Martial Arts World News Magazine - Volume 20 | Issue 4

MartialArtsWorldNews.com

The #1 Business Resource for the Martial Arts Industry

VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 24

Chief Master

Kirk Pelt

How an Organization Found

Success in Crisis - With Virtual

Learning Day Camps

AMAA

Chuck

Norris

Martial Arts

Masters & Pioneers

2nd Edition Release

How Will a

Biden or Trump

Presidency Affect Your School?

\

WORK

HARDer

>

Smarter!

CUTTING-EDGE ATLAS SOFTWARE • LEAD GENERATING WEBSITES

• ENGAGING SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS • PROVEN-SUCCESSFUL

MARKETING TOOLS • DONE-FOR-YOU AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM

CALL 1-800-275-1600

TO SPEAK WITH A SCHOOL SPECIALIST

Get a FREE DEMO at AtlasMartialArtsSoftware.com

CONTENTS

FEATURES

26 AMAA Chuck Norris Martial

Arts Masters & Pioneers 2nd

Edition Release Rescheduled to

December 5th

28 How Will the Next President

Affect Your Martial Arts School?

34 Chief Master Kirk Pelt

How an Organization Found

Success in Crisis - With Virtual

Learning Day Camps

44 Special COVID-19 Section

99 FREE Tool of the Month

DEPARTMENTS

14 Industry Insights

15 Birthdays

18 Social 411

20 Industry Innovations

50 School Profile

61 Classified Ads

97 Advertiser Index

YOUR INPUT

13 Tell Us Your Story

74 Feature Your School,

Organization, Accomplishment,

or Event

COLUMNS

6 Editorial

Make the Comeback FAR Greater than the

Setback!

Master Toby Milroy

8 Martial Arts World News Faculty

12 Teamwork

Bullying is No Longer Just Taking Your Milk

Money

Hanshi Dave Kovar

54 The Warrior Way

Managing the Krav Maga Curriculum, Part 2

Grandmaster Bill Clark

56 Next Level Strategy

Change Your Mind, Change Your Bottom Line

Shihan Allie Alberigo

58 Growth Hacks

Get An Edge In Marketing

Mr. Sean Lee

60 Ninja Business Tactics

First Impressions

An-Shu Stephen Hayes

64 Pillars of Success

Create Physical Success, Part 1

Supreme Grandmaster Y. K. Kim

68 The Way of the Samurai

The Three Rs of Combative Weaponry, Part 3

Shihan Dana Abbott

70 Extraordinary Marketing

Don’t Confuse Activity with Accomplishment,

Part 1

Grandmaster Stephen Oliver

72 After School Excellence

Teaching the Rules: Build Respect & Reputation

Chief Master Mike Bugg

4 MARTIAL ARTS WORLD NEWS VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 4

STAFF

76 Tactical Self-Defense

My Top 12 Child Safety Tips

Grandmaster Tom Patire

78 Complete Martial Arts Concepts

Kung-Fu Curriculum Development, Part 2

Professor Willie “the Bam” Johnson

80 The Millionaire Smarts Coach

Be in Charge of Your Destiny, Part 1

Lee Milteer

84 Budo Philosophy

A Gaseous World

Shidoshi Alfredo Tucci

86 Pro Shop Power

You Can Save More Than You Think With

Re-Breakable Boards

Sun Kang

88 Mind Mastery

The Keys to a Successful Mindset in

Business, Part 2

Grandmaster Jessie Bowen

90 Master the Basics

Integrity: The Most Important Ingredient of

Leadership

Master Tina Bane

92 Instructional Excellence

Stay Ahead of Your Competition

Grandmaster Tim McCarthy

94 Tools & Tactics

How to Talk to Parents

Lee Peele

96 Martial Arts Philosophy

American Samurai, Part 2

Sensei Gary Lee

VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 4

PUBLISHER

Master Toby Milroy

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Sean Lee

MANAGING EDITOR

Sandra Mirocha

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

Jeff Reulbach

ART DIRECTOR

Frank Meyer

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Amen Blue

WEB DEVELOPERS

Erin Pham

Manuel Huerta

COLUMNISTS & CONTRIBUTORS

Hanshi Dave Kovar


Sean Lee


Supreme Grandmaster Y. K. Kim


Chief Master Kirk Pelt


Chief Master Mike Bugg

Professor Willie Johnson

Lee Peele

Master Tina Bane

Sun Kang




Lee Milteer

Sensei Gary Lee


Shihan Dana Abbott

The mission of Martial Arts World

News Magazine is to be the definitive

source for information, news, education,

ethical business practices,

product reviews and innovative

developments in the world of martial

arts business.

Martial Arts World

News does not accept

any responsibility for

unsolicited submissions.

Our preferred method of

submission is by emailing

the editor at editor@

martialartsworldnews.

com. Paper manuscripts

and photos will

only be returned if

a self-addressed,

postage-paid envelope

is provided. All rights

for letters submitted

to the magazine

will be accepted as

unconditionally assigned

for publication and

copyright purposes,

with the stipulation

that editorial staff has

the right to edit and

comment.

Martial Arts World

News Magazine, its

owners, directors,

officers, employees,

subsidiaries,

successors, and assigns

are not responsible in

any way for any injury

that may occur by

reading or following

the recommendations

herein. As publisher,

Martial Arts World

News makes no

endorsements,

representations,

warranties, or

guarantees concerning

any products or services

advertised or otherwise

provided herein, and

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 said products or

services.

This magazine is a

copyrighted product

of Martial Arts World

News. All rights

reserves. Reproduction

in whole or in part is

expressly prohibited

without written

permission from the

publisher.

MARTIAL ARTS WORLD NEWS VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 4 5

Editorial

Make the Comeback FAR

Greater than the Setback!

MASTER

TOBY MILROY

is a 5th degree

black belt. Known

as “The Master

Systemizer,”

Master Toby Milroy

has positively

influenced more

martial arts schools

than anyone in our

industry. He has

built a successful

multi-school

organization,

lead the national

trade association

for the martial

arts industry, and

coached some of

the most successful

martial arts school

operators in the

world.

➽Like a fighter, we’ve been tagged on the chin

by a right-side round kick (COVID-19) that we

never saw coming. So, JUST LIKE a fighter, we

had to scramble to find our footing, shake out

the cobwebs, and get back into the fight.

I’ve been both encouraged by how well some of my

colleagues in the industry have handled the situation and

mortified at how poorly some have responded.

For some school owners, this has been a call to arms, a

threat to our survival that inspired us to STEP UP, pivot,

adapt, and overcome. Sadly, others found the situation so

overwhelming that they felt the only option was to surrender.

Certainly, this situation is

unprecedented. Never in my

life have I seen essentially every

business shut down simultaneously.

Never have I seen

draconian lockdown orders

slammed in place so harshly

and broadly that entire industries,

like restaurants, movie

theaters, bars, and more have

been shaken to their core.

However, I have lived

through some previous crises

that share some similar attributes.

I remember some of the impact of the 1981 recession.

Although I was only about 8 years old, I remember

the deep economic impact it had on my family. I remember

getting “government cheese” and my mother taking

me with her (for lack of child care and a car) to the local unemployment

office. We saw double-digit unemployment

for months, sky-high interest rates, and small businesses

dissolving into dust.

Then, the S&L crisis in 1989 followed by the recession

of 1990 crushed some major industries, including one

of the largest employers in my small hometown. When

hijackers crashed planes into the World Trade Center and

the Pentagon on 9-11-2001, we all wondered if the world

would ever return to normal. The Great recession of 2008

put a huge dent in the economy, and in the lives of nearly

everyone who lived through it. As the financial system

More than 150 FREE Tools to Help

Your School in these Difficult Times

www.AtlasMartialArtsSoftware.com/covid19

seized and some of the largest companies in the world teetered

on the edge of the financial abyss, we saw an intense

economic contraction, the likes of which we’ve not seen

since The Great Depression. I personally lost hundreds of

thousands of dollars in real estate holdings, and nearly

every sector of the economy had to scramble for survival.

And now, the coronavirus.

While we are still feeling the acute sting of the largescale

shutdowns, and the fear and constricted consumer

behavior as a result, there is now some more and more

intense light at the end of the tunnel.

MANY schools are coming back now STRONGER than

ever. How, you might ask?

As we’ve all had to adjust our approaches

in our schools, we’ve seen our

“market” spending more and more time

online. This gives us an even greater opportunity

to attract new students to our

programs through digital channels.

In today’s market you MUST have:

Strong Digital Marketing SYSTEMS

The ability to DRIVE traffic to a wellcrafted,

effective “lead funnel” website

using lead magnets, organic social media

content, paid social media ads, effective

SEO, Google ads, and others, all combined

with effective and beautiful online (and offline) lead CON-

VERSION systems.

Strong Student and Prospect Communication SYSTEMS

The ability to communicate with your students and

prospects in a meaningful way with impactful content on

a regular, even daily basis.

Strong Online Program Support SYSTEMS

Whether you’re delivering your programs online, in

person, or some hybrid thereof, you HAVE to have effective

systems for engaging your students in their training,

even when they are not in physically in your school.

I’ve had my team prepare a HUGE toolbox of some of

these types of systems for all of our Martial Arts World

News readers, completely free of charge!

To request these FREE resources, visit:

AtlasMartialArtsSoftware.com/covid19


Check out our new

MARTIAL ARTS BUSINESS

DISCUSSION GROUP

No Egos – No Politics – No Trolls

Just News, Tips, Strategies, and Tools to Help You Grow Your School!

facebook.com/groups/MartialArtsWorldNews

OUR EXPERT FACULTY

6

Master Toby Milroy

Is a 5th degree Black Belt, the CEO and

Publisher of Martial Arts World News

Magazine, and the Executive Vice

President for AMS. In addition to building

a successful multi-school organization,

Master Milroy has positively influenced

more martial arts schools than virtually

anyone in our industry.

58

Sean Lee

is the Executive Director of Sales and

Marketing for hundreds of martial arts

schools and specializes in online and social

media marketing using his extensive

professional experience in sports and

martial arts marketing, contract negotiation,

and investment.

12

Hanshi Dave Kovar

is an 8th degree black belt and recognized

as the “Trainer of Trainers.” Hanshi

Kovar is an internationally acclaimed

instructor with black belt degrees in ten

different martial arts styles. His systems

have been implemented in hundreds of

schools around the US.

54


is a 9th degree black belt and a former

PKA Fighter of the year. He is widely considered

one of the top experts in martial

arts business with over 30 years of

leadership and innovation, having been

inducted into almost every Hall of Fame

in the industry. He is one of the largest

multi-school owners in the world.

56


is a 7th degree black belt, the founder

of the L.I. Ninjutsu Centers, one of the

largest Ninjutsu schools on the planet,

the author of 4 books, and an entrepreneur

with one of the first online coaching

companies (TakingItToTheNextLevel.com).

60


has authored 20 books, worked as a

bodyguard for the Dalai Lama, supervised

over 30 school locations worldwide,

and was named, "One of the 10

Most Influential Living Martial Artists in

the World" by Black Belt Magazine.

64

Grandmaster Y. K. Kim

is the most successful martial arts business

leader in the US, having written

over 30 books on martial arts, business,

leadership, and success. He has won

numerous public service awards and is

the founder of the leading martial arts

marketing and management company in

the US.

68

Shihan Dana Abbott

Is a 7th degree black belt in Kenjutsu,

starting his 14-year education in Tokyo.

He has published five books and designed

a US Patent. Abbott has also

conducted seminars in over 30 countries

and obtained his black belt at the Hombu

dojo in Yokohama. He currently offers

online classes on LearntheSword.com,

his unique swordsmanship academy.


OUR EXPERT FACULTY

70


is a 9th degree black belt and is the

founder and CEO of Mile High Karate

schools, and founder of the Martial Arts

Wealth Mastery Program.

72

Master Mike Bugg

is an 8th degree black belt and the

owner of a 1.5 million-per-year location,

with one of the largest after school and

summer camp programs in the country.

76


is known as “America’s Leading Personal

Safety Expert” and has appeared on

Good Morning America, The CBS Morning

Show, The Colbert Report, Montel,

plus in mainstream publications such as

Family Circle, Redbook, Fortune Magazine,

and The Wall Street Journal.

80

Lee Milteer

is an Intuitive Business Coach, awardwinning

professional speaker, and TV

personality who has counseled and

trained over a million people throughout

her career. Lee is Stephen Oliver’s

Martial Arts Wealth Mastery’s Millionaire

Smarts Coach and is also a best-selling

author of educational resources.

84


is the CEO and General Manager of the

Budo International Publishing Company,

a leading publisher in the martial arts

with over 35 years in the industry. He

is also author of several books: The

Immaterial Dimension, The Way of the

Warrior, and The Spirit. He currently lives

in Valencia, Spain.

86

Mr. Sun Kang

is the President of Vision Martial Arts

Supply, Los Angeles Branch, who helps

school owners all over the US maximize

their retail sales and drive more revenue

into their schools.

78

Professor Willie “The BAM” Johnson

is a 7th degree black belt and seven-time

sport karate and Kung-Fu world champion.

He has appeared in four movies,

16 plays, and 11 television shows. He is

also the national spokesperson for the

Stronger than Drugs Foundation and the

Champions Against Drugs.

88


is President of Karate International of Durham,

Inc., a member of the American Martial

Arts Association Sport Karate League

and Hall of Fame, and has been a member

of the Duke University PE Staff for over 25

years. He is the author of Zen Mind-Body

Mindfulness Meditation and Zen Mind-Body

Mindfulness Meditation for Martial Arts.


OUR EXPERT FACULTY

90

Master Tina Bane

is a 6th degree master instructor and

owner of a Top Ten martial arts school

with successful after school and summer

camp programs.

94

Lee Peele

is a martial arts business development

consultant with a background in online

and social media marketing.

92


is a 9th degree black belt and is a martial

arts educator with a master’s degree in

education. He has been instrumental

in developing two industry-changing

programs, and has directed and been

featured in hundreds of martial arts videos

and webinars.

96

Sensei Gary Lee

the American Samurai, is a 9th Dan black

belt, a USA Karate Federation gold medalist,

winner of five Super Grand National

Titles, a featured actor in the movie Sidekicks,

and is the founder of the National

Sport Karate Museum.

Thousands

Of Martial Arts School Owners And Instructors

Could See Your Ad Right Here!


Visit MartialArtsWorldNews.com/Sponsors

Call Jeff @ 800-275-1600

Sponsors@MartialArtsWorldNews.com

Cutting-Edge Martial Arts

Websites

that Bring New Students into Your School...Fast

New

Virtual

Class Pages

WHAT MAKES OUR MARTIAL ARTS WEBSITES SO AMAZING?

You Get a Beautiful, Mobile Responsive, Lead-Generating Website that Works for You 24/7/365

. Designed to ATTRACT

and CAPTURE Leads

. Mobile Responsive

Design

. User Editable Pages,

Posts, and Offers

. search engine

friendly

. Attention-Grabbing

Video Landing & Sales Pages

. Fully Customizable

Website Designs

AmazingMartialArtsWebsites.com

Friendly, Dedicated US-Based

Support Team - At Your Service!

(800) 275-6900

Teamwork

Bullying is No Longer Just

Taking Your Milk Money

HANSHI

DAVE KOVAR

is an 8th degree

black belt and

recognized as the

“Trainer of Trainers.”

Hanshi Dave Kovar

is an internationally

acclaimed instructor

with black belt

degrees in ten

different martial

arts styles. His

systems have been

implemented in

hundreds of schools

around the US.

➽One morning on YouTube,

I came across a video of

a martial arts demonstration

performed by a

less-than-athletic but well

intentioned martial artist.

While I admit it wasn’t the

most skilled presentation

I’ve seen, it appeared that

they were sincerely trying

their hardest and putting

themselves on the line for

everyone to see. Probably

none of the people in this

video would ever be world

champions, but that wasn’t

the point; they had some

skills and certainly were

benefiting from their martial

arts training.

Now, my issue was not with the video itself. My sincere

concern was with the comments below the video. And to

my dismay, I saw several comments like, “Try that in the

UFC,” “Look at those losers,” and “Take a break and go

have a cupcake”—one bullying and discouraging comment

after another.

I wanted to say, “C’mon, friends! If you do this kind of

thing, it’s time to knock it off!”

Were these commenters not aware that this was a clear

example of cyberbullying, and worse, that these comments

were obviously not just posted by kids who might

not know better?

This is exactly what we, as martial arts instructors, are

working hard to stop with our teaching. Bullying comes in

all shapes, sizes, and platforms. Not to say that these comments

were from martial artists themselves, but I wish to

have witnessed our community rise above the negativity

and dissolve it with overall support for those who were

sincerely putting themselves into their video. We should

always communicate the message that while constructive

feedback is one thing, blatant disrespect towards others

is yet another and should not be tolerated. Trying to look

good by making others look bad is not a good way to live

your life. Be wary of the negativity that so easily exists

in the online world and instead embrace and empower

positive attitudes that will lend motivation to those bold

enough to share their hopes.

