DWx

I teach my students that the number 1 rule in Taekwon-Do is Distance (positioning), number 2 is Timing. Master those two and you'll always win.

How to stop telegraphing? Practice. Make the movement more efficient.

I guess it is a case of showing that you are reasonably knowledgable to teach and that depends on your governing bodies' definition of what qualifies someone to be a teacher. If it is a minimum of blackbelt then you may have to go elsewhere for insurance. I have seen below blackbelt teaching but this is under the guidance of a high grade who more often than not observes the classes. For what its worth, insurance from the UK Taekwondo body says that a non-blackbelt can teach though they must not be doing this for the majority of the class time.

yes it is definitely the younger ones that struggle. I do have younger students that are more committed, or should I say the parents are more committed. I guess with those that are flaky that's the type of student I don't want or need anyway. Unfortunately I think the new school year has triggered another quitter. I had a pair of brothers training but who barely ever came... looks like their mum just cancelled the direct debit. Frustratingly without explanation. But then again the two were a pain in the backside as were dropping so far behind from missing classes.

Honestly just get an accountant. They can be invaluable especially when you are learning these things. Each month track what you take in and break it down into class fees, merchandise, equipment sales etc. And likewise track what you spend. From that produce a summary of income vs outgoings. Plenty of free templates available on the web.

Those are such good numbers! I have to have 27 students to break even on my current hall hire plus expenses. To lease an industrial unit I worked it out to be 35+ for one of the smaller 1000 sqft units here. 50 if I wanted something 2 to 3000 sqft. The key thing in found was to make time to train for yourself. Having only beginners may also be a blessing as it is a nightmare trying to come up with lesson plans that accommodate complete beginner and advanced at the same time.

Paperless training fees is definitely the way forward if you can do it. For Direct Debit I use a service called GoCardless https://gocardless.com/ You sign up, then invite customers via entering their email or by sending them the link. They have to enter their bank details and once approved appear as a customer. You then select what you want to charge them and how often and GoCardless does the rest. It requests the money via their bank and 7 days later deposits it into your bank minus 1% service charge. You can also set up one off payments for stuff like merchandise and grading fees. My students/parents like it because I don't see any personal details plus it's all automated and no one needs to remember anything. Unfortunately looking at it they don't work in the US just yet only UK, the Eurozone, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand and Canada... But there must be something similar you can use. PayPal business does have a feature where you can generate invoices for a customer and send which is useful for one off payments like belt fees but it still requires you to manually create it each time. If you can, one of the things I also did was get a machine to take card payments. I paid my bank a nominal amount for a machine that connects to my phone and let's me take credit and debit card payments. Much better than messing around with cash and cheque. In terms of paperwork I guess local laws will apply but I created a database for student info which tracks various things including student insurance expiry dates (I have to take out a policy on each student) and whether their account is up to date, attendance etc. I also make each student fill out the following before joining: *Basic Info *Emergency contact details *Medical questionnaire plus disclaimer *Student agreement (i.e. they agree to my dojang rules, payment terms, cancellation terms etc.) *Social media & marketing opt in / opt out *Preferences for how we contact them (necessary for GDPR in Europe) They have to update their details every year once their insurance is due. Finances I'm a bit lazy with which is why I use the automated system as at least I can print off a report every month. Expenses is harder but important to try to do every month. Play a good accountant too as they will let you know what's missing and use loop holes to minimise your tax.

Congrats Noah! I'm sure it'll be an all round success. I just hit my 1 year anniversary with my school. It's a hell of a learning curve. Biggest thing I would say is to keep up on the admin and have systems in place to cut down on paperwork where you can so you can spend more time teaching. I run all my payments through Direct Debit to cut down on me chasing for money and would definitely recommend you do the same if you can. With Facebook advertising also don't be afraid to spend. Hands down it's given me the best return on my money.

