MASuccess Magazine

by Karen Eden

My dog is from the local dog pound. He is a very expensive breed-combination of American Eskimo and cattle dog. Somebody bred him with the intention of showing him in competition. But there was just one problem: he came out blemished.

It’s as if somebody spilled coffee on his nose. The poor dog is a throwback,and it’s something he had no control over. But there’s a beautiful side to this story. My dog couldn’t care less. He thinks he’s great, and evidently that’s all that matters. It seems that all of my dogs have taught me a lesson or two at one time or another.

There was the time that I was asked to serve my country through the department of Homeland Security. It was shortly after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, and there was a need for females to teach anti-terrorist tactical maneuvers. I was truly honored and excited. But I also...

by Philip E. Goss, Jr., ESQ.

The next time I celebrate a New Year’s Eve toast, I will be less than two weeks from my 60th birthday. I’ve been happily married for more than half of these years and a parent for just a few years less. A lesson I have learned over the years of being a parent is that just sharing my experiences and expecting my children to accept my recommendations, without explanation or context, is a fool’s errand.

Such belief that my children should follow the old “Because-I-said-so” mantra is wrong. And thus, when I do that to you, my valued readers, it is wrong as well.

Several columns ago, I opined how you should handle worker’s compensation (WC) issues. I told you what to do, but forgot the why. In this column, I’ll remedy my shortcoming.

In the previous column, I stated the following (in truncated form):

“The concept of...

by Dr. Jason Han

As a physical therapist, I take the fundamental movements of the human body and connect them to an activity — not just physically, but mentally, too.

I probably didn’t know it at the time, but I applied this mind-body connection throughout my career as a martial artist. Any student can work to achieve a mind-body connection, but it’s a process that requires a shift in mindset.

Coaches Tim Thackrey and Antony Graf from the Juice Athlete Compound and I had an important discussion several years ago about the efficiency of a training session. We asked ourselves, “How were we able to get so much out of a single 60-to 90 minute training session, where it seems some of our opponents had to do two to three trainings to match our benefit?”

The answer was simple: We valued quality over quantity. When we stepped on the mat, we were all business. We left...

by Dave Kovar

Of course, it’s important to focus on lead-generation strategies, if you want to stay in business or grow your school. But the schools I see that are most successful are the ones that put a heavy emphasis on retention.

I am very aware of the fact that some students are going to quit, no matter how good your program is. Still other students may never quit, no matter how bad your program is! But, the majority of students will stick with you for a long time, if you don’t give them a reason to leave.

Here are six tips for better retention.

1. Be happy to see them. Everyone appreciates being appreciated. A simple, but effective way to practice this is simply to be happy to see your students when they come to class. Let them know that you know they are there. Get your students thinking, “I’m glad I came,“ by letting them know that they are...

by Melissa Torres

It was February in Oklahoma City when I was listening to news reports of an ice storm heading my way. I had a flight scheduled to take me to my first MAIA Elite event in sunny Orlando, Florida. And, fortunately, I was able to escape the city just before the storm hit.

It was perfect weather in Florida. But I wasn’t there for vacation, I was there to work. I had the opportunity to hear the MAIA consultants speak and I realized why I’m so thankful I took this job. Each day, I left the sessions inspired and motivated, along with a number of school owners in  attendance to focus on their growth and financial future. One thing that really hit home for me was the importance of setting goals for myself.

I got home and decided to dig deeper into goal-setting and the concept of positive thinking to achieve those goals. I started reading a book by success coach and...

by Kathy Olevsky

I‘ve been operating a martial arts school full time for 39 years. I think I may have made every mistake that can be made in this business. The reason I’m still in business, I believe, is because I asked for help. I learned quickly that others before me had already found solutions. In this reality-based column, I’ll point out key mistakes I made in my business career, which are common errors among school owners, both large and small, throughout our industry. Then I’ll share the solutions I applied to overcome them.

Summer is approaching, and some schools see a considerable drop in new business during these summer months. If it happened last year, they assume it will happen this year, too. 

In reality, this is a great time to make sure you drive new business to your door. There are families that stay home during the summer months and enjoy...

by Christopher Rappold

Trust is a feeling, but, at times, it may be a bit hard to define. Kyoshi Dave Kovar, at a recent seminar, discussed the “5 C’s of Trust.”

After being reminded of this important lesson, I thought it would be of value to share with you. 

What are the 5 C’s? They are: Consistency, Competence, Confidence, Credibility and Character.

Consistency. Students want to feel a degree of “sameness” when they come to class. Providing enough repetition over time allows them to wire in the muscle memory to make the movement effective for their intended purposes.

Competence. Students want to know the techniques work and have been battle-tested for their intended purposes, be it competition, street survival, combat, etc. They want to know that the instructors teaching them have been correctly trained to transfer the correct information to get...

by Frank Silverman

As we approach the Martial Arts SuperShow, scheduled for July 1-3 at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, I want to give one last push for everyone to sign up. As you have heard before regarding not only this but events similar to it, you only need one great idea to make the trip both worthwhile and affordable. Think about it. If you enroll just two students at a rate of $100 a month, and your average member stays only eight months, that amounts to $1,600. 

My guess is you can pay for your SuperShow ticket, two hotel nights and airfare for less than $1,200. And any good idea will surely generate more than two new members.

That said, I have a way to guarantee that you get far more than just a few members and return home with the other big “problem” — having too many ideas! (I’ve heard that before and I think it’s the world’s worst...

by Beth Block

Many of us believe in the value of tournament participation for our students.

Tournaments can enhance our students’ competitive spirit. This assists them outside the martial arts world as well as within. It also helps our students learn to both win and lose. Additionally, we learn that challenging work is often rewarded.

So, for all those valuable reasons, we utilize the tournament platform within our studio. It provides all the character development we’ve just mentioned. It has the added advantage of helping with our student attendance and retention, as they work toward their goals in preparing for the tournament.

We spend time informing the students and their parents about the date, venue and rules for the tournament. We devote our time to working with the tournament hosts on planning, coaching and judging at the tournament. We have a lot invested in...