January 2018

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their demonstration team,” McKee explains. “So, they teased and called me the ‘White Tiger.’ I was also teaching English four hours a day at a Hogwon (English school) to obtain my visa.

When payday came around, I had to have a male pick up my money because

F

they wouldn’t pay a woman. That was

S

many years ago; things are probably different now.”

Rondy McKee grown very di goals for the cally, I felt we the students, should da

Touring with the Korean Tigers presented McKee with a new modern vision of how to promote and train in TKD. She

very traditional, and I w they were teaching in K

embraced the changes. But when she shared

ergy with aerial and sp

these new ideas with her master back in

master in Michigan tho

Day? One of the men looked at Mr. Lee and said, ‘Can you not control your wife?’”

WILL THE REAL TAEKWONDO MASTER PLEASE STAND UP? On the other end of our three-way conversation, McKee was relating to everything Lee was saying and vice-versa. The enthusiasm and sense of camaraderie between the two women ignited a whirlwind of, “beenthere, done-that, too,” remarks.

“They always assumed that there was a male master running the school,” says McKee. “During Labor Day, most schools were closed. I was [working in the school] finishing my floors when three different guest masters showed up. They saw me in my grubs working on the floor and asked, ‘Who’s the master here?’

I responded, ‘That would be me.’ Again, they asked and, again, I explained that even though I was covered in paint, I was indeed the master. So, even today, there are still those who refuse to recognize a female as the master of a taekwondo system.”

“Rondy, I know exactly what you’re talking about,” chimed in Lee. “I was always being asked, ‘Where’s the master?’ especially since my last name is Lee, too, which is a common Korean name.

Once, a guy came in and wanted to sign up, but he insisted that he couldn’t learn anything from me. I explained that, if I taught him, he would definitely learn something, so maybe he should go home and workout in his garage!”

Listening to McKee and Lee exchange stories and experiences during a 90-minute phone conversation was akin to having a front-row seat to the best martial arts roast ever! It was also a rare glimpse into a world marred by prejudice and intolerance. But at the end of the day, both women could still find humor when describing the hills and valleys they’ve traversed throughout their careers. As McKee stated, “It’s something we can laugh at now, but, at the time, it was anything but funny.

“Things are, of course, easier now than it was 30-plus years ago,” she adds. “The older I get, things do seem be getting better. But there are things we have to do differently than the guys, just because we are females.

For example, let’s say that we’re at a tournament and, afterwards, all the grandmasters go out drinking. That’s where all the real business deals take place. As women,

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That means three things: 1. Keeping a close eye on them while they’re assisting on the floor.

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THE MAIA REPORT

TURN INFORMATION TO ACTION

BY KYLE YOUNG

MAIA DIVISION MANAGER

NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE IN YOUR JOURNEY, THERE’S ALWAYS MORE TO BE LEARNED AND MORE TO BE ACCOMPLISHED. AND THERE ARE ALWAYS SOME NAGGING TASKS THAT WE PUT OFF.

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ou’ve probably heard people talk about the difference between hearing versus listening, or the saying about how advice tends to go “in one ear and out the other”. Sometimes, it may take hearing things several times before we actually “listen” to the advice, or hearing it said a little differently, or even hearing it from a new source that creates the impetus or motivation to put what we’ve listened to into action.

At our most recent MAIA Wealth and Elite event in Denver, Frank Silverman kicked off a session with a very challenging question, one that really made the group take an introspective dive into their own fears, biases, and motives. What question could make a group of some of the most successful school owners in the country take a step back you ask? A very simple, but profound one: Why do I not do what I know I should?

Any why is this profound? Well, because no matter where you are in your journey, there’s always more to be learned and more to be accomplished. And there are always some nagging tasks that sit in the back of our minds that we seem to put off. As martial artists like to put it, the learning really begins at black belt.

Gathered in a room full of their peers, the answers varied, but more times than not, it was because they hadn’t fully committed to turn what they heard into action…they merely heard it, and that was it.

In our world, data and information are abundant. The resources are out there. They’re plentiful in the martial arts world. Anyone can access them. The only real difference is that some people are able to take what they hear, apply it to their own situation and take action.

As we move towards 2018, it’s time to take note of our accomplishments this year and prepare ourselves for success in the coming year. The first step is to begin with the end in mind.

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Sometimes I find myself making big goals, but not breaking them down into milestones for the “how” of my journey.

This month, take a minute to be gracious for your many gifts.

You still have a couple of weeks to close out the year strong.

Write down your big goals for next year, but keep it to three or four major goals. Then, work backwards from there to break those goals into smaller tasks or stepping stones to getting there. That will give you an ability to check in with yourself throughout the year and make the adjustments necessary for accomplishing your goals.

But the question I have is, what are you going to do differently today so that you’re better prepared to take on the challenges of tomorrow? Susan Taylor puts it very eloquently, saying, “Thoughts have power; thoughts are energy. And you can make your world or break it by your own thinking.” The same thinking that got you where you are today won’t be the same that takes you to your goals tomorrow.

Find someone that inspires you to think differently. Pay close attention. Listen actively and take action. Happy holidays to all and I hope to hear from you all in the new year. Cheers! e

m Kyle Young is the Martial Arts Industry Association Division Manager and can be reached at kyoung@masuccess.com.

