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…….

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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

View the original article here

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

Self-Esteem Gain for Overweight Children

What we do everyday in the Martial Arts! And why MA is the perfect vehicle for an overweight child.

1. The martial arts will get them in shape.
2. It will change how they feel about who they are.
3. It will teach them how to project themselves to others.

I can remember growing up in The Bronx. At the time, we lived in the projects on Castle Hill Ave. All during the week, Monday through Friday, I would rush home from school making sure I was in the house by 4:00pm to watch Superman, Clark Kent, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane and yes, Perry White (Great Cesar's Ghost!).

I didn't miss an episode. Even today, I collect digital comic book covers and some Superman memorabilia. Saturday mornings, it was Superman cartoons; that was the routine at our house. Sunday's however, was different. If you remember, there were no cartoons on Sundays. We would have to wake up early and get dressed for church. Mom would give us all a quarter for the church basket and send us off. I was the oldest, so I was in charge of my younger brother and four sisters. The church was across the street, St. John Vianney. I remember sitting in the pew, praying every Sunday, for God to grant me the powers of Superman. I promised him “God” I would do good and help people all over the world. This was the prayer each and every Sunday for many years. After Church, we would then go to my Grandparents to eat with the rest of the thirty or so other family members, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins.
I can look back now I find it funny, because I go to work everyday, and I put on a uniform that empowers me to be the best I can be every time I wear it and in front of anyone I teach; whether it's a child or an adult, male or female; it doesn't make a difference. Astronaut or C.E.O. of a major fortune 500 company, it's a magical feeling to be empowered by putting on a uniform. Superman can fly. Never did I ever make a conscious decision to become a pilot because Superman can fly, and I wanted to be like Superman. However, I am a pilot, and I do fly. Superman can see far. As I approach my older years, my eye sight starting declining, I went and had Lasik surgery. When your sight starts to fade, due to old age, and you can't see well, getting your sight back makes you feel empowered. Superman can bend steel with his bare hands. I can punch through three half inch pieces of wood stacked on each other. So when anyone asks, what is a Black Belt? I smile to myself and know it is me and everyone else that puts on that martial arts uniform.

P.S. Oh, and be careful of what you pray for.

Master Ron Tramontano

Self-Esteem Gain for Overweight Children

What we do everyday in the Martial Arts! And why MA is the perfect vehicle for an overweight child.

1. The martial arts will get them in shape.

2. It will change how they feel about who they are.

3. It will teach them how to project themselves to others.

I can remember growing up in The Bronx. At the time, we lived in the projects on Castle Hill Ave. All during the week, Monday through Friday, I would rush home from school making sure I was in the house by 4:00pm to watch Superman, Clark Kent, Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane and yes, Perry White (Great Cesar's Ghost!).

I didn't miss an episode. Even today, I collect digital comic book covers and some Superman memorabilia. Saturday mornings, it was Superman cartoons; that was the routine at our house. Sunday's however, was different. If you remember, there were no cartoons on Sundays. We would have to wake up early and get dressed for church. Mom would give us all a quarter for the church basket and send us off. I was the oldest, so I was in charge of my younger brother and four sisters. The church was across the street, St. John Vianney. I remember sitting in the pew, praying every Sunday, for God to grant me the powers of Superman. I promised him “God” I would do good and help people all over the world. This was the prayer each and every Sunday for many years. After Church, we would then go to my Grandparents to eat with the rest of the thirty or so other family members, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. I can look back now I find it funny, because I go to work everyday, and I put on a uniform that empowers me to be the best I can be every time I wear it and in front of anyone I teach; whether it's a child or an adult, male or female; it doesn't make a difference. Astronaut or C.E.O. of a major fortune 500 company, it's a magical feeling to be empowered by putting on a uniform. Superman can fly. Never did I ever make a conscious decision to become a pilot because Superman can fly, and I wanted to be like Superman. However, I am a pilot, and I do fly. Superman can see far. As I approach my older years, my eye sight starting declining, I went and had Lasik surgery. When your sight starts to fade, due to old age, and you can't see well, getting your sight back makes you feel empowered. Superman can bend steel with his bare hands. I can punch through three half inch pieces of wood stacked on each other. So when anyone asks, what is a Black Belt? I smile to myself and know it is me and everyone else that puts on that martial arts uniform.

P.S. Oh, and be careful of what you pray for.

Master Ron Tramontano

Let's Move Event In Boca Raton

March 22, 5:30 pm 11435A Palmetto Park Rd. Boca Raton, Fl 33428


Master Ron Tramontano, will hold a short class for all of our "Boca Raton Movers" on how to motivate and teach children in the ways of good health and exercise. Also, everyone that attends this meet up, will receive a Free Copy of Master Tramontano New Book "It's Not a Diet It's a Save it" This book is available on Amazon.com and thru. http://www.itsasaveit.com/p...
Hope to see you there.


Hello, This is Master Tramontano, please come wearing comfortable clothing. This class is hands on for everyone.


More Information: 561-482-9049