

is the use of physical or mental energy and hard work.

“ “

EFFORT:

– LARRY BIRD –

I’VE GOT A THEORY THAT IF YOU GIVE 100 PERCENT ALL OF THE TIME, SOMEHOW THINGS WILL WORK OUT IN THE END.

– LARRY BIRD –

I’VE GOT A THEORY THAT IF YOU GIVE 100 PERCENT ALL OF THE TIME, SOMEHOW THINGS WILL WORK OUT IN THE END. If you do not have goals, then you do not have anything to put 100 percent

” ”

WEEK FOUR WEEK FOUR

better than average in anything you do The mental lessons that are learned in the including in school or earning your martial arts school canuse benefit anyoneorinmental any energy is the of physical andgrades hard work. next belt in martial arts. area of their lives. Martial arts schools are a place wherelessons students areare pushed to in give better than average in anything you do The mental that learned the100 Ask Your Students: perfect arts effort on a can consistent You including grades in school or earning martial school benefitbasis. anyone inare any 1. What has martial arts taught youyour encouraged to kick a littlearts higher, punch next about belt ineffort? martial arts. area of their lives. Martial schools area a little stronger and giveare thepushed art your at every place where students toall give 100 Ask 2. Your Does Students: encouragement help you give single martial This encourages perfect effort arts on asession. consistent basis. You are 1. What has martial arts taught you full effort? you to neverto accept from yourself and encouraged kick aless little higher, punch a about effort? makes you realize what your true potential is. little stronger and give the art your all at every 3. What motivates you to stay focused and Martialmartial arts teaches you that you can be far 2. Does encouragement help you give single arts session. This encourages give martial arts 100 percent effort? more than average and that you can achieve full effort? you to never accept less from yourself and makes you realize what your true potential is. 3. What motivates you to stay focused and Martial arts teaches you that you can be far give martial arts 100 percent effort? more than average and that you can achieve

June 2016

“ “ EFFORT:

effort towards.

EFFORT:

3. What are some stumbles or setbacks you have had as you pursued your goals?

Ask Your Students: 2. What do you not give 100 percent effort 1. Do you give arts 100 towards thatmartial you should? 3. percent What areeffort? some stumbles or setbacks you 2. What do you notpursued give 100your percent effort have had as you goals? towards that you should?

give you pride every week willand helpaccomplishment. to improve your skills and develop muscle memory. The continued daily Ask Your Students: effort you put into getting your 1. Do you give martial arts 100black belt will give percent you pride and accomplishment. effort?

week will help to to improve your skills and Behind every success is have an embarrassing If you story do not goals, then youevery do not have anything put 100 percent develop muscle memory. The continued daily first effort, a stumble, a setback or a radical effort towards. effort you put into getting your black belt will change of direction. It is these first steps on the roadevery to success that willisshow you if you Behind success story an embarrassing put in 100 percent effort. The outcome will be first effort, a stumble, a setback or a radical rewarding. A large part success putting change of direction. It isof these first is steps on in the road time each and every day.show You can a lot the to success that will yougain if you frominconsistent effort thatThe yououtcome cannot get put 100 percent effort. will any be other way. It important create is a putting habit out rewarding. A is large part ofto success in of putting in 100 effort consistently. the time each andpercent every day. You can gain a lot To attain your black belt you must continually from consistent effort that you cannot get any train, learn and improve your skills. aPutting other way. It is important to create habit out in the effort to effort class every day or of putting in and 100 going percent consistently. To attain your black belt you must continually train, learn and improve your skills. Putting in the effort and going to class every day or

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22 MASUCCESS

Cover_OCT_20

Cover_OCT_2018.indd 2

8/1/18 5:18 PM MP 81:5 8

BEYOND THE DOJO The Master Key to Building a Business That Transcends Your Martial Arts School BY HARINDER SINGH SABHARWAL

responded to the challenge. In chaos, a person can crumble under the pressure or choose to use it as a canvas for creativity. Whether you’re a martial arts school owner, an instructor or a thought leader, the paradigm-shifting concept I’m about to share can help you boost your income by taking your most prized teachings beyond the dojo and onto the world stage of highperformance training. This includes speaking at conferences, holding workshops for corporations and conducting high-ticket training programs. In this article, I share the most important lesson I learned and the ways I’ve used it to transition from the dojo to the business world, to generate more income in a day than I used to earn in a month and to impact thousands of lives. BECOMING A BLACK BELT IN THE ART OF SAM When I decided to become a professional martial artist, I understood the struggle to get students, retain students and fill seminars. I also understood that I was fighting against Father Time. I realized that maintaining a heavy teaching schedule during the week, traveling to seminars on weekends, and risking injury and burnout every step of the way were not

Photos Courtesy of Harinder Singh Sabharwal

t least 90 percent of success in business boils down to mindset and the ability to “be like water” as you adapt to change. The fact that you’re reading this article indicates that the martial arts are your business — as well as a way of life for you. The education you’ve received stretches far beyond the physical and impacts every aspect of your existence. This includes how you perceive situations, how you interact with people and how you make decisions. The arts provide you with a philosophy of action that’s powered by a disciplined mind, and this sets you apart from people who are into other pursuits. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has thrown our industry into chaos. It’s pushed us to transform how we conduct business and how we provide services for our students. As martial artists, we’re trained to make ourselves comfortable in uncomfortable situations, which is why, as an industry, we’ve stepped up and

26 MASUCCESS

who could help me build my brand, get clarity on my offer, craft my message and design my program. After a thorough search, I found a gentleman named Steve Harrison, who was responsible for launching New York Times best-selling authors Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad Poor Dad) and Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul). Both men went on to build empires that consisted of speaking and coaching, empires that allowed them to impact the lives of millions. Now, a coach like Steve Harrison doesn’t come cheap, so I decided to sell some stock options from my Silicon Valley days, along with my beloved Hummer, so I could commit to his mentorship program. Over the next few years, I immersed myself in training — with Harrison and other coaches — so that I might understand how to package the martial arts in a way that would enable me to take them beyond the mats and into the corporate world. The most important lesson I learned from Harrison proved to be the master key to all sales and marketing. Understanding it catapulted my martial arts career, affording me opportunities to speak on the same stage as Richard Branson, teach at Canfield’s

Photos Courtesy of Harinder Singh Sabharwal

sustainable. One wrong move on the mat, and I could lose my ability to provide for my family. Compounding the situation, I thought about how much I loved to teach and train, and I knew I needed to find a better path that would support my martial arts growth and my family’s lifestyle. I recalled how many school owners I knew had become chained to their schools and were forced to give up on other endeavors — like their own training and their passion for traveling with their families. So I sat down and started to visualize the possibilities. I saw myself onstage, inspiring and motivating audiences the way Tony Robbins does. I knew I had the ability to provide the edge for business professionals and high performers. I understood the value of the knowledge I possessed; I just didn’t know how to take it outside the martial arts, law-enforcement and military environments and into the business world. I’d spent two decades earning black belts in several systems, but what I needed was a black belt in the art of SAM, betterknown as sales and marketing. The key to my success entailed finding a master teacher in SAM, just like I’d done in the martial arts. I had to find a coach

MAY/JUNE 2021 27

In the chaos of battle, I accidently entered the flow state. Time started to slow down just like in The Matrix, and I experienced a

GETTING CLARITY ON THE PROBLEM The single most important ingredient to crafting talks, designing programs and building brands is getting crystal clear on the problem you’re solving and whom you’re solving it for. This is the master key, the most valuable component in your sales and marketing efforts. It may sound simple, but it leads to a deep question. How deep are you willing to go? As teachers, we go straight into teaching mode, and we devise solutions for many problems, many people and many situations. This makes us great at helping that portion of the public that walks into our schools, but to go outside the dojo and craft a compelling message, we have to dial into one singular problem. This was really hard for me in the beginning because I knew I had solutions to so many problems. Harrison would say, “You are all over the place. To build a solid marketing message and a brand, you need to home in on what it is that you can authentically and uniquely provide.” I followed his advice. If you wish to do the same, your first step is to identify why you got into the martial arts. What’s your story? 28 MASUCCESS

What problem were you trying to solve for yourself? Was it bullying, abuse, lack of discipline, anger, fear or something else? For me, taking up the martial arts was about quieting the thoughts in my mind and balancing the emotions in my heart so I could learn to enter the flow state at will, at home, at work and in chaos. An incident from my past will illustrate how I arrived at this conclusion. It was a perfect June night in California. We’d just finished our university exams and were headed to the beach to celebrate around a bonfire. I was in one of the last cars to pull into the parking lot, which was situated 100 yards from the beach. Before we made our way to the fire, we decided to crack open some beers to celebrate the end of the schoolyear. Little did I know that in the next few moments, my life would change forever. Out of the shadows emerged about 25 gangbangers who were searching for someone. They thought my roommate physically resembled one of the people on their hitlist, so they attacked. In the chaos of battle, I accidently entered the flow state. Time started to slow down just like in The Matrix, and I experienced a level of peace in the chaos. Mind you, I didn’t do anything heroic. In fact, I got my but kicked and escaped death only because the guys the gangbangers actually were looking for happened to walk by.

Photo Courtesy of Harinder Singh Sabharwal

Break Through to Success events, conduct corporate workshops, coach Silicon Valley executives, give TED talks, and develop highticket online and in-person offers.

Photo by Ian Spanier

level of peace in the chaos.

Clearly, that experience on the beach had shaped my career. Since then, I’ve had the honor to share what I learned with more than 150 military and law-enforcement agencies across the globe. COMMUNICATING YOUR MESSAGE TO CLIENTS Steve Harrison asked me to interview my clients on their experiences with me so I could better understand the problems I solved. Here’s a snippet from a recommendation letter I received from the lead defensive-tactics instructor for the U.S. Secret Service: “As impressive as Sifu Singh’s mastery of physical combative skills was, there was something else that captivated me. Sifu Singh was subtly integrating mental training into the physical training in a way I had never seen before. Each drill blended breathing techniques, vocalizations, mental focus and rapid shifts of physical tempo and emotional intensity in with the actual physical skills being trained. For years, I have immersed myself in research on tactical performance, combat ethics and use-of-force training, and I have come to the conclusion that one of the keys to helping police officers, soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen become effective and ethical guardians of our nation and our constitution was to be found training arousal control — the ability to control one’s emotional state. To this day, I have yet to find another teacher or program that blends this skill with physical combat skills at anywhere close to the extent that Sifu Singh does.” — Hal Williamson, Secret Service Defensive-Tactics Instructor

Photo Courtesy of Harinder Singh Sabharwal

Photo by Ian Spanier

After the attack, I was angry. I was ashamed that I didn’t know what to do and didn’t have a plan or strategy. I feared the situation might happen again. At the same time, I was obsessed with the flow state I’d entered. It was a new level of peace and stillness like nothing I’d felt. My nature was to be an obsessive thinker, meaning I couldn’t turn off the chitter-chatter in my mind. I was always thinking and analyzing, and it was hard for me to feel. My emotions tended to get the best of me as I reacted to people, places and things. I worried about what others thought of me and ceaselessly sought their approval. Because I never felt safe, I was compelled to control my relationships and environments. For the first time, however — in the middle of the chaos of the fight — I was free. My mind was silent, my emotions were calm, and I peacefully observed the carnage around me. This effortless awareness that I’d stumbled on constituted the flow state or, as athletes like to call it, “the zone.” I wanted to experience my life in this flow state. To that end, I let this event become the spear that would head all my training and research in martial arts, mindset development and philosophy. Over the ensuing years, I discovered that to be successful in chaos, you need to develop mental stillness, tactical strategy and technical skill together. Everything I did was about learning to manage my emotions, quiet my mind, slow my heart rate and enter that beautiful state of presence so I could observe and then execute my strategy from a higher level of awareness.