If you’re interested in learning more

about martial arts and bullying, please visit

the organization Martial Artists Against Bullying

at DonewithBullying.com and stand

against all types of bullying. Bullying continues

to be a major issue, despite the fact that

awareness of the problem is at an all-time

high. I founded Martial Artists Against Bullying

(MAAB) because I believe that no other

industry is in a better position to do something

about bullying than the martial arts

industry.

“As individual marital artists, we make a

difference in our community, but as a united

movement, we can change the world..”


Photograph by stefanamer

BE RECOGNIZED in future editions of

Martial Arts World News Magazine.

Our goal at Martial Arts World News Magazine is to

support our industry and help you grow your martial

arts school. It’s incredibly useful for our readers to hear

about YOUR specific experiences and results.

You are part of a wonderful industry and community with

Martial Arts World News Magazine, and now, you’ll be

able to share and contribute to that community in a more

rich and meaningful way than ever before!

You could Share Stories About:

• Achieving a New Rank

• Opening a New Location

• Winning an Award

• Discovering a Successful Marketing Strategy

• Building a Retention System that Works Well

• Tournament Results

• Anything else that our readers might find valuable!

MartialArtsWorldNews.com/Ureport

Or send your story ideas to Editor@MartialArtsWorldNews.com

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

MAWNews Magazine Brings in the Big

Guns to Help Schools Recover from

the Pandemic

Martial Arts World News Magazine and it’s team

have been honored to contribute to the Martial

Arts industry for more than 40 years.

In these unprecedented times, we’re even more

deeply committed to our industry, community, colleagues,

supporters, sponsors and readers than

ever before!

So we’ve collaborated with some of the most

successful school owners in the world, and asked

them to ‘pitch in’ and share their best strategies for

‘what’s working’ TODAY in this powerful series of

video interviews, facilitated by our own CEO and

Publisher Master Toby Milroy.

Get FREE Access to these insightful interviews at: MartialArtsWorldNews.com/covid

Can Your School Earn a

Six–Seven-Figure Income

Without “Selling Out”?

US Open ISKA World

Championships Rescheduled for

July 2021

ISKA has rescheduled the 2020 US Open for July 1–3,

2020 at Walt Disney World in Orlando. The US Open

World Championships will also be broadcast live on the

ESPN Networks.

To register, book your hotel room, and buy tickets,

visit usopen-karate.com.

Shihan Allie Alberigo is offering a six-week online

course to help martial arts school owners take their

schools to the next level without losing your integrity. His

program aims to help school owners organize and systemize

their school for more efficiency, develop a social media

marketing campaign on a budget without needing to be

tech savvy, learn how to retain more students, learn how to

have a high-income retail shop, and much more! If you’re

interested in taking your brand to the next level while developing

an amazing staff and team, enroll now!

To learn more, visit SchoolOwnerAccelerator.com/Order.


Photo by MarenWischnewski (top left)

Martial Arts

Celebrity Birthdays

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

October

David Bradley ..........Oct. 2

Michael Dudikoff .......Oct. 8

Kane Kosugi ...........Oct. 11

Jean-Claude Van Damme . Oct. 18

Yayan Ruhian .........Oct. 19

Toshishiro Obata ......Oct. 20

Larnell Stovall ........Oct. 22

Simon Rhee ..........Oct. 28

Jon Foo ..............Oct. 30

November

Dolph Lundgren ........Nov. 3

Jeff Speakman ........Nov. 8

Steven Lopez ..........Nov. 9

Michael Jai White

& Matt Mullins ........Nov. 10

Karen Sheperd ........Nov. 12

Rickson Gracie ........Nov. 21

Lateef Crowder .......Nov. 23

Bruce Lee ...........Nov. 27

December:

Bill Wallace ............Dec. 1

David Carradine ........Dec. 8

Hwang Jang Lee ......Dec. 21


INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

Super Fighter Virtual Weekend

Raises Money for Beloved Master

Netflix’s “The Old Guard” Brings

Martial Arts Fantasy to the Masses

On June 12th and

13th this past summer,

Willie “The BAM” Johnson

Enterprises and

the World Federation of

Elite Martial Arts organized

a virtual event inviting

all entrepreneurs,

teacher, and students

to participate, featuring

talks from martial

arts industry leaders

like Kameren Dawson, Apolo Ladra, and Kevin Kearns.

The two-day Super Fighter Virtual Weekend, which cost a

$99 donation to attend, was held in support of the Kimber

Johnson Cancer Fund. Master Kimber Johnson, who

is going through breast cancer treatment for the second

time, has contributed greatly to improving the martial arts

industry, and devoted much of her life, along with husband

Willie “the Bam” Johnson, to teaching the martial arts, and

have impacted many people’s lives through their martial

arts schools. The family is facing medical bills upwards of

$250,000 and is still accepting donations.

If you’d like to donate to the Kimber Johnson Cancer

Fund, please visit https://gf.me/u/y3cyp7

Based on the

comic book of the

same name, the film

stars Charlize Theron,

KiKi Layne, Matthias

Schoenaerts, Marwan

Kenzari, Luca Marinelli,

Harry Melling,

Van Veronica Ngo, and

Chiwetel Ejiofor, and

follows a team of immortal

mercenaries on

a revenge mission. The

film released on July 10,

2020 on Netflix and became

the top-streamed

item on the site over its

first weekend, ranking

second and fourth the following two weekends. After just

a week on Netflix, the company reported that the film was

on pace to be viewed by 72 million households over its

first four weeks, placing it among the top ten most successful

original launches in the platform’s history.

If you haven’t seen the action-packed adventure yet,

you can find it exclusively on Netflix.

Stephen Hayes Publishes His Latest

Book, Ninja Fighting Techniques

Stephen K. Hayes, the world’s leading expert on Ninjutsu

techniques, has published Ninja Fighting Techniques,

in which he presents the Ninja “Five Elements” system to

explain fundamental aspects of self-defense. According

to Japanese Buddhist belief, human nature is connected

to the natural world and the five elements (Earth, Water,

Fire, Wind, Void). Ninja Fighting Techniques

explains how the five elements

can become automatic, unconscious

responses for fighters who train the

Ninja way. Through study and practice

they become instinctive, effectively employed

precisely when you need them

without thinking.

With over 300 full-color photographs

and detailed step-by-step instructions,

this book shows you how the ancient self-defense techniques

developed by the Ninja are still unsurpassed today!

Copies can be purchased on TuttlePublishing.com.

Martial Arts Authors Month

Kicks Off AMAA Event Honoring

Legend Chuck Norris

The American Martial Arts Alliance

Institute, founded by Jessie

Bowen, has declared November

Martial Arts Authors Month.

The event promotes martial arts

authors and features their books

to a wider audience, and drives

traffic to the authors website.

Martial Arts Authors Month starts

the countdown to the AMAAF

virtual celebration of the release

of AMAA Chuck Norris Martial

Arts Masters & Pioneers 2nd Edition on December

5th, 2020.

To preorder your copy of the book, and

to sign up to attend the virtual event, visit

Whoswhointhemartialarts.com


Finally, Get Rid of Your

BIGGEST Headache

You didn’t open a martial

arts school so you could

waste your time being a

bill collector…right?

Put Our 30 Years of Tuition Management Experience to Work for You!

Call one of our friendly Tuition

Management experts to discuss

your specific situation.

(800) 275-1600

OurAMS.com/headache

SOCIAL 411

Facebook

Limiting Ads

Facebook has announced that, starting February 16,

2021, the site would limit the number of ads a Page can

run, stating that “the ad limits will impact just a small percentage

of advertisers.” Their reasoning for the dramatic

change is their belief that “very high ad volume can hinder

an advertiser’s performance. With too many ads running at

the same time, fewer ads exit the learning phase and more

budget is spent before the delivery system can optimize

an ad’s performance.” In other words, according to Facebook,

running too many ads will cause decreased ad performance

overall. Fortunately, it’s unlikely that martial arts

school owners will see any changes on their side, but it’s

worth keeping an eye on your Facebook ad performance.

Make a Story

Successful on

Instagram

In a 2019 Facebook webinar,

the company revealed

their findings as to what makes

a Story go viral. Be sure to

keep these qualities in mind as

you create content for the rest

of 2020:

• Be efficient. Get users’

attention from the very

first frame and maintain it

throughout.

• Use sound. Eighty percent of Stories with sound saw

better results than those without.

• Text-minimal is key. Don’t overload your frames with

text or you risk distracting the viewer.

• Creativity. Creative ad stories were 56 percent more

successful than ads that weren’t.

• Branding is essential. Top-performing ads use key

messages and branding right away.

• Call to action. Tell the viewer what you want them to

do (“DM for more info”).

• Static and motion. Ads that use a mix of static imagery

and animation are 86 percent more successful.

No ‘Swipe-Up’? No Problem

The “Swipe Up” Story feature on Instagram, which

allows viewers to access a website with the swipe of a

finger, is available only to verified (i.e. blue checkmarked)

profiles—users with a minimum of ten thousand followers.

Dhariana Lozano of Social Media Today offers four tricks to

drive traffic to your website from Instagram Stories, even

without swiping up.

1. Post an IGTV post with a link to your school’s site.

Pasting a link makes it clickable, so viewers only need to

tap the link to go to your site. For this to work, you need to

add an IGTV video to your story.

2. Ask users to direct message you for a link to your

site. Consider enticing viewers with a special offer by asking

them to DM you for a link to the offer.

3. Use a Poll sticker. Make an Instagram Story post and

add a poll to your post using the corresponding sticker.

You’ll be able to direct message respondents.

4. Use a Join Chat sticker. One of the newer additions

to Instagram Story stickers allows up to 32 users to join in

on a group chat with you.


Illustration by Roman Bykhalets (top)

Join a Winning Team!

W Want a Truly Inspiring Career?

W Want to Join a Growing, Creative, Vibrant Organization?

W Want to Help Make the World a Better Place

by Expanding the Reach of the Martial Arts?

If So, We Want to Meet You!

We’re Expanding Our Teams!

Seeking:

• Account Representatives

• Sales Professionals

• Administrative Professionals

• Marketing Representatives

• Data Entry Experts

• Graphic Designers

• Pre-Collection Agents

• Collections Professionals

• Web Designers

• Web Developers

• Software Engineers

• IT Professionals

Benefits:

• Competitive Pay

• Holiday Pay

• Paid Sick Time

• Paid Vacation

• Insurance Options

• 401K + Company Contribution

• and More!

OurAMS.com/Careers

INDUSTRY INNOVATIONS

Energize Your Classes with Light Saber

Training

Are you ready to drive up enrollment

like crazy and maximize your

Pro Shop’s revenue? Light Sword

Martial Arts wants you to join the

world’s first light sword athletic, fitness,

and martial arts association!

LSMA will provide you with everything

you need in order to become a

certified light sword instructor, including

training to prepare you with the

knowledge and skills to start your

own light sword martial arts academy

in your local area.

Known as Saberation, the program

includes a complete curriculum

and moral principles for your students

to follow.

To learn more about Saberation

and LSMA, call (757) 689-7963 or

visit Saberation.com!

Timely Marketing

Tools You Need

to See MASSIVE

Enrollment

Numbers

You can receive fresh content EVERY month to

drive up enrollment and retention numbers in your

martial arts school! Whether you’re looking for promotional

materials for Thanksgiving events or timely

ads to draw in adults, the MA Biz Academy’s got it

all. Complete with social media posts, email templates,

posters, flyers and more, the MA Biz Academy

is the industry’s LEADING source for martial arts

school promotional tools.

To learn more, visit MABizAcademy.com!


INDUSTRY INNOVATIONS


Are Parents Allowing

Their Kids To Quit ?

LOCK THE BACK DOOR!

For Greater Retention

& Referrals...

• Age - Specific Character

Education Systems

• Bully Proof Program

• Parent’s Night Out kits

• Social Media

• and much more...

Helping Young Minds Grow Stronger - Through The Power Of Martial Arts & Character Education! ©

Celebrating 12 Years

$12

Special

for your First month

$50 Off Monthly License

Coupon Code: 12Down

BlackBeltPrinciples.com

Earn Less Than $30,0000 A MONTH in Your School?

YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR

FINANCIAL FUTURE

IN 3 EASY STEPS

FREE

REPORT

For Smaller

SCHOOLS

p

Sponsored By Martial Arts World News Magazine

Get Our FREE Report at

MartialArtsWorldNews.com/Grow

Marketing

LET YOUR KRAV EVOLVE

Take your KraV to the

next level.

KRAV MAGA ONLINE TRAINING

Our online training course has

been specially designed to give

you EVERYTHING you need to be

successful as a student or a Warrior

Krav Maga instructor. From business

training to weekly technique videos,

marketing materials and more. It is the • Retain more

ultimate Krav Maga training course. students.


Warrior Krav Maga Is A New

Online Krav Maga Training Course

That Will Teach You:

• To become a Krav Maga Instructor

• Boost your school’s income.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Warrior Defence Lab leads the industry

when it comes to helping people reach

their training and fitness goals.

Visit the Online Training Portal

Illustration by Varijanta

theevolutionofkrav.com

presenting

the Ninja

“Five Elements” system

Author Stephen K. Hayes presents the Ninja "Five Elements" system to explain fundamental aspects of self-defense.

According to Japanese Buddhist belief, human nature is connected to the natural world and is made up of five elements. By

understanding that connection, essential responses to any threat become clear:

EARTH—Remain grounded in your thinking and footing to repel attempts to distract or deceive you

WATER—Shift, angle and move fluidly to tactically confuse attackers and put them off balance

FIRE—See where a situation is going as it develops and intercept it at the critical moment

WIND—Stay light on your feet and move nimbly to evade and escape attempts to pin you down

VOID—Control a fight's direction by changing dynamics to confuse your attacker

Ninja Fighting Techniques explains how the five elements can

become automatic, unconscious responses for fighters who

train the Ninja way. Through study and practice they become

instinctive, effectively employed precisely when you need them

without thinking.

The advantage of Ninja teachings over other martial disciplines

is that, in addition to providing physical combat methods, they

teach you to develop a better understanding of human behavior

and psychology as well as "real-time" awareness of your

surroundings — invaluable in any combat and street fighting

situation.

With over 300 full-color photographs and detailed step-by-step

instructions, this book shows you how the ancient self-defense

techniques developed by the Ninja are still unsurpassed today!

Get The Book

@ Tuttlepublishing.com

Marketing

AMAA Chuck Norris Martial

Arts Masters & Pioneers 2nd

Edition Release Rescheduled

to December 5th

The American Martial Arts Alliance

Foundation (AMAAF) has rescheduled

its Who’s Who in the Martial Arts

Hall of Fame Award Ceremony and

Leadership Conference for December

5th, 2020 as a virtual event.

This year’s event is a special tribute to the legendary Chuck

Norris, featuring the unveiling of the Chuck Norris edition of

Martial Arts Masters & Pioneers, which is published annually to

induct martial artists into the Who’s Who Hall of Fame. You can

preorder the special edition of Martial Arts Masters & Pioneers

at whoswhointhemartialarts.com.

The live event also includes the AMAAF Emerging Leadership

Online Conference, hosted this year by Laura Silva Quesada.

Quesada’s father Jose Silva founded the Silva Method, which is

the original and most imitated meditation program in the US.

The Silva Method teaches students specialized guided imagery

techniques to rewire their subconscious and negative programming,

tap into their true potential, and achieve their goals.

The conference features many illustrious guest speakers

such as Bill “Superfoot” Wallace, Cynthia Rothrock, Michael Jai

White, John Chung, and more.

To nominate your Martial Arts Hero to be featured in Emerging

Leaders in the Martial Arts, honoring the men and women of the

martial arts for their dedication and commitment to preserving the

martial arts business, please visit whoswhointhemartialarts.com.

The AMAAF event is open only to members.

To sign up for a membership, please visit

whoswhointhemartialarts.com/amaf-membership. Inductees

do not need a membership to attend the event.


November 10th

December 8th

Events

How Will the Next President

Affect Your Martial Arts School?

Whether your mind’s already made up or you’re still unsure—or even if you’ve already

voted—we’re breaking down how a Biden presidency and a new term for President

Trump would affect your school.

With everything going on in the

world right now, you’re likely worried

about many things. One of those things

is probably how your martial arts school

will fare in the next one to four years. If

you voted for Trump in the last election

and plan to vote for him again, we’re also

outlining some new changes to his plan

for the economy that you may not be

aware of.

Joe Biden

Taxes

The following are policy ideas that are

said to come from the prospective of the

candidate and not our opinion or bias. Of

course, we recommend that you check out

things for yourself to make your own decision

as this is just a brief overview.

One thing that Biden and Vice Presidential

nominee Kamala Harris have emphasized

is that he will not raise taxes for either

individuals or businesses earning under

$400,000 annually. Furthermore, only individuals

who belong to the highest-earning

income brackets will have their taxes raised.