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TWO HIGH-POWERED

WOMEN DISCUSS THE UNIQUE CHALLENGES FEMALE SCHOOL OWNERS FACE

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Taekwondo Masters Rondy McKee and Teri Lee are two of the most accomplished school owners in the U.S., with a cumulative total of some 2,700 active students!

But success didn’t come easy for either woman. For years, they fought opposition from their male counterparts, who sought to suppress, or take credit for, their every achievement. Overcoming this attitude took a combination of smarts, patience and guts. In the process of creating their individual martial arts empires, McKee and Lee also became role models for women and

men alike to follow.

By Terry L. Wilson

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The Kor Korea, in 1 famous an demonstr tacular fe Today, ove three team “Little Tig McKee wa was all ma “I was t their dem plains. “So the ‘Whit English fo (English s When pay have a ma they woul many yea different n Touring presented of how to embraced these new

THEY WOULDN’T PAY A WOMAN! Both Teri Lee and Rondy McKee have a long laundry list of incidents illustrating the struggles they endured while trying to find equality among their male martial arts peers.

McKee began taking martial arts while in college. But after competing in her first tournament, she noticed that the Korean taekwondo (TKD) masters were dominating the American schools.

“I switched schools. My grandmaster was then, and still is, Ho Young (“Tiger”) Chung,” McKee says.

She was living in Detroit, Michigan, working in advertising during the day and eventually managing and teaching at a martial arts school she co-owned at night.

“I first traveled to Korea for training in 1990, and then moved there from 1994 to 1996 to train with the Korean Tigers,” McKee says.

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The Korean Tigers, founded in Seoul, Korea, in 1990, is one of the world’s most famous and highest-skilled taekwondo demonstration teams. It focused on spectacular feats of TKD and acrobatic tricking.

Today, over 60 members comprise three teams of men, women and the “Little Tigers” children. But back when McKee was accepted as a member, it was all male.

“I was the only white non-Asian on their demonstration team,” McKee explains. “So, they teased and called me the ‘White Tiger.’ I was also teaching English four hours a day at a Hogwon (English school) to obtain my visa.

When payday came around, I had to have a male pick up my money because they wouldn’t pay a woman. That was many years ago; things are probably different now.”

Touring with the Korean Tigers presented McKee with a new modern vision of how to promote and train in TKD. She embraced the changes. But when she shared these new ideas with her master back in

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Detroit, where she had started her training, they were not well-received.

“When I shared my ideas with Master Chung in Detroit, I thought he would be thrilled,” recalls McKee. “He was not. He was

me returning to Detroit to his school, it would be best if I went out on my own.”

McKee met and married a Tiger teammate while living in Korea. She left Korea and returned to the states to open a school in Cary, North Carolina. Her husband was to join her later.

“I wasn’t familiar at all with Cary,” “15 years later, after we’d McKee admits. “It was before the built a very large school, [establishment of the] internet, but I did my demographic study. I called the my marriage fell apart,” Chamber of Commerce and got all the Rondy McKee says. “We had answers I wanted about the area.”

McKee also took that information grown very different in our to Kim Ho Jae, dean of the Kukkiwon goals for the school. Basiin Seoul. The Kukkiwon is the world headquarters of taekwondo, cally, I felt we should teach “I showed him my plans. He said, the students, and he felt we ‘You must be respectful. You can’t open near another master’s school.’ should date them!”

After reviewing the area, I got the okay because the closest school was 90 very traditional, and I wanted to teach how minutes away. they were teaching in Korea. It was high-en“To me, that meant there were no other ergy with aerial and spinning kicks. My schools in the area. I wasn’t aware that not master in Michigan thought that instead of every school registers with the Kukkiwon. I’d

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never heard of giving out your own school’s black belts before. I assumed the whole taekwondo world ran through the Kukkiwon. But when I got to Cary, I discovered that there were a lot of taekwondo schools in the area, none of which belonged to the Kukkiwon.”

McKee and her husband spent many years building the school, White Tiger Martial Arts, into a thriving business.

“Fifteen years later, after we’d built a very large school, my marriage fell apart,” McKee says. We had grown very different in our goals for the school. Basically, I felt we should teach the students, and he felt we should date them!”

The couple filed for divorce and the joint assets were to be liquidated and split.

YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT? “This is when I obtained a loan and bought out his interest in the school,” McKee says.

While McKee entered the business end of martial arts with an arsenal of experience in advertising, Teri Lee of Sunnyvale, California, was just the opposite. Although an experienced martial artist, her business background was limited to keeping first-graders from eating their chalk! For four years, she had been working as an elementary school teacher. The last thing on her mind was trading in a gaggle of kids for a class full of martial art students.

Lee’s arrival into the business side of the

martial arts came not only as a shock to her, but it arrived without warning. It was in the form of an edict from her husband, a taekwondo master school owner and instructor.

“In 1988, my husband came home and told me that he had leased a second school and we had 30 days before it opened, Lee explains. “I asked him who was going to run it, and he said, ‘You are.’

“I had a full-time job teaching elementary school. Even though I didn’t know the first thing about running a martial arts school, I had to assume that responsibility. So, I resigned my teaching position and opened the second location on August 1st, 1988.”