MAY/JUNE 2021 29

After reading other such testimonials, it became clear that my programs were helping clients quiet their minds, balance their emotions and raise their performance levels when it mattered most — in risky, sometimes life-threatening, situations. If I could teach these principles to martial artists, police officers and military personnel, I also could teach them to business professionals and corporations. I was excited to share my findings with Harrison. That was when he looked me straight in the eye and, with a stern voice, asked, “What is the problem you solve? You have presented me with the solution. People take action to move away from a problem and not toward a solution. People want to get out of the hell they are in. So what is the hell you are moving them away from?” That was when I learned that I have to position my offer and message in the language my clients use and that I need to describe the problem to them better than they can describe it to themselves. First, I had to zero in on who my ideal client was. For that, I’d require the guidance of another worldrenowned business coach, a man named Dr. Diego San Miquel. I wanted to work with successful business executives and entrepreneurs. I knew these clients well because I used to work in Silicon Valley, first as an advanced applications engineer and then as a strategic marketing manager at a semiconductor company. I also knew what it was like to live the hectic life of an entrepreneur. From personal experience, I was aware that these high performers never turn off their minds, never relax and are always exhausted. It’s hard for them to juggle performing well at work with being present with their families. So what was the real value of quieting the mind, balancing the emotions and entering the flow state? More presence would

If I could teach these principles to martial

artists, police officers

and military personnel, I

also could teach them to business professionals

30 MASUCCESS

mean better decision-making, which would thereby increase performance. After all, if you’re up in your head, you can’t connect with people. If you’re emotional, your awareness goes down and you can’t adapt to situations and find solutions. So the ultimate edge in making business decisions, in surviving life-and-death situations and in connecting to your loved ones is the ability to be present and choose a response, rather than reacting according to emotions and old habits. It’s the ability to detach from the outcome and operate as an observer. Now, what might stop us from making good decisions? Being exhausted, feeling overwhelmed and experiencing distraction all can prevent us from being present and making good decisions.

Photos Courtesy of Harinder Singh Sabharwal

and corporations.

Aha! Finally, I had figured out the problem that I’d offer to solve. From this, I was able to draft my message in the form of a mission statement: I help busy professionals and successful entrepreneurs overcome exhaustion, overwhelm and distraction by building the energy needed to enter the flow state on command so that they can grow their business/increase their performance — and still come home and be playful, present and peaceful with their families after a tough day at the office. This internal mission statement is the most important asset I have. It identifies my ideal clients, their problems, the solutions to those problems and the results the clients can expect. It allows me to plan my talks, build my programs and target my audience. I recommend you invest some time in the process described above to formulate your own internal mission statement. It’s your north star, one that will guide your branding, direct your messaging and assist in the building of your identity. Your ability to articulate what you do and the problems you solve will put you a step ahead of the competition and enable you to serve others to your highest potential.

at his event. He offered this feedback on our first meeting and my presentation skills: “I was so impressed by Harinder’s internal power, physical presence and mastery of the moment that I invited him to come and share his ‘Principles of High Performance’ with the 250 people at my annual Breakthrough to Success training, which was held in Scottsdale, Arizona. Once again, Harinder dazzled, inspired, entertained and, most importantly, educated the attendees while simultaneously uplifting their spirits and awakening their consciousness.” — Jack Canfield, author of Chicken Soup for the Soul What I hope you take from this note is that people don’t buy what you’re selling; they buy into you. The trademark of a good speaker is the person’s energy, state of mind, level of presence, and ability to connect to and have fun with the audience. It’s your stillness and engulfing awareness that inspire people to change. As a martial arts instructor, you already have thousands of hours of speaking experience under your belt. Moving forward, your school can serve as the perfect sandbox for practicing your pitch and for learning how to capture an audience and inspire them to greatness. The better you get at relaying the message, the better the results that your students will get. Then you can slowly expand to audiences outside your comfort zone. Start at community centers and public events. Joining the Toastmasters organization can help you fine-tune your public-speaking skills. And there are many other platforms and stages on which you can speak. The more you pass along your message, the better you’ll get at your delivery. Facebook, Instagram and Clubhouse provide stages you can get on every day to practice perfecting your message. Try to get on relevant podcasts or consider launching your own. Do anything you can to get comfortable speaking to anyone anytime and anyplace. Next, set a goal to give a TED talk on the benefits of martial arts training or another suitable subject. Speaking onstage outside the martial arts world builds credibility in the eyes of future clients. Parents are looking for well-rounded instructors who can articulate life skills to their children. Need an example? In 2012, I gave a TEDx talk titled How to Quiet the Mind in 5 Minutes a Day by Sifu Singh. You can watch it on YouTube. This one talk generated a six-figure revenue and landed me

Jack Canfield, author of

Chicken Soup for the Soul, with

COMMUNICATING THE MESSAGE ONSTAGE After you have your messaging down, you must learn how to tell your story in a compelling and engaging way so it captures interest without trying too hard. It should never appear like you’re selling something. You must be authentic, and your story must be in line with your experiences. If you’re trying to impress, if you’re seeking approval or if you’re afraid of being judged, you’ll come off as needy and insecure. You must be yourself and believe that your story can serve people. The reason we became martial arts instructors and school owners is we’ve been called to serve our students and be examples in our communities. When Steve Harrison had introduced me to Jack Canfield, this was the first thing Canfield said: “Tell me your story, young man.” Without skipping a beat, I clicked into the flow and authentically expressed my story over the next 10 minutes. I was prepared, I had practiced and, most important, I was detached from the result. This enabled me to be wholly in the present. After I shared my story, Canfield booked me on the spot to speak

Photos Courtesy of Harinder Singh Sabharwal

Harinder Singh Sabharwal.

MAY/JUNE 2021 31

countless corporate-speaking gigs, podcast interviews and private training opportunities. My first non-martial arts podcast was for InsideSales.Com, and my first corporate-speaking gig was for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. Both came about after martial arts students shared my TED talk with friends. This clearly illustrates the importance of getting your message out there. Just as people are waiting to hear from you, people are waiting to guide you. When I needed specific guidance regarding how to create my TED talk, I watched other TED talks on how to give good TED talks. Then I practiced and practiced and practiced some more. I would videotape myself speaking so I could practice body language and changes in the tone of my voice and imagine connecting with the audience. FINDING THE GREATEST JOY The greatest joy I’ve experienced from taking martial arts out of the dojo and onto the world stage is having the opportunity to inspire others to take up martial arts. I love showing the public

that the arts are much more than punching, kicking and grappling. They offer a way of life, a profound philosophy of action and a path to self-discovery. Everything I am today is because of the martial arts. I owe my life to the arts and to my teachers. Chances are you feel the same way. So you no doubt agree with me that we need more martial artists spreading the life-changing benefits to the nonmartial arts world. Considering the chaos in which we live, we’re needed now more than ever. Our schools need us, our communities need us, and the world needs us. Now is the time to start taking your message to the masses. Stand strong! Harinder Singh Sabharwal is a high-performance coach, speaker, philosopher and author. He teaches jeet kune do, wing chun, tai chi, kali, serrada escrima, savate, boxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He’s the founder of Black Belt University and the Jeet Kune Do Athletic Association. For more information, visit SifuSingh.com. For information about his Jeet Kune Do for Black Belts online course, visit madrills.com.

Training Op! At the 2021 Martial Arts

SuperShow in Las Vegas,

you can train with Harinder

Singh Sabharwal (who’s listed as Harinder Singh on the

program). Join him on July 5 for a special preconference event titled The Black Belt

& Adult Retention Formula.

He describes it as a six-hour

masterclass on how to teach and retain black belts and

attract adults so you can add thousands of dollars to your

bottom line without sacrificing the integrity of your art or

Photo by Ian Spanier

school. masupershow.com

32 MASUCCESS

Photo by Ian Spanier

For more information and to purchase the program, visit jkdforblackbelts.com.

BLACK BELT LEADERSHIP

How Do You Measure Up?

BY NGUYEN “TOM” GRIGGS

“Pride can stunt your growth and limit your potential. Your competitor’s idea may be perfect for your business, so borrow what you need.”

n the January/February 2021 issue of MASuccess, I talked about the mirror. In the March/April 2021 issue, I discussed the hammer. In this, my final column on leadership tools, I will discuss the measuring tape. In fact, the history of the measuring tape is a perfect analogy for leadership. In 1829, a British metalworker named James Chesterman received a patent for a spring-loaded, flat metal device on which a scale was marked for the purpose of measuring. Although it proved convenient for builders, when Chesterman sold his patent in the United States, it earned him only $17, which is equivalent to about $300 today. Later, a Connecticut man named Alvin Fellows took the idea and added a spring-click device. This allowed the tape measure to be held in place so measurements could be marked. Fellows also enclosed the tape in a small, metal case. Fellows opted for a lower price point for his tape measure, but its primary competitor remained the classic wooden folding ruler. It wasn’t until the 1940s that Fellows’ tape measure gained traction and became the standard for construction and carpentry. The stories of Chesterman and Fellows provide a perfect example of leadership effectiveness. Let’s look at the lessons we can learn from these inventors. Even your best ideas are subject to improvement. Chesterman started something that was helpful and unique but not fully realized. His original device housed the tape in a leather pouch, which lacked convenience. Fellows’ innovation to Chesterman’s idea was unique enough to warrant its own patent. Your idea may be a fantastic starting place for your team or organization, but there always will be room for improvement. Be open to adjusting your ideas and beliefs so you can grow and your business can, as well. Keep in mind that the purpose of your idea is to help your team and school. Before you get testy or offended when others try to improve it, make sure it’s not your ego talking. Be willing to improve someone else’s idea rather than use your own. Not every solution, every invention, has to be totally unique and brand new. Honestly, not all of us have the

34 MASUCCESS

most creative minds when it comes to developing original ideas, but we can all improve on established concepts. Be content to simply rework something when it’s the best fit for the needs of your business. For reference, how many of us remember taking attendance by placing a check mark next to a student’s name on a card or sheet of paper? Later, we used barcode scanning on ID cards, and now attendance can be done via apps on phones and tablets. Pride can stunt your growth and limit your potential. Your competitor’s idea may be perfect for your business, so borrow what you need. Unless you engage in trademark infringement or other types of intellectual property theft, serve your people in the best way possible and use great ideas. An idea’s value won’t always be immediately apparent. Fellows’ patent for his tape measure was registered in 1868, but the device didn’t see widespread commercial use until the 1940s. He passed away in 1919 — before his invention became the standard. The breadth and influence his version of the tape measure had on construction was immense but not immediate. It can take time for others, even your workers and peers, to adopt your ideas. Every leader faces pushback and challenges from their people. As a leader, you must accept that while your people work for you, they must become accustomed to certain policies and procedures. You want them to be flexible when changes occur, but if you demonstrate inflexibility when you ask them to be malleable, you’re going to be seen as hypocritical. That creates its own set of problems. Keep up the great work, my friends. We martial artists are still here, training and changing lives. As long as we stay on the path, we’re measuring up as leaders and making a difference.

Nguyen “Tom” Griggs is a professional consultant/speaker on subjects that include teams, leadership and conflict. To contact him, send an email to tom@ntgriggs.com.

LO O K S

L I K E

W E

O F

THE

A R E

B U B B L E G U M

ORIGINAL

B O D Y

O P P O N E N T

B A G

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

s e e t h e f u l l l i n e o f t ra i n i n g b a g s a t

C e n t u r y M a r t i a l A r t s .co m /co l l e c t i o n s /t ra i n i n g - b a g s

IN THE CLASSROOM

That Won’t Work for Me! BY DAVE KOVAR

“The ability to keep an open mind when exposed to new ideas or concepts is more important now in 2021 than ever before. We can no longer just rely on our experience because a lot of it doesn’t apply in the current environment.”

36 MASUCCESS

n my travels, I get the chance to meet with school owners and martial arts professionals from all over the world. I love working with martial artists! Most of the people with whom I interact tend to be optimistic, intelligent and open-minded. However, every now and then I meet someone who makes me pause and say to myself, “Really?” A while back, I met just such a guy. I was teaching an Instructor College in a large metropolitan area with an extremely diverse group of teachers. Some had large schools, while others had small schools. Some were master teachers, and others were just starting out. There were representatives from a variety of styles and systems, and all were there to learn and grow — except for this one guy. You know the type. He sat there all morning, arms crossed, clearly disinterested in anything I or anyone else had to say. I thought that perhaps I was reading him wrong, so during the first break, I approached him and asked a few questions about his school and his background. He gave me a brief history and then said, “I’m not sure why I came today. I was hoping to learn something different, but I already know all this stuff you are talking about.” Of course, this threw me off my game a bit. I don’t experience such bluntness very often. I told him that I’d be happy to refund his tuition if he’d like to leave. He responded by telling me that he was going to stick around and see how it went from there. Although he was a bit better after our conversation, he never fully engaged in the seminar. When it came time for the Q&A at the seminar’s end, my new friend shot down every bit of advice I had for anyone. “I tried that, and it won’t work in my town,” he’d say. Or “That will never work where I live; people here are different.” He wanted to dominate the floor and talk about himself.