Biden has said that there would be no new

taxes for small businesses or individuals who

earn $400,000 or less.

Small Business Help During the

Pandemic

Biden has promised a federal response

to the pandemic. Instead of a state-by-state

approach to the pandemic, the federal

government would oversee mandates such

as closing and reopening of businesses, mask

policies, and employee safety.

He’s also introduced a comprehensive

plan for the economy and businesses affected

by the pandemic, which he calls his

“restart package.” Here’s how his plan might

affect your martial arts school, according to

Biden’s website (to read his full plan, visit

Joebiden.com/reopening). He will:

• Direct the federal government to

provide COVID-19 testing for every

worker called back on the job for the

duration of the pandemic.

• Ensure workers and unions have a

voice in reopening plans, and that


Photograph by Michael Stokes

Events

reopening decisions by tribal governments

are respected.

• Ensure paid leave for all workers

who get sick with COVID-19 for as

long as they need to recover and complete

quarantine.

• Guarantee federally funded paid

leave for workers caring for family

members or other loved ones sick

with COVID-19 that is broader, stronger,

and longer than the plan enacted by

Congress, and is in addition to existing

paid leave provided by a business’s

existing policies, including collectivelybargained

leave.

• Task the Occupational Safety and

Health Administration (OSHA)

with setting and enforcing a rigorous

emergency temporary standard

for worker protection so employers

follow a clear set of rules to keep workers

safe from COVID-19 exposure.

• Ensure that the OSHA standard

includes requirements for exposure

identification and control,

including social distancing, improved

ventilation, and other workplace design

measures; adequate personal protective

equipment, targeted sanitation

procedures, and training, notification,

and communication requirements for

handling cases at work.

• Require employers to tailor work

arrangements for anyone who’s in

a high-risk group or has a highrisk

individual in their home. If

arrangements cannot be made, individuals

would be allowed to continue

drawing unemployment benefits and

be protected from job loss for the duration

of the pandemic.

• Direct the federal government to

create an easy-to-read Nationwide

Pandemic Dashboard that Americans

can check in real-time to help them

gauge whether local transmission is

actively occurring in their zip codes and

understand what level of precaution to

take.

• Create a “Safer for Shoppers”

Program, which will provide state,

tribal, and local governments with

funding for their public health

departments to certify a business as

compliant with testing procedures

and other best practices for reducing

transmission and to conduct

spot-checks as necessary. Compliant

businesses would receive a “Safer for

Shoppers” sign to display so consumers

would know that the businesses

have done what they can to minimize

the risk of exposure.

• Provide a “restart package” that

provides small business owners support

for retaining and rehiring workers, as

well as for fixed costs as long as they’re

bringing back workers.

• Support work sharing so that small

businesses can bring back all of their

workers, even if they’re not operating at

full capacity, with the federal government

making up the difference.

• Provide grants for businesses to

cover the costs of reopening during the

pandemic, including for supplies like

personal protective equipment (PPE)

and plexiglass.

• End racial inequity in small

business support by ensuring that

minority-owned businesses get effective

access to all of these tools so

that they’re not shut out of federal

aid programs.

Additionally, Biden has expressed desire

for stricter oversight of the Paycheck

Protection Program (PPP) to ensure that

small businesses are receiving funds,

and avoid allowing funds to be diverted

to larger companies again. Instead, he’s

proposing reserving half of all future

PPP funds for small businesses with 50

employees or fewer. He’s also proposing

increased oversight to ensure that no

company receives more aid than they lost

due to the pandemic, and that industries

(mainly in the finance sector) and executives

making over $500,000 should get

special scrutiny for aid.

Photograph by Gage Skidmore


Events

Other Financial Programs

Biden also has plans in place that would

be permanent, taking place both during and

after the pandemic is over.

Under Biden’s presidency, employment

costs will potentially continue rising. Biden

supports a $15 per hour national minimum

wage, mandated paid time off, more union

negotiating power, and eliminating noncompete

agreements, no-poaching policies,

and mandatory arbitration clauses.

However, Biden supports reducing

licensing regulations for some occupations

and immigration reform for “dreamers.”

He also wants to continue funding local and

regional organizations that support entrepreneurs

and small businesses.

Donald Trump

Taxes

Here’s how Trump’s updated tax plans

has may impact small business owners.

Many of these policies are currently in effect

and are subject to change.

Small businesses not structured as

C-corps might benefit with the 20% passthrough

deduction.

Many martial arts schools are incorporated

as subchapter S corporations or LLCs,

which are earnings pass-through entities (as

well as sole proprietors). A business’ profit

can “pass” to the individual owner and be

taxed at the individual tax rate, rather than

being taxed at the C corporation tax rate,

and again being taxed at the individual rate

for the owner.

Under Trump’s tax plan, small businesses

filing as pass-throughs can take a 20% business

income deduction. Last year, to qualify

for the deduction, business owners had to

have a taxable income of below $160,700

if single, or $321,400 if married and filing

jointly.

One provision of Trump’s tax plan

allows businesses to write off more large

equipment purchases up front instead of

depreciating them over a number of years,

which is a tax-saving strategy called “bonus

depreciation.” For schools opening a new

location or making significant equipment

purchases (new mats, mirrors, computer

equipment, etc.), this could be a benefit.

Under the plan, you can deduct up to $1

million in equipment purchases, and the

full cost of an asset the year you buy it,

whereas before, you could only take 50% of

the value.

Trump’s tax plan also allows companies

to take advantage of the cash method of

accounting, rather than the accrual method.

In the cash method of accounting, revenue is

recorded as soon as cash is received from customers,

while expenses are recorded as soon

as they’re paid to suppliers and employees.

In the accrual method, revenue is recorded

when it’s earned and expenses are only

recorded when consumed.

In January 2021, Trump plans to replace

the seven-bracket system with a simpler

three-bracket system. According to his website,

the new tax brackets (for married-joint

filers) will be arranged as follows:

<$75,000: 12%

$75,000-$225,000: 25%

>$225,000: 33%

Brackets for single filers are half of the

amounts listed.

Small Business Help During the

Pandemic

The Trump administration plans to

continue a more targeted, state-by-state,

region-by-region approach to managing the

coronavirus response with federal financial

support and guidance. The administration

states that different areas require different

solutions, and that the governors of each

state have a better perspective on the unique

circumstances in their specific states and

local communities.

The Trump administration has called

for Congress to release $135bn in unspent

(PPP) aid to small business and has publicly

supported another large stimulus bill. At

the time of this writing, the White House

and House Democrats have not yet come to

an agreement on a broader stimulus package,

and there is questionable support for

a large bill in the Senate, nor has Congress

moved forward with releasing the unspent

PPP funds.

Other Economic Plans

The Trump administration plans to

rebuild the economy using many of the same

pro-growth strategies it deployed before

the COVID-19 pandemic (according to the

administration website).

According to the campaign website, in

the first term, the administration accomplished

and proclaims to expand on:

• Providing tax relief for 82% of middleclass

families

• Doubling the Child Tax Credit, providing

an additional $1,000 per child in tax

relief for working parents

• Nearly doubling the standard deduction,

a change that simplified the tax

filing process for millions of Americans

• Cutting taxes for small business by 20%,

providing $415bn in tax relief for small

business owners

• Alleviating the tax burden on over 500

companies that used those savings to

fund bonuses and wage increases for 4.8

million workers

• Spurring new investments into the

American economy; after it was passed,

businesses invested $482bn into new

American projects

• Repealing Obamacare’s individual

mandate

• Making US companies compete on the

world stage, lowering the corporate

tax rate from one of the highest in the

industrialized world (35%) to 21%

With a (prior to COVID) 50-year low

unemployment rate, historically low

Hispanic, Asian, and African-American

unemployment rates, and GDP growing at

its fastest rate since the “Great Recession,”

the administration believes it can get the nation

back to significant growth with similar

policies that it considers to be pro-growth

and pro-jobs.

The website also describes a focus on

economic expansion and jobs expansion

by continuing to bring manufacturing

jobs back to the country in part through

renegotiated trade deals, expanding

domestic energy production, reducing

what the administration considers

“overly burdensome” regulations, and

continuing to expand workplace apprenticeship

programs and worker education

programs to prepare them for new

economy jobs.

As always, it’s crucial that you do your

research when deciding which candidate

to support. Each side offers many pros and

cons, but it’s ultimately up to you which

candidate will help your martial arts school

grow and prosper in.


Think Tank


Transform Your School

Transform Your School

with Grandmaster Y. K. Kim

The most successful martial arts

business leader in the world

Y. K. Kim

• Author of a best seller

and 14 other books

• Producer, writer, director,

and star of the action

film Miami Connection

• Publisher of Martial Arts

World Magazine

• Motivational Speaker

• Recipient of Y. K. Kim

Day in Central Florida

• Founder of Martial Arts

World

• Chairman of a consulting

company on marketing

and software

Meet Modern Educator and

Contemporary Philosopher

Grandmaster Y. K. Kim

Motivate Your Students

• Unbreakable Student

Loyalty

• 100% Retention

• Enduring Pride in Your

School

Boost Your School

• Double your

Enrollment

• Double your Income

• Build the #1 School

in your town

I Love to Promote the Martial Arts -- I will not

charge even one penny. It is a small token of my

appreciation to the martial arts industry, and my

honor to pay back the debt of gratitude I owe to the

martial arts community.

Book Y. K. Kim at www.ykkim.com

1-800-275-1600

Learn the skills that made the

NINJA LEGENDARY

With New Lessons Added Monthly!

Get Your

FREE!

FIRST

COURSE

Get Started Today

learning the skills of the legendary ninja!

NinjaSelfDefense.com

Cover Story


Chief Master

Cover Story

Kirk Pelt

How an Organization Found Success in Crisis -

With Virtual Learning

Day Camps

Senior Master Kirk Pelt of the Martial Arts

World organization operates more than

15 locations in the US. He recently

spoke with MAWN about how

he leveraged COVID-19 to

transform his successful

after school program into

a lucrative virtual learning

day camp.


Cover Story

Chief Master Kirk Pelt runs one of the most successful After School Martial Arts Programs in the Country.

MAWN: We wanted to discuss some

of the pivots that you’ve made in your

organization, and also the world as we see it

nowadays.

KP: Hey, thank you for having me here.

MAWN: It’s really useful for school owners

to hear what’s working in different parts

of the country, and with different strategies

and tactics they’ve had to use. When COVID

first happened, just like in any battle, there

were two fundamental human responses.

One is you that you ‘turtle up,’ huddle in

the fetal position in the corner, and hope

the world doesn’t hurt you. The other is the

right response: take it on the chin and figure

out the plan. You’re working with all of the

school operators in your organization, and

all the instructors and staff. What have you

been working on? What do you think is

important?

KP: I would say stop making excuses; start

focusing. Now, more than ever, our students

need our motivation, our confidence, our

leadership. We’re such a valuable resource

to our students. We have to stop saying, “I

can’t,” and start asking, “How can I?”

There are several steps to take in order

to do that. I think that’s been the biggest

thing for us, as we’ve been able to not only

manage this, but we’re coming out of it very

well. While continuing to enroll during this

pandemic, the number one thing is communication.

We have to communicate to our

students, continually send emails, texts. And

don’t forget picking up the phone and hearing

a voice, through social media too. This

gives us the ability to interact with them as

they’re getting a plethora of negativity. Then

we have children sitting at home that are

overhearing this stuff, and they’re not able

to get out and be a kid like they normally

have, so our interaction as their instructors

is huge with them. This gives us the opportunity

to not let them forget they’re a student;

reinforce that with them through their instructional

classes, whether you did a Zoom

class or video classes or you’re back now, that

communication gives us the ability to hold

them accountable.

So, we’ve been probably double, maybe

triple, busier than we were before, trying

to answer the question “how can I?” In asking

that question, we’ve done some pretty

unique things to get on a good path for our

current members, as well as new members.

MAWN: If your beliefs are screwed up,

the rest of it really doesn’t matter because

you’re not going to approach the problem

the right way. You’re going to limit yourself.

You guys renegotiated some of your schools’

leases. How Did you accomplish that?

KP: We’re in it for the long haul, so let

your landlord know you’re in it for the long

haul, and you don’t plan on going anywhere.

We’re just getting through this together

and it’s true: they’re more than willing to

understand your circumstance. We have

locations that still aren’t paying rent and the

landlord absolutely understands that. We

have a projection with them to start paying

some rent around October, depending on

our situation, and they’re totally willing and

understanding with that. What I found with

us dealing with the landlords is they’re very

willing, because they’re human beings and

they’ve gone through the same thing. And


Cover Story

they’re not getting any money anyway. We

don’t want to use that to our advantage, but

at the same time, we don’t want it to be used

to our disadvantage.

MAWN: Going into those conversations,

even with your students as you described,

patience is such a critical component right

now. Now that we’re seeing the light at

the end of the tunnel, some states are still

slammed shut, so there’s a little bit of a dichotomy

there with the operational changes

you’re looking at.

KP: I’m going to break down for everybody

two programs. We have our traditional

classes, where parents or adults come and do

their training. And then we have our after

school/summer camp program. We do both

programs within our organization. When

the government didn’t let us do classes

inside the training area inside the school, we

did classes outside. We threw mats on the

ground and had a mini-makeshift training

area every evening. And, at that point, we

had a unique schedule: “You get Tuesday and

Thursday at 6:00.”

But we made that transition so that we

could be in control of maintaining the guidelines

of the CDC, with sanitation and everything,

and keep it spread out. I believe the

biggest factor with the traditional classes is

that parents understood we were scheduling

and communicating properly. For example,

4:00 to 4:40 was one class. The next class

didn’t start till 5:00, until 5:40, 6:40, 7:40. It

gave our members time to learn and for the

next class to come in. And we were keeping

a minimal allotted amount of members at

that time, according to those guidelines, so

classes would never run over that.

That made a world of difference when

they said, “OK, you guys can do classes.”

Ninety-three percent of our traditional

members came back. They did not hesitate.

They came back, and I believe that it was

because of that communication; that we

laid out the schedule and communicated

to them, and what we had done during that

time period when we were closed, where

we had classes going on, Zoom classes,

and a plethora of other things. Let’s move

forward to the after school/summer camp

program. We’re in Orange County, Florida.

August 10 was the first day parents had the

option of their children going face to face at

elementary school. Middle and high school,

the children were doing Launch Ed, which

is at home on your computer, just like if

they were in class at school with ten-minute

breaks every 45 minutes or so. Or students

go in and have their lesson plan on the site

and work at their own pace. We had three

different options that parents could choose

from, so that gave us the ability to do our

after school program. One week only, like,

40 percent chose to go back to school face

to face, so that limited our after school

program by half. We decided that we’d offer

an all-day camp with virtual learning, where

we’d take the children’s tables, set up towers

on the tables, children would put their

earphones in, log into their computers, and

do their classroom instruction. It was great,

and it worked beautifully. There were a lot of

parents that worked but weren’t confident

enough to send kids to do face to face. They

weren’t comfortable, so they chose us to put

their children in our program, and that way,

they didn’t need their kids, for example, to

continued on page 42


Finally,

A Cutting-Edge,

CUTTING-EDGE

ATLAS SOFTWARE

MARKETING & MANAGEMENT AUTOMATION

LEAD GENERATING

WEBSITES

MOBILE RESPONSIVE

CALL 1-800-275-1600

TO SPEAK WITH A SCHOOL SPECIALIST

CUTTING-EDGE ATLAS SOFTWARE • LEAD GENERATING WEBSITES • ENGAGING SOCIAL MED

All-in-One

Marketing and Management System.

MARKETING

TOOLS

PROVEN SUCCESSFUL

AFTER SCHOOL

PROGRAM

DONE FOR YOU

ENGAGING

SOCIAL MEDIA

BEAUTIFUL & IMPACTFUL

GET A FREE DEMO AT

AtlasMartialArtsSoftware.com

IA • PROVEN SUCCESSFUL MARKETING TOOLS • DONE-FOR-YOU AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM

Cover Story

continued from page 39

be at the elementary school and then to go to

another after school program.

MAWN: So, 7:00 to 3:00 they’re in the

learning system. Then, from 3:00 to the

pick-up time, 5:00, 6:00, is the after school

program, so that’s another tuition element.

KP: I’m glad you said it. Let’s say, for example,

we get $95 a week for the after school

program, and that’s from 3:00 to 6:00, and

we have students enrolled for that. And

we’re still enrolling students for the after

school program. But then the virtual learning

is all day; it’s like a summer camp day

without a field trip. We’re getting basically

summer camp funding of $160 a week for

the full-day program for members who need

a place for the children to do their classes.

MAWN: You’ve got the folks who want

to do e-learning of one type or another.

They can come and do that with you. And

you guys have the kids who’re e-learning at

home. They don’t need your services for that

necessarily, but they’re still huge missing

social interaction and physical education

dynamics. Walk us through how you guys

are servicing that market.