In terms of numbers, total students on the books minus myself and my sister is 69 in one year. 11 of those are blackbelts who came to me from elsewhere. That leaves 58 complete beginners. I've had 7 quitters. Most young children. One was a 6 year old and probably just too young. Quit after 3 months. Her father said she was struggling with how late it was in the evening. Another 6 year old quit after 9 months because he wasn't enjoying it. His father still wanted him to come to class and made him come quit in person which I think was great. Again probably a little young for what we do. A 7 year quit after about 9 months because he wasn't enjoying it. A 14 year old girl quit after only a month or so but I think she never really wanted to do it anyway and her mum made her. I had one adult stop showing up with promises to come back soon after her exams and then after the summer... More recently I had another 7 year old just stop coming, she was getting on ok but for whatever reason her parents just stopped bringing her and cancelled the Direct Debit. Despite me trying to get in touch I never got a reason why. Then lately another 7 year old quit for no reason at all. Her mum messaged me to say she still wanted her to do it and I thought she was enjoying class but the girl doesn't want to come anymore. I think because I held her back from grading as she'd missed a lot of classes at the start of the year. So I guess that's 12% of total beginners quitting in a year or 10% of total students. The younger ones I definitely think would have gotten on better in a dedicated little kids program but I don't have the time or resources at the moment. Adults I find it harder to convert from free trial but once they're in they tend not to quit.

Just celebrated my one year anniversary of my school Starting to lose a few of the junior students now. I know it is inevitable at some point, but what's a typical attrition rate in schools? What percentage of students have you typically lost after 6 months, after 1 year etc.

Congratulations!

I'm lucky in that I already have a team of guys working with me. My sister a 3rd dan, a 2nd dan, then 5 other 1st dans who train and assist me in class. But always great to add another to the ranks. It sounds like your school is off to a good start! Yes going pretty well. But also a bit different too in some ways. I have the high grades but then everyone else is 7th kup or below so sometimes had coming up with lessons that cater for all.

I think it depends on what you intend to cover during the course and what expectations you set. Is a one day First Aid course the same as going to Medical school? No but at the very least you might have a basic awareness of what's going on and how to seek further help. A one day self defence course is not going to teach you how to fight off several attackers but it's perfectly reasonable to teach people how to be more observant and some basic defensive strategies e.g the fence. And of course its a low commitment way to see if the student likes your teaching and introduces them to your school.

I don't disagree but can you give an example of such a profession? I work in B2B sales and whilst I never have walked in with a black eye I can't say having bruises has every lost me a sale. If anything its a conversation starter.

You know today I don't think it's such a big thing to admit you like fighting as a pastime MMA is really popular and the Olympics has helped popularize Judo and Taekwon-Do. And of course everyone knows boxing. IMHO I have no issue in telling people I do Martial Arts.

He passed! And with the highest score on the day. He looked terrified all day but did a great job. I'm lucky in that I already have a team of guys working with me. My sister a 3rd dan, a 2nd dan, then 5 other 1st dans who train and assist me in class. But always great to add another to the ranks.

11 months after setting up my own school, I have my first student testing for blackbelt tomorrow He was originally training with my old instructor but quit a few years ago as like me wasn't enjoying the atmosphere at the school. When I started my school he came back to training and I let him keep his 1st kup. After training with me 3 nights a week since September, he will test for his 1st dan tomorrow at our association's annual grading.

Congrats Shinzentai! That's great news.

Sprung wooden floors are great as long as you can have exclusive use of the venue and its not a space people are walking in and out of all the time.

Depending on what you are doing, Judo mats aren't great for kata... Can you not rent the mats? Over here in the UK there are companies you can pay to turn up with the mats for the day. What does your insurance company require?

This is baffling to me... why would they just close it? What now happens to the students? Surely unless every SKKA instructor has chosen to close their doors the individual dojos are still running and have need of a hombu? And if they are to close why bother with the latest round of testing? Maybe it is not what you want to do, but have you thought about creating your own governing body?

Where abouts are you based as it will differ from region to region? I'm coming up on one year of my school so fairly new compared to others on KF. I found it easier to start by renting a room a couple of nights a week in a local sports club as if it all went wrong I had less to lose. Purchasing a building or taking on a loan is a long term commitment so you have to be sure it will work out.

I'm looking into this at the moment but because I want a system that tracks more than just attendance... payment via Direct Debit, gradings, etc. But generally you will have to pay a subscription for such software. What I currently do is have a Google Sheets file which I access via tablet or phone in class and I can update on the go.

Macho Martial Arts just shared their list of Martial Arts founding fathers where they list the usual suspects: Funakoshi, Jigoro Kano, Choi Hong Hi, Carlos Gracie.... Anyone else who should be added to this list? https://machosparring.com/the-fathers-of-martial-arts/

Thanks for the input guys. I do think stripes are a way to go but need to sit down and work out how to split it up. My old school used to award the younger ones badges for all the different elements but I'm not keen on having stuff sewn on the dobok if it doesn't have to be there.