Someone finally blurted out, “You seem to know everything — how many students do you have?” You probably can guess his answer: not many. Yet he boasted that he’d taught for nearly two decades and had 45 students. He assured us that all his students were extremely good because he taught “old-school.” He wasn’t a sellout, he said. Honestly, at this point, I almost lost it. It was all I could do to keep from jumping up and kicking him in the side of his old-school head. I let him get to me. I was angry for quite a while before I started to calm down. Then my logic kicked in, and I decided to learn from the situation. I asked myself if I had a bit of the that-won’t-work-for-me attitude when faced with a new idea or concept that might be hard to embrace. Yes, I might not be quite as abrasive as my friend, but I can be just as much of a knucklehead sometimes. The ability to keep an open mind when exposed to new ideas or concepts is more important now in 2021 than ever before. We can no longer just rely on our experience because a lot of it doesn’t apply in the current environment. To survive and thrive, we need to practice having shoshin, a beginner’s mind. Easy to do? No. Worth it? Absolutely. So I’m going to do my best to be open to others’ opinions and viewpoints and to remain receptive to new ideas. I know that I’ll be better for it. Care to join me?

To contact Dave Kovar, send an email to dave. kovar@kovars.com.

Rise

to the Challenge

How You Can LEVERAGE THE POWER OF CHALLENGES to Supercharge Your School BY CRIS RODRIGUEZ

ost people in the martial arts industry who know me know that I’m a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. Few are aware, however, that I got my start at a Jhoon Rhee Institute of Tae Kwon Do when I was just 8 years old. Yes, I’ve been a mat rat since 1993. As a former lover of forms — specifically, musical forms — I had the power of repetition drilled into my head from an early age. My classmates and I practiced our musical routines so much that cassette tapes would get stretched out and become unplayable because we constantly were pressing the Play, Stop and Rewind buttons. At least they weren’t 8 tracks or vinyl. … Looking back at my childhood on the dojo carpet — mats weren’t popular at the time — I’m still impressed with how my instructor was able to get us to practice our forms over and over by disguising the repetition of the techniques. Back then, we didn’t know what he was doing, and I truly believe that this is a superpower shared by the best instructors around the world. It’s widely understood that to get good at something, we have to practice it. In his book Outliers, Malcom Gladwell coined a phrase to describe this concept: the 10,000-hour rule. He referred to this amount of training time as “the magic number for greatness.” While many writers have tried to debunk this notion, the point he was trying to make is more important than the number he used: Typically, the more we practice, the better we get. I know, it’s not exactly rocket science. But if you tell your students that they have to practice their side kick 10,000 times to master it — and that you’re going to attempt to do that in their next class — well, you might have an issue with retention. That aforementioned taekwondo instructor would devise the most innovative approaches to get us to work the same sequence of techniques by changing the way he packaged and presented them to us. He constantly came up with different drills to keep us excited about our forms even if we were practicing on our own while facing a wall. Or drilling while facing another person. Or performing at 25-percent or 50-percent speed. Or moving while blindfolded. Or doing the form backward. You get the idea — it was the same moves over and over but packaged a different way each time. This is exactly what the best marketers do. Allow me to explain.

LISTEN TO THE EXPERTS One of my all-time favorite business gurus is Peter Drucker. He is best-known for his work in the management field, but his thoughts on marketing were what hooked me years ago and made me want to learn more. 40 MASUCCESS

The first time I read something he’d written, I had an aha moment that repositioned the way I marketed my companies. This is the quote that burrowed into my brain: “There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer. … Because it is its purpose to create a customer, any business enterprise has two — and only these two — basic functions: marketing and innovation.” Think about those words: marketing and innovation. If we focused only on making our products and services better, if we had a constant drive to improve our classes and our staff training, if we always innovated — how much easier would marketing our services be? And if our products and services were undergoing ceaseless innovation and marketing was easy, then marketing by itself should sell our services. Another one of my favorite quotes from Peter Drucker is: “The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself. … The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous.” I have to be honest. The first time I read that quote, I had to look up the definition of superfluous. (Ain’t no shame here.) Because some people may not know what it means, I’ll break it down. The dictionary tells us it’s an adjective that means “unnecessary, especially through being more than enough.” So in layman’s terms, our goal is to make our products and services so good that they sell themselves. Once they are that good, it will make the marketing so much easier.

If you look at many of the logos used by martial arts schools today, you might conclude that some seem stuck in the 1980s. (Sorry not sorry — I’ll always keep it real with you.) If you look at the drills that many instructors are doing, you might realize that they’re the same drills they’ve been teaching for 20 years and that their instructors were teaching them for 20 years before that. If you examine their schools, you might see that they look the same as they did a decade or two ago. And if you look at their offers, well, they’re the same offers they’ve been marketing for the past 10 years or longer. This lack of innovation — both on the mat and in marketing — makes success difficult to achieve. Which is why the best marketers disguise the repetition of their marketing by packaging their offers in different ways. One of the best ways we’ve found to disguise the marketing of our school’s programs is through challenges. What specifically is a challenge? It’s simply an invitation to engage in a contest. You can use challenges to pack your mats throughout the year. In practicality, though, challenges tend to work better in the first half of the year. Why? Because that’s when most adults — and, therefore, the parents of your students — are motivated to get in shape.

The beginning of the year offers a chance to set new goals and make new resolutions. A few months in, people are still motivated because summer is coming and they want to sport that summer body. It’s important to recognize the seasons of our industry, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find success at other times of the year. However, the season should play a role in the offers you choose and the marketing campaigns you launch. Essential lesson: Mike Metzger, lead consultant in the Martial Arts Industry Association, taught me early on that there are three times of the year when you need to put the pedal to the metal in your marketing: heading into summer, coming out of summer and approaching New Year’s Day. Not surprisingly, these are the times when we see large increases in sign-ups (as well as cancellations, sadly). That’s because during these times of the year, people’s lifestyles change. When our day-to-day schedules change, so do the activities we participate in.

DON’T GET IN A RUT Drucker also believes that marketing should encompass the entire business and that concern and responsibility for 42 MASUCCESS

marketing must permeate all facets of the business. Imagine that — everyone caring about marketing! It’s something I wholeheartedly agree with, and it makes my job that much easier when everyone is on board. Challenges are a great way to get everyone on your team on board. It’s important, however, to distinguish challenges from offers. The offers we see in the martial arts industry typically fall into two categories: Free offers include “One Free Class,” “Free One-on-One Introductory Lesson,” “Free Consultation,” “Two Free Weeks” and “30 Days Free.” Paid offers generally include things like “Four Weeks for $49” and “Three Classes for $19.99.” None of these constitutes a challenge. Don’t get me wrong! They’re valuable messages to pass along. In fact, the most common questions we see on Facebook in the Century School Owners Network, MAIA Hub and my group The Martial Arts Entrepreneurs pertain to offers. Problem is, putting out nothing but offers can lead to “offer fatigue,” which means decreased response rates. Here’s why: When you market an offer, two reactions can occur. The positive reaction is repeated exposure to the offer creates awareness of

your school. This awareness can move people to the consideration stage and then to the purchasing stage. It also can help build a feeling of comfort with prospects who see your brand repeatedly. On the flip side is offer fatigue. Prospects get tired of seeing the same thing over and over. That can make them skip your emails, texts, ads and so on. So how do you avoid offer fatigue? One way is with challenges.

RECRUIT MORE Why do challenges work so well? Because they provide shortterm goals and help build momentum. Here’s an example: Say an adult walks into your academy and expresses a desire to lose weight and keep the pounds off. You say, “OK, great. I can help you with that. All you need to do is eat healthily and work out a few times a week for the rest of your life.” Do that with enough people and your conversion rates will tank. That’s because human beings need small wins in their lives to build up traction to reach success — no matter what the goal is. Consider: If your goal is to pay down debt, you need shortterm goals to help you accomplish the long-term goal. The plan might begin with paying off your car loan, then focus on reducing your credit-card balance before you start allocating additional money to paying off your mortgage early. The sequence is not important; having short-term goals is. And that’s exactly what a challenge represents: a short-term goal. From what I’ve seen, the best success comes with fourweek and six-week challenges. Sidenote: This should come as no surprise, seeing how four-week and six-week trial offers serve our industry so well. ;) Such challenges are short enough to not overwhelm the prospects and long enough for them to see progress. Whenever people begin to see results of the effort they’re investing, it’s easier for them to stay motivated. The other benefit of a challenge is that it has an end date. While your ultimate goal is to transform these people into lifelong martial artists, you have to start somewhere. For them, working hard to reach a new goal usually entails giving up some of the things they enjoy and adding some things they don’t. The thought of doing this permanently can be off-putting. A challenge that has a start date and an end date doesn’t feel like it’s forever, and that can be an advantage. Everyday example: If a nutritionist asks you to give up your triple mocha latte forever, you might start looking for a new nutritionist. If that person asks you to give it up for six weeks, you’ll do it. The human brain views the latter as a “now goal” rather than a lifetime of misery.

ENJOY A RETENTION BOOST Challenges are great not just for recruitment but also for retention. To illustrate, I’ll explain two challenges that my academy, Gracie PAC MMA, has implemented over the past few

years and used to generate tens of thousands of dollars in new enrollments. Let’s start with the adult challenge: Our Six-Week New Year’s Challenge is normally priced at $330, but we position it at $149. If you noticed what I did right there, you’re not a white belt in marketing. I anchored the challenge’s price at $330 and then reduced it to $149 to make it seem like a steal. #marketingprotip The features of this challenge include six weeks of BJJ training, a one-on-one introductory lesson with a certified instructor, a uniform, a white belt, a six-week meal plan, a chance to win $300 in cash and, most important, a money-back guarantee. So how exactly do you formulate an adult challenge? We always offer a moneyHere are some suggestions. back guarantee on our Idea No. 1: The student who trials for one simple earns the most points at the end reason: It helps remove of six weeks wins $300 in cold, the barrier of commitment hard cash. Points can be earned and worry. How does by attending classes, rolling/ our guarantee work? We drilling in timed jiu-jitsu rounds promise to give students and entering competitions. their money back if they’re Points are added at the end not satisfied with the of every class during the “mat results of the work they chat” and updated weekly on put in. This means that if a the school’s Six-Week Challenge person shows up to each Leaderboard in the lobby. of his or her scheduled Idea No. 2: If your school is classes during the trial (in karate based, you can create a this case, two classes per challenge that awards points week for six weeks) and for every class attended, every is not satisfied, we will kata completed and every round refund the money. sparred. The possibilities are The key is to stipulate endless — get creative! Or, dare I that the person must say, be innovative. participate in all the Idea No. 3: If you prefer a classes. This rule prevents more fitness-related stance, people from purchasing a you can challenge people to lose trial, then showing up once the most inches, shed the most or twice and requesting pounds or attain the lowest their money back. percentage of body fat. A few things will happen when you launch a challenge. First, you’ll sell a ton of trials because challenges are fun, because there’s a start date and an end date, and because money can be won. Furthermore, you’ll see a bump because your students will send you referrals. Second, your current students will be pumped. Why? Because you’ll let them participate in the challenge for free. Their motivation to show up at every class and take the challenge head-on will boost attendance. Third, your students will become better martial artists. Isn’t that your primary goal as an instructor — to get them to improve both on and off the mat? MAY/JUNE 2021 43

CATER TO KIDS I already described a challenge my academy uses to appeal to adults. Here’s one we’ve created to focus on kids and teens. We call it the Four-Week Speed Challenge. It’s normally priced at $204, but we position it at $99. Included are four weeks of classes, a one-on-one introductory lesson with a certified instructor, four speed challenges, a uniform, a white belt, a speed journal, a chance to earn a school pin and, of course, a money-back guarantee. At the end of the day, in its most basic form, what we do is sell martial arts classes. I already can hear you saying, “We’re selling so much more than martial arts classes!” And I concur. But let’s keep it simple. What we sell is training, but if we try to use that angle in our marketing, we will fail. Which is what happens to many school owners, unfortunately. They sell only the features of their business rather than the benefits. So when you’re positioning your challenge, be sure to focus on the benefits and not just the features. Young students get the chance to participate in a different challenge during the first class of the week for four weeks. It might be a physical-fitness challenge, a kicking challenge, a punching challenge or something else. Scores are documented, and if they participate in all four, they earn a pin. As with the adult challenge, the kid challenge is likely to

net some results. First, the children who are currently your students will be excited to come to class to compete. Second, they will improve their mental grit and physical state. You’ll find that this is a great way to position your typical four-week trial — especially after the turmoil of 2020, children need this now. Here’s why: Too many children have flat-out regressed over the past 12 months. They’re less active because of the lockdowns. They’re less social because of virtual schooling. And they’re less physically fit because of reduced activity in their day-to-day lives. For these reasons, a challenge that focuses on speed — and, therefore, fitness — is a great way for parents to help their kids reclaim what they’ve lost. The icing on the cake: Consider running an adult challenge at the same time as your child challenge. It will be a great opportunity to get parents on the mat, as well, and that’s the first step to converting them into students.

