MASuccess Magazine

by Dave Kovar

In my travels, I get the chance to meet and work with school owners and martial arts professionals from all over the world. I love working with martial artists! Most of the people with whom I interact tend to be optimistic, intelligent and open-minded. However, every now and then I meet someone who makes me pause and say to myself, “Really?” A while back, I met just such a guy.

I was teaching an Instructor College in a large metropolitan area with an extremely diverse group of instructors. Some had large schools, while others had small schools. Some were master teachers, and others were just starting out. There were representatives from a variety of styles and systems, and all were there to learn and grow — except for this one guy.

You know the type. He sat there all morning, arms crossed, clearly disinterested in anything I or anyone else had to say. I thought that perhaps I was reading him wrong, so during the first break, I approached him...

What do you think of when you hear the word "summer"?

• Do you think of traveling?
• Vacations?
• Time at the beach or the pool?

Unfortunately for some school owners, when they hear the word summer, they think:

• Low revenue
• Tons of freezes
• Empty mats

If that’s you, this blog was perfectly crafted with you in mind.

When I first started working with Mr. Metzger, he taught me some marketing gold.

He said, “There are 3 times a year in your school where you have to increase your
marketing efforts."

Those times are:

• Going into summer
• Coming out of summer
• And going into the new year

Why is it you might ask that those 3 specific times are when you should go pedal to the metal with your marketing?

It’s because during those times, people are making transitions that affect their day-to-day lives.

When it’s summer time, school is ending, vacation time is taken, new activities are booked, and our typical...

by Frank Silverman

As we continue to work — and work our way back to normalcy — in 2021, I cannot help but reflect on how unique, tough and crazy 2020 was. The scariest part for me was the realization of how fragile our economy is and how fragile a business can be.

A business, whether a martial arts school or something else, is almost like a living being. It needs certain resources (air, food and water for us; income and patrons for a business) to survive and thrive. Without them, a business will slowly begin to “starve” and then will cease to exist.

That by itself isn’t scary. We all know this. What is scary is that something we had never heard of, something that didn’t even exist two years ago, could be the force that suddenly cuts off these resources and changes our lives forever. What is really scary is that it can happen again, without warning, at any time. And most likely, it will. Even if we don’t see another...

by Mike Metzger

If you want to maximize the odds that you’ll be successful — in anything — you need to set goals. No matter what you do in life, you should have a clear destination in mind, and when you think about it, a goal is a destination.

Assessing your needs, setting goals that will get you there and, when necessary, reevaluating those goals are crucial elements in the process, and the beginning of the year is a great time to address them. On a personal level, your goals might pertain to having better relationships, earning a college degree, acquiring a bigger house or even becoming a better person. However, because MASuccess is about the martial arts business, I will assume that you’re reading this article because you want to set and then achieve goals related to your business.

There are many goals you can set for your business, and most of them likely relate to some type of growth. Therefore, to achieve them, you must understand what mechanisms...

by Frank Silverman

As we prepare to enter 2021, we have an opportunity not only to look toward the future but also to reflect on the past. Nobody could have predicted how 2020 would turn out. It’s hard to believe that the pandemic has rolled over into the new year with us. In March, I had a conversation with my business partner Mike Metzger, and we agreed that COVID, although serious, would blow over soon. We figured it was a blip on the map of life with no real consequences. After a couple of weeks, life would be back to normal, we thought.

As we all know now, that prediction could not have been more wrong. We stopped in-person training and closed our schools in mid-March, then pivoted to virtual training. Not until June did we begin to allow students back into our schools. That’s when we quickly learned something that most other school owners likely discovered: Although we were ready to resume in-person training, our students were not so eager. They still wanted...

by Kevin Nevels

When my wife and I opened our first martial arts academy more than 10 years ago, we didn’t know much about running a business. To be honest, we hardly knew anything about running a business. However, we were sure about a couple of things: We knew how to teach good martial arts, and we knew that we needed to get out into our community and let people know what we were doing.

These two ideas turned out to be the beginnings of a blueprint for success.

In the years that followed, I’ve observed that most school owners know they should go out and tell people about their schools, but they don’t know how or where to get started. Some school owners say they don’t see the value in getting involved in their community because it doesn’t lead directly to the acquisition of new students. If you’ve read MASuccess for any length of time, you’ve seen the recommendations that MAIA consultants have shared to help you organize events that...

by Kurt Klingenmeyer, MAIA Elite Consultant

Teaching martial arts is an honor. We instructors have the opportunity to instill confidence, focus and self-discipline in kids of all ages. Furthermore, we help adults learn how to protect themselves and, in the process, foster a sense of empowerment that will aid them in all areas of life. No other profession makes an equivalent impact on the community.

As fulfilling as making a positive impact is, a martial arts school is still a business. That means tasks need to be done, people need to be employed and bills need to be paid. In other words, you need to guarantee your revenue stream and ideally grow it. Perhaps the most efficient way to do that is to focus on the hours of the day when you’re not teaching your regular classes.

Think about what happens at your school during non-class hours. Yes, there are lesson plans to be written, cleaning to be done and miss-you calls to be made — all the normal duties that come with...

by Nguyen “Tom” Griggs

As I write this, we are in the midst of a global pandemic. Every day, we’re being tested and stretched in new ways — as leaders, martial artists, school owners, instructors and role models.

Despite all the chaos and the unprecedented levels of change, there is one simple point I’d like to make: No matter how things go, we must hold to our standards. The reason is very simple.

How we act, speak and behave during the crisis says more about our character than any platitudes, student creeds or tenets ever will. In other words, the pandemic is showing who we really are through how we behave during difficult times.

I want to share a personal experience that pertains to holding to one’s standards. During my time as a martial artist, I’ve had the honor of training under several instructors in various styles. As a result, I hold several black belts. The lesson I’m about to share comes from one of my promotion...

by Philip E. Goss Jr., Esq.

I’ve had the pleasure of writing this column for 19 years. The membership of the Martial Arts Industry Association has grown greatly during this time, both in size and sophistication.

There are many business subjects that have been and continue to be important to school owners. One is the issue of restrictive covenants and employment agreements, a hot topic from day one, circa 2001, and still worthy of attention.

Those who read my columns regularly know that I’ve always warned that the law typically moves at a glacial pace (“law” in this case referring to statutes that are enacted by legislatures and later defined by courts). The law is not equipped to react quickly to changing technology and social mores. By way of example, who among us in 2001 would have bet their lunch money that by today, marijuana use would be at least partially decriminalized in half of the Unites States or that same-sex marriage would be legal...

Attending the Martial Arts SuperShow is a one of a kind experience. Last year was my first time going and I loved it, so I decided to write down my thoughts. If you haven't already locked in your tickets, do it today! https://www.masupershow.com/

By: Cris Rodriguez, MAIA Digital Marketing Specialist

February 2019.

Mike Metzger. Melody Johnson. Bill Clark. Shane Tassoul. Chuck Norris.

Those were the Speaker names that I read.

Those were the legends in our Industry that I would be sharing the stage with.

And man was I PUMPED!

Having the opportunity to share my love of Digital Marketing at the industry’s
largest and most established conference gave me chills.  It was an absolute honor.

My mentor, Mike Metzger (who sometimes has more faith in me than I do) was
the one that signed me up.  And I was super nervous!

This was going to be my VERY FIRST SuperShow…
And he had me speaking 4 times!

I knew the most important question I had to answer...