JIU-JITSU AND THE INNER GAME

Long before I stepped on the mat for the very first time, my father
taught me to play chess when I was seven years old. I couldn’t really tell you exactly what it was about chess that sparked my interest, and I’m not
sure I can put my finger on it today. Long story short, it wasn’t too long
before the chess student was submitting his instructor. Some can relate to
that, we’ve seen it happen time and time again. In fact, if it’s true what they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, there may be no greater compliment to any teacher or sensei than to see his students take what they’ve learned and eventually surpass their instructor. It’s hard to explain my interest in jiu-jitsu right from the very start; I guess it was a calling.

Over the years, I’ve spent so many hours training and competing, I’ve
hardly had time to get my chessboard out. I’m sure it’s in a box somewhere
with my Rubik’s Cube. Lately I’ve thought about finding that box and
maybe even getting back into chess again. Forget the Rubik’s Cube. One
thing I have done is to give some thought to what it is that first attracted me to chess and eventually to my passion in life, jiu-jitsu. The parallels are amazing to say the least.

There’s a harmony about chess just as there is in jiu-jitsu that appeals
to me and I’m sure it appeals to many others who train martial-arts. Chess is a game of the mind. It’s about thinking ahead. Jiu-jitsu is also a game of thinking and executing. Both are games that involve technique and timing. If we’ve learned anything from martial-arts it’s this: Training and technique take precedence over power. In my own case I’ve never been the strongest, but what I lacked in strength I made up for in training, hours and hours of training combined with technique. Einstein may not have been referring to jiu-jitsu, but he could have been when he said, “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know!” Or, as Socrates said, “One thing I know, and that is that I know nothing!” That may be what keeps my feet moving forward and motivates me to train. Like chess, jiu-jitsu is very complex. Anyone who knows me has heard me say this, “There may not be anything as complex as jiu-jitsu.” So, whether you’re playing chess in an international tournament or practicing jiu-jitsu, remember that training, technique, and skill will make the difference between the world champion and the guy who taps.

Robert Drysdale

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What is in your Kitchen?

The other night I was watching an episode of Kitchen Nightmares with the famous chef Gordan Ramsey. If you are not familiar with the show, he basically is requested to consult on various restaurants that are on the brink of closing. For some reason the owners who bring him to their establishment never seem to know what is wrong in their business that is causing their lack of business. The first thing that he does in every episode is not take a tour of the kitchen or interview the staff. He simply orders randomly on the menu and tastes what the restaurant has to offer. He is always disappointed. The reason I bring up this matter is that there are a lot of similarities in which these shows expose that is obvious and what we need to focus on in our “quality”. While Chef Ramey is visiting Italian, French, Japanese and other various themed restaurants, it is parallel to us having a Tae Kwon Do, Kung Fu, MMA school. It doesn’t matter. What matters is how the chef prepares the food and the quality that will keep customers coming back as well as referring others to this business.
After watching the series for some time, it is not so much that the chef (Head Instructor) is not talented, it is that he/she has lost their passion. Possibly serving the same food over and over with no inspiration. They have not innovated their dishes or had challenged their creativity to have “Specials”. They are cocky in the fact that they do not need to learn once they have opened their kitchens.
So here is the obvious advice given in this part one of a series about innovating your teaching methodology.
Sample your food – Take a step back and see how your class is run. From the appetizer (trials or warm ups), main dish (Curriculum) and dessert (upgrade programs).
Go back to school – Take a workshop or cross over and have a goal in achieving rank in another style. You may find that even a bad experience will inspire what NOT to do in your mat.
Find a mentor – Success breeds success. But remember, just because someone says they are great doesn’t mean they are. Their proof will be in you.
We always believe what we do is good. It is not until we attempt change that we will see if something else can be better. So try it. We cannot fear it since we expect our students to do the same. In the next installment we will take a look at re-evaluating our class structure. See you then!

Kru Ace Ramirez
www.krutraining.com

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The End of the Month Reality Math-Jon Malach

The whole point of the end of month reality math is to refocus yourself and/or your team. Normally when people are short on sales, they begin to focus only on making the sale itself, rather than the things that makes sales happen. That’s where pressure selling tends to show its ugly face.
Instead, you can change this mentality by focusing on the number of appointments/intros needed to hit your sales goal, instead of the sales themselves. Think about it, you can actually get away with a lot more when it comes to asking people to try an intro vs. asking people to sign up for lessons. Rebuttals are much easier to overcome when they are in the arena of someone saying they don’t have time, or they can’t make it today, or maybe in a few weeks because they don’t feel well etc etc. You and your team will naturally overcome these kinds of rebuttals better than ones like “but your lessons are too expensive for me”.
So instead of increasing the pressure to sign up in your intros, just play the numbers game by focusing on increasing how many intros you get to do before the end of month, it will work itself out as long as you perform enough intro lessons.
Good luck,
Jon Malach

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Your Role on Social Media Part 1-Sensei Nick

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Martial Arts Businesses Tip-The End of Month Reality Math

The whole point of the end of month reality math is to refocus yourself and/or your team. Normally when people are short on sales, they begin to focus only on making the sale itself, rather than the things that makes sales happen. That’s where pressure selling tends to show its ugly face.