For Lee, opening and running this school was akin to teaching a non-swimmer how to swim by tossing her off the high-diving board into the deep end of the pool.

“I didn’t know the curriculum,” Lee admits.

“I had a black belt in Japanese karate. I had no idea how to teach a taekwondo class. I opened with a schedule of 36 classes and I had zero students. I didn’t even know that I could open with just one class!

“And, because I didn’t know the curriculum, when someone was testing for green belt, I had to go home and put on a VHS video to learn the form. If a student asked me, ‘Is that a high punch or a middle punch in this form?’

I’d say, ‘Let me get back to you on that.’ I asked my husband if he was going to help me teach and he said, no, because I needed to develop my own following!”

Talk about overwhelming. Not only was she inexperienced with technical TKD matters, she had no business experience, either!

“I knew nothing about running a business,” she recalls. “I knew nothing about billing.

Most schools did their billing from a little black book and all of them paid different prices. There were no agreements or established fees. In fact, most schools negotiated all the prices based on what they felt the student could pay.”

Lee felt like Alice after falling down the rabbit hole. She had been forced to enter a world she knew nothing about. Her structured background as a professional teacher didn’t prepare her to deal with the enormous amount of knowledge and education it takes to properly run a martial arts school.

“I was concerned because I came from a different environment,” says Lee. “I was a college graduate. I belonged to a National Teachers Association where all the rules were clearly laid out with tables of organization to follow. Now, I had no idea who to go to for help, and I had very little business sense.”

Eventually, Lee turned to a group of martial arts professionals that gave her all the tools needed to help her run a professional martial arts school.

“I learned everything from them,” she says.

“From the phone script to advertising and so much more. It was an A-to-Z business lesson on what people were doing in the industry.

The board was filled with top-notch people. It (CONTINUE ON PAGE 36)

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“When I opened in 1988, I had a 1,700 square-foot school that didn’t even have a bathroom,” Teri Lee recalls of her first school. “Three years later, I moved a quarter of a mile down the street and I enrolled a hundred students. That was the month the Ninja Turtles movie opened. I literally moved my entire student body to my new school and, in the old school, I did intros of ten people at a time.”

Fourteen years later, in 2005, Lee moved into a shopping center complex in Sunnyvale, CA, with a 5,200 squarefoot space and 450 parking places. Next, she took over an additional space, adding 4,000 square feet and expanding her empire to a whopping 10,000 square-foot training facility.

“I have two spaces side-by-side. We have three floors, two of them being 2,500 square feet and the other 4,000,” Lee says. “This allows me to have testing on one side and maybe a tournament on the other side, giving me lots of flexibility to expand. I currently have a student-base average between 650 and 700.”

In 2012, Lee renamed and re-branded her school.

“I wanted my son, Jian, to be able to come into the business without any rules or regulations on how to operate our school,” she explains. “The best way was to not be affiliated with any other organization.

“August 1, 2018 will be my 30-year anniversary of owning and operating my school,” Lee states, proudly. “I’ve been training for 37 years. Yes, there were some tough times. At times, I felt like I didn’t know if I could — or if I wanted to — do this for a living. I believe I cried every day the first year that I opened my school.

“But I’m so glad that I didn’t change careers,” Lee concludes. “The people I have taught and the people I have met along the way are my family. And I cannot imagine life without my martial arts family!”

While Lee is nestled in Sunnyvale in northern California, Rondy McKee has established roots all the way across the country in Cary, NC. There, her White Tiger Martial Arts stands out as one of the largest and finest schools in the world, an immaculate 24,000-square-foot school and complex on 4.5 acres with over 2,000 students! It’s a multimillion-dollar, self-contained community, and she owns the entire property. She enrolls about 100 new students per month consistently.

Early on, McKee decided it was better to buy than to rent the property for her operation. Plus, she wanted to design and customize the school herself. She ended up creating a marvelous martial arts showplace of Architectural Digest quality.

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“The entry has a koi-pond seating area, off of which are all of the different rooms,” McKee describes. “We have four dojangs [training areas] and a waiting room for the parents. Above that is a suspended running track, and from the track you can see into all of the dojangs. That way, the parents can jog or walk the track and see their kids training.

“If I can get the parents to first break a sweat, that’s the first step to getting them onto the floor as students.

We also have a supervised childcare area, so it’s a pretty hopping place here.”

McKee once used a tiger-striped limousine for her White Tiger School. However, Cary’s very conservative town council told the taekwondo master that her white tiger needed to change its stripes.

“I live in a town that’s so neat and clean it almost sparkles,” McKee says. “They have an Appearance Committee and, boy, do they hate me! We’re not allowed to have signs that light up, and the committee issued me a sign violation because I had tiger stripes on my school’s vehicle. Even the McDonalds here isn’t allowed to have golden arches! Keeping that in mind, when I designed my all-glass building, the signage inside of it is artwork that just looks suspiciously like my logo.”

To appease the Appearance Committee, McKee got rid of her tiger-striped limo and replaced it with a 40-foot coach bus. She says if they complain about that, she’d raise the ante by getting a helicopter! Don’t laugh. She can afford it!

Rondy McKee has remarried. Her husband, Fred Huerta, is a well-known singer-composer of Spanish songs with three hits on Billboard’s Top-10 Charts.