Cris Rodriguez has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a third degree in taekwondo. The co-owner of Gracie PAC MMA, she has 25 years of experience in the martial arts and 18 years of experience as a teacher. Based in Tampa, Florida, Rodriguez has studied internet marketing for eight years and is the founder of Grow Pro Agency, a digital-marketing firm that runs Facebook and Instagram ads for martial arts school owners.

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3 PILLARS of Growth Find Out How a New MAIA Program Can Help You Succeed! BY CRIS RODRIGUEZ, MIKE METZGER AND SHANE TASSOUL

At the macro level, you have to implement just three systems to achieve success in your martial arts academy. If you’re thinking that sounds too easy to be true, know that Tony Robbins teaches something similar in his business-coaching programs. He says a business must do these three things to grow: 1. Get customers. 2. Get those customers to pay more. 3. Get customers to pay more often. At the Martial Arts Industry Association, our recipe for success focuses on the three R’s: recruitment, retention and revenue. In this article, three of the industry’s leading consultants — Cris Rodriguez, Mike Metzger and Shane Tassoul — will explain how this simple strategy can help you take your school to the next level in 2021.

Recruitment

Cris Rodriguez, MAIA Consultant ne year on vacation in Hawaii, I was relaxing at the beach when a fisherman, obviously a local, drove up in his pickup truck. He got out with a dozen fishing rods, baited the hooks, cast all the lines into the ocean and set the rods in the sand. Intrigued, I wandered over and asked him for an explanation. “It’s simple,” he said. “I love fish, but I hate fishing. I like eating, not catching. So I cast out 12 lines. By sunset, some of them will have caught a fish. Never all of them. So if I cast only one or two, I might go hungry. But 12 is enough so that some always catch something. Usually there’s enough for me and extras to sell to local restaurants. This way, I live the life I want.” That fisherman had figured out the No. 1 cause of business failures: too few lines in the ocean.

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Hop in any martial arts group on Facebook or become a fly on the wall during any consulting call, and you’ll find that school owners usually have one focus that leads to one question: How can I sign up more students? While this is a very important aspect of our business, it’s not the only important aspect. It’s one piece of the puzzle we have to work on. For many school owners, however, it’s the only part they focus on. Later in this article, you’ll hear from Mike Metzger and Shane Tassoul on two other essential aspects, but right now, I’ll focus on recruitment. While there are a ton of internal and external marketing strategies that we can implement for recruiting purposes — such as buddy days, referral contests, ambassador programs, B2B rack cards, festival booths and so on — I will concentrate on my specialty, which is online marketing.

As a rule of thumb, before I set any future goals, I always look back on the previous years to see how far I’ve come and to recap the lessons I’ve learned. While most of us never want to experience a year like 2020 again, there are many important business lessons all of us should have learned. For the majority of schools that focused on internal and external marketing, COVID hit hard. Most of our traditional marketing strategies were stripped away overnight, leaving online marketing as the only viable alternative. For schools that were already up to date with respect to social media presence and online advertising, this was an easy pivot. For those that weren’t, this potentially meant a steep decline in business — and possibly the permanent closure of doors. The pandemic showed us that we cannot keep all our eggs in one basket in terms of marketing. It also showed us that we have to be a fixture not just in our communities but online, as well. So what does the landscape of digital marketing look like in 2021? It’s a question I get asked on a daily basis. Here, I’ll break it down as I explain how the new year brings new opportunities.

Digital Marketing in 2021: Truth No. 1 More people are online than ever before, and in response, more people are engaging in digital marketing than ever before. Ad costs have been rising and will continue to do so — especially with the changes that Apple is making and the negative effects this will have on retargeting marketing. Some people will continue to get results from minimum expenditures, but the majority will find that their CPL (cost per lead) and CPA (cost per acquisition) will continue to increase. What does this mean for you? It means that you have to stand out in the newsfeed and that you should adjust your expectations. You can do that by being authentic with your posts (which entails, among other things, posting more pictures and videos of your students and team members) and by entertaining your audience with fun content (Who doesn’t love a good Cobra Kai meme?).

e-mails. Who will have a better chance of converting prospects into appointments? Automate when you can, but remember that people are hungry for human connections. So get your follow-up game on point.

Digital Marketing in 2021: Truth No. 3 It’s no surprise that in this instant-gratification society, people are impatient. In fact, studies have shown that 74 percent of cellphone users will wait no more than five seconds for a webpage to load. This means your website and especially your landing pages must be optimized for mobile users and they must load quickly. That’s why I recommend martial arts schools go with a company like Market Muscles. It’s among the best in our industry when it comes to optimizing websites for mobile and getting them to load rapidly.

Digital Marketing in 2021: Truth No. 4 The most successful marketers spend 40 percent of their budget on content marketing. The average, however, is just 26 percent. In case you don’t know, content marketing is a methodology that involves the creation and sharing of online material (videos, blogs, social media posts, etc.) that doesn’t explicitly promote a brand but is intended to stimulate interest in its products or services. You need someone on your team who can assume this responsibility. It’s important to understand that just creating content isn’t enough. Content marketers used to rely on organic reach on Facebook, but that has plummeted — I’m sure you’ve noticed. If you haven’t, take a look at the Likes, Loves, Comments and Shares your Facebook business page is getting. More than likely, you used to enjoy higher vanity metrics. Facebook has really pulled back the reach it gives to business pages, which means you’ve got to promote your content. These days, it’s not great content that wins; it’s great promoted content that wins. There aren’t many times I recommend hitting that “boost” button on Facebook, but to get more reach with your content in 2021, it’s something you have to do.

Digital Marketing in 2021: Truth No. 5 Digital Marketing in 2021: Truth No. 2 SMS (essentially, messaging) is king right now, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t leave voicemails and blast out emails. Your goal is to be omnipresent in the lives of your prospects, and utilizing only one form of correspondence will hinder that effort. While artificial intelligence can make automation a great choice, you still have to call your prospects. Envision a friendly competition between a school owner who sends only text messages and a school owner who sends text messages, makes phone calls, leaves voicemails and sends

One of my favorite books is The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy. It was the first personal-development text I read. It presents a simple formula for achieving success in any area of life: Small, smart choices, made consistently, yield drastic results. Apply that to your workouts, your nutrition, your finances or your business, and you’ll achieve the goals you desire. How does this pertain to digital marketing? It has to do with consistency. One of the biggest struggles that school owners have is staying consistent with their content marketing, their posts, their replies and, in general, their online availability. MAY/JUNE 2021 49

Approximately 71 percent of consumers who have had a good social media service experience with a brand are likely to recommend the business to others. The way you treat prospects who walk in through your doors should be the way treat prospects on social media. If you’re struggling with what to post online, check out MAIA Edge. It provides a done-for-you social media calendar that can save you hours each month while it spares you the headache of trying to figure out what to post.

Retention

Shane Tassoul, MAIA Consultant ver the years — and after several hundred onboarding calls — I’ve noticed a common theme in our industry: Martial arts school owners insist that they need more students. After digging deeper, I find that the real reason they think they need more students is so they can have a greater impact on their community and earn more money. Although attracting new students is a must for any school, often it’s not the first thing you should seek when you set out to boost your bottom line. I advise school owners to focus on improving their internal business systems so they maximize student value. It’s a matter of beginning with the end in mind. Internal business systems frequently need an overhaul before new students are added; otherwise, you’ll be plugging them into a broken system. Part of that overhaul is looking at your school’s attrition rate to determine whether it’s acceptable or in need of improvement. Business owners usually claim they don’t lose many students. That may be the case, I tell them, but let’s trust and verify. After we go through the numbers, we normally find that they’re not retaining as many students as they thought they were. Let me give you an example based on “Mr. Smith” and his school of 110 students. He started in January with 100 students and averaged $10,000 in revenue per month. He set a goal of getting 50 more students this year. He went about his business and worked hard on new enrollments, which yielded a record number of 96 signups. In December, he took a look back and felt proud of what he’d accomplished — then began scratching his head when he discovered that he started with 100 students, enrolled 96 new students and now has only 110 students. That’s when Mr. Smith learned about attrition. Let’s see what attrition means financially in this case. Recall that he started the year with 100 students and added 96 — regular students, not trials. If he had perfect retention, he would have ended the year with 196 students. Unfortunately, as much as he or anyone else tries, perfection is never achieved.

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Consider how many students Mr. Smith lost over the course of the year. With perfect retention, he would have had 196 students, but he ended with 110 students, meaning that he lost 86 students somewhere. That’s an average of 7.16 students lost per month. Stick with me here. … Now, we need to look at Mr. Smith’s average active count by taking January’s active count of 100 students plus December’s active count of 110 and then dividing by 2 to determine the average. (Alternatively, if Mr. Smith kept great numbers, we could add up each month’s active count during the year and divide by 12 to get a more precise number.) In this case, however, we see that Mr. Smith has an average active count of 105. We also know that he lost an average of 7.16 students per month. If we simply divide the average lost (7.16) by the average active count (105), it gives us a 6.8-percent attrition rate. To put this in perspective, here are some guidelines for attrition rates: 6-10% — Needs attention now. 5% — Average but requires work. 4% — Above average. 3% — Unbelievable. 2% — You’re a superhero. 1% — You’re simply the best. Let’s see what would happen if Mr. Smith dropped his attrition rate from 6.8 percent to 5 percent. By losing only 5 percent of 105 students, he would lose an average of five students per month, much better than the seven he was losing. This means he would keep an additional two students per month, which equates to an extra 24 paying students over the course of a year. If each has a student value of $100 per month, that comes out to $2,400 per month — or nearly $30,000 more per year. To increase your retention rate, you need more than just exciting classes; you also need a system that allows you to determine how and why you lose students. Once such a system is in place, you’ll be on your way to earning tens of thousands of dollars of extra income per year.

Revenue

Mike Metzger, MAIA Consultant he majority of people who get into business typically start by doing something they love. A man who loves to cook might go into the restaurant business, or a woman who loves to dance might open a dance school. People like us, who love the martial arts, wind up opening martial arts schools. When we decide to take the leap, we typically think of our passion first. Very quickly, however, we find that we must think about how we can pay the bills while doing what we love. Turns

out most people are very good at their craft but not so good at business. At MAIA, we believe all business owners should be good at both. Revenue is ultimately what keeps you in business. To generate the most revenue, you must understand that the foundation of a successful school is composed of three parts: class schedule, programs offered and pricing structure. Knowledge of these keys will make it easier to maximize your business profitability. The majority of school owners, however, know only the way their instructor ran his or her school and tend to copy that formula. This is why so many schools struggle financially. Your class schedule must be convenient for your customers, designed to produce the highest-quality students and capable of generating revenue for the business. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say they want to expand their school or open a second location because they feel like they’re busting at the seams — when in reality, they just have a bad schedule that’s causing the problems. The difference between a great schedule and a poor schedule could mean the difference between having 150 additional students and having no additional students. The secret is not just to add more times or shorten classes; it’s to create a schedule in which the quality of instruction stays high while the most students are accommodated. If you wish to generate more revenue, you must offer programs (upgrades) just like any other business. Not all students are created equal, so why would you try to teach everyone equally? The 50-year-old doesn’t typically have the same reasons for training as the 20-year-old does. That’s why you need to offer different programs to meet the needs and wants of your varied customer base. If you can offer different paths for your customers to choose from without interfering with your core curriculum, why not do it? This will enable you to create more value, which in turn will generate more revenue.

