Budderfly

A really good book on web design is "Don't make me think" by Steve Krug. It's a really useful tool that explains how internet users read webpages and how to target your audience without giving them too much clutter to sort through.

Another thing I'd add is a page for parents. how they can be supportive, help their kids practice at home, expectations (bringing their kids to class on time, making sure their uniform is clean, etc.)

Heh, I hear that. It's usually the "keeners" that skip ahead.

Actually, I am open to workout music suggestions too. We're also compiling an in-class CD to use for warm-ups. I'll check it out. Thanks!

A pro for having a manual for all ranks is it is cost effective and students can see what kind of things they'll be learning in the next belt. A con would be students may lose focus on their current curriculum because they are trying to learn what's ahead. I understand they're excited and that's great but make it clear that they cannot learn from a manual alone. It's there for reference only. Iceman's inclusions are good. I'd also add in things like student expectations, how to practice at home and in the dojang, nutrition and health tips for martial artists, how to tie your belt, care of uniform and equipment and stretching tips to enhance your techniques.

Thanks everyone. I appreciate your comments. We want to help our students and improve their lives using martial artials as a vessel. Sasori... no worries, I didn't take it personally. But I understand what you are saying. I guess the best thing is to sit down and talk with him first, let him know our expectations and tell him how HE can improve his class experience. Then if he still wants to join the class, we'll keep a closer eye on him and if anything is out of line, we'll take him aside and tell him. We don't want to publically humiliate him (which is why we'll take him aside), but we will publically praise him if he is doing something good. Positive reinforcement works best in most cases and hopefully it'll give him a paradigm shift and focus his energy to benefit the class rather than himself.

before a new students starts their classes, I give the parents an orientation package and go through the school rules and etiquette and I also include a "how to tie your belt" instruction sheet (with pics) for home practice. I also go through the belt tying with the parents so that they can help their child before class starts. Of course belts fall off in class and there isn't anything you can do about that other than tie it back on. We have assistant instructors who help with that so the head instructor can still teach and keep the class under control.

Our school is doing a demo/ceremony and we need to find some new music. We've exhausted the techno music, matrix & blade soundtracks and we'd like to try something new. We're doing a live sparring demo, self-defense demo, weapons demo, black belt candidate demo and kids class demos. Does anyone have any suggestions for some music? It has to have no offensive words (it's a family show) and the beat should be fast. We're open to all genres of music, and if there is some new techno (or something not so mainstream). Thanks!

Don't be surprised if a standard embroidary place charges you more to do belts. Generally the needles they have aren't durable enough to embroider a belt and they tend to break. These needles aren't cheap and I know our place goes through a lot of them to do a couple dozen belts. Sorry I can't offer you any suggestions for places as I live in Canada.

We're currently looking for a new location ourselves. Find a commercial realtor and let them know what you are looking for in size, preferred location and budget. They'll do a lot of the leg work and they usually have advance notice of what's going to be avialable to the market. This is especially good for our area because commercial real estate is hard to find with all the new developments going on. Small warehouse rentals can turn into good martial art schools and the rates are usually cheaper and there is no "commen-area" fees. When looking for a new place check on those too. Commen-area fees are sort of like strata or landscaping fees if you're in a shopping mall type-location (or something with a public parking lot). It can be pricey sometimes depending on the location.

We don't have any other "poison" students currently but we were just thinking in the future in case we run across something like this again.

Thanks for replying. The problem is never around in the beginning. We have an intro month where the students try for free and we can also see how they interact with others. This problem was never an issue then, but after a few months it started and it escalated after that. True, we are probably a little more "lax" with adults then we are with the kids, and perhaps we should step up the discipline for the adults. Our school relys on positive reinforcement and using influence over authority. We know and understand that we aren't here to be their buddies so we make sure to set the boundries early. We aren't by no means a "mcdojo" or just looking for the cash when it comes to new students. Our philosophy is anyone can learn martial arts, so long as they want to learn. We also want to develop self-defense, fitness and character building skills to enrich people's lives. We don't want to come across as "elitists" and force people out because they don't fit our school but if there are students that are making others uncomfortable, angry or are disrecpectful then obviously we have to do something. Fortunately in the past, we've been lucky and haven't had to deal with anything like this before - which is why I am asking for advice. I appreciate all your replies and suggestions. *bows*

Thanks Karate Ed, Bushidoman and Throwdown. Our school is focused on maintaining a positive and respectful attitude, in and out of the dojang. So that approach you suggested would work best for him. We have been thinking about putting him and other potentially "poison" students on a probationary period (but tactfully calling it something more positive so he doesn't have to bring up the defenses right away). I like the "student agreement" idea and having him read through and understand a list of student rules and expectations. To the BB of C: Thank you for posting but your suggestion is not what we want to represent as a school. If anyone else has any other suggestions or has ran into this problem themselves, your comments and ideas are appreciated.

True. We know we have to tell him why he can't continue in class. The thing that makes it harder is that his 15 year old son is also in the class. (He has some learning disabilities but we can work with him.) So we'll still be seeing the man often. I guess what I need help with is how to tactfully tell him. I can already foresee his temper flaring up. I'm the program director for my school and my job is positive customer service. Both me and the Master will have to talk to him together, but we know we must approach this with caution. I've never had to deal with someone like this before. I don't want to hurt his feelings but I also don't want to hurt the class atmosphere. What a pickle.

Been along time since I have visited the forums. Hope you are all doing well! We are in a bit of a predicament. We had a student in our adult class. He is about 40 years old and has terrible social skills. His motor skills are are a challange, but he also likes to go very hard. He also tends to "challange" the instructor on why things are done a certain way and claiming that it won't work and in his old karate school he did it another way. We have tried to explain that we are a mixed martial art school and not karate so curriculum will be different than what he was taught. If you try to talk to him, his defenses come up and he gets angry and blames his attitude on other people or other things. We don't like labelling people, but he is a "poison" student. His attitude has caused many other good students to leave. They have a very hard time working with him. After his year agreement ended, he took a break. Now he is thinking of coming back and we are trying to rebuild our adult class as it was small and the atmosphere was already somewhat awkward with the different personalities and physical levels. We've almost got it back to a comfortable level but if he comes back to the class, it will go back to being the way it was and we worry about new student retention. We want to help people with their goals but we are also trying to run a business and are unsure of what we should do or say to him before he re-joins. Any suggestions? Your help is appreciated.