“When we get off the tour bus together, fans will flock to me, thinking I’m the singer because I’m a woman,” says McKee. “So, it’s the opposite stereotype than what I faced as a martial arts instructor.”

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was the place to go for seminars and sharing information.”

One major advantage for Lee through that group was connecting with famed master and pioneering showman Ernie Reyes, Sr. of San Jose, CA. Reyes was Lee’s instructor for over 25 years.

“I tested from 2nd to 7th degree under Master Ernie Reyes and [his partner] Master Tony Thompson. I owe much of my progress as a student and as a school owner to their guidance and the networking of many of the school owners at Ernie Reyes West Coast Martial Arts. Although we parted ways professionally in 2012, they will always be my instructors and part of my martial arts family.”

Lee transformed from a novice business student to the head of the class, becoming an expert speaker at conventions — like the annual Martial Arts SuperShow in Las Vegas — on how to run a successful martial arts school.

A WOMAN IN EXILE Having and maintaining a strong relationship with the community, and even stronger ties to one’s specific martial arts chain, is paramount to maintaining and growing one’s business.

When McKee and her husband divorced, she was immediately expelled from that TKD community. This created yet another hill for her to climb and one more battle to fight in the struggle for equality.

“I was completely cut off from the Korean community,” McKee says. “That gave me more problems than just being female in their world. When you’re born a woman, from the start you learn how to use that to your advantage, if you can. But suddenly having no Korean contacts made a lot of things very difficult for me, like getting black belt certificates.

“In addition to that, I had to find a way where I could go to test for my rank. Plus, I needed to get my students certified. I couldn’t get a straight answer from anybody.

And, in those days if you didn’t have a Korean master helping you out, you didn’t have any

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avenues for support.”

So frustrated was McKee in hopelessly trying to find help in the U.S. that she bought a plane ticket and flew to Korea on a “blind” mission. Although she had been taken to the Kukkiwon in the past, she didn’t know how to find it on her own.

“As crazy as it sounds, I just starting roaming around the city [of Seoul] asking strangers if they knew where the Kukkiwon was. Because I don’t speak Korean I got a lot of strange looks and replies, like, ‘Cookie what?’ Nobody knew what I was talking about. A couple of people thought I was asking for an egg roll. So, if I saw a sign with a guy kicking on it, I’d get out of the cab, run inside as ask, ‘Where is the Kukkiwon or the Hapkido Federation?’

“Once I found the Kukkiwon, they were very accommodating,” McKee says. “My whole point is that I had to fly there and do it myself in person, because there wasn’t anyone in the states that was able to help me. Everybody wanted to give me their version of a black belt. I just couldn’t get legit certificates.

“Now, I work with Master Park at the Kukkiwon. I even have a position with the Kukiwon as its Public Relations Advisor. I assist American school owners to obtain Kukkiwon and Korean Hapkido certifications, so they don’t have to go through what I went though.”

Both McKee and Lee had a long laugh over the intrepid black belt’s version of roaming around Korea speaking English to those who didn’t. It took a few minutes for the chuckles to subside, when McKee took a long breath and said, “Well, we can laugh about it now, but it wasn’t so funny back then.”

PATCHES? WE DON’T NEED NO STINKIN’ PATCHES! Asked if she faced any problems running a school because she was a female, Teri Lee’s unleashed a lightning-fast litany!

“You mean other than being tall. . . and it wasn’t my school. . .and I didn’t deserve to have a school. . .and being considered that I was just lucky to be married to Mr. Lee? Other

than that, you mean?” Lee asks.

Once again, both women found great humor in each other’s responses. After another gale of laughter subsided, Lee recalled another hill she had to climb. It was an incident over a school patch that could have sent the suffrage movement back a few centuries.

“We had a Black Belt Club patch with all the head instructors’ names embroidered on them,” explains Lee. “And when it came time for me to get my patch, they wanted me to wear my husband’s name, ‘Mr. Lee.’ I explained that he doesn’t come to my school and my students don’t know him. They huffed and puffed and refused to put my name on the patch.

“I requested a blank patch, and that didn’t go over very well at all. So, I took matters into my own hands. I painted the biggest patch in my school and put my name on it for all to see. Mr. Lee scolded me. He said that was going to get me into a lot of trouble.”

Lee had played point guard in basketball for 10 years. Her aggressive attitude earned the star player high praise from coaches and teammates alike. However, that, “pass-methe-ball-and-I’ll-drive-to-the-net” exuberance didn’t translate well with her male martial arts counterparts.

“When I played basketball, I was rewarded for my aggressive play on the court,” she says. “But when I became a school owner, being aggressive was considered the most horrible thing you could do.”

So, what’s considered “aggressive”?

Without missing a beat, she replied, “Having an opinion, breathing or just asking questions!

“I wasn’t trying to disrespect anyone because Mr. Lee is a fabulous instructor, but he didn’t teach at my school. So, to wear a patch with his name on it didn’t seem fair to me. And to have a patch with no name at all didn’t seem fair, either. I tended to do little things like that to get my way. I guess I’m a bit of a rebel.”

So, simply asking questions was improper — really?

“I remember sitting in on a meeting. I chimed in, asking if the event they were planning should really be happening on Mother’s

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Day? One of the men looked at Mr. Lee and said, ‘Can you not control your wife?’”