Finally, consider offering programs rather than just memberships. Establish a price and spell out what customers get for that price. This allows them to decide how they will finance their program — for some people, it’s easier to put more money down and have lower monthly payments. When you have a flexible payment plan, you make it easier for customers to enroll, and collecting more money upfront is never a bad thing — if that’s what the customer prefers. There’s a system for running a financially successful martial arts business, just as there’s a system for teaching great martial arts. Most martial artists who excel at their craft excel because they’ve spent years training. Unfortunately, most don’t spend years training in the business of martial arts, which is why many schools fail. There is plenty of great information out there for school owners in need. Find it, study it and implement it — MAIA Growth makes that easier than ever — and you’ll have all the success you desire.

Outro One of the biggest differentiators between school owners who prosper and those who don’t is initiative, the willingness to take action. Often they’ll read an article and think, “I already knew that.” Maybe they did know it, but intellectual understanding of a subject is different from mastery of it. It’s our hope that you gleaned some valuable tips from this article and that we’ve given you a game plan for success. If you need help with anything, check out the new MAIA Growth groupcoaching program. It’s more cost effective than one-on-one consulting and every bit as powerful. Visit maiahub.com/coaching. If you’d rather book a free 20-minute coaching call, go to maiahub.com/connect.

MAY/JUNE 2021 51

When the Pandemic Forces You to Conduct Your Classes Outside by Floyd Burk

The Sitrep Let’s start by assuming that you live in a locale where state and local officials have issued orders keeping you from conducting class in your school or orders that restrict the number of people allowed inside. I’m a school owner in San Diego County, so I know of what I speak. I also know that even if you’ve been doing Zoom and/or Facebook Live classes like I have, it’s important to do whatever it takes to teach in person, to make things seem as normal as possible for students. How do you make things seem normal in a pandemic? I’ll tell you what we did. I decided to nickname the alley in back of our school the “outdoor dojo.” I ordered a big banner that says OUTDOOR KARATE, rationalizing that it would convey to prospective students the existence of this new training space. To reach those people, I often affix the sign to the side of my SUV and park it on the street. Sometimes I hang the sign in front of our school. The reason I’m passing along this tactic first is I know it works. We’ve had sign-ups who told the staff that they saw our banner 54 MASUCCESS

and it was the reason they We’ve had signcame in. We’ve also had longups who told the time students who feared training inside say they staff that they saw noticed the banner while drivour banner and ing by and were inspired to return to outdoor lessons. it was the reason As successful as the banner they came in. has been, I also figured it was essential to send emails and do Facebook posts that let everyone know what’s going on at our school. Yes, we’re still teaching our art — it’s just in the alley that’s out the back door of our studio. The makeshift location may not be optimal, especially when undesirables pass by, but it beats the alternative, which is doing nothing while we try to pay the bills.

The New Normal Now I’ll elaborate on the issue of trying to keep things normal during a decidedly abnormal time. It’s all about perception. Teaching requires a certain amount of equipment, and teaching outside means carrying said equipment to your outdoor dojo and setting it up there — every day. It’s the new cost of doing business. Haul out a Kid Kick bag, a regular BOB, a BOB XL and a couple of mats. Don’t forget chairs for the staff members and parents who may be there to observe. All the gear will help make things seem normal to everyone, and that’s especially important for the youngsters. The presence of the gear that defines your business also will help if you have to amend your lease to officially get permission

Photos Courtesy of Floyd Burk

he primary function of MASuccess is to help you overcome any obstacle that stands between your martial arts business and financial success. In 2020, the main obstacle for most schools was the pandemic. Sadly, it remains so in 2021. This has spurred endless discussion, most of it based on this all-too-common premise: “My school has been closed for a long time and I still have to pay rent. My state says I can’t teach inside, so I’m planning to start holding class outside soon. Do you have any suggestions?” In this article, I’ll shed some light on this subject and related ones that focus on teaching outside your regular establishment.

Photos Courtesy of Floyd Burk

to teach outside. Why would this be required? Because your lease likely covers only your indoor space. Doing business in an alley or the parking lot necessitates additional documentation. In my case, the property owner requested a photo of our outdoor setup — hence my suggestion to tote your gear to your training space — and then sent me an amended contract to sign. Once you do likewise, you’ll need to call your insurance agent and request coverage for your new outside dojo. When I did this, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there were no additional fees.

While students are entering and exiting, they’re required to wear masks. It’s up to the students — or their parents, if they’re minors — if they want to remove their masks during the actual training. Depending on the mood in your particular part of the country, you might want to offer a class in which everyone is required to mask up for the duration of the training. If you chose this option, keep an eye on everyone, especially any students who have asthma. Some time ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health warning about wearing a mask while engaging in exercise and fitness training.

The Details

The Park Place

Once you’re done with your new setup, it’s time to think about operations and logistics. Devise a plan for safely getting students to and from your outside training area. I have students come into the dojo via the front entrance and stow any belongings they won’t need for training, then march outside and stand next to one of the “kick space” cones that the staff has positioned. We place them 78 inches apart, which is the 6-foot social-distance recommendation plus a little extra. The person who’s teaching the class ensures that students take their water bottles with them as they head out. He or she also makes sure that before any minors are sent outside, a staff member is already there to supervise. You may find that some parents fear that the coronavirus is lurking inside your school and therefore prefer that their kids not walk through. If that’s the case, don’t oppose them. Simply ask them to escort their children from their vehicle directly to the outside dojo. You could try to explain how much effort is being put into sanitizing the surfaces that students come into contact with. That might help with some parents, but for others, it won’t be enough, so you might as well create a backup plan ahead of time so their concerns can be accommodated. In our school, we decided to allow students to keep their footwear on while walking through our school because they — and often their parents — want to minimize the contact they have with shared surfaces. When they’re outside, we require them to wear athletic shoes. I explain that we all wear shoes on the street, so wearing shoes while practicing self-defense only makes sense. We encourage students to wear the same pair of shoes while walking from their car to the dojo, while moving through the dojo to the outside training area, while working out and then while walking back inside before returning to their vehicle. Yes, that likely goes against your dojo rules, but it’s a sacrifice you might have to make. Because shoes tend to get grimy, I purchased a few dozen doormats and lined them up to form a walkway through the dojo.

An option for school owners who don’t have access to a nearby alley or parking lot is holding class in a local park. We’ve done this and can say that it’s a viable solution. If you decide to try it, be sure to ask your insurance agent to add the location to your liability policy so you’re covered while teaching there. I suggest choosing the most family-oriented park in your area. As with the back-alley dojo described above, you’ll want to bring some shields and lightweight bags for students to use. I advise you to leave most of your weapons — training and real — in your school. Although staffs and kali sticks likely won’t cause problems, wielding nunchaku, swords, training knives and plastic guns is almost guaranteed to attract the wrong kind of attention. Doing martial arts in a park might attract hecklers and gawkers, as it can when you’re training near your dojo. However, this should be manageable for any experienced teacher — just use your verbal judo to deflect the unwanted attention and, if necessary, defuse it.

MAY/JUNE 2021 55

Question 1: Can I still teach ground fighting outside? Absolutely. When you have the right people, you can do whatever kind of contact training you want. By “right people,” I mean family members and friends who train together. Such groups can form a pod or bubble for each student, which means they can be suitable partners for grappling (assuming your state’s laws permit this). Students who may be loners in class likely have a relative they can bring to serve as a grappling partner. When that’s the best alternative, we allow the “civilian” to serve as the uke once the person has signed a waiver, and we view the partner as a potential student. In fact, our school has had several people enroll after their interest was sparked by a stint as a loved one’s training partner — people who probably would not have signed up otherwise. (Sidenote: Last night, I read an article in the January/February 2021 issue of MASuccess that discusses just such a plan: recruiting from within and pitching to parents who visit your establishment.) If a student simply is unable to bring a training partner, he or she still can benefit from observing classmates doing grappling

moves. Until COVID is a thing of the past, these students can mimic the movements solo on a socially distanced mat. Final note on grappling outside: If you don’t have enough portable mats to enable all your students to roll at the same time, do station training. Have some students work on the mats while others hit the bags or kick the shields — or do calisthenics. Question 2: What kinds of exercises can be done outside without buying a lot of extra gear? When it comes to outdoor exercises, I advise looking to CrossFit for inspiration. One piece of equipment CrossFitters like is the truck or tractor tire. Acquire one that’s worn out and have students flip it or drag it across the pavement. Alternatively, you can buy a battle rope. Young students can use it the way it’s intended — or form teams and play tug of war. Question 3: I live in a sunny part of the country. Should I make my students wear a hat for sun protection while they train? I recommend going easy on uniform requirements. Students should be allowed to wear a hat — we instructors must do everything we can to help protect them from the negative effects of sun exposure — but that’s different from requiring a hat. Our school rules allow students to wear any hat during training. A more business-minded option might be to encourage them to buy a hat with your school logo printed on it. Question 4: Should I cancel an outdoor class if there’s rain or snow, or is “toughing it out” more in line with traditional martial arts training? As an instructor, you want to do what you can to keep everyone’s immune system strong during the pandemic. Therefore, training in the rain is not recommended. The same goes for training in snow. If you own a few pop-ups, you can use them for socially distanced partner training during inclement weather. I emphasize “can” because our school has three pop-ups and we’ve tried this, and it wasn’t that great. Re. more serious weather: I suggest you always be on the lookout for thunderstorms, high-wind warnings and so on — and be ready to move everybody indoors for their safety. When you move inside, have a Plan B for training. Options include having students study the school handbook, giving them a short a lecture, having them write in their training notebooks and even holding a Q&A session. As I write this, many parts of the country still have snow, so I’ll offer this suggestion. It probably won’t fit all students in a given class, but those who are hardcore might be interested. Make training outside in bad weather an actual event. We call it kangeiko, which is Japanese for “cold weather training.” It entails going someplace that has snow on the ground and working out. Because it’s planned, everyone can be prepared for the low

56 MASUCCESS

temperature — you don’t want anyone getting frostbitten toes or fingers. Question 5: Does outdoor training work for any martial art? Yes, but you probably will have to tailor the training area to your needs. If you run a jiu-jitsu school, you’ll need lots of mats — and not much more. If your dojo teaches karate as a comprehensive form of self-defense, you’ll need mats and a lot more. That could include training weapons, shields, pads and bags. The more gear and stations you have, the better. One parent built a balance beam for our school so students can work on balance, focus and coordination. It’s not high off the ground, but it still presents a challenge and offers a tangible benefit. Over time, you’ll see that young students tend to enjoy running around and playing games that involve martial arts moves and improve their skills. You might even find that some of them would rather train outside than train inside. Question 6: Are there any safety protocols that need to be created? In the beginning, much of your outdoor training likely will involve children and teens. That means you’ll need to take precautions that pertain to things like traffic control. I place sandwich-board signs at each end of our outside dojo so cars don’t drive into our area. Nevertheless, occasionally one will try. When that happens, we have a protocol in place: Someone yells “car,” and all the kids head for the building. Meanwhile, an adult assistant gently scolds the driver who ignored the signs. Question 7: What if a passerby sees “violent” training, perhaps with weapons, and thinks it’s a real attack — and then calls 911? In theory, this sounds like a possibility, but in reality, it won’t happen unless you have a couple of adult students wearing street clothes and going at it full-contact. What’s more likely is that someone will call local law enforcement’s non-emergency line to rat on you for running your outdoor dojo. In that case, a local deputy sheriff might stop by. Your job is to be prepared to explain that you’re complying with all COVID regulations. Essential: You, as the instructor, must be there to deal with such issues should they arise. Don’t leave it to an inexperienced assistant to do the explaining or you risk getting shut down temporarily. Question 8: What do I do about gawkers? What if a gawker becomes a heckler — or a challenger? You will attract gawkers and the occasional heckler. That’s nothing new in our world. I like to invite them to sign up and join class. I always keep a few school brochures on hand so I can pass them out, thereby redirecting their focus in a positive direction. Sometimes it works.