KP: There are three different levels that

I’ll explain. I’ll talk to you from our current

member profile; the students who’ve decided

they’re not comfortable with coming to

our door, our school, and doing classes face

to face. We set up a system where we recorded

over 90 videos—over 90 classes. We’ve

got them in a social media group and we just

relaunch those videos, those modules, each

week. They’re following the students who

aren’t coming back; but they continue instruction,

and at the same time, we interact

with those students at least twice a week. It

would be a Zoom meeting/class/accountability/pretesting/making

sure they’re doing

what they’re supposed to be doing. The third

aspect is we also produced and filmed a series

of introductory classes for both children and

adults. Our children’s classes were focused

around PE class. We reached out to all of the

school board and principals that were in the

areas of our local schools. We offered that

as a community service, as our appreciation

for them to share it on their Facebook page,

and to drive them to our website through an

email. So, they send those videos, which go

out to the students who chose virtual learning

at their elementary school, and that way,

they have an assignment to take a physical

education class from Martial Arts World.

They were overjoyed they had something

they could give them; there’s nothing like it

that I’ve heard of, and that’s coming from

them. And 90 percent accepted it. I think

the other ones didn’t answer my email

because they didn’t see it. But they’re so, so

thankful we’ve done that for them. We’re

giving back. We’re doing what we say. It’s a

community service that took a lot of time,

energy, and effort, but it’s also a huge promotion

for our program now, and certainly

in the future. The parents that see those

videos from home, when they feel confident

enough, can come and bring their child

to our traditional classes. We can enroll

them because, on our videos we’re putting

out our web address and phone number

The Martial Arts World After School Program Boasts an Amazing Retention Rate


Virtual Learning Day Camp Students Enjoy a Safe, Socially Distant

Learning Environment

and they know who we are. We’re in all the

school Facebook groups, so they’re going to

be posting them on their Facebook pages.

That’s greatly duplicated our exposure and

promotion of our schools within our area,

these beginner’s classes and allowing them

to be put out on a weekly basis.

MAWN: Almost all products that are targeted

to kids’ fitness and elementary schools

are targeted at physical education teachers.

What you guys are doing is kind of cutting

out the middleman.

KP: We’re delivering directly direct to

consumer.

MAWN: The last three weeks of the

school year, parents were up to here and

didn’t know what was going on. A lot of

these solutions stare you in the face pretty

quickly. But in working with the public

education system, you’ve done a lot; you

guys have done lots of work directly with

administration and above. How was that

experience? How did you drill into those

relationships?

KP: Let’s pretend you were just starting

your relationship with schools.

And we actually sometimes

start our relationships over

with some schools because

of their management or

leadership. We do that fairly

consistently every year with

a couple of our locations. But

the mindset you have to have

is how can I solve this issue?

When I have a meeting with a

principal, I want to introduce

myself.

I want to say, “Hey, we’re a

martial arts school, but we’re

about children improving

their lives. We know you guys

have one hell of a job in trying

to meet your standards of

education. I’m dealing with

some behavioral problems

and character development

issues. That’s what we’re

great at. I’m just here to ask,

Principal Milroy, what can

we do for you? Just give me three

things we can do for you.”

And I just shut up, and I wait and listen.

Whatever it is, if it’s in my power to do it,

I’ll make it happen. Whatever it is, if it’s in

my financial power—if it’s not too much of

an investment. If it makes sense to serve the

student and the school, we’ll start our

relationship.

That way they understand we’re

not just looking at it as like, “Hey, I’ve

got 1,400 flyers I want to hand out

about our after school program. Can

you hand 1,400 flyers out?”

That’s not building a long-lasting,

meaningful relationship with

the school to where it’s a win-win

for them, and most of all, for the

students.

MAWN: It really is the very definition

of a win-win-win. The school

wins because you’re conducting

this activity as a fundraiser for the

elementary school, donating 100 percent

of the proceeds back, and paying

for all the expenses. There’s also a

positive ripple effect of improved

behavior that you’re going to notice.

The parents win because this is a

program they can put their children

in that’s very accessible and isn’t very

Cover Story

expensive. They’re going to see improved

behavior at home, and they’re going to get

a more confident and fit child. The student

obviously wins because this might be a

program that they may not be able to take

advantage of otherwise, but while they have

the opportunity to do the program, they

may also choose to continue their training

with us at the school.

That helps schools build their program

and able to provide services like this to the

community for the next few decades. But

you’ve got to be the first to mention it and

point out the pink elephant in the room. The

elephant wins in your case, because some

small percentage of students may continue

training with you. It’s not about being deceptive,

it’s about being transparent, right?

KP: Yes, absolutely, 1,000 percent. That’s

the bottom line: “What can we do for you?”

If we work together, the next level is

doing things that are out of the ordinary:

staying in connection with them, meeting

on pretty much a weekly basis, whether that

means a face to face or an email to the principal,

maybe every two weeks, going, “Hey, I’m

just checking in with you. If there’s anything

you need, we noticed that you have this,

this, and this coming up, could we donate

anything?”

“Oh, sure. You could donate $100 dollars

worth of pizza.”

Working Parents NEED a Solution for Their Children Who Are

Attending School Virtually


Cover Story

That intensifies that relationship. And, of course, we’ve had

many of our principals attend our events because we’ve built that

relationship with them, because we do care about them. And we care

about the students.

MAWN: Let’s talk about traffic a bit. You guys have been doing a

lot of work on social media, generating content and moving people

through your funnels. What should I be thinking about if I’m a

school operator and want to accelerate progress? Maybe my state’s

opening bit by bit—where should I be focused, and what seems to be

working well?

The Virtual Learning Camps Have Been a God Send

for Busy Parents in the Community

KP: Put it out

there. People have

to know what you’re

offering. Let them

know you’re going

to do an after school

pick-up program.

And then, at the

same time, do a

traditional program

for families and

adults. You have

to present that

separately, and you

have to be consistent

and persistent with

it via social media.

Sure, you could go

out there and hand

some brochures to

somebody, but you also certainly better be finding social ways to get

your message out there in today’s world. You have to present these

programs separately so that the other parts won’t repel the market

that’ll be attracted to it. You also have to make sure this is believable.

The biggest problem right now is why aren’t parents comfortable

sending their kids back? Why aren’t they comfortable with them

doing these types of activities? There’s a trust gap. They don’t believe

it may be safe. There’s only one way to solve that: the only way for

them to feel comfortable is with credible content; credible stories

they can consume that they believe.

MAWN: You’re dealing with relatively large staff, and in multilocations,

you’ve got an awful lot of people. If you were talking to

school operators who may have a few staff members, and they’re all

sort of in the same mindset, what do you think has been important

for those guys to keep their head straight?

KP: Training, training, training. When this whole thing started,

organizationally, we had a Zoom meeting every day. It was about

technique and what our business focus was, but it was more about

their belief systems, and encouraging and motivating them, answering

questions that needed answering. We were continuing to lead our

staff during that major part of the crisis; we still do it twice a week.

Students Benefit from the Focused and Disciplined Culture of the Martial Arts School

We do another training for up-and-coming CEOs. We do three Zoom

meetings a week with staff and potential staff at each location. We

have individual staff meetings, maybe 30 minutes, at least two times

a week. Like I said before, the students need our hope. They need our

leadership more than ever right now. That also goes for our staff. If

you feel motivated, they’ll feel motivated. I think this is something

I learned a long time ago from Grandmaster Y.K. Kim. We were in a

staff meeting.

He goes, “Who’s more important, your student or your staff?”

Some people answered students, some answered staff, but it

was clear. Your staff is the most important, because your staff, of

course, is going to influence the students. Setting goals right now is

the perfect time for everybody. You can’t speculate. What’s going

to happen in the

next six or four

months? You can

certainly have a

decent idea, what’s

going to happen a

year or nine months

from now when

hopefully this thing

is all over. When it

is, if you’re ready,

you can take advantage

of it.

MAWN: Thank

you for your time

and your insights.

We know it will help

the industry.

Students Smoothly Transfer from the Virtual Day Camp

to Evening Lessons


FREE TOOLS

VIRTUAL LEARNING DAY CAMP

MARKETING TOOLS

Use these attention-grabbing tools to entice current and

prospective students to do their school work online at your school!

Get this FREE sample of the creative and timely resources ATLAS users enjoy

every month to lock in student retention and bring dozens of new students

into your school!

To receive this Special Gift from Martial Arts World Magazine, visit

AtlasMartialArtsSoftware.com/covid19

COVID-19

SBA Announces Simpler

PPP Forgiveness for Loans

$50,000 or Less

The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced on April 9 that the PPP loan

program had depleted its allotted funds, shut down its application process, and

ceased enrolling new lenders.

In early October, the SBA issued a press release stating that

they’ve implemented a simpler PPP loan forgiveness program for

loans of $50,000 or less.

Chris Hurn, CEO of Fountainhead—a national, non-bank, direct

commercial lender that has worked with the martial arts school

industry for years, and specializes in helping owners of small to

midsize businesses finance their growth and create wealth—says that

this move “allows for the smallest businesses of the nation to focus

on operations rather than paperwork to get their loans forgiven.

There is likely to be additional legislation to further simplify

the forgiveness process for those who borrowed more than the said

amount, as well as continuing to ease the burden of PPP lenders.”

This also means that the SBA will forgive almost 70% of all of the

loans that it gave out. There’s also a new caveat that businesses with

no employees, or businesses where the owner is the only employee,

can now have most or their entire loan forgiven. The new plan also

relaxes the requirements on lenders to review documentation from

small businesses proving how the money was spent. Business owners

who received loans of $50,000 or less simply have to fill out a onepage

document and have their lender process it.

The press release from the US Treasury states, “This action

streamlines the PPP forgiveness process to provide financial and

administrative relief to America’s smallest businesses while also

ensuring sound stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”


Photograph by Ivan Martynov

COVID-19

Photograph by Ivan AndreyPopov

In a White House press conference, Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin

said, “We are committed to making the PPP forgiveness process as

simple as possible while also protecting against fraud and misuse of

funds. We continue to favor additional legislation to further simplify

the forgiveness process.”

Administrator Jovita Carranza added, “Nothing will stop the

Trump Administration from supporting great American businesses

and our great American workers. The Paycheck Protection Program

has been an overwhelming success and served as a historic lifeline to

America’s hurting small businesses and tens of millions of workers.

The new form introduced today demonstrates our relentless commitment

to using every tool in our tool belt to help small businesses and

the banks that have participated in this program. We are continuing

to ensure that small businesses are supported as they recover.”

In essence, the SBA and the Treasury have “eased the burden on

PPP lenders, allowing lenders to process forgiveness applications

more swiftly.”

The SBA began approving PPP forgiveness applications and remitting

forgiveness payments to lenders for borrowers on October 2,

2020, and will continue processing all PPP forgiveness applications

“in an expeditious manner.”

Part of the reason for the simpler plan is due to mass confusion

about the deadline for forgiveness applications. On October 13, the

SBA confirmed that PPP loan forgiveness applications are not due

on Oct. 31, despite the forgiveness application forms (3508, 3508EZ,

and 3508S) showing an expiration date of “10/31/2020” in the upperright

corner. The SBA stated that “borrowers may submit a loan

forgiveness application any time before the maturity date of the loan,

which is either two or five years from the loan’s origination, depending

on the borrower’s agreement.” Be aware, though, that borrowers’

loan payments are deferred only until 10 months after the last day

of each borrower’s loan forgiveness covered period. For example, a

borrower with a covered period that ends October 30, 2020 has until

August 30, 2021 to apply for forgiveness before repayment begins.

According to The Journal of Accountancy, the SBA placed the

expiration date on the PPP loan forgiveness application forms to

comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act. The date represents the

temporary expiration date for approved use of the forms. Once a new

expiration date is approved, it will be posted on the forms.

The SBA also points out that they’re still pushing for continued

support from Congress in the next stimulus bill, as well as the ability

to extend the new guidance to loan $150,000 or less.

To download the simpler forgiveness application,

visit https://rb.gy/vd5utr

Fountainhead has been processing SBA loans for martial arts

schools all over the country. For more information

about the PPP loan program and how Fountainhead

can assist your school, visit fountainheadcc.com/ppp.

Chris Hurn

Founder/CEO


COVID-19


COVID-19

AMS’ Unique Approach

Helps Hundreds of MA

Schools Stay in Business

During the Pandemic

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, many martial arts school owners aren’t just surviving—

they’re thriving. This is due to, in part, their ingenuity and willingness to adapt and

overcome in an unprecedented crisis, and also to AMS’ systems for handling student

agreements, student relationships communication, and tuition management processes.

In just the past few months, AMS Billing has helped literally

hundreds of martial arts schools avoid bankruptcy. Not just that, but

many are also bringing in more income to martial arts schools than

schools not using AMS’ systems and strategies.

How?

AMS Billing’s skillfully trained and highly experienced Account

Specialists have been working with thousands of students from all

over North America, successfully managing delicate, important conversations

about how their school is dealing with the pandemic, and

how students can benefit now more than ever from their training.

Whether your school offers credit for time missed during the

shutdown or your virtual classes, students often have questions about

their membership options. If those questions are handled professionally,

you can foster even deeper student relationships. And that’s

what AMS Billing has been doing for HUNDREDS of schools. AMS

has helped school owners retain thousands of students who may be

unaware of their options and would have canceled their agreements,

placed them on hold, or chosen to drop out altogether.

Between conducting socially distanced classes and complying

with CDC guidelines, school owners simply don’t have the time to

chase down payments, nor do they want to discuss payments with

students that may be struggling financially. AMS handles all of

your tuition billing headaches so that you can invest 100 percent of

your time in reengaging with your students. It just makes sense to

keep these tuition billing headaches, negotiating with students, and

the logistics of managing these financial accounts separate from

instruction. School owners should focus their attention on helping

students improve their lives, not on being bill collectors. Students

with financial challenges should speak to a financial counselor, not

their trusted and deeply respected Master Instructor.

Some schools assign a member of the school staff to take on the

role of bill collection to insulate the school owner; however, this situation

can create an adversarial relationship between the student and

the school. It’s much better to have a third-party middleman that’s

trained to maintain a positive relationship between the student and

the school, and to be the “bad guy” for you when—and ONLY when—

necessary. This gives the school owner not only a powerful buffer

to maintain great relationships with students, but also gives you

control over how you want difficult situations handled.

AMS can help your martial arts school achieve your professional

goals with less effort. We’ve helped thousands of schools over 40 years

with marketing, management, and instruction tips that empowered

them to realize their personal and professional dreams.

Think about it: if you took the time you spend dealing with

problematic memberships and turned that into time reengaging

with your students, how much more income would you make? Now

throw in programs and promotions that are proven

effective to add ten or more new students and

thousands of dollars in income every month, and

you have a service that doesn’t COST you money,

it MAKES you money—especially in challenging

circumstances, like the one we’re all living

through right now.

AMS Billing can be your advocate and

trusted student relationship specialists

during these difficult times.

Invest just five minutes in a

phone call at (1-800) 275-1600 to

find out more or visit OurAMS.com!

Photograph by Maridav


ATLAS

Cover Story

Martial

Supports the Industry Thr

Whether it’s by helping you promote your martial arts school’s virtual classes, giving

you the rich communication tools you need to keep your students engaged in your

school, or keeping you plugged into the latest strategies for growing your school under

today’s challenging circumstances, ATLAS Martial Arts Software is there for martial

arts school owners.

AMS prides itself on its deep roots in the martial arts with its more than 40 years

in the industry. Whether it’s supporting its clients and community in boom times or

tough times. So, as the COVID-19 crisis began to threaten the martial arts industry,

ATLAS sprang into action to support it’s clients and it’s industry!

The ATLAS Martial Arts Software team has been working around the clock to create

a huge toolbox of totally free resources to help martial arts school owners pivot, promote

their online programs and profit in these difficult times, no strings attached.

These resources include marketing campaigns to help you promote your virtual classes,

social media-formatted videos, post graphics, ad graphics, promotions for your local

elementary school Facebook groups, online fitness programs, letters and emails for current

students, former students, prospects, and much, much more!

In addition to these free tools and services, ATLAS is also still providing resources

for schools that aren’t equipped with the infrastructure to deal with the current economic

downturn.


To view ATLAS’ completely FREE tools, please visit

AtlasMartialArtsSoftware.com/fight-COVID-19

Arts Software

Cover Story

ough the COVID-19 Crisis

Visit AtlasMartialArtsSoftware.com/fight-covid-19

for FREE Markeing Campaigns for Kids and Adults!

To learn more,

please call (1-800) 275-1600.


School Profile

My Keys For Successful

Martial Arts School Longevity

Sensei Bob Nuttall has seen and learned much related to running a successful martial

arts school over the 50 years he has been in business. During this time he has been

a champion fighter, tournament director, bodyguard, and owns a thriving martial arts

school with 250 students. He shares some of the keys to his success that have kept

his school growing for so long.

MAWN: What have been the biggest challenges you’ve

faced in growing your school?