WILL THE REAL TAEKWONDO MASTER PLEASE STAND UP? On the other end of our three-way conversation, McKee was relating to everything Lee was saying and vice-versa. The enthusiasm and sense of camaraderie between the two women ignited a whirlwind of, “beenthere, done-that, too,” remarks.

“They always assumed that there was a male master running the school,” says McKee. “During Labor Day, most schools were closed. I was [working in the school] finishing my floors when three different guest masters showed up. They saw me in my grubs working on the floor and asked, ‘Who’s the master here?’

I responded, ‘That would be me.’ Again, they asked and, again, I explained that even though I was covered in paint, I was indeed the master. So, even today, there are still those who refuse to recognize a female as the master of a taekwondo system.”

“Rondy, I know exactly what you’re talking about,” chimed in Lee. “I was always being asked, ‘Where’s the master?’ especially since my last name is Lee, too, which is a common Korean name.

Once, a guy came in and wanted to sign up, but he insisted that he couldn’t learn anything from me. I explained that, if I taught him, he would definitely learn something, so maybe he should go home and workout in his garage!”

Listening to McKee and Lee exchange stories and experiences during a 90-minute phone conversation was akin to having a front-row seat to the best martial arts roast ever! It was also a rare glimpse into a world marred by prejudice and intolerance. But at the end of the day, both women could still find humor when describing the hills and valleys they’ve traversed throughout their careers. As McKee stated, “It’s something we can laugh at now, but, at the time, it was anything but funny.

“Things are, of course, easier now than it was 30-plus years ago,” she adds. “The older I get, things do seem be getting better. But there are things we have to do differently than the guys, just because we are females.

For example, let’s say that we’re at a tournament and, afterwards, all the grandmasters go out drinking. That’s where all the real business deals take place. As women,

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MOVING FORWARD WITH MAIA “In 2012, I was looking for an organization to help guide me to grow my business,” says Teri Lee. “That’s when I met Mike Metzger and Frank Silverman of the Martial Arts Industry Association [MAIA]. I knew instantly that they had exactly what I was looking for. If a businessperson walked through my door, I wanted to be able to intelligently answer any questions he or she might have regarding my services.

“I told Mike and Frank that I didn’t want to learn how to answer the phone or how to do an intro. What I wanted was a solid A-to-Z business review.

“Frank took me on right away. He flew out to California and we evaluated my business. It has just been unbelievable ever since. I am very thankful for MAIA and [its owner] Mike Dillard, [who’s also] founder and CEO of Century Martial Arts [in Oklahoma City]. This is the only place I go for networking now.”

“I’m also sold on MAIA,” McKee agrees. “The people I meet

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at the conventions are just amazing. For years, the Korean masters that ran schools insisted on doing everything their way. While it worked for them, I knew it wasn’t right for me.

So, when I began meeting other school owners and started exchanging ideas, I knew I was on the right track.

“Now, I go every year to the MASuperShow. And every year, I always come home with something new and I implement those ideas into my school. I can’t imagine ever not needing MAIA, because I’m always moving forward.

That’s what they do for me,” McKee says.

“When you’re one of the bigger schools, everybody in town is watching you,” she adds. “Teri is probably dealing with the same thing. If Teri does something today that gets a lot of attention, the other schools will be copying it tomorrow. So, we always need to be a step ahead and always evolving.”

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however, we can’t hang out with the guys and do all that. We have to be more careful.”

“What Rondy says is so true,” Lee responds.

“Especially being a divorced or single woman. It’s easy to just pop into a school unannounced for a visit, or have people stay at your house. Guys can do that. But women have to be very careful.

“However, I’ve always been more comfortable around guys because I grew up as kind of a jock. I’ve had more guy friends my whole life than girlfriends. So, I was comfortable with them both. Now, I understand that isn’t the norm. And like Rondy said, women do walk a fine line to make sure that the guys understand we are there for business and nothing else.”

Adds McKee, “Sometimes when I’d go to an event or meeting, I would take a ‘safety friend’ with me. You don’t want the guy’s girlfriends to get jealous, either. You want to, as Teri mentioned, ‘make everybody comfortable with your presence.’

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“With that said, I was a once a part owner of a school even before I met my ex[-husband]. And some people still assume that I got into martial arts because my ex must have taught me. No one could comprehend that maybe I did this on my own while he was still in high school.”

McKee’s barb was, again, met with a gale of laughter on the other end of the phone from Lee. “This is so much fun! I think we should take this show on the road,” laughed Lee.

SUMMARY Prior to this interview, both women knew of each other, but didn’t really know each other. This was the first real interaction between them, as they openly discussed their careers, their struggles and their successes.

“Rondy and I just met recently. Now, after this interview, I think she and I could go anywhere and have an incredible time!” Lee concludes.

Lee and McKee traveled different roads, but, in general, went down the same path.

Each have much in common with the other.

Both women were black belts, they each were married to and divorced from a Korean taekwondo master. And in the face of overwhelming odds and social barriers, Teri and Rondy rose to the top of their profession.

m San Diego’s Terry Wilson is a multi-Emmy Award-winning show host/producer/writer and lifetime martial artist. He may be reached at tleewilson@gmail.com.