If an onlooker becomes challenger, I tell the person that he has to be a registered student to join in. If he presses, I say, “You’re making the students feel uncomfortable. I want you to leave now.” If a troublemaker approaches your class, I recommend sternly saying, “Back off!” If that doesn’t stop the transgressor, you might have to resort to your defensive tactics. By now, someone on your side should be calling the police. It’s good to know the penal code in your state before anything like this happens. I’ve used laws that pertain to trespassing and preventing a person from conducting lawful business in an establishment to justify placing someone under citizen’s arrest. Yes, it’s a headache, but you never know what could happen, so it’s best to be prepared. True story: In the beginning, it bothered my students when hecklers would stand outside our dojo’s windows and doors shouting at us, and it bothered me even more. When I would reply verbally, often it helped but sometimes it made matters worse. One day, my wife and I attended a Ringo Starr concert in San Diego. After a few numbers, Ringo stepped away from the drums and walked to the front of the stage to sing With a Little Help From My Friends. The crowd contained a few hecklers who turned on Ringo. He paused, then said kindly, “I’m an entertainer, and I’m here to entertain. No matter what you say, all I hear is ‘I love you, Ringo!’” And that was it. The heckling stopped. Since then, I’ve used that same tactic with hecklers who approach our dojo — they like to bang on the aluminum doors on the side of the building and shout. I always tell my students, “They’re just saying, ‘I love Trad Am Karate.’” When your students see that the ruckus doesn’t bother you, it doesn’t bother them. The offender will get bored and leave. This works as well when you’re teaching outdoors as when you’re teaching indoors. Floyd Burk is a San Diego–based 10th-degree black belt with 50 years of experience in the arts. To contact him, visit Independent Karate Schools of America at iksa.com. MAY/JUNE 2021 57

TURNING POINT

Barry Guimbellot: Being Offered a School to Manage

“In this column, we examine the pivotal point in a prominent black belt’s career, the event that launched him or her toward success in martial arts business, sports or films.”

MASuccess: Where did you grow up, and what did your dad do? Barry Guimbellot: I was raised in Richardson, Texas. Dad began by inspecting airplanes and later worked as a salesman. MAS: How did you first hear about martial arts? Guimbellot: A high-school friend started taking karate from Allen Steen, and then my brother did, too. It was cool, but I never thought about it for myself. But at Sunday dinners at our parents’, he would say, “Let me show you this. …” The lesson might have been one basic block, but next Sunday, if I didn’t have the move down, he wouldn’t show me anything else. I’ve always been athletic, and he kept nurturing [me] and finally invited me to the school for a workout. I signed up for a two-year brown-belt membership because I knew I’d never be good enough to make black belt. At that time in Texas, black belts walked on water. I tested and made brown, but I kept thinking, “I’ve got to be better than I am now.” I worked in the ’70s selling LPs and 8-track tapes to our smaller-account stores. I also started working as our school’s program director. Steen appreciated good employees. Stories of him being hard to deal with came about because some person wasn’t doing his job. My dad gave me a super work ethic, and Allen and I always got along. He never yelled at me because I did what was expected of me.

58 MASUCCESS

MAS: What was your turning point? Guimbellot: When our manager asked if I’d like to take over the school because he was moving to another location to open his own school. After that opportunity, I was in from then on. Walt Mason and I kept our partnership up for 22 years until he passed away, and then his son Dave took over and eventually bought me out. MAS: How do you feel about the arts after so many years? Guimbellot: When you really look at yourself, you know you had wonderful instructors, and your black-belt exam proves you can be better than you think. I fought 16 or maybe 18 matches for black belt. It’s an initiation, and you can do it. And the next day, a completely different person walks in after getting the black belt. You’re going to make a difference in peoples’ lives — I have students from 30, 40 years ago who are still in contact with me. You’re going to make them feel better about themselves because they will be a better person. Students will bring in their children to train, and that is one of the nicest things that can ever happen. You’ve brought up a child through martial arts to where they’ve grown up, gotten a job [and have] a good work ethic, and now they are going to entrust the most important thing they have into your hands to give that child the same experience they had.

To contact Herb Borkland, send an email to herbork@ comcast.net.

Photo Courtesy of Barry Guimbellot

BY HERB BORKLAND

arry Guimbellot received his first dan from Allen Steen in 1976 and in 2015 was promoted to 10th degree by Steen, Pat Burleson and Keith Yates. A renowned school owner and director, Guimbellot first ran and then bought Steen’s Texas Karate Institute schools. Along with Walt Mason and later Dave Mason, Guimbellot continued to operate those schools until 2010. He also co-promoted the Southern Karate Championships for 37 years and the Big “D” National Karate Championships for 35 years. From 2008 to 2017, he served as President of the Amateur Organization of Karate.

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Since the start of the pandemic many Americans, martial artists, and school owners have high levels of unrelenting stress. There is no magic pill. Shim Shin Key may be the antidote. Shim Shin Key is a Tai Chi wellness program specifically designed for senior citizens or adults who may be challenged, physically, mentally or obese. These adults may not qualify for your style of martial arts. But are looking for a low impact form of exercise. For a happier and healthier lifestyle. This is a untapped market of adults who may become students to build up your revenue. Shim Shin Key is an eastern way of managing ones health through Chi Gung breathing, stretching exercises, self-acupressure and meditations. Also included is mental eastern philosophy. You as a master instructor will benefit. As you are learning how to implement this wellness program. You will discover mastery of self-love and will make positive changes in your life and business. You as a martial artist already have a martial arts base and with Shim Shin Key you will provide more value to your school.

Photo Courtesy of Barry Guimbellot

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• A three hour Zoom or Live class. • Library of information includes handouts for implementation. • Handout brochure for prospects. • Student manual with picture illustrations. • One hour zoom with questions and answers, follow up and action plan. • Three month of workouts and coaching to help you with success.

This is the future of the martial arts industry and the benefits will last your school a lifetime! Go to taichiflow.net and register today. For more information email Grandmaster LaMattina at karate@tokyojoesstudios.comcastbiz.net

HEALTH KICK

The Pandemic’s Secret Opportunity BY ERIC P. FLEISHMAN

“It’s time for you to help your students and their families find their way back to looking and feeling like champion martial artists. This is the secret opportunity the pandemic has created: You have the chance to help your students.”

60 MASUCCESS

his past year was a doozy for personal fitness. With gyms closed, an increase in stress and home confinement constituting the new normal, waistlines expanded like never before. Many people claim that they’ve already gained “the COVID-19” in pounds by spending time on the couch watching their favorite shows, while others worry their way to the refrigerator each night. It’s time for you to help your students and their families find their way back to looking and feeling like champion martial artists. To achieve this, they’re going to need the motivation and inspiration that only a martial arts teacher can provide. This is the secret opportunity the pandemic has created: You have the chance to help your students and their families unleash their inner action heroes before summer rolls around. Presented below are tips for doing this while you increase revenue and enthusiasm in your dojo. Get Everybody on Board Host fitness classes that allow an entire family to participate together. This not only will generate more revenue for your school but also will cultivate groups that include many new potential students. Striving to make big changes in health and lifestyle is challenging, but it’s definitely easier when the support and commitment permeate an entire household. From moms and dads to kids and grandparents, getting everyone on the health kick creates a winning attitude and can bring big results.

specific instruction. Specifically, you must help them understand the science behind change, which is the alignment of exercise, diet and sleep. Exercise must be performed daily, ideally in and out of the dojo — perhaps a fasted cardio session in the early morning, followed by a rigorous workout in the dojo later in the day. Tracking these exercise sessions will help your students organize and balance their busy schedules. Keeping a food journal will illuminate their eating patterns and help them stay focused. Reinforce the notion that not all healthy food is bland. Seasoning meals properly can stimulate appetite and ward off the temptation to cheat. Consider inviting a local chef into your dojo to teach healthy cooking and answer questions in an effort to make dieting fun. Finally, remind your members that sleep ushers in physical transformation. Ideally, this will get them headed to bed earlier.

Make It Interesting Imagine if ambitious families had the opportunity to win back a portion of their tuition based on their performance. How many more signups might you see? With this in mind, make the workout program a competition and track those who try the hardest. Nothing ups the ante like a good, old-fashioned race toward a healthy cash prize. Embracing themes like “6 weeks to sleek” or “action star in 8 weeks” puts time parameters around the contest and gives participants goals to strive for. Not every workout needs to be the same. Find ways Lead by Example to diversify the program by including elements of The best way to get people motivated and inspired to improve their health and wellness is to lead the charge. yoga, chi kung and HIIT along with the physical trainYou’ve got to commit to being the poster child of phys- ing long associated with the martial arts. For best ical change. It takes great effort and sacrifice to achieve results, award prizes for the biggest transformation the kind of earth-shattering goals you’re looking for, so in both individual and family categories. the best recruiting tool you have is an invitation to your membership to join you on this journey of transformation. Your success will fuel theirs, and your enthusiasm Eric P. Fleishman — aka Eric the Trainer — is a will be reflected back. Great leadership starts at the Hollywood-based trainer of celebrities. In the 28 years top and trickles down the organizational chart; be that he’s worked in the industry, he’s taught actors, musileader who strives to guide others to victory. cians, MMA fighters and military personnel. He hosts a popular TV show called Celebrity Sweat, which is Give Them the Tools available on Amazon Prime. His message of healthy To ensure your students see maximum success in living has been adopted by many groups, most their health and fitness quest, you must provide recently the American Culinary Federation.

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YOU MESSED UP! NOW WHAT?

Electronic Roadblock BY KATHY OLEVSKY

“I’ve operated a martial arts school full time for 45 years. I may have made every mistake that can be made in this business. The reason I’m still in business, I believe, is I asked for help. I learned quickly that others before me had already found solutions. In this column, I’ll point out key mistakes I made in my career, which are common errors among school owners, both large and small, throughout our industry. And I’ll share the solutions I used to overcome them.”

62 MASUCCESS

recently read a post in a Facebook group about how an instructor wanted to ban phones in the lobby. The idea, I believe, was to get parents to engage more with their children — with fewer distractions from their phones. Many experts in the martial arts business have said that we need to take giant steps in 2021 to get our businesses back to normal after a year of difficulties due to the COVID pandemic. However, there are ways to encourage parental participation and ways to alienate parents. We instructors need to take into account the many parents and adult students who now work remotely. In our school, there are parents who bring their children to class but are still on the clock for their jobs. They spend some of their work hours in our lobby or in their cars while their children train. Some come in with their phones on because they’re on call. For this reason, we’ve decided to do whatever we can to help them improve their lives. Our thinking is that if we continue to put roadblocks in front of them, they’ll eventually stop training altogether. There are many martial arts schools that can’t afford to make hard-and-fast rules. It might be more productive to challenge the parents to participate in their children’s classes by providing extra benefits that go with participation. I’ve heard some great suggestions. One school recommended having a weekly photo contest. What a great idea! Get the parents with cellphones to take action shots of their kids training, then have them send you the photos with permission to post them to your social media pages. This is a winning solution for both parties. The issue of phones in the dojo is part of a bigger shift in how our schools should adopt policies that enhance the training of our students rather than limit it. We have learned from others in our industry that it’s often better to encourage change than to demand it. In my school, we have never had a

cellphone policy, and I can’t remember a single time when a phone has been a distraction to the instructors or the students. Most parents are old enough to know they should have their phones silenced. If they have to take a call, they voluntarily leave the lobby because they don’t want to disturb everyone else with their conversation. If the argument is that phones, tablets or laptops keep parents from paying attention to their children, set up a time for your students to perform for their parents. Parents love to attend these events — and they often bring their friends and family members. Most other activities have recitals or competitions of some sort for people to watch. Martial arts schools should, as well. Scheduling a special show a few times a year is a great opportunity to showcase the talent of your students, and that’s especially important if your school doesn’t participate in tournaments or hold promotion ceremonies. Any parent who wants to engage with his or her child will come to such shows, and they’ll give 100 percent of their attention at those times.

To contact Kathy Olevsky, send an email to kathy.olevsky@raleighkarate.com.

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School Showcase May/June 2021 School Owner

Ted Guerrero Championship Martial Arts Pacific Beach Location

Pacific Beach (San Diego area), California Style/Discipline

Northern Shou Shu 64 MASUCCESS

Photos Courtesy of Championship Martial Arts Pacific Beach

School Name

art. The practitioner can switch from one style to another mid-technique, depending on various factors. We only teach Northern shou shu. Therefore, we are very adept at teaching this amazing system to those interested in learning one of the most graceful and powerful martial arts ever adopted from the Orient. What do you find most rewarding about working in the martial arts? As a teacher, the most rewarding aspect of working in martial arts is being able to teach something I believe in and that I know can and does change lives. Seeing a student grow, not only as a martial artist but [also] as an individual, is something that I’ll never get tired of experiencing.

