MartialArthur

My wife is a first degree black belt. We have 4 boys, and all are in taekwondo. My wife works full time at a real job, but helps me a lot with marketing and administration. She love that I have a profession that actually involves the kids. Much like any other field, a skilled professional can make a good living in MA instruction. I am doing it because I am passionate about martial arts. However, my bank wants me to pay the mortgage on time and my kids like to eat. So yes, the money is important. ..

Jiffy is right, having to "pull your kicks" is caused by fear that you don't have enough control to extend the kick without inflicting injury. I don't know about you, but I train in more ways than just sparring. I do a lot of work on the heavy bag and on paddle targets, both of which I use full power. When doing form practice I also extend kicks all the way with full power. In fact, the majority of my training is with full power techniques. I suppose that if my only training was sparring I would not be sufficiently trained to deliver devistating blows when needed. But since I train a lot with full power techniques to targets and heavy bags, I feel quite capable of delivering devistating blows when needed. ..

I agree with Aodan, if you plan the class well and keep it moving it's amazing what can be accomplished in 45 minutes. Our kid's classes are 45 minutes (4 classes/day, 6 days a week), and our adult classes are one hour. We work them so hard that they are typically exhausted at the end of class.

Don't call me Sir!, you are exactly right. Dan rank is so arbitrary that the number often does not mean a thing. On this forum we have many threads on what is and what is not a black belt and almost no one seems to agree on the requirements. That's nice, but who must do the certification? I've seen magazine ads for an "organization" that you can join and get your "instructor certification" by paying the membership fee. I personally think that black belts who want to teach should undergo extensive and rigorous training on how to teach before they become certified instructors, but many schools consider you an instructor by merely reaching a certain rank. Being a great martial artist does not equal being a great teacher, and visa-versa. Like so many things in life, MA instruction is "buyer beware" ..

I try to keep my students at "arm's length" because I believe it is best for the student/instructor relationship. Many instructors do not share this view, and they are entitled to their opinion. Until I became an instructor I knew very little about my instructor. It really keeps politics out of the dojo. Now that we are "peers" (not in rank, but as school owners) we actually socialize and talk quite a bit. ..

ArmorofGod is exactly right. The instructor can choose who he wants to provide services for, and he has the right to deny his services to anyone. It might not be fair, or even a smart business move, but he has that right. Of course you have the right to take your business elsewhere. This is an example of "it's a free country". ..

Style is less important than the instructor and the program. A great martial art will not work if the instructor is not good or his program is sub-par. Every style has excellent instructors and poor ones. Since you want your daughter to participate, the fun and excitement of the children's program is critical. Over time, she is probably less likely to perservere through a boring class than you are. It is my professional opinion that children and adult classes should not be together. An occasional "Family Class" is fine, but regular training should be suited to each specific age group. Try the children's classes in each school you are considering. In some schools you can feel the energy when you walk in the door. The kids should be well behaved but excited and working hard. If the kid's classes are good, then check out the adult classes. Talk to some of the other students, try a few classes. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Look at your goals and see if they can help you ultimately reach them. ..

I have heard that in China they start training children at a very young age. Another post on this board from someone in Korea said that almost all school children learn Taekwondo, but almost no one takes it as an adult. I would think that in each case a child could earn a rank appropriate for their skill level. ..

It is impossible to draw a line at a specific age and say "today you are mature enough to be a black belt" If it were possible, it would certainly not be during the ages between 15 and 20. The black belt should be earned. If a 12 year old who has been training for 5 years and can do everything that is required of an adult candidate, why hold him back? Is the Black Belt so sacred that we cannot give one to deserving 12 year olds? Or teenagers? I wonder how many on this board write in other threads that "a black belt really doesn't mean anything" or "you shouldn't care about your rank" or "a black belt just holds up your pants" and then turn around and all of a sudden put such a value on that same belt that a 12 year old should never get one. That would be hypocrisy. ..

Everyone is a little off on this one. Any business can choose whoever it wants to do business with, even who they hire. Plenty of businesses openly descriminate against people who do not have a college degree. As long as you don't refuse memberships based on a person's sex, race, religion, or ethnic origin you can select whoever you like. Once you start a policy of "no methodists" or "no latinos" you are in trouble. Until then, you should be OK selecting who you want to train. ..

Number one: Have a great program that people love. Unfortunately, that's not enough. Teaching kids in the afternoon is where you are most likely to succeed financially. Those that work a "day job" often start classes too late to capture the after school crowd. Remember, parents are willing to spend a lot of money on their kids. Realize that your customers are not the kids, but the kid's parents. Annual Memberships (contracts) are essential for success. Kids are too fickle and will come and go too quickly if the parents are not committed to the program. Require automatic payment by debit or credit card, otherwise you will be looking for money every month... some of which will never come. The ones who initially object to the auto-pay turn out to be the worst. Don't make exceptions. It's better to lose one or two potential problem accounts than to start allowing exceptions. Parents do talk to each other, so that one "exception" will cause other problems for you. Market, market, market... hanging flyers on doors in neighborhoods works great and it's cheap. Make members feel like part of your school by sending them birthday cards, christmas cards, newsletters, mother's day cards, ... etc. Try to encourage referrals by having buddy days, referral contests, "parents work out free for a month" promotions, etc. Finally: Have a great program that people love. ..