BN: The challenges have been a stand for what’s best for martial

arts. Some people perceive that if it’s not the old-style kicking and

punching, that we’re not going to influence people, and to me it’s totally

the opposite. You’re not going to have that many fighters walk

out as professional martial artists, but you’re going to have everyone

walk out of martial arts taking the values and the inner core teachings

that we do and use them for the rest of their lives.

MAWN: What has been your biggest breakthroughs over

the years that has helped your school grow?

BN: It would probably be not having the 1960s Karate studio

kicking and punching, and teaching more life skills.

MAWN: I guess you’ve seen that make the art a little bit

more accessible to a broader market?

BN: It certainly has. I mean if you look at boxing, it’s a spectator

sport, but there aren’t a lot of people that want to get involved with

boxing because of the brutality of it, and the martial arts used to have

that same type of mentality. How many people want to put their

six-year-old child into getting hit and hurt now? We can teach them

good techniques, but at the same time have a very safe environment

for them.

MAWN: What has been a key to your success that may

not have been the case in the beginning?

BN: Now we have a lot of tasks automated, so we don’t have many

things that we need to go back and do day to day. This kind of organization

and automation has allowed for us to focus more on people

rather than office tasks

MAWN: Could you explain what has triggered the automation

of your school?

BN: Atlas Martial Arts Software has helped us in some many

ways. You don’t really realize how limited you are until you get

ATLAS. It just opens the door to so many realms that you never even

thought of. It’s very intimidating at first because there is so much

information there that you just have to slice it up and take it piece by

piece. It continues to help you better communicate with people and

be part of their lives. The automation is just tremendous.

MAWN: Is there another

key to your success that

maybe you could not do

without these days?

BN: Having support for the

business side of things is really

important because there is so

much to keep up with. Even

though I’ve been in business

since ‘72, I get professional

advice to stay on track because

as you start implementing

more and more things it can be

a challenge.

Nutall credits automation as the key to

his school’s success.

MAWN: What is an example of the support you have

received that has helped?

BN: I do have a website that AMS takes care of, and it’s helped so

much, because when people go to that website and want information,

it contacts me immediately so we’re able to contact that person back.

It’s so professionally put together and enables me to get back to a

person as quickly as possible. Without a doubt, it’s a huge thing.

MAWN: What have been your most successful marketing

systems, promotions, or strategies over the last few years?

BN: Things like ‘Bring a Buddy, Break a Board,’ ‘Bring a Buddy,

Get a Free Uniform,’ but it’s mostly from the years that we’ve worked

within the community. It’s become referrals and word-of-mouth as

our biggest thing.

MAWN: Nothing like having that good reputation. What

are your goals in the next few years?

BN: To expose martial arts to as many people as possible.

That means making speeches out where people are getting

together, at fairs and things like that; just getting out and

showing people what the martial arts are really about, because

there are still people that don’t understand the martial arts, and

the more I can educate people, the more people I believe will

be involved with martial arts. It’s not a matter of money; it’s a

matter of helping people.


School Profile

The Steps I’m Taking

to Achieve My Martial

Arts School Goals

Grandmaster Jin Kwon has been in the martial arts industry running his schools

for 40 years. He owns 3 thriving schools and teaches over 450 loyal students. His

leadership is recognized in the industry as he is the USTGS Secretary General. He

shares how he has accomplished his school success.

MAWN: What have been the keys to your success?

JK: I love martial arts, I love my students, I love my family. They

are the resource of my success journey. I can’t say that I am successful

now; I know I have a long way to go. I am dedicated to what I’m

doing. I want to improve to the next level. I keep fighting myself to

grow and improve to be more successful. I’ve never been satisfied

with my achievements in my life; I’m always hungry to grow. I don’t

know when I will be satisfied. I need more, I will have more, and I

want more!

MAWN: What are the biggest successes and breakthroughs

you’ve had in growing your school?

JK: In my case we are very slow during summer and winter, but

last summer I had my best enrollment numbers. In one month I

had over 40 appointments and over 30 enrollments; it was fun to

sign up left and right, sometimes six contracts a day. I never tire of

teaching class, my students are growing, and my dojang has lots of

energy now.

MAWN: What are the biggest challenges you face in

growing your school?

JK: In my case it’s staff. I need to learn how to keep staff, knowing

what they need, what they want. I need to somehow learn more

and realize more, because I’ve never been on the other side or

point of view in that situation. I need to learn more how to make

staff successful.

MAWN: What has been the driving force behind your 40

years of success?

JK: I’ve been using AMS for over 20 years now; they’ve helped

my dojang business operations. AMS gives lots of ideas and support,

especially any time we have questions. The service team helps so

kindly. I don’t know what to do without AMS.

MAWN: What specifically has made your school operations

become easier?

JK: The ATLAS program has helped me overall with operation,

enrollment, info calls, appointments, tuition, and attendance. The

text messages to all the students and parents are especially helpful. It

is so easy to see my most important statistics and where I stand with

my dojang operations on the Dashboard.

MAWN: How difficult has it been to run your after

school program?

JK: My son is the after school director. He looks at the website,

gets ideas for lesson plans, sets the schedule, and gets materials for

class. It’s easy for him to conduct all the staff and children, and it’s

less stress for him because he has guidance and an advisor from AMS.

It helps us sign up new students and maintain current members.

MAWN: What can you tell us about the management of

your school website?

JK: My school website is managed and designed by AMS, so I

don’t have to worry about managing it, having it get hacked, and

all those other problems. I used to manage and make my websites

from scratch, so it was hard for us to maintain and secure it

from hacking. Now I have peace of mind: the website has never

been down, and it’s always been good since AMS started managing

my website.

MAWN: What have been your most successful marketing

systems, promotions, or strategies over the last year?

JK: As you know, many prospects lead to new appointments;

appointments lead to evaluation, evaluation leads to enrollments.

Since I started using advertisements for Facebook, I’ve gotten lots of

students since 2018. It’s been a rush to my door, and now I have some

classes overflowing with students—I’m almost thinking about having

a waiting list.

MAWN: What are your developmental goals for the next

5 years?

JK: I want to develop a leadership program so my students can

learn leadership and help their lives and our school. My goal is to

have 1,000 active students and pay off half of the mortgage, set

better teaching curriculums, and remain a fundamental dojang

operation.


We provide integrity-based coaching and

community resources to busy martial arts

school owners that save you time and

grow your business.

MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TODAY

VISIT WWW.KOVARSYSTEMS.COM/SUCCESS

The Warrior Way

Managing the Krav Maga

Curriculum, Part 2

GRANDMASTER

BILL CLARK is a

9th degree black

belt and a former

PKA Fighter of

the Year. He is

widely considered

one of the top

experts in martial

arts business with

over 30 years of

leadership and

innovation, having

been inducted

into almost every

Hall of Fame in the

industry. He is one

of the largest multischool

owners in

the world.

➽I don’t want anyone to think I’m the only one

that organized the ATA curriculum, because

the ATA is a founding group of people, from

Grandmaster H.U. Lee to Master Allemier, to

Master Reid, that were constantly organizing

the curriculum to where it could be delivered

like you take medicine: you don’t pour a gallon

of medicine down your throat, you take it teaspoon

by teaspoon and spread out over a long

period of time.

In the ATA, we have a curriculum from white belt all

the way to ninth degree black belt, and that gives us very

high retention in our black belts because, as Grandmaster

Lee said, “There’s always more to learn.”

If you’re not learning, you’re not an instructor, because

instructors are learning all the time.

That’s why I like Krav. It’s kind of

like, “Here’s all the stuff you need

in six weeks to go in the street and

a war.”

But my school’s got to be

open for more than six weeks—

it needs to at least be open five

to ten years—so I need to teach

it in an efficient way without watering

down any of the technique,

while making it so that everybody

can do it. Instructors don’t have to

be a fifth degree black belt, and

it’s organized in such a way that

if you come to my weekend

seminar, you can teach it

Monday when you get

back to your school.

I had a group of

folks come to Santa

Clarita, California

on May

3rd, 4th, and

5th of 2019.

Most people

who come

to my seminar already have a curriculum because they’re

Krav instructors. There are many great Krav organizations,

so it’s mainly people from them that want to learn

how to teach better or have an organized way to test, or an

organized way to do Krav as a business, not just because

they love Krav Maga. Krav already stripped it down to the

essentials of self-defense—I love that.

So many guys have created curricula around it; none

of it with the business of martial arts in mind like I did,

because mine is made so that a guy with some basic skills

in martial arts can learn in three days to be fairly efficient

sounding and deliver the product. The layout is just so

unique. I hate to give it away here, but if you come to a

seminar you’ll know everything.

There are three certifications. Somebody once made

a smart-ass remark on Facebook: “I don’t know how anybody

can learn to be an instructor in three days.”

I don’t know either, but they

used to do it in seven, and it wasn’t

organized at all; it’s just very well

laid-out. The “Evolution” part

gives you something in your

school that no other Krav

school has, because theirs is

like boom, boom, boom, run

away. I can go on YouTube

and Facebook right now, and

see very few one-on-one

fights. People are attacking

in groups and gangs, acting

like, I’m focused on you, and

a guy from over here hits me,

and it’s all over before I know

what’s going on. The Evolution

of Krav addresses

that every time there

is any altercation.

And that’s what’s so

unique about it

that I’m amazed

myself.


Illustration by OSTILL

Do You Serve Martial Arts Professionals?

Share Your Message in

For Sponsorship Options & Packages

Visit: MartialArtsWorldNews.com or Call Jeff @ 407-895-1996

SEEKING STORIES!

Martial Arts World News Magazine is the definitive source

for information, news, education, ethical business

practices, product reviews and innovative developments in

the world of martial arts business.

We are always on the look out for notable, engaging and

valuable stories for our readers!

If you, your school, organization, event, product, or service

has a story that might be of value to our readers, we’d love to

hear about it!


Contact us at: 407-895-1996

or Email Editor@MartialArtsWorldNews.com

Next Level Strategy

Change Your Mind, Change

Your Bottom Line

SHIHAN

ALLIE ALBERIGO

is a 7th degree

black belt, the

founder of the L.I.

Ninjutsu Centers,

one of the largest

Ninjutsu schools

on the planet, the

author of 4 books,

and an entrepreneur

with one of the

first online coaching

companies (TakingIt-

ToTheNextLevel.

com).

➽Immediately after a test I once did, I reached

out through text message, because it seems

like emails will get to them eventually but

they’re going to open up a text message within

seconds. I sent a real, genuine text about how

happy I was to have the students involved, and

all of them really seemed very happy to hear

from me.

I think school owners sometimes feel like they’re being

invasive. I have a few people I coach that say, “I’ve sent out

three or four emails and one of the people said to me, ‘I get

so many emails from you!’”

I said, “Listen, don’t let that person change how you

think about everyone else. They’re just one person that’s

annoyed by your emails, so tell them to opt out. But the 50,

60, 80, or 100 other people love hearing from you.”

They don’t have to listen; they can always hit delete

or read the message and not respond. It’s not like you’re

bombarding them in the middle of the night at 2 a.m.,

waking them up and annoying the crap out of them. If

people feel you’re genuine and it’s for their benefit, they’re

willing to listen. But when you’re doing social media posts,

it shouldn’t end with, “$14.99 special, here’s my number.”

It should just be a post about what you do, who you are,

and what makes you special. If they’re

interested, they’re going to reach out

to you; they’re going to click on your

website and find you. You don’t have

to end every message by making it

sound like a sale, because if it does,

it becomes disingenuous and people

don’t believe the message is real. You

gave them the message just to sell

them a bright, shiny object. People can

see through that. They know it. You

have to be genuine about the messaging

and show true care, not so that

you can eventually just upsell them.

It’ll happen, but that’s not why you’re

doing it.

Incidentally, I’ve shifted my sales

process, too, over the past year and

things are booming. Around my area, in Florida, we’re

very condensed with martial arts schools. A guy opened

up a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school 800 feet from my school. I’d

been there for 28 years, and all of the sudden he pops up.

That’s how our competition is, but the one thing I love is

that I don’t sell people.

I say, “Hey, if you like it, join! If not, do our back-toschool

special: it’s four weeks with a uniform for $69.99.”

Then, while they’re doing that, I treat them just like I

would if they were paying $179 a month. Then, when it’s

time for it to end, it’s not like, “Well, I’m selling it now!

Last call!” Instead, I say, “Hey, listen, it’s up to you. I’d love

to see your kid continue because he’s been doing so amazing,”

but I honestly don’t even care if they join—I mean, I

do, but I’m not saying, “Oh, my God, I need this sale.” I just

want them to train.

I have really connected with that family and I see that

kid and what I could do with them. People tell me, “Sign

me up!” or, “You didn’t sign me up! I’m expired! I need to

be signed up!” They’re begging for it!

I think that’s what happens when we have real, true

concern for who the student is and what they’re doing.

People love it, and I love it, because I feel much more connected

to the family at that point.


Illustration by Vladimir Sukhachev

Growth Hacks

Get An Edge Over the

Competition

SEAN LEE is

the Executive

Director of Sales

and Marketing

for hundreds of

martial arts schools

and specializes in

online and social

media marketing

using his extensive

professional

experience

in sports and

martial arts

marketing, contract

negotiation, and

investment.

➽Everyone in a competition looks for an edge

to gain the victory. Make no mistake about it,

running a martial arts school is a competitive

business so you must compete well to succeed.

You must gain the advantage over other

schools in your town as well as other exerciserelated

industry providers—but are you up to

the challenge?

One of the most important keys to your success is having

effective marketing strategies. Of course, you probably don’t

have a background in marketing, so gaining any edge in this

area of the competition may seem like a lost cause to you.

Even though you might be limited in marketing, you can

easily double your income with AMS’ profitable strategies.

Why?

AMS has been providing effective marketing strategies

to martial arts school owners for nearly four decades. Let

our experience help you avoid the time it takes to reinvent

the wheel, because we have proven strategies that work

with little expense or effort.

Gain the edge to increase enrollment every month

with AMS support materials. These marketing strategies

have helped Kung Fu, Karate, Taekwondo, Hapkido,

and many other styles of school owners go from rags to

riches. Whether you run a traditional school, after school

program, or a mixed martial arts location, you’ll have a

marketing edge when you incorporate our income-generating

marketing strategies.

The support materials from AMS are second to none.

You get eye-catching posters, flyers, ads, and social media

posts each month, proven to attract new prospects. Use our

online marketing campaigns like social media events, attractive

emails, and a professional website to promote your

school globally. All you have to do is just input your school’s

information in the new professional ads each month, and

put them in high-visibility locations for success.

With AMS, you gain a team of full-time marketing

professionals developing strategies for success with you

in mind. Marketing strategies are planned out months in

advance, taking into account seasons, holidays, students,

and current marketing and economic trends so that you

and your staff can be prepared.

Remember, your marketing strategies are key to your

success, so you must have an edge on the competition to go

to the next level.

Call (1-800) 275-1600 or go to

MABizAcademy.com to find out more about getting

the edge in marketing strategies that will

profit your school!


Photograph by Ljupco

THE ONLY SOURCE OF COMPLETE SUPPORT FOR YOUR

AFTER SCHOOL

MARTIAL ARTS PROGRAM

Take Advantage of Over 30 Years Experience in the Industry

GROW YOUR ENROLLMENT &

INCREASE STUDENT RETENTION:

● READY-TO-USE STARTER KIT

● 100% COMPLETE CURRICULUM

● QUIET TIME ACTIVITIES

● NEWSLETTERS FOR STUDENTS & PARENTS

● STAFF TRAINING & BUSINESS OPERATION

GUIDES

● THE ONLY TEEN PROGRAM IN THE

INDUSTRY

● ADVICE FROM INDUSTRY EXPERTS

GET YOUR FREE SAMPLE KIT

VISIT OurAMS.com/AfterSchoolKit

AMSKIDS

After School & Summer Camp Programs

Ninja Business Tactics

First Impressions

AN-SHU

STEPHEN HAYES

has authored 20

books, served

as the personal

security attaché

for the Dali Lama,

is responsible

for over 30

school locations

worldwide, and

was named “A

legend; one of the

10 most influential

living martial artists

in the world”

by Black Belt

Magazine

➽Decor is a crucial element to your lobby. If

you’re aiming at upper-income people who go

to a country club, the dentist office they go to

is beautiful, where they work may be nice—and

then they come to your martial arts school and

it’s just an empty room with a couple of mats,

white walls, and a couple of slogans painted on

the walls, they might think, “Whoa! This is not

what I’m used to!” It can set up a disconnect

with the person.

At my school, our training hall is very colorful; we have

it painted in maroon and a deep gold, with green walls in

certain areas, and lots of wood. And by all means, get rid of

the folding chairs! Oh, you had folding chairs

in your school when you were learning? Yeah,

but you learned in a crummy little basement

from a hobbyist! Get rid of the folding chairs.