To read more about many other successful martial arts instructors, visit the Martial Arts Industry Association’s website at www.maiahub.com. Through this constantly-enhanced website, members can access a massive amount of useful information for school owners on just about any topic from A to Z. e

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January 2018 Nicole Cardiello and Frank J. Corso SCHOOL OWNER’S NAME

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Kempo TaeKwonDo, Kempo Tai-Jitsu STYLE / DISCIPLINE

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January 2018

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Traditional Tae Kwon Do STYLE / DISCIPLINE

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FEATURED STORY

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FEATURED STORY

Ever wonder why you have a revolving door harming your active-student count? Why you can’t maintain staff members?

Or why you just can’t muster the energy to accomplish everything that needs to be done? You could be experiencing burnout. Learn how to battle burnout and keep yourself and your staff productive, healthy and innovative!

By LAURA L. BETTI with MASTER ROBERT P. LECLERC

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FEATURED STORY

I

t’s a Wednesday. You have woken up late. The kids are running through the house gathering what they need for the school day.

You’re yelling that they’re going to miss the bus. The kids finally make the bus, after you run after your son to give him the lunch he forgot.

While you’re running after your son, the dog gets loose and rolls in something. You have to stop everything to give her a bath. Your significant other leaves for work angry because she’s worried about impending bills. Plus, she has hardly seen you all week because of the hours you spend running your business.

As you drive to your school, you can’t help but worry about the $25,000 in bills you have to pay this month. You aren’t sure how you’re going to pay them all on time. Will it be through renewals?

Retail sales? Referrals of new students?

You get to your desk and put your head in your hands, wondering how you can cope with yet another day of teaching classes, speaking with parents and managing staff. Your staff is waiting for you to begin your morning training session.

Suddenly, your job responsibilities seem overwhelming and you feel totally exhausted. The curriculum still needs to be written, phone calls returned and social media posts shared. A junior staff member walks in to ask you a question and you respond irritability. Your fuse is short.

You know this isn’t you, but you aren’t sure how you can make your situation any better. You just don’t have the energy you usually have to face your day anymore.

If you are truly committed to your school, you know that you’re expected to be so many things to so many people. You wear many hats: instructor, mentor, financial manager, social worker, coach, curriculum developer, retail purchaser, marketer, supervisor. And that doesn’t even include all of the hats you may wear in your personal life, too.

For some martial arts professionals, the greatest battle they face is the one with themselves. Career burnout affects everyone at one point or another. Business and personal stressors pile up, making it difficult to have the energy to face daily tasks with a clear head.

Battling burnout isn’t easy, but it is possible.

Although they sound the same, burnout and stress are different.

One specific difference is your own awareness. People typically know when they are feeling stressed, but burnout can sneak up on you — sometimes taking weeks or months to surface.

Burnout is a feeling of emptiness, including a lack of motivation and care for anything or anyone. There is little to no hope for a light at the end of the tunnel. Burnout can occur if you’re constantly feeling bombarded with interpersonal conflicts, feeling a lack of challenge in your work, or are not feeling like you’re making a difference in your leadership position.

Without knowledge, you cannot combat an enemy. You must truly understand the precursors of burnout in order to build a proper defense. Here’s a bunch of the dreaded signs: • Being too many things to too many people.

• Unrealistic expectations and goals that lead to an unbalanced workload.

• Not having enough staff.

• Not having a schedule that you stick to, and having no self-discipline.

• Feeling trapped in your organization or role.

• Not understanding the industry that you are in.

• Trying to make everybody happy, and feeling underappreciated or overextended, because this isn’t really possible.

• Being stuck or stagnant; not seeing any growth or challenge in your business.

• Poor money management.

• Giving 75% to all things, rather than 100% to a few things.

• Not getting enough sleep, not exercising enough and not eating well.

• Forgetting about all of the little — and the big — differences you have made along the way, and not forgiving yourself for making mistakes.

“Burnout and stress may sound the same, but they’re actually very different. People typically recognize stress, in themselves and others, but it’s easy to miss the signs of burnout. It’s important to recognize these signs before burnout strikes.”

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Lessen the load and leave a legacy. Your body, mind and spirit will thank you! Here are 10 strategies for creating a bench strength in your school: 1. Institute a minimum teaching requirement for students at the higher belt levels. Cultivate a desire to “give back” from early on by expecting students on your SWAT (Students Working At Teaching) Team to assist at special events and mentor younger students.

2. Stay current. Know what your teenagers are into, explore social media tools they are talking about and learn the latest lingo.

This way, you can engage them in conversations about things that matter to them. They’ll gain respect for you and want to spend time with you.

3. Coordinate regular leadership-training events. Educate your staff and those assisting on the floor on what it means to be a part of the martial arts industry — beyond just teaching. You’ll gain their buy-in, and have the confidence that you’re developing future leaders both for your school and as citizens in your community.

4. Consistently engage your students. If you create a system of engagement, your younger students will naturally fall into positions.

Determine the youngest you can start targeting to join your SWAT Team, to help your teenagers and staff members. If your young students can handle themselves appropriately and they’re interested in helping, find a way to get them involved.

