Patrick

Happy Birthday, Danielle! Thank you for all of the great contributions that you have made to this community. Sincerely, Patrick

Not at all. As long as it is kept in the proper context and done through quality posts, which your posts have been, it's a cool thing. Congrats. Patrick

Welcome aboard, Christine. Thank you for the kind words about our community. Sincerely, Patrick

Hey Dobbersky, I can't really speak about martial arts schools specifically, but there are providers of varying quality no matter what field you are in. I wouldn't suggest that you poach someone's students as far as directly inviting them, etc. That's like when someone joins KF and spams their new martial arts forum. They quickly disappear, their posts removed and, based on how far they went in spamming people, their site might be blocked from mention here ever again. I didn't build KF that way and I believe that is an unethical practice. Instead, if my goal was to gain students, I would simply make myself known in the local community as much as I possibly could. Good signage and location, encourage your current students to bring people in through word of mouth (maybe incentivize them for doing so), advertise locally, participate in charitable efforts, etc. I think your efforts to raise funds fall into those categories. You could also do some very hyper targeted advertising online on Google (targeting relevant search queries) and Facebook (targeting people in town and/or the area that are interested in martial arts, fitness, certain arts, etc.) that probably wouldn't cost you too much. I think Justice makes a great point, which is to understand your audience and your niche. Your services are not for everyone, they are for a certain type of martial artist. Too many people try to cater to "everyone." When you do that, you aren't going to build a deep relationship with anyone. Numbers come and go (being #1 is fun, but it changes a lot, too), but you can always win at culture when you cater to your core audience. The flip side of that, of course, is that if you are too rigid, you restrict who will be interested in what you are offering. Which is fine - it's just something you have to accept. If full contact is what makes you unique, then that might be something to run with and emphasize wherever you are, as Justice said. Be careful not to come across as smug or condescending when you do so. "We're tough guys... unlike that McDojo down the street!" You can explain the benefits of training with you without putting down the other schools in town, which can be a turn off to some people, Finally, continue to show great appreciation for your current students. No matter how many you have, it's important not to get so preoccupied with growth that you forget to appreciate what you have now. I hope that this helps in some way. Thanks, Patrick

Thanks for sharing. Patrick

Hey darksoul. Happy to have you. Patrick

Hey Ralph. Thank you for joining KF. Glad to have you. Patrick

Hey v_dsl_027. Welcome to KF! Patrick

Hello and welcome, monk64. Thank you becoming official - we're glad to have you. Also, I appreciate you picking up my book. Patrick

No harm in that. Thanks for sharing. I haven't played Animal Crossing. Patrick

Good luck, FangPwnsAll7. Patrick

Very cool! Patrick

Welcome to KF, FangPwnsAll7. Glad to have you. Patrick

Welcome aboard, vitaniya. Patrick

I think that it could work. Who would be the host? Patrick

Cool stuff. Thanks for sharing and starting this discussion, MasterPain. Patrick

Thanks for the replies, all. No fruit basket, unfortunately. Patrick

My pleasure.

Hello, Thank you for visiting KarateForums.com. We recognize one member every month as the KarateForums.com Member of the Month for their positive contributions to this community. The July 2012 selection is... Dobie1979. Congratulations! Thank you for all of your great contributions to our community. Sincerely, Patrick

In addition to Netflix and DVDs, for anyone wanting to watch He-Man & the Masters of the Universe, go here: http://www.hulu.com/he-man-and-the-masters-of-the-universe (all 130 episodes appear to be available for free, legal viewing - in the U.S., at least) http://www.youtube.com/user/heman Thanks, Patrick

What type of fighting are you talking about, Naked Snake? Thanks, Patrick

My pleasure. Patrick

Welcome aboard, Mr. Myers. Patrick

How'd it go? Patrick