It doesn’t cost that much more money to buy

nice, padded chairs. Get rid of the droopy

American and Korean flags. If you have

to have a flag, put it on a pole in the

corner. That flag business started

back in the ’60s when the Japanese

started their schools, and the ’70s

when the Koreans came in. They

had an exotic Asian thing here

in good ole America, so they

said, “No, I’m American! I

put a big American flag up

to counterbalance that!”

Most of the people reading

this aren’t Asian and they’re

already American, so you don’t

need that. Put up other inspiring

things . . . but that’s just my

opinion.

Many of us are familiar

with our martial art, and if we

have an Asian background,

we’re familiar with that Asian

background and the language.

When a new person comes in,

they know nothing, so they can

be intimidated by all of that. We

wear different clothes, students are

bowing before they go onto the mat,

using strange words—they don’t know what that means,

but everybody else seems to know. People can shrink back

from that in an Asian-oriented martial art. I think there

are many Americans much younger than me running

schools as an American operation: they use English, they

might have a suit that they wear, they might have certain

practices, but I think they need two things. Number one,

have real people make real greetings to individuals when

they come in to be more accessible. In our schools, we

borrowed from some of the more liberal fundamentalist

churches in our area: they recruit people from the church

to be greeters. They do it for three

months and even wear a little pin;

a real person looking around and

just greeting everybody that

comes in. So, that’s one way to

start: a warm, cheerful person

greeting you.

There are going to be two

people who come in: somebody

who’s coming in with somebody

and to whom we can say, “Are you

with somebody here?”

They’ll say, “Yeah, I brought Becky in, she’s

my granddaughter.”

The greeter will start a conversation like that,

or it’ll be a totally new person who says, “No, I just

came in for some information.”

The greeter says, “Oh, wonderful!”

You’ve found out right away who they

are, and you’ve gotten over that awkward

feeling.

The second thing is that people are doing

martial arts for all kinds of reasons these days.

Obviously there’s a fitness crowd who thinks,

“Hey, I’m bored at the gym, and I just want to

lose some weight.”

We don’t really deal with that a lot in our

school. We’ve tried fitness programs with

very personable instructors, and our people are

interested in something a little deeper. If you want

to go lose weight, go to the gym. And even self-defense,

as obvious as that is, with all the laws these days regarding

self-defense and getting into fights, just carry a little

shocker thing and you’ve got self-defense handled.

So, we ask them, “Why are you really here?”

60 MARTIAL ARTS WORLD NEWS VOLUME 20 | ISSUE 4 Photograph by Ljupco

CLASSIFIED

Browse the Martial Arts World News

Community Marketplace

Do You Have Items to Sell?

Is There Something You Need?

Selling Your School?

Looking To Buy A School?

Are You An Instructor Looking

For A Career In The Martial Arts?

Are You A School Owner

Looking To Hire Instructors?

MartialArtsWorldNews.com


Are You Overwhelmed and Confused

About How Social Media Can Help Grow Your School?

We’re Here to Help!

Download Our FREE Guide

How to Use Social Media Like a Pro!

MartialArtsWorldNews.com/Social

Pillars of Success

Create Physical Success,

Part 1

GRANDMASTER

Y. K. KIM is the

most successful

martial arts

business leader

in the US, having

written over 30

books on martial

arts, business,

leadership, and

success. He has

won numerous

public service

awards and is the

founder of the

leading martial

arts marketing

and management

company in the US.

➽What is the most important thing in

your life: Money, Fame, Power, Love,

Freedom, Health, or Family?

When you lose your money, fame, power,

love, or freedom, it is agonizing, painful,

miserable, but it is not the end of your life. You

can build your money, fame, power, love, or

freedom again. When you lose your health, you

die. It is the end of your life because you cannot

replace your body like you can replace money,

fame, power, love, or freedom. Therefore,

the most important thing in your life is your

health, which is part of physical fitness.

Many people feel that family is the most

important thing in their lives. If you truly love,

respect, and care about your family, your health will be

the most important thing in your life. If you are weak or

get sick all the time, you will hurt your family instead of

supporting them. That’s why health is the top priority in

your life. Physical fitness (health) is the most important

thing in your life because no matter how much wealth,

fame, love, or power you have, you cannot enjoy it without

being physically fit. Let me share my shameful and painful

experience, and how I rebuilt my physical fitness. I hope it

helps you in building a healthier lifestyle.

“Why am I going to the emergency room again?” I

asked myself as the ambulance sped towards the hospital.

I lay on a gurney as the paramedics watched over me,

making sure I wasn’t going to shift and bang on the insides

of the ambulance. I had done this six times before for the

same reason: every muscle in my body screamed in agony.

Stress coiled around my body, choking the life out of it.

“But why should I be worried?” I thought to myself.

“This is nothing new, and this can be fixed again. The

doctor will x-ray me, tell me there’s nothing wrong inside

my body but suggest I need a few days of rest; he’ll give me

some painkillers, and he’ll send me home, just like that.

I’ll be in the hospital three to five hours tops. Nothing to

worry about here.”

Once we got to the hospital, I was rushed to the x-ray

room. I could hear the squeak of the wheels on the hospital

floor and smell the disinfectant rising from the floor tiles.

The sounds and the smells made me very uncomfortable;

I didn’t like being there. When we finally got to the x-ray

room, the orderlies tried lifting my body off the gurney,

but it was hopeless. With each tiny movement I howled,

frightening everyone around me. I was in sheer agony

when just an inch of my body was moved because my

neck, upper body, and lower back were stiffer than a rock.

More nurses and orderlies had to help lift my body off the

gurney and onto the x-ray table because I couldn’t stop

screaming. Finally, I got my x-rays done and was taken to a

quiet room afterwards by one of the nurses.

The doctor came in shortly after and informed me that

even though the x-rays showed nothing was wrong, my

condition was still very serious. He said that he could offer

muscle relaxants but at the same time told me the best way

to recover from this was just to relax. The doctor also said

that if I didn’t recover properly, my condition eventually

would become irreversibly crippling. He gave me the prescription

and I was released again. When I got home, I took

the muscle relaxants prescribed to me and was ready to get

back to work. I tried moving. Nothing except excruciating

pain coursed through my body.

“Why isn’t this working?” I angrily asked myself. “This

worked the last six times. Why isn’t it working now?”

I was getting so frustrated. I had so much to do and

couldn’t do it because my body chained me to this bed.

to be continued next issue


Photograph by SLB

The Best Seller!

Transform your life and

create a successful future with

The 5 Pillars of True Success!

A NEW Paradigm for Modern Success!

1st Pillar: Fight for your body – practice the 4

wheels of physical fitness, so you can do anything

you set your mind to do.

2nd Pillar: Fight for your mind – earn mental fitness

through self-education and self-discipline, so you

can be whatever you want to be.

3rd Pillar: Fight for your heart – believe in yourself

to develop the moral fitness to turn obstacles into

stepping stones, so you can have a winning spirit.

4th Pillar: Fight for your finances – develop financial

fitness to create financial freedom, so you can have

everything you want to have.

Audio Book

5th Pillar: Fight for your life – develop the 7 kinds of

modern leadership to build life fitness, so you can

live the life you’ve always dreamed of.

Embrace The 5 Pillars of True Success to be

healthier, wiser, more confident, wealthier, and

happier. You will create a successful future.

E-Book

As a bonus, The 5 Powers of Self-Defense and The

Top 10 Successful Habits will change your life.

www.YKKIM.com

Modern Success is Your Choice!

Do LESS of This

Payments

S

t

Billing

Charge

Backs

n

late

Payments

u

u

o

u

NSF's

Collections

Declines

AMSBILLING

Tuition Management Services

OURAMS.COM

CALL 1-800-275-1600

& Do MORE of This!

Let AMSbilling Handle Your Business Headaches

While You Do What You Love: Teach!

The Way of the Samurai

The Three Rs of Combative

Weaponry, Part 3

SHIHAN DANNA

ABBOTT Is a

7th degree black

belt in Kenjutsu,

starting his 14-year

education in Tokyo.

He has published

five books and

designed a US

Patent. Abbott has

also conducted

seminars in over

30 countries and

obtained his black

belt at the Hombu

dojo in Yokohama.

He currently offers

online classes on

LearntheSword.

com, his unique

swordsmanship

academy.

➽Retail, Retention,

and

Renewal

Demonstrations in

your school

No marketing

campaign ever works

without the staff’s

and students’ complete

understanding

of the product or program.

To effectively have your students

and potential students participate in

the ultimate game of physical chess,

they must see, feel, and touch the

system and products before they can

correctly grasp the dragon by the tail.

Pursue a strong demonstration presence

during the first three months

of your marketing campaign, and

your students will naturally want to

play more. Two, four, or six combatants

and more can easily participate

in demonstrations. When in doubt,

go to your padded weapon information

center and ask questions. Take

our advice and use your own

judgment to determine what’s

best for you and your style.

And remember: keep it simple.

Advertisement in your

school

Attract new students with

a padded weapons sparring ad

campaign. Place ads in your

local newspaper, distribute

neighborhood flyers or door

hangers, and give out guest passes.

Advertise special classes and

camps all year ’round. Winter,

spring, or summer

camp planning

for padded

weaponry

also offers an exciting way to conduct classes for

fun and profit. You’ll notice that many who’ve

never wanted to practice martial arts will be in

your school practicing toe-to-toe with others,

promoting student enrollment and purchases.

Training in your school

A trained staff is one of the most important

assets a school owner has. Our full-contact

padded weaponry package is stuffed full

of tools and programs designed to enhance

the staff’s education and training comprehension.

Through comprehensive intensive

courses and the simplicity of weaponry and

weaponry forms, martial training becomes safe

and easy while students are having fun. Remember,

if the students see a strong school and staff, they

will want to duplicate the same in themselves.

These programs contain skill-building

information on everything from the first

five-stroke form to how to run a tournament.

Distribute written text and videotape to your

student base and staff. Add these tools to every

phase of your school’s curriculum. It’s simple to

understand, simple to use, and an excellent avenue

to polish your students’ rhythm, balance, speed and

power. To get the most out of the materials, we suggest

sharing them with your staff. They are your

work force that can promote the three Rs of retail,

retention, and renewal to today and tomorrow’s

students.

Helpful hints to get started on time:

1) Don’t wait to plan, do it today.

2) Read and view all padded weaponry programs

and information.

3) Go to your information center.


Photograph by Gerville

Tom Patire’s

®

Making America Safe Again

Personal Protection Tour

Soft-Handed

Control Tactics

®

Active Shooter “SURVIVE”

For Families

®

®

Martial Ops

The FINAL Level In

Personal Protection

TRAINING

FOR LIFE

®

Self-Escape Course For Women

Child Safety For Kids

Tom Patire and his team will come to your

school and teach his revenue generating

personal protection seminars. You choose

which seminars fit your demographic to

help keep your community safe!

For More Information - 888-238-7287

www.TomPatire.com

Extraordinary Marketing

Don’t Confuse Activity with

Accomplishment, Part 1

➽After talking to a bunch of highly

performing school owners once, several

things came to mind. First, I find

many school owners are missing the

little things they need to simplify their

systems and organize or automate their

lives. For example:

GRANDMASTER

STEPHEN OLIVER,

is a 9th degree

black belt and is

the founder and

CEO of Mile High

Karate schools,

and founder of the

Martial Arts Wealth

Mastery Program.

Billing

You have to farm out and automate this 100

percent. Make sure you don’t over-complicate

your life. Another small distinction that makes

a difference is putting EVERYONE on the same

billing date. I prefer the first or 25th of the

month. Batch everything you can on one day or in as small

a time frame as possible. Then, you can follow up on getting

accounts changed or bad credit cards fixed so that it

all comes in for the current month. Spreading things out

just creates more complication and more opportunity for

follow-up to fall through the cracks.

Paying your bills and accounting

Honestly, you should only spend a couple of hours once

a month on billing, accounting, payroll, and payables.

Again, if you set all of your billing on the first (or 25th),

then pay everything electronically on the first (or fifth),

you’ll maximize your focus on things that count and minimize

wasting time. I’ve seen school owners run payroll

weekly or every two weeks. I’ve seen school owners write

checks each week for various things. Set whatever you can

to auto bill or use a credit or debit card and reconcile once

per month. Really, you should:

1. Have your monthly billing receipts be enough to pay

all of your bills

2. Pay everything once a month

3. Bill everyone on the same day and pay the bills from

those collections

The basic management principles at work here are

pretty simple:

1. You’ve got to “inspect what you expect; that’s the way

you get respect.”

2. You should spend 99.9 percent of your time on ONLY

three things:

a. Getting new students

b. Keeping them for life

c. Renewals and upgrades

Messing around with paying bills, filling out forms

for three or four layers of government bureaucrats, and

following up on student billing issues all have to be done.

None should take much time.

A final principle is that it’s always more efficient to

spend time once a month, or once a quarter, or once a

year on something than to mess around with it every day

or every week. Some things are ongoing. Taking care of

your students, marketing, and renewals are all ongoing

(although you could certainly batch all of these and do the

same thing at the same time of the month here also).

OK, I’ll add one more. You only have a certain amount

of bandwidth—in other words, time and attention. If you

get bogged down on stuff that doesn’t create revenue,

then you’re taking your eye off the ball. The big, successful

operators wake up each day with a blank legal pad and start

with, “What else can I do to promote the school?” They

start with creativity focused each morning on that—and

ONLY THAT. Once classes are running, it’s, “What can I

do to make sure everyone in this class is thrilled and committed?”

That may mean renewal prep or it may be service

recovery. At other times it’s just ensuring that there’s

great rapport between your staff and the student (and

their family).


Photograph by Chainarong Prasertthai

After School Excellence

Teaching the Rules: Build

Respect and Retention

CHIEF MASTER

MIKE BUGG is an

8th degree black

belt and the owner

of a $1.52 millionper-year

location,

with one of the

largest after school

and summer camp

programs in the

country.

➽There’s no doubt about it: kids need rules

to follow. With rules and positive discipline,

children have the chance to really shine. Sometimes

we forget that parents send their kids

to our program to learn rules and discipline.

Remember, parents love when their kids follow

the rules. They love when other peoples’ kids

follow the rules. Parents know that well-disciplined

children make for a safe environment.

Here are some tips to help your A+ students

follow the rules all the time.

1. Make the rules for the students simple, short, and

have no more than seven.

2. Teach the kids that they’re expected to follow the

rules. Teach your students that breaking the rules has consequences

like the loss of privileges. Let them know what

the consequences are for rules so that they know what

to expect. Enforce the consequences or they will become

meaningless.

3. Let parents know about the rules and let them know

you enforce the rules. Parents will respect and appreciate

your fairness and honesty.

4. Display the rules on a wall where the kids can see

them and be reminded of them.

5. Write the rules in a positive voice. This tells your

students what they should do and emphasizes the expected

behavior. For example, “No yelling” is better if it’s stated

as, “Speak quietly.”

6. Praise and reward the kids who follow the rules. Your

students will learn that following the rules gets them recognition.

It will also inspire some of the students who may not

always follow the rules to act more properly more often.

Remember, you’re setting the foundation to live a

life of success by following the rules. Also, don’t forget

that parents will be pleased with your orderly and safe

environment. When parents know that their children

are safe, they want them to remain there. Now that’s easy

retention!


Photograph by dusanpetkovic

THE ONLY SOURCE FOR A-TO-Z SUPPORT FOR TRANSPORTED

AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS!

Take Advantage Of Our 30+ Years Of Experience

GET IT COMPLETELY

DONE FOR YOU!

. TURN-KEY

START UP KIT

. 100% DONE-FOR-YOU

CURRICULUM

. QUIET TIME

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

. NEWSLETTERS

FOR STUDENTS & PARENTS

. STAFF TRAINING

AND OPERATION GUIDE

. THE INDUSTRY’S ONLY

TEEN PROGRAM

. GROW YOUR ENROLLMENT

with MAGNETIC MARKETING

. INNOVATIVE AND PROVEN

ADVICE FOR SUCCESS

AMSKIDS

After School & Summer Camp Programs

CALL 1-(800) 275-1600

See What You’re Missing!

GET A FREE

SAMPLE KIT

VISIT OURAMS.COM

Have Your School, Organization,

Accomplishment, or Event Featured in

Martial Arts World News Magazine!

As professional martial arts school owners and instructors,

it’s important that we stay up to date with the latest tools,

tactics, and strategies for operating a successful martial arts

school or organization.

We here at Martial Arts World News Magazine are on an

unstoppable mission to help our industry grow, and one of

the best ways to do that is by sharing “what’s working” and

what’s not.

So, we want to feature schools, school owners, instructors,

organizations, students, and industry contributors that might

have a story our readers would find valuable!

No story is too small or too big for consideration so long as

there is value to our readers.

• One of your students overcame

great obstacles to achieve

their black belt? Awesome!

• You’ve opened a new location?

We’d love to hear about it!

• Your martial arts association

just set a new record? Great!

Send us some information!


