Posts Tagged ‘Big Picture’

Why It’s Not Always Good Idea To Try To Build A Better Mousetrap

Learning the business of martial arts is a lot like working your way up through the ranks. You take things in sequence, learning new skills that build on those you learned in previous stages.

One thing I’ve observed since I started offering business coaching to martial art school owners is that we have a tendency to want to do our own thing.

Take for example the numerous styles and systems that exist today. There are as many styles and systems as there are instructors who believe they have something unique to offer. As one of my students once put it, “It seems like every instructor reaches a certain level, then they want to create their own system.”

In similar fashion, I’ve observed that martial arts instructors seem to want to create their own systems for starting and running their businesses as well…

Creating a unique expression that bears the mark of one’s individual personality and preferences is fine in the context of artistic expression. But in the context of running a martial art school, this often has disastrous results.

Mastery In Martial Arts Does Not Translate Into Martial Arts Business Mastery…

Think about it… by the time an instructor decides to codify their unique expression of a martial art style or system, they typically have decades of martial arts experience, study, and training under their belt. Thus, their unique approach is based on decades of trial, error, and experimentation. Read the rest of this entry »

Lesson Plan? What The Heck’s A Lesson Plan?

The most common response I get from instructors when I ask whether they use lesson plans is:

“Naw, not really… mostly I just wing it.”

Winging it may seem like the thing to do when you’re an experienced instructor, or when the thought of one more weekly chore seems as daunting as squaring off against Fedor with both hands tied behind your back. (What do they feed that guy, anyway? Oh, that’s right – other MMA fighters…)

But, a return to the venerable, oft-maligned lesson plan can greatly improve your ability to teach more effectively… and to do so on a consistent basis.

Let’s look at some reasons why lesson plans are a must if you want to grow your school: Read the rest of this entry »