Whoops... That search in my area turned up 2 schools that most would consider "McDojos". I guess even "McDojos" can join NAPMA. ..

I disagree with this statement. You can determine the webmasters design skills (or lack thereof) and you can determine the school owner's marketing savy. Of course that's of little use to someone seeking MA instruction.. ..

Kata is a form of practice and excersize. Like every part of our training, it is useless without the other components. No one should do JUST kata and nothing else, just like you should not do sit-ups only or heavy bag work only. There is great value derived from kata, just as there is great value from the other parts of our training. ..

By the time he reached the rank of Black Belt, don't you think the 2nd Dan would have progressed as well? It would be many years (a decade or more) before a new student "catches up" to 2nd Dan instructor (assuming the instructor is still training and progressing). I started teaching a few years ago when I was a 2nd degree BB. Now my first group of students is about to test for Black Belt, and I have been a 3rd degree for a year. I still have much to teach them. ..

Real life situations vary greatly. What type of fights do you usually get into? How well trained are the combatants that you fight? I personally do not get into fights (except in the ring), so I am in a style that I enjoy the training. I think most styles will prepare you in time to handle a typical bully or street encounter. No style will help you if you don't enjoy it enough to stick with it. Try the taekwondo, take a few classes, talk to a some students your age. If you are not comfortable with it, look around for something you prefer. ..

Yes, word of mouth is the best, but that can take years to build up a following to provide enough referrals. If you are just starting out you need to get your name out there. I go door-to-door in neighborhoods and put flyers on the people's doors. I can do about 100 in an hour, so I spend one or two hours 3 times a week. It seems tedious, but it adds up. I can cover about 1000 - 1500 households each month. If only 1 out of 50 (2%) call back that's 20 - 30 new prospects a month. I also managed to get copies of several local school directories and entered the names and addresses in a database. Now I can just whip out a few hundred mailers whenever I want. ..

At most MA schools, we expect new students to be out of shape and not flexible. We work with beginners to gradually build up their strength, fitness, and flexibility. It is more important to start today than to wait until next week or next month so you can get in better shape. Just take that first step onto the mat and you will be glad you did. For many students, that first step is the hardest. After that, it becomes a way of life. ..

Hard work and reaching for set goals are not mutually exclusive. Wanting to know what the goal is and then working hard to achieve it is not the same as "instant desire" or "the easy way" At my school, I work hard to prepare my students to test, and they work hard to prepare themselves. My students have clear goals and requirements. I continually let my students know where they are on their path to that goal, so they know when and what they must do to test for the next belt rank. There is no mystery. It's tough, especially at the higher ranks, but everyone knows where they stand. Should people care about achieving ranks? Yes! Just as they should care when they get promoted at work, get an "A" on their report card, or teach their child how to ride a bike. Being proud of your accomplishments and then getting back to work to achieve more is what makes America great! Go ahead, work hard, achieve a goal, then go out and have a beer to celebrate! Then back to work. ..

These days you can get a home study course for just about anything. Look at all the "make millions in real estate by working from home" videos you can buy from infomercials. Are there really a bunch of millionaires running around who started with this course? Probably not. Just a lot of wannabees. Same thing with the video MA courses. There are no shortcuts. An instructor must be able to work with you and see your techniques, forms, and sparring to be able to develop and correct you. Only an instructor can evaluate your progress and determine when it is time to start working on new material. We all have a self-image in our mind of how we are doing, and we tend to overlook the flaws. Most of our self-images are inflated. Your instructor brings you back to reality. ..

Do what I did: Make MA your life. As a full time MA instructor, I'm immersed in it all day and know one can say anything about it. It's just what I do! ..

It's virtually impossible to determine a McDojo from a website. Robinson's looks like a good value for only $65/month, however price matters little if you don't like the school when you try it. Just try them both and see if you like their training. Talk to the instructor to see if the training matches your goals. Talk to a few students if you can. Don't judge a school by it's website. ..

And people who are good streetfighters have been beaten by people who have guns. And people who have guns have been hit by a bus... and so on and so on... I don't think anyone is claiming that there is a rank that is invincible. Just like a world champion (Football/Baseball/Soccer/etc) team can be defeated by the last place team on any given day, so can the best fighter be defeated by a lesser fighter. ..

It's a bad habit of SOME taekwondo, particularly WTF/Olympic taekwondo. Please don't give my taekwondo that rap. I have trained at several taekwondo schools in several states and have NEVER been trained that way. In fact, the only place I've seen this type of sparring is on TV. It's sad that because WTF style sparring is in the Olympics people think it represents all taekwondo. I believe that most TKD practitioners do not spar that way. ..

In just a few taekwondo classes I can teach most people how to deliver a very effective punch and kick...effective against an average person who is not trained in MA. Since the average teenager is surrounded by untrained people, I can see where this is a concern. I can teach the techniques, discipline, and self-control. There is no way to make sure it all sticks. Teenagers sometimes do the wrong thing even when they know it is wrong. It just works that way. ..