Send your Story Idea to us Email Editor@MartialArtsWorldNews.com

Or Contact us at: 407-895-1996

the

like a champ

experience

breaking

kicking

training

leadership

C H I P T O W N S E N D

14x ISKA World Champion, Multiple World Record Holder

"I knew Break Like a Champ could really help our school. We

had been doing several things incorrectly in regards to

breaking, with material selection and holding techniques.

BLAC has made such a huge difference in our school! In a few

months, we will have made back what we spent just by being

associated with BLAC! I really believe BLAC will add

tremendous value to any school!"

-Chance Burleson, owner Chance Legends Dojo

h a m p i o n p a c k a g e

c

1 Hour - Beginner Level Class

- Basic Kicks

- Basic Boxing

- Mat Chats

- Basic Grappling

1 Hour - Intermediate/Advance Level Class

- Flowing Kick Combos

- Basic Reverses/Spin Kicks

- Boxing/Kick Combos

1 Hour - Leadership Team & Instructor

Basic Training

l t i m a t e p a c k a g e

u

Champion Package, PLUS

2 Hour Business Review

- Marketing & Social Media

- Relationship Building in your community

- How to Build a Demo Team

- One 45 minute private lesson for Chief

Instructor

Message me for booking

or appearances

chip@teamchiptkd.com

"It doesn't matter the size of your school, the demographics or

ranks of your students, Chip Townsend helps with all aspects

of running a successful martial arts school!"

-Justin Cuellar, Owner of Atalla County Martial Arts

Tactical Self-Defense

My Top Child Safety Tips

GRANDMASTER

TOM PATIRE,

is known as

“America’s Leading

Personal Safety

Expert” and has

appeared on Good

Morning America,

The CBS Morning

Show, The Colbert

Report, Montel,

plus in mainstream

publications such

as Family Circle,

Redbook, Fortune

Magazine, and The

Wall Street Journal.

He has written

several books

and has personal

safety programs

that can be

incorporated into

your martial arts

school, available at

TomPatire.com.

➽As responsible parents and guardians, we must

never take anything for granted, especially when it

comes to the safety of our children. Here are my top

child safety tips to help you or parents of your child

students in your journey to keep your children safe.

1.) Teaching your child to be safe must be done

when they can understand what being safe means.

It’s important to educate your child on safety in a caring,

non-scary manner. What you say and how you say it could

save their lives or prevent them from being harmed.

2.) Your child is ALWAYS safer in a group.

Encourage your child to use a buddy system (when old

enough) and stick together with friends that act responsibly.

There’s increased safety in numbers, so whether

your child is heading to school, the park, the movies, or

anywhere else, he or she should always go with friends.

Get to know his buddies to make sure they act safely and

responsibly.

3.) Identify for your child who he or she can

trust as “safe people,” like a police officer, security

person, store personnel, a mom with children, or

a pregnant woman. Tell her that if she gets lost or separated

from you, she should go to a trustworthy adult. Tell

your child to trust her own internal alarm and if she senses

trouble or is nervous about a so-called friendly stranger,

she should hurry to the nearest public or populated place,

put herself in the spotlight, and look for help from a trustworthy

adult.

4.) Explain the difference between a “good

touch” and a “bad touch.” Tell your child that no one

should touch him in his private areas (parts covered by a

bathing suit). If anyone does, he should shout, “Help! Stop

it, don’t touch me there!”And be sure to tell you or another

trusted adult about it—immediately!

5.) Dangerous situations develop because kids

like to help out adults, since doing so makes them

feel more like an adult. An abductor will often exploit

that by asking for help finding a lost pet or object. Teach

your child never to aid an adult without your permission.

And if someone has asked them for help, explain to your

child that she should tell you about it immediately.

6.) Have a plan in place in case you and your

child ever get separated. Realize that a child will fall

prey to instinct and panic. Make sure you talk about all

the different types of places you frequent with your child,

such as malls, sporting events, carnivals, amusement

parks, etc., as frequently as possible. Go over your plan just

before entering so it’s fresh in their minds.

7.) A missing child is a frightening situation.

Fear can lead to the parent or guardian wasting valuable

time taking the wrong action. Call the police immediately!

In the event that child abduction takes place, swift

action is critical and time is of the essence. Make sure you

always have a current photo (within six months) and key

identification handy, including DNA samples, dental bite

impressions, and fingerprints.


Photograph by Tomwang112

CUTTING-EDGE

MARTIAL ARTS WEBSITES

That Bring New Students Into Your School–Fast

Finally, a Beautiful, High-Quality, Lead Generating Website for Your Martial Arts School

Visit AmazingMartialArtsWebsites.com or Call (800) 275-6900

Complete Martial Arts Concepts

Kung-Fu Curriculum

Development, Part 2

PROFESSOR

WILLIE “THE

BAM” JOHNSON

is a 7th degree

black belt and

seven-time

sport karate and

Kung-Fu world

champion. He has

appeared in four

movies, 16 plays,

and 11 television

shows. He is

also the national

spokesperson for

the Stronger than

Drugs Foundation

and the Champions

Against Drugs.

➽Business development

concepts are a must. Many

artists and their families

suffered financially while

growing up, so many artists

feel this is selling out

when, instead, the greatest

blessing is to be selfsupported

through your

art, as it allows you to help

grow it more and affect

more people.

Being broke and poor doesn’t

inspire people, especially teenagers,

and as a matter of fact,

people still criticize others who

choose the martial arts as a career.

It’s just that many of them

haven’t been exposed to the

financially successful people in

this industry; and don’t get me

wrong, true wealth is from the

inside out—but if you don’t find

a way to steer your blessing towards

external success, then you

have failed, because poverty only

increases poverty. Learning the

successful, pioneering approach

of an industry billing company has allowed myself, as

well as many others, to live comfortably and look past the

emerging and unified well-thought-out ideas and concepts

that have contributed to martial arts millionaires.

It all starts with the very basic system of business

blueprints, the phone answering technique, turning a student’s

first class into a second, and then to the six-month

program to Black Belt Club and beyond. Not to forget systematizing

dress codes and quarterly belt testings on the

students’ side, and a curriculum that doesn’t change but is

available through handout letters, websites, videos, and so

on. The lifelong benefits of how martial arts will improve

that individual student’s needs should be more important

than account tradition and who’s better. These students’

needs should be discovered from the first time they call

or walk into your school and maneuver throughout their

time with you. When our selfless approach is inverted

beyond our egos and accomplishments with proven business

practices specifically designed for the martial arts

industry, you’re on the path to success.

I am often reminded that there are no bad students,

only bad teachers. So, if they fail, you fail. Just like you

never stop enhancing your art, you never stop enhancing

your business skills. You improve through books, tapes,

and videos, and you network outside of your own industry

as well.


Photograph by Tuned_In

The Millionaire Smarts Coach

Be in Charge of Your

Destiny, Part 1

LEE MILTEER

is an Intuitive

Business Coach,

award-winning

professional

speaker, and TV

personality who

has counseled

and trained over

a million people

throughout her

career. Lee is

Stephen Oliver’s

Martial Arts

Wealth Mastery’s

Millionaire Smarts

Coach and is also a

best-selling author

of educational

resources.

➽Remember when you were a kid and you

used to dream about a time when you’d be in

charge of your destiny, and nothing could stop

you from being exactly what you wanted to be?

Now, as an adult, you have the authority you wished

for as a child, but things aren’t going the way you’d

planned. Does your life seem to be all work and no play? Do

you feel uneasy about your future? Do you ever doubt

yourself? Do you

get stuck wanting

to move ahead in

life, but aren’t sure

if now is the right

time or exactly how

to proceed? Have you

been waiting for the

right time to achieve

your goals and are

now realizing there’s

never a perfect time?

From childhood,

we’re taught

to do what authority

figures tell us to

do. We’ve been programmed

that other

people are smarter,

wiser, and have more

experience. We’ve

been warned about

the disastrous results

that might happen

if the rules aren’t followed. The bottom line is that we’ve

been taught to give our power away, and to not trust our

own judgment or truly believe in ourselves. Perhaps you’ve

forgotten your power to listen to the deepest part of yourself—your

real needs, desires, gut instincts—and begun

to make choices that are no longer satisfying. The good

news is that your point of power is this minute in time. It’s

the decisions you make and act on from this day forward

that’ll determine your destiny. In order to take back your

true power, engage in habit busting, and start believing

in yourself and abilities again, one of the first things you

must do is start being aware of how YOU are programming

your future. How are you labeling yourself? Are you

programming yourself to fail and allowing past habits and

events to rule your future?

The way you label and think about yourself with

self-talk will determine how you make good decisions

about critical issues in business. We all have unproductive

behaviors or habits

that keep us from

using our potential

effectively. If your

self-talk reinforces

those unproductive

behaviors or

habits, you’re actually

programming

those unproductive

behaviors to be more

powerful and harder

to get rid of in your

life and self-image.

Think of it like this:

giving yourself

negative labels only

makes unproductive

behaviors stronger.

For example,

anything negative

about yourself within

your thoughts is like

having someone

else sit on your shoulder and whisper bad things in your

ears about your ability to be successful. Some people label

themselves with things like:

I’m fat; I’m a smoker; I’m a nervous person; I have a bad

temper; I’m always late; I’m not a risk taker; I’m not good

at public speaking; I’m not good at marketing; I’m a bad

speller; I’m lazy; I’m unorganized; I’m not good at hiring

people.

I am not good at _________ (Now you fill in the blank

with how you are programming yourself to fail).


Photograph by gustavofrazao

Bodybuilding Shoes

Weight-lifting

Boxing & Martial Arts Sneakers

Martial Arts Gear

1-800-597-5425

otomix.com

PointMMA.com

Budo Philosophy

A Gaseous World

SHIDOSHI

ALFREDO TUCCI

is the CEO and

General Manager

of the Budo

International

Publishing

Company, a

leading publisher

in the martial arts

with over 35 years

in the industry.

He is also author

of several books:

The Immaterial

Dimension, The

Way of the Warrior,

and The Spirit. He

currently lives in

Valencia, Spain.

➽For sociologist and philosopher Zygmunt

Bauman, our time is characterized by liquefying

institutions, our relationships, and the sense of

what we are. Bauman says that we live in a “liquid

world,” an allegory that’s echoed amongst

the thinkers of this century. But if we give it a

little thought, it’s somewhat inadequate, and if

you ask me, I would dare say it has fallen short,

even as a metaphor.

If, as everything seems to indicate (through heating, acceleration,

volatility), we’re in a predominantly fire stage,

liquid seems to be a totally inadequate simile to describe

the present moment. Fire and water are opposites that do

not complement each other— they’d actually cancel each

other out. It would be much more precise to affirm that

we’re in a gaseous world where everything is suspended,

intangible, virtual, and fleeting.

The structural has lost value in the pursuit of the

functional, and the fundamental has surrendered to the

superfluous. Everything is impermanent, perishable,

fleeting, and transitory. Everything has a programmed

obsolescence; everything is “throwaway” and consumed

like fire, quickly and ostensibly, vanishing immediately

into volutes of smoke and ashes that, in the end, litter

everything.

Fluidity, one of the most outstanding features of

liquids, only exists when fire acts, decanting in pyroclastic

flows and generating cascades of devastating events in a

chain, like the subprime crisis and its consequences. Meanwhile,

everything floats in the suspension of constant

uncertainty, a state of affairs to which, incredible as it

might seem, we all seem to be getting used to.

I was arguing the other day with a Master of martial

arts about the diminished value of the given word.

Nowadays, everything’s adapted to conveniences, and it’s

justified under premises of pure utility, as if the reason of

the practical could justify any change of direction in our

commitments.

“Look,” I said, “the most valuable things are the scarcest,

but with constant demand. It has always been like

that and it will always be like that. In times of financial

uncertainties, gold rises precisely because of it. Today, the

scarcest good, the gold of our times in this gaseous world,

are the certainties, and their last refuge is the given word.”

I added, “And it takes more than simply transmitting

an image of certainty…an image is a gaseous concept; it is

necessary to being firm in what is essential. Nothing will

replace the value of obtaining a success that is projected

over time and possesses entity, durability, and solvency.”

For, nowadays, everything is like a typical Galician’s

answer: “Maybe…maybe not” or “Maybe, who knows?”

In such a volatile environment, the sage of Syracuse

gives us the solution: “Give me a firm place to stand, and I

shall move the world.”

When someone says something, and that someone has

credibility, it will never fall completely apart because there

will always be someone willing to reach out. Life is full of

twists and turns; we cannot take shelter in convenience to

change what was agreed, much less do it without expecting

that we must pay the bill—that is, lose our word. Our word,

like our honor, depends only on us and nobody else. It’s

the last refuge before uncertainty; it’s the firm rock, the

mountain surrounded by the clouds of this gaseous world.

Certainly, you cannot swim against the current, but if the

sage is able to see further, the advantages inherent to the

disadvantages, and disadvantages within each advantage,

he will understand that there must be a firm starting point

to project the arrow.

The strength of character to honor the given word

is even convenient, if we want to look at it that way. In

a world full of uncertainties, every leader must anchor

himself within his own depths in order to withstand the

turbulence of the environment. And no, we’re not in a liquid

world, but in the midst of a firestorm, consumed in the

bonfire of banalities, with the cart before the oxen, simply

looking to be lucky! Bad business…


Photograph by ClaudioVentrella

Reach Thousands of

Martial Arts Professionals in

To See Sponsorship Options & Packages

Visit MartialArtsWorldNews.com/Sponsors

Email Sponsors@MartialArtsWorldNews.com

or Call Jeff @ 407-895-1996

Pro Shop Power

You Can Save More Than You

Think With Re-Breakable

Boards

SUN KANG

is the President

of Vision Martial

Arts Supply, Los

Angeles Branch,

who helps school

owners all over the

US maximize their

retail sales and

drive more revenue

into their schools.

➽ Breaking is used to strengthen students

physically, mentally, and emotionally in many

of the martial arts. Rebreakable boards can do

all of this while also improving your retention,

helping you gain new students, and expanding

your business, all while saving you time and

money, as well as the environment.

The Facts

The fact that rebreakable boards are reusable in and of

itself is what makes them good for the environment while

being cost effective for the martial arts school owner.

Think about it, you take time out of your busy day to run

to the lumber store just to restock your supply of real

wooden boards. Fortunately, rebreakable boards can be

used hundreds, even thousands, of times over before they

need to be replaced. Real boards can cost $17.95 for 26

boards, but rebreakable boards cost only $19.99 for one.

You can see that you’ll save more money and trees in the

long run if you invest in rebreakable boards. Decreasing

the use of real boards means fewer trees are cut down to

supply your school with boards. Like any good investment,

they can be used in many different ways:

• When you hold exhibitions and special events, your

students have to have the proper technique before

they actually perform, so you’d want them to practice

on rebreakable boards

• Tip testing, learning how to hold a board, and conditioning

are other ways to utilize these boards. The students

gain confidence knowing they have the skills to

break a board and can practice numerous times

• Being able to hold a board is an under appreciated

skill. So, using rebreakable boards are perfect for

teaching the proper technique to hold a board. They’ll

know what to expect when the time comes to hold a

real board, and have the opportunity to correct themselves

by practicing

• All of the accumulated practice will make your

students excellent breakers and even better martial

artists

Covering all of these areas of the practical uses for

rebreakable boards will empower you to practice for and

hold successful exhibitions and special events. By investing

in your school, you’re investing in the quality of your

students.

If you would like to purchase Vision rebreakable

boards, call (1-800) 424-5425. You can also view our

catalog at MyKick.com.


Photograph by

Learn the Sword

with Shihan Dana Abbott

Learn Samurai swordsmanship online with Shihan Dana Abbott!

For $1 a day, you can take advantage

of Danna Abbott’s expertise in

Kenjutsu, known as Japanese

Swordsmanship, where he

holds the rank of Shihan 7th

Degree Black Belt.

Abbot has shared his expertise

from the Hombu Dojo in

Yokohama with thousands of

instructors worldwide – and

now he’d like to share it with you.

Samurai Program Online Training

You’ll get unlimited access to videos and tutorials

detailing sword techniques and covering wood,

bamboo, synthetics, and steel for long sword!

Individual Courses & Self Study

Instruction is based on tried-and-true methods

taught in Japan for generations. Experience oneon-one

instruction with a simple, step-by-step,

methodical approach to mastering the sword.

Instructor Courses & Certification

Traditional and combative courses allow

students to grasp the basic dynamics of

traditional & combative sword techniques

and mindsets, making learning and achieving

certification easier!

For more information, head to LearnTheSword.com

MIND MASTERY

The Keys to a Successful

Mindset in Business, Part 2

GRANDMASTER

JESSIE BOWEN

is president of

Karate International

of Durham, Inc.,

a member of the

American Martial

Arts Association

Sport Karate

League and Hall

of Fame, and has

been a member of

the Duke University

PE Staff for over

25 years. He is the

author of Zen Mind-

Body Mindfulness

Meditation and

Zen Mind-Body

Mindfulness

Meditation for

Martial Arts, as well

as several other

books, programs,

and audio CDs on

meditation and

success training.

