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[Professor]

Martial Arts is my hobby, my exercise, my entertainment.   It is not my job, it is not my business. 


I'm your student.   

[Hock]

Martial Arts is my hobby, my exercise, my entertainment.   It is not my job, it is not my business.  I'm your student.

What Jeff says strikes at the core of the martial business.
For your students, well, 99.999% of them, your classes, and your school are just a pastime for them. A hobby. As much as they could be in a church, basketball league. It is this way too for many off-duty police a military.

I once worked with a blockhead, a system's Grandmaster who viewed his organization as employees. Oh, worse than employees, they were feudal peons. This "old school," attitude was his biggest business mistake. He failed to realize the nature of his students. 

We instructors? We are the weirdoes who go after this, this field, or art or whatever with a compulsive zest. Somewhere I have a list of seven reasons people come to seminars. If I can find it I will run it here. One of them is strictly social.

Hock

[JadeDragon]

About two years ago, I opted out of a merger agreement with a prospective business associate... It was a multi-system, multi-styled school... (Their side TKD, and mine was Kenpo and FMA)...

The former instructor was selling out and leaving the business of M/Arts instruction, and the new owner (non-instructor), had the personality of a "box of rocks"...

Needless to say, the new owner viewed all of their students as "clients" only, mere numbers to fill the roles, and the monthly accounting books...

He had no passion for the art, and no growth in his veins...

I left the prospective merger, and never looked back...

The unfortunate ones were the students at that dojo/dojang, who tests every three months, whether they are ready for it or not, pay a test fee, recieve a belt, and know absolutely nothing, about how to protect themselves in the "REAL WORLD"...

This is not the way of how one should serve the client (student)...


"The rules of engagement has changed...Are you ready for it"?

"Survive the Threat"

Dan "Dano" Meadows
Jade Dragon International

[Rawhide]

De Professor is exactly right.  It is not a lifestyle for 99.999999% of the people who walk through your door.  Most others have another job.  It took me a long while to realize there was actually more to life than martial arts.  I was young and inexperienced and a difficult time doing anything that didn't relate to martial arts.  Those days are behind me but they have taught some important things:

The successful school builds a culture of people.  Its becomes something more than a place to work out.  It is a social environment that is dictated by the personalities (or lack thereof) that lead the business.  What you project is what you get.  You want kill 'em all badasses?  You got 'em but don't expect Joe Somebody to stay more than an evening with your death squad.  You'll have the basest people in town but you won't make a living off it.

To achieve success, you must find the middle ground and even take that down a notch.  If someone feels threatened or outclassed they be gone!  Adults spend WAY too much time getting told what to do and belittled.  In addition they don;t want to be hurt.  You must toughen them gradually.  By 6 - 8 months of regular training they should be pretty good to go.  Initially, however, they will be soft mentally, unless you get some former military or police force people or some otherwise toughened individuals.  Lots of encouragement, fitness, enthusiasm and energy will bring people in and get them hooked.  Let the student see results and point them out as soon as you see them.  Especially the ones they don't see.  If the person feels they can do something well they will continue it evenif its tough and is only going to get harder.  Build that indomitable spirti by instillin g in your students the desire to improve and to see improvement.  Then you'll build students for life and succeed beyond you wildest dreams

Respect your clients and train them according to their abilities and your school will grow.  Train them like you like to train and see them drop out like flies.