Instead, you can change this mentality by focusing on the number of appointments/intros needed to hit your sales goal, instead of the sales themselves. Think about it, you can actually get away with a lot more when it comes to asking people to try an intro vs. asking people to sign up for lessons. Rebuttals are much easier to overcome when they are in the arena of someone saying they don’t have time, or they can’t make it today, or maybe in a few weeks because they don’t feel well etc etc. You and your team will naturally overcome these kinds of rebuttals better than ones like “but your lessons are too expensive for me”.

So instead of increasing the pressure to sign up in your intros, just play the numbers game by focusing on increasing how many intros you get to do before the end of month, it will work itself out as long as you perform enough intro lessons.

Good luck,

Jon Malach

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What’s for Dinner? Kru Ace Ramirez

What is for Dinner?

Some of you may have read “What is in your kitchen?” which is the part 1 of a series of articles to help examine your current curriculum offered at your school. In this installment we are going to take a look into ways to survey your curriculum offerings. Since there are so many topics such as dividing children’s classes into ages specific classes and ranks and having differing requirements according to the age breakdowns (which I do support and follow in my own school), I will not concentrate on children’s programs.
Taking on the theme of Kitchen Nightmares with Chef Ramsey, he surveys the product not by giving a questionnaire, but by sampling himself an appetizer, entrée and dessert. He usually never finishes any dish since it typically horrifies him and sees no need to continue an unpleasurable experience.

When was the last time you sampled your own “food” or shall I say “called your own school” or had a secret shopper enter your facility? Not in a meeting but randomly call and ask about your current specials and description of your programs. Does your staff have a rehearsed “elevator pitch?” Have yourself take your own trial or orientation from a staff member to see the experience you would have. This would be your “appetizer” before the main dish. Although I am not a “foodie” (although there are way too many references here), I think a great appetizer will surely deliver expectations of the main dish to come. So if you have a fantastic marketing plan and approach to sign up with a professional trial class, you are in danger of giving a mediocre entrée (Beginner Program). Or at least mediocre compared to the appetizer.

Your actual program needs to satisfy the client’s (student’s) hunger not just the first time, but every visit to your facility. Think of a familiar restaurant and you order your favorite dish from there. After years of loyal patronage you get one meal which the food just isn’t right. I hear people claim that “the place is not the same” and is going down hill and all of a sudden they wish to check out another restaurant that they got a coupon for, after all, man still has to eat. How many chances do you give when they serve you badly or not cooked to your “expectation”?

So let’s do a few bullet points.

Are your warm ups relevant to the actual class following it or is it painfully generic? (Place any two foods that do not match up)Do you sample your own food? (Are you putting yourself in the class or your staff and get honest reviews)Do you use music to motivate your student’s emotions (and update it so it is not repetitive – ambiance)Do you clearly explain about your Exotic Desserts that must be sampled (Upgrade programs)?Does your audience know what theme you are – sport orientated, self-defense, and fitness? (Are you French gourmet or Family style Italian, etc.)Does your staff know what theme you are?Do you offer “Chef Special’s” to break to same choice ordering (Offer Workshop’s with Special Guest Instructors)?Do you have alternative choices for those not fitting your main style of curriculum?

Take a look at your answers and decide for yourself the next step. One thing I can recommend is to go outside your walls and experience other forms of service that exceed your expectations for ideas. Maybe a vacation spot, High end spas, clothing boutiques, etc are nice are we are treated like kings and queen, but who will buy if the product is still underwhelming?
At the end, consistency or a quality product can create loyal base of customers and forge a reputation of a solid business. If there is a staff member that is not delivering this, it may be time to make a change as I did recently. Even though I love my guys, my business needs the love of our supporters who pay for what we say we will deliver.

If anyone would like to send me a video of their intro process, presentation of upgrade programs or a sample of their elevator pitch, email me a link to ace@krutraining.com

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Do You Promote a Free Event each Month?

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The Martial Arts Instructor One Man Show Part 1

I remember when I opened my first Martial Arts School… I was teaching class, answering the phone, taking out the trash, and signing up students all by myself. Most school owners start out in this scenario, and unfortunately most get stuck and continue to operate in this scenario.

You have to ask yourself some questions: How long do I plan on doing everything myself? Did I plan on running a business or owning a business? If I got sick right now, for an entire week and could not get out of bed, what would happen? Would business continue as normal for that week, or would all hell break loose? What about 1 month?

Nobody will care about your business as much as you and (although many come very close) they will always fall short in their passion and dedication. This fact must be accepted. You have to be willing to let someone else do an OK job at cleaning the toilet several times until you can teach them how you want it to be done. You have to accept that when you put a new staff member in charge of the front desk they will bomb some sales. You have to learn to accept the fact that they are NOT as good as you.

