MASuccess Magazine

Guest Blog by Michelle Hodnett

Project Dojo is a nonprofit community outreach program in Pueblo, Colorado, that works with at-risk children. Through the power of martial arts, Project Dojo seeks to inspire and motivate kids within a safe environment, while continuing to teach the traditions of martial arts.

However, you don’t have to be a nonprofit school to hold a great free event! Holding a free event to help youth in your community is a great way to rally your school around a worthy cause. Your students can work as volunteers at the event, or contribute to the planning. In this article, Project Dojo head Michelle Hodnett shares how she’s held successful free events and how you can get started on yours!

Why do a backpack giveaway in the first place?

Everyone loves free stuff! If you’re looking to advertise, boost morale, or want to connect with your community, a free backpack giveaway might be a perfect event. It seems easy: just give away...

What if I told you that there was a system that you could implement in your school to generate tens of thousands of dollars in sales in only four hours on a weekend? What if I also said that some schools have used this system and made over $100,000 in those four hours? These results are not an anomaly. The Championship Martial Arts system of holiday sales has helped many schools turn a slow season into the year’s most profitable month!

By Michael A. Perri Jr.

There is a common belief among martial arts school owners that there are two times during the year when your school has to brace for a struggle. The first is during the middle of the summer. The second is during the holiday season in December.

For the latter, the winter’s cold and holiday parties, coupled with the excitement of boys and girls unwrapping their gifts, all play a part in creating a challenging — albeit festive — month for school owners. School owners have found it hard to...

Peter Grootenhuis possesses one of the most brilliant scientific minds in the world, but his body is fighting a losing battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Teaching from his wheelchair, Grootenhuis is an inspiration to everyone at Pacific Martial Arts in San Diego. His message — “Quitting is not an option!” — is one of many legacies he will leave in his wake.

By Terry L. Wilson

“My World Is the Dojo”

Before moving to America, Grootenhuis began his lifelong journey in the martial arts in his native Netherlands, training in shotokan karate. The intricacies woven into those kata proved to be a perfect fit for a man who excels in unraveling the secrets of the universe.

“Strange as it may sound, martial arts gives me complete relaxation,” Grootenhuis says. “When I’m in the dojo, I think of nothing else. My world is the dojo. I am totally focused on what I...

How Two Instructors Guide Their Students to Black Belt — and Then Retain Them as Contributing Members of the Dojo!

Rob and Kathy Olevsky (author of MASuccess’ “You Messed Up! Now What?” column) took over a struggling school in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1979. Forty years later, they not only have a thriving business but dozens of black belts who are happy to pay full tuition. Learn what they did right — and a few things they did wrong — along the way!

By Keith Yates

It was the late 1970s, and Kathy Kilmartin was a 21-year-old taking karate lessons at the only martial arts school in Raleigh, North Carolina. She caught the eye of one of the instructors, a man named Rob Olevsky, but the dojo had a strict policy against teachers dating students. However, after repeated requests, the school’s owner says Rob could ask her out on a date — but only if Rob bought out Kathy’s contract in case she quit.

Rob agreed...

If you're reading this blog, chances are, you're familiar with MAIA, or the Martial Arts Industry Association. But just because you know MAIA as an organization, you may not be familiar with all the individual team members. They do an amazing job, and are just as passionate about the work they do as you are. We're making this series of blog posts to shine the light on our MAIA team members and the amazing work they do!

And if you know MAIA, you know Frank Silverman. MAIA’s Executive Director is a longtime martial artist, as well as the owner and operator of 10 martial arts schools in and around Orlando, Florida. He is the author of Business is Business: Passion and Profit in the Martial Arts Industry, and has been one of the most impactful figures within MAIA for nearly two decades.  

How long have you worked with MAIA?

I’ve been with MAIA for nearly 20 years (19, to be precise), and it’s been an amazing experience since the start!

What is...

Guest Blog by Andries Pruim

While everyone enjoys participating in a class taught by a wonderful instructor (sensei), we also sometimes wonder how the sensei manages to train him or herself. Clearly the majority of their martial arts involvement now comes from their time in class. But how do they continue to train and improve, or even practice, when they are constantly moving around the class correcting and assisting their students?

This has always been the sensei’s dilemma. How should he or she obtain their required training/practice, while ensuring the progress of their students?

There are many opinions on whether instructors should be “training while teaching.” We can all agree that during class, most of the instructor’s focus should be on the students who are paying to be there. Any debate stems from differences in opinion of just how much that focus needs to remain on students, and how much it can be devoted to personal training.

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Not sure how to get your studio featured at the top of Google's Search Engine Results Page? Read MAIA Social Media Specialist, Cris Rodriguez' tips on dominating Google.

By: Cris Rodriguez, Social Media Specialist

Social Media (love it or hate it) is an absolutely effective communication and marketing tool for your Academy.

While there are many different platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram to help build your audience as well as brand awareness, today we are going to cover one of the least leveraged platforms: Google My Business.

Before we learn how to leverage it, we have to understand the type of marketing that Google is versus Facebook and Instagram.

Facebook and Instagram are interest based marketing. Meaning, our ads will be shown to users based on the data that they have provided while surfing the internet (websites they have visited, products they have purchased, etc).

Think about why people are on social media in the first place. It’s usually because they...

By Christopher Rappold

What is it that separates a good competitor from a great competitor? I have asked that question many times, and I have heard many answers. To be great, someone must be fast. Or must be strong. Or must have a long reach. Or must have superior strategy. The list of answers goes on.

While all these are valid, I believe that the biggest deciding factor between good and great is whether a person can control distance.

This answer is what I would call “the elusive obvious.” It is self-evident, but sometimes we are so close to it that we don’t appreciate its value. If distance is controlled, then offense, defense, blocks, punches and kicks all work. If distance is off, they all are rendered useless.

If distance is such a critical element of success in martial arts, why is it that most schools place a premium on punching and kicking and only teach distance as a necessary evil? As I reflected on the answer and spoke with others, two answers...

By Karen Eden

Two days before school closed for summer break, it snowed in Denver, Colorado. It had been a long and grueling winter on the front range, and though springtime in the Rockies is notorious for bringing a wide range of weather surprises, few people had predicted this. Old Man Winter just didn’t want to go home.

“Will it ever end?” people asked themselves while defrosting their cars and shoveling the sidewalks. It’s a phenomenon that can really mess with your sense of time: watching it snow the week of Memorial Day celebrations.

As a former weather anchor in the Denver area, I know that TV ratings rise with the inches of snow. The more terrible the weather you forecast, the more the management will applaud, hoping the dire warnings will lead to increased viewership.

But I have news for everybody, and I say it every year. Our planet doesn’t stay still around the sun. It’s basic science. Seasons must change, and they always do.

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