5. Create a reward system for the people who are helping you on the floor. Whether it’s a special uniform, giving weekly recognition or presenting awards at the annual holiday party, create a reward system. When rewarded, your staff and volunteers feel like they’ve

Once you have the knowledge you need to combat an enemy, you must assess your habits and skills so you know where your weaknesses are. You may be experiencing burnout if: • It’s tough to put your work aside or your personal life suffers.

• Your eating and sleeping habits are poor, plus you’re not relaxing enough.

• You tend toward depressive behaviors.

• You feel you should be accomplishing more than you are and are very critical of yourself, feeling like nothing is ever good enough.

• You’re irritable or impatient with your staff or clients, and react with hostility when someone suggests that you try a different approach to solving a problem.

• You desire to be as far away from your responsibilities as you can. You don’t show up and you don’t teach.

• You’re experiencing unexplained physical complaints and have a lack of energy overall.

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gained something for being a part of what they are doing. Find some way to give prestige to those who help out, so that your younger students have a desire to become members of your junior staff.

6. Get involved in the personal lives of your teenagers. Your teenagers have very full lives outside of the karate school. Go to a play they are performing in, attend their football games and ask them about their academic goals. Find a way to let them know that they matter to you beyond their role in your school.

7. Pay your junior staff. Once you have teenagers as part of your junior staff, you must pay them. The days of free help are gone.

8. Make your junior staff feel important and valued. When you reference your staff, include your junior staff in the mix. Let them hear their names and their achievements mentioned among their peers and other students. They’ll take great pride in their efforts, if you recognize them verbally and publicly from time to time.

9. Make yourself accessible. Your students must know you are human. Share your successes and your missteps, so they can learn from you and feel connected to you. If they feel like you are out of reach, they won’t trust you or want to be like you.

10. Create enough excitement that no one wants to miss out.

Welcome everyone and give them a place. You’ll find that even your youngest students will want to follow in the footsteps of your senior staff, if they buy into your vision.

If you rake the coals enough, you’ll find the diamonds. The time you spend connecting, engaging and mentoring will make a significant difference for you — and your business — in the long run.

• Quitting becomes a major consideration.

Remember that no one aspect of your life will always be the priority. When you are responsible for the leadership of your organization, you might feel like that role always needs to take precedence. This is not the case.

Yes, there will be times when your leadership role needs to be a priority. But there will be other times that you or your family needs to be in the forefront of your mind and your time. The key is feeling comfortable juggling all of the aspects of your life, a skill acquired over time and with practice.

There are proven tools for keeping yourself on track, both personally and professionally. You have the ability to determine your direction. You have complete control over your success or failure, depending on which tools you choose to put into place. Many a professional has been in your position, then learned from those who had come before. So, you’re not alone in combating these challenges. If you make smart decisions in facing this battle, you will succeed.

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FEATURED STORY

For junior staff, you can help them identify for themselves what keeps them motivated and how they will keep those things at the forefront of their minds. Plus, you can discuss the signs and symptoms of burnout and how they can avoid it (see sidebar story, “10 Ways to Create a Bench Strength”).

Give them the tools to help others who seem to be on the brink of burnout. Remind them that they are a part of a team and that it takes everyone to row, if the boat is to stay afloat.

For professional staff, you can discuss strategies with them for motivating the junior staff and how to recognize if someone appears to be experiencing burnout. You can also discuss “burnout filters” they can use to keep a close watch on junior staff, to make sure that they are not burning out.

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That means three things: 1. Keeping a close eye on them while they’re assisting on the floor.

2. Talking to them before classes about what’s going on with them outside of karate.

3. Evaluating how and when they are training.

As martial arts professionals — who, at their very core, want to give to others — we sometimes feel guilty putting ourselves first.

But, in reality, if you don’t take care of yourself, how can you really have the capacity to care for others?

You must make yourself a priority, so that you have the energy stored that’s needed to face the professional challenges that sneak up on you each day. This way, if you’re having a particularly tough day, you can look to your personal “tool box” to confront the challenges.

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FEATURED STORY

Here are 10 ways to battle the personal side of burnout: 1. Seek out connections. We all find inspiration in the most unlikely places. Seek out and work to maintain relationships in your community that are going to assist you to grow. It could be committing to attend church every Sunday morning, regularly meeting up with friends online to play video games or volunteering at a local animal shelter. Whatever it is, make sure your world is bigger than your work. It’s critical to your health and well-being.

2. Look for new challenges that will be meaningful to you. Make a list of interests you have and then find a way to explore them.

Whether it’s reading a book on the New York Times bestseller list or setting a goal to run a marathon, these challenges will jumpstart your mind and your body. That enjoyment will overflow into your work, giving you renewed inspiration and energy sources.

3. Set priorities and stick to them. Procrastination can be your greatest enemy. The greatest leaders get the most important tasks done first, even when they don’t want to do them. Remind yourself of your priorities in life and keep that vision in mind: your family, your business, your health. Whatever your priorities are, let them drive your work ethic in both your personal life and your business life.

4. Keep moving. As you well know, a body in motion stays in motion. A physical workout is also a mental workout. The release of endorphins will keep you motivated to attack your daily stressors or challenges. Whether you’re running multiple schools or a single school all by yourself, you must be physically fit to successfully manage the rigors of the job. You deserve to take the time for regularly scheduled workouts.

5. Focus on your nutrition. The older you get, the more important it is that you focus on what you fuel your body with on a daily basis.

