How to Host a Successful Glo-Chuck Seminar

With COVID, and the less-than-stable return to school situation in some states, it’s understandable if your youngest martial arts students are a little stressed right now. On top of that, Halloween is right around the corner and many places are cancelling Trick-or-Treating, parades, and other holiday celebrations. Halloween is widely anticipated and beloved by youngsters, and is something they look forward to all year. To be fair, now probably isn’t the best time for communal candy touched by who-knows-how-many hands – but it still looks like we’re in for a dark and gloomy October.

Martial arts schools to the rescue! You can light up your young students’ Halloween – literally and figuratively – by offering an awesome Glo-Chuck seminar! These training events were popularized by MAIA and our very own Frank Silverman, and have been successful student retention and revenue-boosting events for schools for years.

Whether you hold it on October 31^st or not, this is a spook-tacular event that’s sure to be a hit.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Know your nunchucks.

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If you already have a weapons program at your school, you’re covered! Just create a training routine based on your demographic. You’ll have to decide whether or not to allow your students to invite friends – remember, keeping kids spaced out is essential, so consider how much space you have available. If you are allowing friends, you’ll need to work basics nunchuck handling into your seminar. If your event is for students only, consider teaching them more advanced moves.

No weapons program? No problem! Here are more tutorial videos on YouTube that will show you how to teach nunchaku drills. Just spend a few weeks before your seminar practicing, so you feel confident teaching your students a routine.

2. Decide where and when to hold your seminar.

First, realize that you may have to hold multiple seminar sessions in order to space out your student body. Each seminar only has to be 45 minutes to an hour long, so you could easily host two or even three in one day, or spread them out over two weekend days.

Since you will be using Glo-Chucks, the best time for a seminar is after dark. The absence of other Halloween activities like trick-or-treating will have freed up your students’ (and their parents’) time. So it’s not unreasonable for you to hold a seminar later in the evening, like 8 to 9 or even 8:30 to 9:30 pm. This means that there are easily two time slots per evening for holding your seminars.

Now, location. If your school has the mat space to accommodate safely spacing out attendees (a 6’ distance between people is recommended by the CDC), you can host seminar sessions in your dojo.  

If you’re worried about a lack of space, here are several potential solutions: One, see if you can rent space in a local park (weather and temperature in your area permitting). If you have a working relationship with local academic schools, you could also inquire about using their playground space to host your event. If one of your students/parents owns a large property with land, you could also ask them to let your school use it.

3. Determine the cost.

A fair price is $30 to $50 per attendee. In order to host a Glo-Chuck seminar, you will need to purchase at least one Glo-Chuck for every student, and at least one pair of Chucks per student if you plan to teach double chucks. It’s also a good idea to have extra glowsticks on hand to reload the Chucks, in case someone cracks theirs too early, or wants to buy extras after the seminar.

You can also hand out “party favors” – small, individual bags of wrapped candy, stickers, or other goodies. You will want to charge at least enough to cover the cost of these items. Also, keep in mind that your time is valuable, and you deserve to be paid for it.

4. Start promoting your event!

Choose a date and time for your seminar/seminars. Make sure to post on all social media channels you’ve been using to communicate with your student body, and call/message parents. If your school has reopened, post fliers on the wall or news bulletin and hand out notes.

We know you’re busy, so we’ve given you a head start! Download the assets here:

• Facebook
• Full page flyer
• Half page flyer
• Postcards

Want to make your Glo-Chuck seminar something kids will really go crazy for? Make it an in-costume event! Let your students wear their Halloween costumes when the participate (just make sure that their outfits are appropriate and won’t interfere with their movements while they train).

Decorate your studio a few days before your seminar, and let the excitement build!

5. Your Glo-Chuck Seminar

As students arrive, hand out their Glo-Chuck(s) and have them take their places on the mat. Need help keeping high-energy students spaced out? Tell them that they should be able to spin around in a circle, with their arms and chucks fully extended, without hitting anyone.

Open with a short warm-up to get their arms and legs stretched out. Start by teaching them basic movements, and work into the more complex ones. At the end of the session, have them crack their Glo-Chucks to light them, turn off the lights and then have them run through the entire routine!

To keep your students psyched for training, send them off on a high note that will leave them talking about your seminar for days. Here are some suggestions for how to accomplish that:

• Have a costume contest. At the end of the class, all students who want to show off their costume do so while performing the nunchaku routine they just learned. Have students cheer for their favorite costumes and give the top three a special prize (on top of the party favors that everyone gets).
• Let them show off. Let all students who want to stand at the front of the class, one-by-one or in pairs (if they want to perform with a friend), and show off what they learned. Cheer for them all!
• Perform for parents. This may not be possible if you are in a limited space that does not allow for guests. However, if you can, it’s a great idea to allow parents to come and watch.

Remember, all the kids are allowed to keep their Glo-Chucks to take home! And don’t forget the party favors.

COVID may have changed the way we do business, and even the way we approach holidays. But “changed” doesn’t mean “stopped.” With a little flexibility and some imagination, you can easily hold a Halloween Glo-Chuck seminar that will help bring in revenue to your dojo and leave your students excited and enthusiastic for training!

Don’t wait – Grab your Glo-Chucks now and make this Halloween your students’ best one ever!