I believe business owners make the same justifications I did for years: “I can’t afford to let someone else sign a new student up!”, “I can’t afford to let (instructor X) experiment with the warmup because students will quit.”, “I’ll just clean the mat myself, because if you want something done right you have to do it yourself!”

Welcome to being a One-Man-Show! Look forward to years of working day in and day out doing the same repetitive tasks, limiting your student body growth, and living like a control freak. Watch awesome potential staff members come and go because you didn’t provide them with an opportunity for growth. Put all your eggs in one basket, and assume you will have the desire and ability to kick and punch every single day for the rest of your life. Sound like a good plan? I didn’t think so.

We want to establish our school so that we teach the classes we enjoy, we still have time for our family, we can take a day or week off when necessary, and we perform the tasks that are most productive and enjoyable to us because we want to; not because we have to.

How do we transition from a One-Man-Show to a delegating tasks and getting the pressure off our back? Most importantly, how do we do this for low or no cost? Most school owners in this position cannot afford to hire a staff member because they are stuck in the transitional phase. There are many FREE options to accomplish this even if you cannot afford to hire someone and we will discuss this in Part 2.

By Jeremy Molley

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Martial Arts Business: 5 Videos you might have missed

Here are a few Business Videos you might have missed…….

You can’t afford to be negative

Facebook “Likes”

Landing Pages

End of the Month Reality Math

Do you promote a FREE Event Every Month

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Is it time to innovate your curriculum? Part 1

In today’s post I want to address a topic that I am approached with the most in emails which is dealing with “how to innovate and structure a new curriculum”. Now by this I am not suggesting a rotating curriculum, which is roughly translated as broader base of ranks being taught the same techniques in no particular order but all achieved in a certain amount of time. I am also not necessarily specifying a linear form of curriculum. Many of us started our schools years ago and as creatures of habit have replicated the exact same class structure and testing procedures (or in some cases, the lack of).

To begin this exercise, here are some self reflecting questions:

Most schools have a 1 year basic program. Why? What significance is the one year?

There is nothing wrong with a 1 year program as long as there is a purpose to that course. In college, we do not join for 4 years. We don’t even enroll for 1 year. We are paying for a semester. Let us say that that your Beginner ranks are white and yellow. Your intermediate ranks are Orange, Green and Blue. If it takes you say 6 months to get to orange and you graduate into an Intermediate class, why did you enroll them for a year and not a 6 month course since the Beginner course took 6 months to complete? Again, I am simply putting out there questions for you to fill in the answers. Some may say they enroll the, for one year with the intent to approach them in 2 months anyway and upgrade them. In that case, you could have still enrolled them in a 6 month Beginner program and upgraded them. Actually it may be easier since there is no fear of long term commitment with a business they are not yet familiar with.
Suggestion: Create true courses just like in college. A defined amount of time of requirements that must be met in a time period.) If a majority of students “fail” with this strategy, it may either be the teacher that is not directing well or there is way too much material to be covered to gain competence with.

Do you have a program where the student can train “2 or 3 times a week”?

When was the last time you heard a college offer their English classes “2 or 3 times per week”? Since when do students have the knowledge of when they should be taking classes? 2 or 3 suggests that some students are training 33% more than the next one. How about when they miss a class? What class topics are they actually missing? Are they aware by being able to look it up since you are on a strict class planner?
Suggestion: Utilize an “A” and “B” class structure of delivering material. Example, Let’s say that a school has beginner classes Monday to Thursday. For a sensible split in curriculum, the student may choose either Monday or Tuesday (A class) and Wednesday or Thursday (B class). So whether it was Monday and Wednesday or Monday and Thursday will give them the exact same training. In my KRU Muay Thai curriculum, my class planner is actually laid out as Week 1 Class 1, week 1 Class 2, etc. The instructor knows as well as the student what is happening and what they may be missing. This helps when a student truly chooses their “make up” classes in preparation of upcoming tests (Or as I call them “evaluations”. In my opinion, the word tests scare people, but through evaluations they feel they are acquiring where they are at since they first joined my school.

I hope I have not offended anyone in the way they currently run their school. There are many more questions I would like to address since I have barely scratched the surface of innovating your curriculum. We are not being style specific since we all have the same goals in mind. So stay tuned for the continuation of this subject. In the meantime if you have any questions please post them below.

If you would like more information on my KRU Muay Thai affiliation which will revolutionize your teaching methodology, please email me at kruaceramirez@gmail.com and visit www.KRU-MuayThai.com

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Martial Arts Business: 5 Videos you might have missed

Here are a few Business Videos you might have missed…….

You can’t afford to be negative

Facebook “Likes”

Landing Pages

End of the Month Reality Math

Do you promote a FREE Event Every Month

View the original article here