➽Welcome to my third lesson on the Successful

Mindset. In this lesson, I’ll be talking about

the keys to a successful mindset in business.

These principles apply to any business, whether

it’s a martial arts school or a shoe store. In

this article, I’m going to discuss focus, self-assessment,

thinking like an entrepreneur, believing

in your products or service, avoiding an “I’ll

try” attitude, and the importance of having total

commitment towards your business. Before you

read the article, I recommend having a pen and

paper handy so that you can write down any

thoughts, ideas, or personal strategies.

When it comes to having success in business, your

mindset has more to do with your success or failure than

you realize. You may also have a negative mindset and

not even be aware of it. In working with many business

owners and managers, I’ve found that they’re influenced

by their past experiences. For example, for a martial artist

that goes on to open their own school, success will be

influenced through money based on the prior belief of

their teacher. If their mindset is that it’s wrong to charge

for martial arts lessons, the likelihood the instructor will

have a thriving and successful program is

threatened by a poverty mindset. This is

where having a business coach, mentor, or

mastermind group with other successful

individuals is an asset. A statement I find is

true is, “If you want to know how you’re doing

in life, look at your five closest friends.”

Here are some keys to achieving and maintaining

a successful business mindset.

Think Like an Entrepreneur

If you’re starting your own business, it

won’t work to think like an employee—you

need to think like your own boss! This

means having the freedom and responsibilities

that come with being the head of a

business.

Believe in Your Product or Service

Whether you’re selling something for a company or

of your own creation, you need to really love and believe

in the product to succeed. If you’re offering a service, you

need to believe that you’re offering something unique

and excellent. Keep the mindset that says your product or

service is absolutely worth it.

No “I’ll Try”

If someone asked you if you plan to succeed in the martial

arts business, would you say, “I’ll try”? If so, you have a

negative mindset! You need to think more along the lines

of “I will” or “I can.” Thinking “I’ll try” is a noncommittal

mindset that isn’t conducive to success.

Total Commitment

Total commitment to your business is having a true

passion for what you do, and having a fierce desire to

better yourself each and every day you show up for work.

A great way to establish commitment and continuous

improvement is to set daily goals for yourself.

Now it’s time to go to work. Use this lesson to commit

to your success!


Illustration by Artur

Join Our Martial Arts Professional

Facebook Group

Post Your

Questions

and Ideas

Receive

Feedback and

Expert Advice

Interact

with Fellow

Martial Arts

Professionals

Stay Up to

Date with

Industry News

facebook.com/groups/MartialArtsWorldNews

Master the Basics

Integrity: The Most Important

Ingredient of Leadership

➽What you say and what you do must be one and the same.

It has been said, “integrity is the key ingredient of strong leadership.” Your level of integrity is what creates honest

employees; after all, they will follow your example. If you show integrity, sticking to your word and setting a good example,

your staff will do the same. Here are some examples where showing integrity by doing what you say will pay off:

STATEMENT ACTION RESULT

MASTER

TINA BANE

is a 6th degree

master instructor

and owner of a

Top Ten martial

arts school with

successful after

school and summer

camp programs.

I say to my staff, “Be on time to work.”

I arrive at work on

time.

They will arrive on time.

I say to my staff, “Be positive.” I am positive. They will be positive.

I say to my staff, “Put the customer first.” I put the customer first. They will put the customer first.

I say to my staff, “Eat healthily.” I eat healthily. They will eat healthily.

I say to my staff, “Dress professionally

and neatly for work.”

I dress professionally

and neatly for work.

They will dress professionally and neatly for

work.

I say to my staff, “Train martial arts daily.” I train daily. They will train daily.

Inversely, if you don’t do what you say you will, your results will be inconsistent at best.

Here are some examples:

STATEMENT ACTION RESULT

I say to my staff, “Be on time to work.”

I say to my staff, “Be positive.”

I consistently arrive to

work late.

I show a negative attitude.

Some will be on time and others won’t.

Some will be positive and others won’t.

And so on, just like the first list, but in the negative.

The bottom line is that your staff will follow your lead, and thus, your level of integrity. If they see you following the

rules and meeting expectations, they will do the same. When your staff knows that you have a high level of integrity, it

will make them more loyal. It’s easy to show that you have strong integrity, but it’s also absolutely vital. Your character

determines the character of your organization. Live up to your word and set an example of achievement to have a stronger,

more loyal staff.


Instructional Excellence

Stay Ahead of Your

Competition

GRANDMASTER

TIM MCCARTHY

is a 9th degree

black belt and

is a martial arts

educator with a

master’s degree in

education. He has

been instrumental

in developing two

industry-changing

programs, plus

has directed and

been featured in

hundreds of martial

arts videos and

webinars.

➽The future of martial

arts is less violent

and more practical for

everyday living. Think

about it . . . how many

physical fights have

you gotten into over

the last five years?

How many verbal confrontations

have you gotten

into in the last month? Most

people have more verbal

confrontations in a month (a

week? a day?) than physical

confrontations in five years.

It’s just a benefit of living in a

civilized society.

If we want to survive as an

industry, we must adapt traditional martial arts principles

to 21st century needs. For example, one of the hottest

issues of the year has been health care. While politicians

argue about who pays how much for what kind of care,

martial arts instructors have the opportunity to help our

students prevent problems by staying healthy. We can

teach physical fitness not only from an exercise standpoint,

but also through healthy eating, proper breathing,

and stress management. If we emphasize these added

values in our classes, we become less of a hobby and more

of a necessity with tangible, even financial, benefits.

Traditionally, the stock and trade of martial arts instruction

has been self-defense. Whether you teach kicks

and punches, wristlocks, or takedowns and chokes, the

end result is that your student learns to handle a physical

confrontation. However, most of us teach our students

that physical self-defense is a last resort; instead, we

should first defuse the situation or just walk away. Now,

why should our students continue training in the martial

arts when we teach them not to use the skills we practice?

We are actually encouraging them to quit. Why not teach

them skills they can use every day? We can expand our

self-defense curriculum to teach physical self-defense

from things like bad eating habits and laziness. Students

will face these temptations every day, and practicing at

your school gives them the discipline to resist temptation.

Why not add verbal self-defense to your curriculum for

students to defend themselves from verbal assaults from

classmates, coworkers, and even family? Why not practice

moral self-defense to give them practice defending against

self-attacks like self-doubt, fear, and anxiety? These skills

require practice, which requires continued attendance.

I am not recommending that you throw out your

traditional self-defense curriculum. It is fun to practice,

and more importantly, it provides the framework to teach

these other skills. I am recommending you distinguish

yourself from your competition by expanding the principles

behind your self-defense curriculum to incorporate

the kinds of challenges your students face on a daily basis.

If your competitor’s school teaches violence and your

school teaches how to stay healthy and successfully handle

situations they face every day, which school do you think

they will choose? Which school will they stay with?

Don’t wait for your competitors to make their move.

Beat them to the punch by acting instead of reacting. Keep

your school on the cutting edge of martial arts instruction

by teaching the skills your 21st century students need

today, tomorrow, and in the future.


Photograph by ra2studio

Touch The Future

Of Martial Arts School Management

RETENTION

AUTOMATION

• Send automated

2-4-6 week follow

up messages to

keep new students

motivated.

• Create unlimited

automated followup

messages for

students whose

attendance has

“slipped,” effectively

slamming your

“back door” shut!

REPORT

AUTOMATION

• You don’t even

have to log in to

the system, simply

schedule any of the

over 100 reports

to be automatically

emailed to you or

a staff member

whenever you wish.

MARKETING

AUTOMATION

• Generate new

leads with a

website that

will find new

prospects,

collect their

information, and

funnel them into

your school.

• Guide new

prospects and

appointments

into your door

with automated

sequential email

and SMS text

messages.

FORMER STUDENT

AUTOMATION

• Reactivate lost

and former

students with

regular automated

communications

about special

events and special

offers at your

school.

SOCIAL MEDIA AUTOMATION

• Automatically push, pre-scheduled

posts to Facebook, Twitter and other

Social Networks magnetically attracting

students to your school.

MARTIAL ARTS SOFTWARE

AtlasMartialArtsSoftware.com

CALL 1-(800) 275-1600

TO REQUEST A FREE DEMO

Tools & Tactics

How to Talk to Parents

Lee Peele

is a martial

arts business

development

consultant with

a background in

online and social

media marketing.

➽Martial arts can protect

you from a variety of physical

attacks, but how do you deal

with angry parents? Every child

in your after school program

has parents who are investing

in their children’s futures by

participating in your program.

When they don’t feel like things

are going the way they should,

they’ll complain. How you deal

with angry parents can mean

the difference between having

an ally who’ll refer new students

to your school and losing

a student forever. Here are six

effective steps for resolving

conflict with parents:

1.) Meet in private. When a parent approaches you after

class with a concern, go into your office to talk. This has

two benefits: your students won’t witness your conversation,

and you begin the conversation with a gesture that

shows the parent that you’re willing to dedicate your

undivided attention to their concerns.

2.) Get the right perspective. According to the classic

book on negotiation, Getting to Yes by Roger Fisher and

William Ury, it’s extremely important that you separate

the person from the problem. Don’t take the parent’s

anger personally, and try to focus on the child’s needs.

Taking some time to get this perspective will help calm

you down and give you the focus you need to resolve the

problem professionally and efficiently.

3.) Listen and let them talk. Allow the parent to fully

express their concerns before you speak. If you interject

while they’re speaking, you may only add fuel to the fire.

Also, by letting the parent talk it out, they may calm themselves

down. If the parent knows you’re listening, they’ll

be more willing to listen to your response.

4.) Make your case. Keep your file of student progress

and concerns handy. Always have evidence to back up your

interactions with parents. Keeping detailed notes shows

your attentiveness and covers you in the event that what

the parent says today is different from the conversation

you had the day before. If you have a business partner handling

things when you’re away, notes keep your executive

staff informed about behavioral or instructional concerns.

5.) Be courteous. Whether you agree with the parent or

not, always thank them for sharing their concerns. You

don’t have to apologize for an error if you didn’t do anything

wrong, but always apologize for the inconvenience

or the stress the parent may be feeling: “I’m sorry you

feel that way, Mrs. Wagner,” or “I’m sorry if that’s caused

you any inconvenience.” Once you’ve apologized, you can

begin calmly explaining your rationale for the actions or

events in question.

6.) Extend an olive branch. Always end the meeting

by offering to do something for the parent to solve the

problem. You always want parents to feel like you go above

and beyond standard procedure for them. You don’t have

to compromise your school’s rules or principles, but by

simply offering to look into the issue and making a point

to get back to them personally, you show your willingness

to go the extra mile for your students and school.

Of course, if the conversation is financial in nature,

like an issue with billing, for example, that can feel awkward

and uncomfortable while also potentially damaging

your relationship with that parent. Luckily, AMS

can handle all of your billing problems so that you only

concern yourself with doing what you love most: instruction

and maintaining those close relationships with your

school family.

To find out what AMS Billing can do for you,

please give my Billing Specialist colleagues a call at

(1-800) 275-1600.


Photograph by fizkes

Do You Serve Martial Arts Professionals?

Share Your Message in

For Sponsorship Options & Packages

Visit: MartialArtsWorldNews.com or Call Jeff @ 407-895-1996

Martial Arts Philosophy

American Samurai, Part 2

SENSEI

GARY LEE,

the American

Samurai, is a 9th

Dan black belt,

a USA Karate

Federation gold

medalist, winner

of five Super

Grand National

Titles, a featured

actor in the movie

Sidekicks, and

is the founder of

the National Sport

Karate Museum.

➽This story begins generations earlier, when

the Great Uzaimon Katana had discovered a

piece of fallen heaven. This find was metal so

powerful it emitted an eerie black glow. He

captured its energy by forging this ethereal

metal into a special blade. After each and

every pounded fold was given for strength

and power, Uzaimon thrust the red-hot length

of this otherworldly metal into the cold water

to quench and set it. Upon cooling, carbon

crust magically

appeared. He

then collected

these particles

of crust and

sprinkled these

bits onto his

daily rice, which

he ate with

great gusto.

He sincerely

believed that

in ingesting

these bits he

would become

an extension

of this magical

blade, and

as powerful.

Every day as he consumed his rice laced with

the collected particles, he felt himself become

stronger and more powerful, both mentally and

physically.

To completely understand how he could use his newly

acquired powers by using his forged blade, Uzaimon ventured

out into the bamboo jungle and began cutting each

and every stalk of bamboo. He returned in 30 days, totally

morphed into a herculean samurai. His eyes had become

like burning pieces of dark, black coal. This newly instilled

power instantly gave him an advantage over a man. He

lived to be 114 years old, still retaining his powerful legacy

by way of written lore and many duels to the death. As

tales became history, there was an ancient rumor that a

male was born with those special boring, black eyes immediately

after Uzaimon’s death. During that time, the Emperor

had become knowledgeable and probably frightened

of the Katana clan, as he knew how powerful they had been

and could be in the future. The Emperor, in his wisest and

self-serving moments, had the entire Katana clan removed

from Japan and sent to the outer reaches of the realm.

This mysterious young offspring of the great Uzaimon

had sailed with the Katana clan to a remote, uninhabited

island. Within a few months, a camp was set up, and eventually,

a port established. As the years rolled by, the young

boy became a man and pursued the constant study of the

way of the sword. He

was rumored to have

the strength of ten and

the mindset of twenty.

He was the leader until

his death, when a new,

muscular baby boy

with those same coalblack

eyes entered this

island paradise. The

generations to follow

repeated this pattern,

and have to this

present day. When

the last patriarch

dies, the next one in

line inherits both his

physical and mental

knowledge.

Tadashi Katana is the last living descendant of the great

leader and samurai warrior Uzaimon Katana, whose ancestors

first landed on this island hundreds of years earlier.

Tadashi spent his youth practicing the traditional ways of

his ancestors and ancient warrior ways where the jungles

and the beaches met. One side of the field was white sand,

and the other side of the field was a dense green jungle in

which he became the master of his surroundings, with

or without a blade. Tadashi also inherited special DNA,

which was passed down to only him. When Tadashi came

of age, he lived and studied abroad, and learned to speak

several languages, able to discuss any topic or discipline,

and excelled in any sport or endeavor. Considered by all

to be a man of the ages, he was comfortable dealing with

people from all walks of life, which prepared him for his

biggest challenge, and that was…to move to Texas.


Photograph by Zeferli

61

A Touch of Zen

ATouchofZen.com

ADVERTISER INDEX

87 Kids Point MMA

PointMMA.com

2, 38, Atlas Pro

97 AtlasMartialArtsSoftware.com

57 Kovar Systems

KovarSystems.com/success

102

Action Hero Photos

ActionHeroPhotos.com

91 Learn the Sword

LearnTheSword.com

85 Action Mega Weekend

HOHmega.com

11, 77 Amazing Martial Arts Websites

AmazingMartialArtsWebsites.com

7, 21, Martial Arts World News

89, 99 MartialArtsWorldNews.com

17, 70, AMS Billing

104 OurAMS.com

63, 77 AMSkids

OurAMS.com/AfterSchool

22 Black Belt Principles

BlackBeltPrinciples.com

79 Break Like a Champ

TeamChipTKD.com

83 Budo International Magazine

BudoInternational.com

75 Extraordinary Marketing

ExtraordinaryMarketing.com

15 Karen Eden

CenturyMartialArts.com

95 Lee Milteer

Milteer.com

31, 55, MA Biz Academy

103 MABizAcademy.com

99 Martial Arts History Museum

MAMuseum.com

86 Otomix

Otomix.com

102 Sport Karate Museum

SportKarateMuseumArchives.com

25, 33 Stephen K. Hayes - To-Shin Do

NinjaSelfDefense.com

73 Tom Patire

TomPatire.com

3 Vision

VisionMA.com

24 Warrior Defence Lab

TheEvolutionOfKrav.com

32, 69 Grandmaster Y. K. Kim

YkKim.com

66 Kick Start Kids

KickStartKids.org


OF THE MONTH

Buddy Passes

TOOL

Buddy Passes are an effective

yet low-cost way to improve

your enrollment numbers. Simply

print the passes at your local

print shop and give them to your

star students. They’ll be able to

invite their buddy to free classes

to try out the martial arts for

themselves!

To receive this Special Gift, visit

MaBizAcademy.com/Gift

Get this FREE sample of the

creative events MA Biz Academy

members enjoy every month to

lock in student retention and bring

dozens of new students into your

school! Members also receive a

fully developed promotion outline

and other support materials.

FULL-SERVICE TUITION BILLING

No More Chasing Payments, Hunting Down Expired Credit Cards,

or Damaging the Relationship with Your Students.

AMSBILLING

Tuition Management Services

The Most Effective

Tuition Billing & Management

In The Martial Arts Industry!

VISIT OURAMS.COM CALL 1-800-275-1600

Martial Arts World News Magazine - Volume 20 | Issue 4

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?