If you aren’t sure how to do this, seek the help of a professional to

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get you started.

Your diet will have a huge impact on your mental and physical stamina. You’ll recover more quickly from your workouts, be able to focus better and you’ll stay healthier overall.

6. Set attainable goals. Successful individuals will tell you that if your goals don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough! However, if you set goals that feel completely unreachable, you won’t maintain the motivation you need to achieve them.

Be realistic, but think big. Break your goals down into manageable parts, so you don’t get frustrated along the way. Small achievements lead to big ones.

7. Disconnect when you can. So much of our world is wrapped into our devices, leaving us less and less time to connect with people face to face. Take the time to step away from your screens. Use it to clear your mind, meditate for some moments or spend special time with those who matter the most to you.

8. Explore intentional opportunities for growth. Becoming stagnant is one of the leading causes of burnout. Intentionally place yourself in situations that make you slightly uncomfortable. This way, you can stretch your knowledge base about different types of people, cultures and leadership strategies.

9. Ask for help when you need it. We all need help, and those who are most successful in life are not afraid to ask for it. Make “no” a part of your vocabulary, so you don’t overtask yourself. You can’t wear all hats all of the time.

10. Have a vision. Set long-term goals for yourself — for where you would like to be in five years, 10 years from now and in retirement.

If you don’t know where you’re going, how else are you going to get there? Begin with the end in mind.

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“So much of our world is wrapped into our devices, leaving us less and less time to connect with people face to face. Take the time to step away from your screens. Use it to clear your mind, meditate for some moments or spend special time with those who matter the most to you.�

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FEATURED STORY

“Connect with those who do what you do. See what’s happening at other schools. The martial arts world is big - much bigger than just your school, your style, your organization. The martial arts industry has exploded and the opportunities for your business are endless.”

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FEATURED STORY

Those who are most successful in business know that burnout is a very real possibility. So, they put tools in place to help ensure they can battle the blows when they come. Here are some ways you can help keep yourself and your staff productive, healthy and innovative on the business side of the equation: 1. Seek out mentorship. There are many who have come before you — and many more who are facing the same issues you are on a daily basis. There’s no need to be the biggest fish in your fishbowl.

Find others who can offer advice and bounce your ideas and challenges off of them. You might be surprised at what you can learn from regularly scheduled conversations, especially if you set up a formal mentoring relationship.

2. Mentor others. One of the greatest strategies for battling your burnout is to mentor others. By doing so, it forces you to look within yourself to evaluate decisions you’ve made and challenges you’ve overcome. Plus, mentoring keeps your mind fresh.

The added benefit of mentoring others is that you develop a bench strength, allowing you to see the future of your school right in front of you. This makes your future — and your business’ future — seem less daunting.

3. Train with your staff and students. There’s a real sense of camaraderie and humility in the type of training we do. Training regularly will keep you grounded and focused on the needs of your students and yourself. You’ll stay connected with those around you and you’ll be “walking the walk” by leading from the front.

4. Hold regular staff meetings. Stay on track by setting clear-cut goals together. Regular staff meetings help hold everyone accountable for their actions, giving you confidence that you are headed in the direction you desire. It’s easy to get caught up in the “same old, same old” without staff meetings. Meeting regularly will allow you to develop fresh, new ideas. You’ll draw from trends you find on social media and pull from industry benchmarks, to ensure your business is operating at its very best.

5. Stay connected within your professional industry. Plan a trip to the annual Martial Arts SuperShow in July in Las Vegas. Or join the Martial Arts Industry Association. Either way, you can tap into the many state-of-the-art ideas and professional resources available,

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while also networking with other school owners. The resources are out there to provide you with fresh ideas that will get you thinking in new directions.

6. Do things that make sense professionally. Don’t make the mistake of reaching beyond the industry. Instead of promoting Spartan races, for example, use your resources to visit a large karate tournament. It’s better to go to a tournament as a spectator than to a race.

Connect with those who do what you do. See what’s happening at other schools and take your blinders off. The martial arts world is big — much bigger than just your school, your style, your organization.

The martial arts industry has exploded and the opportunities for your business are endless.

Committing to yourself like you commit to your students will give you the energy you need to give to those who need you most. If you teach about developing mentally, physically and spiritually, you must then give to yourself mentally, physically and spiritually. Don’t let your ego get in the way. Be honest with yourself. If you allow yourself to get so burned out that you chase everyone away from you, you’ll lose not only your business, but those who care for you the most, too. Winning the small battles will help you win the war. e m Laura L. Betti studies tang soo do and is a 3rd-degree black belt and instructor at Leclerc’s Martial Arts in Hyde Park, NY. She competes on the NASKA World Tour and at traditional tang soo do events both nationally and internationally. She can be reached at tangsoo15@ gmail.com.

Master Robert P. Leclerc is a 7th-degree black belt in tang soo do and owns three karate schools in New York State’s Hudson Valley.

He competes on the NASKA World Tour, and can be reached at sbnleclerc@aol.com.

To read many more insider tips about becoming a better instructor and successful school owner, visit the Martial Arts Industry Association’s website at www.maiahub.com. Through this constantly-enhanced website, members can access a massive amount of useful information on just about any topic from A to Z.

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