Why did you begin teaching martial arts? My father ran a martial arts school, and he needed me to help him teach the kids’ groups. At first, I did it because it was my job. Then, surprisingly, it became my passion, and I’ve been teaching ever since.

If you could give one bit of advice to fellow martial arts school owners, what would it be? Run your school as a business. As martial artists, it’s very difficult sometimes to take a step back and realize that our martial arts school is a business and it needs to be operated as such. Take your ego out of it, and don’t take everything personally. Once I made that change in my mindset, my business grew by leaps and bounds.

Photos Courtesy of Championship Martial Arts Pacific Beach

What is your school’s motto or student creed? Our school’s motto is “Building Champions in Life!” What is your personal teaching philosophy? Never just give a lesson to a student. Instead, really teach them. If you just give a lesson, the student may get a good workout, but he or she may not actually learn anything or grow. When you truly teach someone, they internalize the lesson being taught and grow in knowledge and skill. Who or what inspires you? The person who has inspired me the most is my father. My whole life I have watched my father do everything he could to make sure that our family always had a roof over our heads and food on the table. I learned from him that when you focus on taking care of your family, everything else will always fall into place. What is something unique that your school or your student body does well? We blend seven different animal fighting styles into a single

MAY/JUNE 2021 65

CONSULTANT'S CORNER

Checklist for Success: 5 Things You Should Do Every Day BY KURT KLINGENMEYER

“It’s easy to focus on the kids who are always in class, but what about the ones who are missing? Take the time to reach out to students who have been absent.”

s all school owners know, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day operations of running a martial arts academy. The hours pass quickly when they revolve around teaching great classes and helping students reach their potential. Unfortunately, while that’s happening, some things can slide to the side and get forgotten. Listed below are five things that you, as a martial arts instructor, should incorporate into your daily routine. Call to Say “Great Job” Make it a point to speak with five families every day to tell them what a great job their children are doing in class. Giving families individualized attention and letting them know about their children’s progress are key to the development of your students. In addition to talking about a child’s martial arts progress, ask how the whole family is doing. Oftentimes, parents come to the martial arts for support — maybe the child needs more focus or self-discipline. This is a great opportunity to touch base and see how those facets of life are going. Call to Say “Miss You” It’s easy to focus on the kids who are always in class, but what about the ones who are missing? Take the time to reach out to students who have been absent. Call to check in with their parents. Let them know that you miss seeing their kids in class and ask if everything is OK. Also ask when you’ll see the students again. If the children are struggling with motivation to come to class, schedule complimentary private lessons to renew their motivation. A little effort goes a long way and will be appreciated by the families. Post on Social Media Show your members and your local community all the great things that are happening in your classes and at your school. This might be a technique of

66 MASUCCESS

the day, pictures and videos of students in action, a lesson of the month or information about an upcoming event. Taking five minutes to post online and communicate with your community keeps families engaged and aware of all the awesome things you do and why your dojo stands apart from the rest. Plan Your Lessons Whether you’re a veteran instructor or one who’s just getting started, lesson planning can make the difference between a good martial arts class and the best class a student has ever taken. When mapping out your plan for the day, include exciting drills in every session. Incorporate disguised repetition of basics to reinforce fundamentals, along with new material to ensure that students progress at a steady pace. You may have the ability to jump onto the mats and teach a good class, but taking the time to plan ahead will push your instruction to even higher levels. Think About Tomorrow It’s easy to turn off the lights and lock the door after a busy evening of classes. However, it’s important to set yourself up for success the next day. Map out what you’d like to accomplish tomorrow so you have a plan of attack and can hit the ground running. As most experienced instructors know, running a successful martial arts school involves much more than teaching great classes. It requires the investment of time to set yourself up for success each day, and that starts with these five tips.

Kurt Klingenmeyer is a MAIA consultant and the owner of Black Belt Karate Studio and two Championship Martial Arts locations in Wisconsin. To contact him, send an email to kklingenmeyer@masuccess.com.

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MASTERFUL RETENTION

Plan Your Epic Comeback by Asking the Right Questions BY CHRISTOPHER RAPPOLD

“While you can’t roll back time, for the sake of retention and the health of your school, consider the advice that an inspector [who evaluated your school’s response to COVID] might offer and, if appropriate, build it into your strategic comeback plan.”

68 MASUCCESS

f you’re reading this column while this issue of MASuccess is current, chances are you’re a martial arts school owner who’s still dealing with COVID. Never has this industry taken such a hit! So what are you going to do about it? The answer is you must rebuild, but you need to do so in a way that makes your school stronger and better because of COVID, not in spite of COVID. In this column, I’ll focus on two key areas you should explore to help your school have an epic comeback and sustained retention rate. To get a clear perspective on this challenge, imagine that an outside expert has been hired to evaluate the scope of the damage that has been done. (Unless you take this step, you’ll be too close to your school to make an accurate evaluation.) Naturally, that third-party inspector would want to talk with you about your staff. The person might start by asking a series of questions: • How did your staff behave when the pandemic happened? • Which members of your team stepped up with a proactive, can-do attitude? • Which members contributed the least to the situation at hand? • Which members offered creative solutions and were willing to roll up their sleeves and work? • Did you lose any team members you already knew were not right for the position? • If you had two years’ notice that COVID was on its way, would you have hired, trained or let go of any team members to prepare for what was coming? The inspector then would formulate solutions based on the answers you provided. While you can’t roll back time, for the sake of retention and the health of your school, consider the advice that such an inspector might offer and, if appropriate, build it into your strategic comeback plan.

Next, the inspector might focus on your student body: • How was communication handled between you and your students? • Do you believe you could have communicated in a more effective way? • How would your students answer that same question? • Do you believe that your marketing choices — specifically, whom you chose to target — created a vulnerability for your school? • If so, how can you fix that to ensure better results moving forward? • What is your plan to win back the students you lost during COVID? • How can you market more effectively with your current budget? • What are you doing to show appreciation for the dedicated students who remained with you during the pandemic? Running a successful martial arts school always has been about two things: getting and keeping students. The most successful schools are those run by people who are prepared to honestly answer all the above questions. These school owners then balance the “push” to take action with “patience,” allowing their consistent actions to produce the targeted results. The challenge we all face these days is obvious: How do we move forward with the lessons of the pandemic while leaving behind its bitterness? With some thought, we can use this unprecedented global event to make ourselves better professional martial artists. With humility, great mentors and hard work doing what we love, the best is still ahead for our schools, our staff members and our students.

To contact Christopher Rappold, send an email to founder@personalbestkarate.com.

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THE KICK YOU NEVER SAW COMING

Take It to the Street BY BETH A. BLOCK

“As a business owner, I’m responsible for my employees’ driving while they’re working. What can I do to make sure they’re paying attention when they’re behind the wheel?”

70 MASUCCESS

any new cars and trucks come standard with all sorts of safety features. Cameras and sensors often cover all 360 degrees around the vehicle. In theory, drivers of these “smart cars” should be aware of not just the road immediately ahead of them but also what’s behind them and what’s in their blind spots, as well as any potential hazards nearby. With all this technology designed to protect us, why are fatalities still not declining? The problem is the human element. I’ve seen the following while driving, and you probably have, too: A semi is drifting out of its lane on the highway; a driver is looking at the cellphone instead of the road; a driver is yelling into a phone; and a vehicle operator is ducking below the level of the windshield and fishing around on the floorboard — maybe to find a dropped cellphone. Not long ago, I was on my way to catch a red-eye flight when I saw a truck weaving across four lanes. It didn’t just swerve once and correct its course. It veered from the far-left lane to the far-right lane four times in a three-mile stretch. As it made its back-and-forth trip across the highway, it also came dangerously close to tipping over. I was concerned for my life, so I dropped back far enough to have plenty of time to stop in case it did crash. This story isn’t unique — I’m sure you could share similar anecdotes. Distraction, aggression and rage lead to poor driving, and we see the results every day. Many of us have a longer commute than in days past. This means that we’re spending more time on the road. The number of unsafe and distracted drivers is outpacing what technological safety advancements can keep up with. The National Safety Council polled drivers across the country. The findings are not surprising, but they are scary: 47 percent of drivers said they were comfortable texting while driving, 10 percent said they had driven while drunk and 25 percent said they were comfortable speeding on residential roads. This norm has a price — in lives and dollars. There’s no price that can be put on a human life, but the monetary cost is telling enough. Auto crashes cost Americans more than $432.5 billion in

2016. That’s roughly half the cost of Social Security benefits annually. You and I end up paying for that. It pushes up rates on personal auto insurance and commercial auto insurance. It hits us in the wallet whether or not we’re directly responsible. As I researched these statistics, I asked myself a question: “Do I have any of these driving behaviors?” Even with my risk awareness, I’m not perfect. I have room for improvement. I also think about my staff’s driving behaviors. As a business owner, I’m responsible for my employees’ driving while they’re working. What can I do to make sure they pay attention when they’re behind the wheel? I’ve added sensors to my commercial vehicles. These sensors collect data on the time of day my vehicles are on the road, as well as acceleration and braking behavior. The information helps me figure out which drivers need more training and which ones shouldn’t be driving for me. You can place those sensors in your personal car, too. Why would you consider doing that? Because many auto-insurance companies adjust premiums monthly based on driving habits. The better you drive, the less you pay. All this matters for two reasons. First, you’re out on the roads with all those people: truckers who have been at the wheel for too long with too little sleep, people who are paying attention to their phones and not the road, people who are comfortable tearing through a residential area at 60 miles per hour and people who suffer from chronic road rage. These drivers kill people every day. Second, insurance companies are trying to keep up with payouts for all those claims, and the only way they can do that is by raising everyone’s insurance rates — including yours. Premiums are rising faster than they have in a decade. Protecting your life and your wallet means you’ve got to push back. Change your own habits. You won’t be perfect, but you will make a difference.

To contact Beth A. Block, send an email to beth@blockins.net or call (800) 225-0863.

SCHOOL OWNERS: YOU HAVE THE CHANCE TO POSITIVELY IMPACT A TON OF LIVES! Hello, my name is Dr. Robyn Silverman. As a Child and Adolescent Development Expert, I realize just how important and valuable your school is to your community. You can become the resource needed to help many families THRIVE. Many of our Powerful Words clients are enjoying great success right now because they’ve discovered exactly what parents are looking for from a great martial arts academy... a safe and fun place for their children to develop physical fitness and character. Parents have made one thing clear; the academy they choose must teach both...and they must teach both PROFESSIONALLY. I’d like to personally invite you to test drive our internationally-acclaimed Character Development System RIGHT NOW and watch your school’s success skyrocket. Visit our website at www.PowerfulWords.com and click on the GET STARTED NOW Button or give us a call at (877) 769-3799 now and we’ll help you with a system to attract, enroll, develop and retain more high quality members than ever before...and have a blast while doing it! —Dr. Robyn

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THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE

Moonlighting Is Not Allowed! BY PHILIP E. GOSS JR., ESQ.

“All employees (and you) must take unsanctioned actions and violations of your authority seriously. You must be recognized by the students and parents as the person in charge.”

72 MASUCCESS

arken back to your younger days when you were a junior instructor working at someone else’s school. You likely were the direct contact between the school and the students. It’s probable you discovered that a market existed for students craving extracurricular training in the form of private lessons. If there was no clear-cut policy covering this situation, you might have been tempted to provide such services away from the school and pocket the money. Years may have passed, but young minds are still prone to making errors in judgment. This is not a column specifically directed to the business aspects of such actions, which include losing the income from private lessons. Nor is it directly related to the uninsured risks of letting this happen in your school. These subjects have been covered in detail by my fellow columnists over the years. The purpose of this column is to suggest consequences for employees who violate your rules. The first thing, of course, is for you to actually have rules proscribing such off-book activities. Inherently, you know that an employee providing unauthorized private lessons places you and your school at risk. Any legal claim for injuries would be directed toward your organization, even if you’re ignorant of those activities. If your insurance company wasn’t made aware of such activities in advance, you would have no coverage. This means no attorney paid for by the insurance company and no fund to settle an adverse judgment. Furthermore, these activities are a form of employee theft. After all, it was your money that got those students in the door. Your employees should not be competing against you and the martial arts services you provide. So, your first step is to draft specific rules addressing this issue — in writing. The document should stipulate that all private lessons must take place within your facility with advance notice given to your insurance company. Scheduling and payment should be made through your school. In addition, an understanding of the specific split of fees should be memorialized in writing.

