Jane Doe

First you are on the right track with getting some experience in competition and setting goals of a BJJ purple belt. It is hard to sell parents and students on your skills if you have no official training or track record to back it up. Second, make sure you have things such as first aid certification, insurance and good references from your instructors...these are all things potential students will be interested in. Make sure you have a solid business plan and have studied the demographics of the area you plan to open up in. Making sure you have done your homework will make things easier for you. You do not have to have a flashy strip mall location, most guys (your target demographic) are okay training in warehouse space as long as it has a washroom and a place to change and is heated/air-conditioned. Showers are a nice add on, but some of the most succesful gyms have had their starts without them. You will find most guys who train submission grappling are the least prima donna like of all martial artists. They usually just want to train hard with a good instructor and the extras aren't that important. Clean, affordable and quality instruction are the most important things. Start saving now for things such as mats and other equipment...they are expensive. If you lay the groundwork now and even start training informally with some others you will have a nice base of students to start off with. If you set it up right and grow yourself a good reputation on the tournament side people will be eager to train with you. It is possible, especially in BJJ, to run a fairly profitable school fairly early on if you have done your homework and lay the groundwork. The difference between winners and losers is that winners do what the losers aren't willing to (quote from Dr. Phil).

Agreed! There are many top quality instructor who have no need of watering down their art, appeasing others, having wacky belt systems and other nonsense who are making a decent living at teaching MA. The difference between them and those that fail are usually the fact that they actually are good businessmen and treat the business end like the business end and the art end as the art end - never the twain meeting. Usually it is the ones that fail who are quick to lable those that succeed as McDojo's or compromising the art because they can't acknowledge their own glaring inadequacies or ability to retain students.

We make padded sticks by getting some PVC Pipe, the foam pipe insulation that goes around it and then wrapping the whole thing in hockey tape. You can do the same thing with sai (a little weird looking, but the idea is there), nunchaku, three-sectional staff, bo, etc.

There are tons of schools now that play with weapons now even though traditionally they didn't. The advent of the flashier forms in competitions have lots of schools using weapons that weren't typically found in their style before. Just a few years ago where I am from there were very few schools that did what you describe but now almost every TKD and karate school incorporates some type of weapon work. Kids love it and it can be great fun sparring with padded weapons. Flavour du jour to be a 'kobudo expert', even if you have never really trained officially with the weapons. Check your teacher out carefully! Glad your child is having so much fun...that is what it should be!

I competed really early when I started BJJ too. It is a great experience. Competing against different people than the ones in your club gives you a whole new perspective on your game, doesn't it? Glad you had a great experience.

I trained with a woman who had double whammy of VERY stinky feet and female hygiene issues. Very unpleasant to work with especially during partner stretches . Everyone just tried to avoid being her partner, I don't think either she or the instructor caught on. Everyone was too embarrassed to tell her. What do you do with such an intimate problem?

I agree that belonging to big organization that dictates is bad. But belonging to a group that tries to uphold standards is good. I have studied with independents and with organizaions, it really depends on instructor. Some people just use a recognizable name to get people through door and not actually teach what they say they are. If they belonged to org you could check that.

I think you are making a whole bunch of assumptions and jumping on your soapbox without even making the attempt to understand that games are a PORTION of the class. No one said they received a belt based on their knowledge of 'ninja freeze'. You obviously have huge issues with children blackbelts and that is totally irrelevant to this thread. Take your diatribe elsewhere and those of us who want to teach kids in a fun and friendly way without producing little killing machines can get on with intelligent, rational discussion. Thanks for the input

Thanks for your opinion nathanjusko. I guess everybody has a different definition of 'selling out'. I guess you are probably thankful that legislators 'sold out' when they banned caning in schools. Cause basically anyone who doesn't beat a kid when they are bad in school doesn't really want them to behave and learn something. How about those teachers who 'sold out' and sought out new ways and means of dealing with kids with learning disorders or physical handicaps? I guess if the kids can't learn the three R's by route repetition and memory they really aren't going to school and it is just 'babysitting'. Nice button pushing nathan, good on ya! Kind of scary, isn't it?

Hee hee hee! Started the classes finally. What a blast! We have been having a great time. The kids are great and after the last experience I had with my own children's MA instructor I didn't think it could be this good. He couldn't control them and that is why I think I was sooooooo nervous . Apparently children don't have to be swinging from rafters to have a good time and NEWS BULLETIN! they can be learning something at the same time! Thanks for all your great advice. It made a huge difference

Hi Tommarker, What is shinai tag?

Hi, new instructor - need game ideas for 1 hour long class. The kids will be 4-7 and I would like to teach some basics and ettiquette stuff but also really get them moving and having tons of fun. Anyone who is really experienced in this would be a life saver with some good ideas. Thanks. (for all of you who replied on old thread - thanks . I just wanted to catch the eyes of more people with a new thread!)

Hello all! I am back and looks like class will get underway end of January. I am a little nervous - first class I ever taught!!!!! Any suggestions from experienced instructors in how to structure a lesson? We have an hour (would like 45 min but it runs along the older kids class so the parents only have to come once a night) and I am not sure how long the attention span of 4-7 year olds might be. Would 10-15 min be about right for each activity?

Not necessarily. Or, VERY. Really depends on the instructor and how the classes are set up. You may have just hit a period where they are focussing on ju jitsu and more traditional stuff will follow. Or, you may have landed in a school that sucked you in with the recognizable 'karate' label and have no intention of ever teaching you karate. You need to ask some questions. And if it suits you, does it matter?

Thanks all! Your suggestions have been incredibly helpful and I am looking forward to getting started in the new year. Thanks again!