MASuccess Magazine

by Richard Blaine

It’s not easy to have a large, successful franchise of martial arts schools run entirely by your own students, doubly so if you’re having those schools maintain a fairly traditional curriculum. But Professional Karate Schools of America, or PKSA, has managed to buck the odds and do just that thanks largely to the vision of its founder, Richard Collins Jr.

Collins, along with his father, started training in the Korean art of tang soo do back in 1969. After several years, they began running their own class in the basement of their house. The “school” became a very well-attended, if not prosperous, enterprise for them. Although they never advertised, classes were always packed thanks to word of mouth. The younger Collins was still working a regular job as an aircraft mechanic when a Korean master named C.S. Kim suggested he try teaching martial arts full-time.

“I had a passion to teach, so I decided to take the leap,” Collins said....

by Eric P. Fleishman

Running a martial arts school can be challenging. Before you can teach the most basic of techniques, you must lease a school, obtain proper signage, build a website and enroll your first students.

The fight doesn’t end there. Now you have to expand your enrollment, keep those signs maintained, promote your business online and see to the upkeep of the property. This constant “battle of the business” can leave you so weary that the joys of teaching in general and shaping young minds in particular are lost.

That’s why it’s imperative to create a plan grow your school. One of the most important components of that plan will be promoting your dojo in every way possible, including on local television, in local newspapers and on websites that feature local news. Even if you operate a traditional martial arts school, you are not limited to traditional advertising.

So how do you go about orchestrating this positive PR blitz? Here are...

By MAIA Executive Director Frank Silverman

It’s the most wonderful time of the year — for martial arts schools, that is. We’ve hit the trifecta: the end of the hot days of summer, the start of back-to-school time and the edge of the holiday season. Any one of these three warrants an individual column, or even a full- fledged article, but I have only 700 words. Since that’s the case, I will attempt to wrap everything into one column. I want to cover the essential details of the question, How do we handle the transition from summer’s end through back-to-school and into the holidays?

First, regardless of how good or bad summer was, we need to focus on getting everyone who took a break, no matter how long or short, back to regular class attendance. We know it’s always less expensive to keep a client than to find a new one, so hop on the phone, send emails and post to Facebook. You need to do whatever it takes to get your students back on...

By MAIA Division Manager Melissa Torres

Times are changing. They have been for quite some time now. And as for social media, it seems to change daily! I’m sure that as busy full- or part-time school owners and instructors, most of you can’t honestly stand up and declare yourselves digital marketing experts.

Not many people can. I certainly don’t claim to understand every facet of the ever-changing world of social media. This is why MAIA brought in an expert on the subject.

Cris Rodriguez is MAIA’s newest consultant, specializing in digital marketing. She’s dedicated the past 10 years of her life to studying digital marketing and its impact on her school, Gracie PAC MMA. If you got a chance to hear her speak at the recent Martial Arts SuperShow, you know that she is the best in our industry!

When Cris joined the MAIA team, she knew right away that the social media aspect was something we were missing in our coaching. She started speaking at our...

By Kathy Olevsky

All martial arts schools go through phases of growth. Conversely, there are times when their numbers dwindle. The biggest lesson I have learned over the past 45 years in business is that you must properly analyze your numbers to find out why you are not growing and what you have done in the past that has promoted growth.

Prior to using my statistics, I simply went off what I thought was happening. This process of guesswork rarely helped me correct a curve in my business. However, as a small-business owner, I found it difficult to actually access the proper statistics.

Today, there are many software programs designed for martial arts schools. They can help guide business owners by providing all the necessary statistics to correct any depression in business. Before these programs became available, I kept track of our numbers using written charts, which I would periodically review to see what we might be overlooking or doing wrong. This might not be as...

By MAIA Consultant Mike Metzger

A frequent question I’m asked is, “How can I market my school if I don’t have the money to market?”

You first have to understand that there are two categories in marketing, internal and external.

“External marketing” requires either dollars or sweat equity — meaning, you place flyers, access academic schools and daycares, network with businesses, etc.

“Internal marketing” is very effective, but doesn’t take as much effort. Here are four internal marketing promotions that you can do to get new prospects into your school, for summer and throughout the year.

1. Know How to Do a Buddy Day

Many schools promote a Buddy Day, where they allow their students to bring a friend to class with them. The key to making this successful is in how you present it. When promoting this, make it exciting! Instead of just announcing a Buddy Day, let your students know that you’re going to have a...

By MAIA Division Manager Melissa Torres

We all (most likely) have heard of bands like Def Leppard or celebrities such as Chris Noth, Shawn Mendes, Vincent Rodriguez III – and of course we all know Mike Chat. But you may not know the man who sweats with them. He is their personal trainer. He is a martial artist himself. His name is Eric Fleishman and goes by the moniker Eric the Trainer.

He was featured on the cover of the January magazine, which I hope you got a chance to read. If you attended the MASuperShow last year, you may have even had a chance to work out with him during an early morning workout!

With that said, I have exciting news! First of all, he’s coming back to the Show this year for a morning workout that you won’t want to miss. Trust me. I recently trained with him and his wealth of knowledge on how to sculpt the human body is unbelievable! I’m still sore. On top of that, MAIA has now partnered with him on his Sleek Ninja program!

The...

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! 

Cris Rodriguez is one of the newest additions to the MAIA team, so you may not know her yet – but you will! If you’re attending the 2019 Martial Arts SuperShow, you’ll have the chance to meet her in person and attend her seminar, but in the meantime, let this interview be your introduction.

How did you come to team up with MAIA?

In 2015, my wife Stephanie and I went to a MAIA Seminar in Tampa hosted by Mr. Frank Silverman. At the end of the seminar he suggested we meet with his business partner, Mr. Mike Metzger, because he thought...

By MAIA Consultant Adam Parman

Learning how to properly market your martial arts school can often be confusing, expensive and frustrating. As small business owners, we are consistently being approached about new advertising opportunities that promise results, but offer no proven track record.

While nothing in life is guaranteed, I’ve found that there are some basic steps to marketing Hollywood movies that can help align your school’s name with larger national brands like major movie franchises and movie theaters. These movie tie-ins are low-cost, potentially high-profit opportunities. Just about every action film, including the mega-budget summer releases, contain plenty of martial arts fight scenes which makes the promo tie-in very credible.

Follow these easy steps to avoid common mistakes and generate new students for your school.

Step #1: Get a Booth

While doing demonstrations in the front lobby of a theater might cause an inquiry or two, it doesn’t...

By Justin L. Ford

The Many Benefits of a Great Demo Team

            Do you hear that?

            It's faint, but it sounds like a heartbeat.

            Is that. . .the sound of your school?

            While your students can be likened to the heart of your school, the reputation of your school can be considered the heartbeat. It is the echo of your success. If your “heartbeat” is weak, then your school is likely on the decline to death.

            Simply put, your reputation comes from word of mouth. And you should be aware that people will talk about everything! This includes the cleanliness and appearance of your school, what happens on the training floor and, especially, how your...