All this sounds logical and fair to the 25-plusyear-old mind. However, to the less-mature brain, it may sound patently unfair. That’s OK. Employees expect a paycheck at the end of the week. They don’t understand that should accounts receivable not meet or exceed accounts payable, the owner of the business must dip into his or her pocket for the difference. Employees sometimes fail to recognize that business owners do receive the fruits of their labor but only after all other responsibilities are met. I’m not suggesting that you discourage or prohibit private lessons. They create a nice form of added income for your employees and additional services for your school to provide. However, along with the carrot comes the stick. Consider the black-letter-law theory of respondeat superior: The employer is responsible for the actions of employees while these individuals are acting within the scope of their employment. This would make you at least a defendant and perhaps even a judgment creditor. Thus, there must be a big stick. I suggest immediate termination for any such actions. I realize this sounds harsh. Here’s my reasoning: First, respondeat superior holds that proof of the employee not operating within the scope of employment serves as a “plausible defense,” so immediate termination as the clear written consequence for employee noncompliance is a good start. Second, all employees (and you) must take unsanctioned actions and violations of your authority seriously. You must be recognized by the students and parents as the person in charge. Don’t allow your subordinates to run your business. I’m not saying that immediate termination will keep you from being sued. It is, however, your best shot at avoiding legal liability.

To contact attorney Philip E. Goss Jr., send an email PhilGosslaw@gmail.com.

INSPIRATION OVATION

The Bad Haircut BY KAREN EDEN

“I’ve been around long enough as a martial arts instructor to see elderly practitioners who were forced to kick higher than their bodies would allow. I’ve seen heavy kids who were reduced to tears while trying to do jump kicks and skinny kids who ended up the same while attempting difficult board breaks.”

74 MASUCCESS

had just landed my first TV anchor job at age 22 when I found what I thought was the perfect hairstyle. This was back when hair was bigger and hairspray was an absolute necessity. I couldn’t believe that I had to go all the way to Toronto, Canada, to find a hairstyle I actually liked. The poster was hanging there like an oversized invitation for me to come on in and get the latest fashion trend in haircuts. At first, I was happy to sit in the chair and listen to the stylist talking in French, but after about 10 minutes, I started to panic. I’ve always had long hair, and he was taking off pieces all the way up to my ears. Then I thought, Surely, he knows what he’s doing. Besides, if I was to maintain a professional look for my new job, I could no longer have a long, free-flowing style. Finally, the stylist was done. He spun me around to get a look in the mirror. “Oh, my God!” I exclaimed. “You wanted the haircut on the poster, no?” he responded. I had paid an enormous fee for that haircut, but I walked out of there absolutely stunned and fighting back tears. All I can say to describe it is that it was very short on top and very long around my neck. I knew it was really bad when my then-husband looked at me coming out of the salon and didn’t say one word. The next day, it looked even worse. I was already trying to figure out how to pull off this new look on television — even though the length on top was so short it couldn’t be styled. As we walked past the same salon, I stopped and looked at that poster again. I wondered, How could that style look so good on her and so bad on me? That day, I learned the hard way that what looks good on somebody else isn’t always going to look good on me. The girl on the poster had a thinner, longer face than I did. Also, the image was photoshopped to make sure each and every hair was in place.

Although I’ve been a hard-style martial artist for 30 years, I have gained great appreciation for the soft styles. For instance, yoga is a practice that has a totally different philosophy than hard-style martial arts. There, you work with your body instead of forcing it, and there’s no heat or judgment if you have to modify a move to accommodate your personal needs. I’ve been around long enough as a martial arts instructor to see elderly practitioners who were forced to kick higher than their bodies would allow. I’ve seen heavy kids who were reduced to tears while trying to do jump kicks and skinny kids who ended up the same while attempting difficult board breaks. I’ve come to realize that it’s all good, but to make it work, you need to work with what you’ve been given. My own son, when testing for his second dan, was asked to do a flying side kick over three people who were bent over. He’s a 6-foot-3-inch, 290pound football player. I knew it wasn’t going to happen, and I also knew it would be putting those three students at risk. “What break can you do that you feel is equivalent?” I asked him. “I can break six stacked boards,” he said. That worked, and it worked with who he is and how he’s designed. Well, my hair finally grew back after months of getting creative. I got some stares from management at the TV station, but nothing drastic happened. Like many, I’m a unique individual who may not be able to wear the latest styles in hairdos and other things. But I can work with who I am and how I’m designed — and that’s a lesson well worth a really bad haircut I once got in Toronto.

To contact Karen Eden, send an email to renedenherdman@gmail.com or visit the Facebook group “The Eden Assignment.”

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MAY/JUNE 2021 75

WAVEMASTER TRAINING AT HOME In 2020, we all saw training at home become essential. As

The WaveMaster from Century Martial Arts is the perfect

we watched gym after gym shut down, most of us probably

tool to ensure that you’ll be able to train any time, no matter

felt some panic. However, those of us who had at-home

what is happening!

training gear were luckily able to keep working out in spite of the pandemic.

This bag is easy to assemble, portable, and freestanding (meaning you don’t need to drill anything into your ceiling or

Like many of you, I still prefer in-the-gym training to home

walls). Once you fill the base with either water or sand it can

workouts. But gyms are still closed, and it’s uncertain when,

handle any strike you land on it (unless you’re insanely strong!).

and if, and for how long they’ll reopen, so it’s important to be

I use my WaveMaster to work on specific combinations my

prepared. Plus, I always love supplementing my gym workouts

coach wants me to practice, techniques that I’m struggling

with at-home bag work, stretching and utility exercises. I also

with, and just when I want a fun workout to improve my cardio.

enjoy using it for my main training session for the days I can’t

The cool thing about a WaveMaster is that you don’t need to

make it to the gym because of weather, time restraints or

be a pro to use it! It is great for kickboxing fitness programs, but

scheduling complications.

you don’t have to use it just for striking – there are tons of fitness exercises that can be enhanced by using the WaveMaster.

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COMBO 1: Four fast straight punches (1,2,1,2) into a burpee

ect

tter ing

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d to COMBO 3: 4 high knees, 4 straight punches, 4 butt kickers, 4 hard hooks

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ess

COMBO 4: Jab, cross, switch kick, cross, hook, rear kick

COMBO 5: Jab, cross, hook, rear kick, keep rear leg forward, (south paw) jab, cross, hook, kick

When times are uncertain, if nothing else, it just feels great just to have something to punch. Either way I know you’ll love your Wavemaster as much as I do!

HOSTING AN OUTDOOR CAMP much needed revenue while mediating risk of COVID in order to

STEP 3: Create greater excitement into your camp by providing field trips.

ensure customers feel safe, hosting an outdoor spring break camp

The two most marketable aspects of your camps will always

can be great option. Working parents need trusted solutions for

be the theme and the field trip. We have some campers that

their children where they know their child will be safe and have

pick our camps just because of our amazing fields; however, if

fun. Often, these parents look to businesses that provide camps

you don’t have a means to transport children that doesn’t mean

where they have already developed a relationship with the staff –

you can’t offer this service. Consider offering “in-house” field

like your martial arts school. Offering camp services allows school

trips that incorporate activities that come to your studio instead

owners the opportunity to diversify their business while providing

of you going to them. We use this strategy to reduce staffing,

additional revenue streams. Many schools in our industry found

liability and headache when it comes to camp. Pick field trip

summer camps and digital learning camps essential to their

activities like the gaming truck, portable rock wall, inflatables

survival when opening back-up after months of being shut down.

or petting zoo. All of these activities can come to you without

Whether it’s a single day camp or a week-long camp, here’s a few

the liability or expense of providing transportation creating

steps to ensure success!

additional value in your camp!

STEP 1: Always theme your camps. By theming your camp each time, it adds to the excitement

STEP 4: Educate customers on the steps you’re doing to stop the spread of COVID in your facility.

each week while making it easier for your staff to promote and

To aid in educating customers and others in the community, we

increase participation.

Additionally, it offers your campers

created a simple landing page with a series of videos explaining

a different experience while helping to disguise repetition.

what our policies and procedures were for camp services in

As you begin to spend more time on embellishing the theme

regard to COVID-19.

through the activities you play and the martial arts you teach,

restrictions for inside training, you may want to consider an

you’ll begin to notice how the value and participation of each

outdoor venue such as a local park or set-up a training area

camp will begin to increase. This will allow you to charge more

in front or beside your martial arts school.

money, increase profitability and maximize profitability for your

provide shade for your campers with easy access to water

camp services.

and restrooms. Set-up temporary barriers or fencing to keep

As martial arts school owners look for opportunities to generate

If you’re in a city or state with limiting

Make sure to

children in your designated training area so it is easier to watch

STEP 2: Incorporate and highlight the martial arts you teach into your camps.

them while outside doing camp activities.

Your biggest asset and attraction for your camps is the fact

STEP 5: Always put safety as your highest priority.

that you incorporate martial arts classes into your camp - so

While camps and other such services can provide amazing

make sure you advertise it! Often, I see school owners highlight

revenue opportunities, they also bring huge liability concerns

every other aspect of their camp while overlooking what makes

and potential problems.

them standout the most from other camp experiences.

your safety procedures and know what to do incase of an

Make sure your staff is trained on

focusing on daily martial arts classes, your camps will attract

emergency.

participates interested in learning more about your evening

ensure you’re properly covered for outdoor training and camp

programs. Consider advertising your camps on social media

services. Additionally, have policies and procedures in place

and other platforms to attract more non-students. Then use

for medication, lotion or sunscreen application and food or

your camp to build excitement for your martial arts classes by

environmental allergies. When dealing with children, it’s always

hosting a Zoom classes on the last day of camp that parents

better to be over prepared for any situation than not prepared

can join to see their child perform and earn their white belt.

at all.

Contact your school’s insurance company to

Explain to the parents of any non-student participates that if they into your evening program you’ll credit what they paid

By applying these simple steps, you can maximize profits while

for camp that week towards their child’s registration and first

creating unique and meaningful customer experiences with

month of tuition. This will create a call-to-action and reason to

your camps. What are you waiting for?... start planning your

enroll immediately into your classes.

next amazing camp experience today!

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CELEBRATE

MOTHER’S AND FATHER’S DAY ON THE MAT! With the arrival of spring each year comes the opportunity

At the actual events, keep classes simple and fun. The

to celebrate all of the parents in our life with Mother’s Day

interaction between the parents and the kids is what makes

and Father’s Day. As martial artists and school owners, we

these events into unique and fun bonding experiences! Have

know all to well the dedication of each and every “Karate

the kids teach their parent a simple punch combo and bow

Mom” and “Karate Dad” in our school. This year, why not

during the first ten minutes. Then, give the adults a chance

offer a pair of events to both celebrate those parents, as well

to partner with each other while the kids are partnered for

as give them the opportunity to train with their kids?

the next ten minutes. For the rest of class, have the kids give

As each holiday approaches, prepare and hand out

their parents a carnation (you can order them online for as

invitations for your students to take home to their parents

low as $1 each), their own special Belt Certificate, official

inviting them to an extra special Mother’s Day or Father’s Day

“Karate Parent” Belt, and of course, take pictures! As the

Class. And because we all know that sometimes information

class wraps up, be sure to invite each parent to participate in

doesn’t quite make it home from our students, be sure to

your adult classes as your guest for one month at no charge.

make phone calls and extend the invitation personally!

These events are a fun way to create a memorable bonding

Prior to each event, be sure to preorder special belts for

experience for the families in your martial arts school while

your guests of honor! Century’s PINK belts are great for the

potentially adding a few new adults to your adult program.

moms, and their CAMOUFLAGE belts are fun for the dads.

It also reinforces what we all know - the family that kicks

Be sure to order enough for everyone and any surprise

together, sticks together!

participants that may show up.

TA MM

If you have any questions about how to run this event, feel free to email me at KurtKlingenmeyer@gmail.com.

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2019 2019

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COVID SURVIVAL GUIDE: When You Can’t Teach Indoors

Written by a Martial Artist Who’s Done It!

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