FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK

BY FRANK SILVERMAN

MAIA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

“It’s critical that you plan ahead for this busy season. In addition to figuring out a process for recruiting as many new members as possible, you also must take precautions to ensure that you don’t lose your current students due to the influx of newcomers.”

Back to School, Back to the Dojo

Summer’s reaching an end. The Virtual SuperShow is behind us. COVID, as I said in my previous column, is in the rearview mirror. What’s next? Back-to-school season! This is the best of the best of times for most martial arts schools.

As you know, columns are written prior to, sometimes months before, the release of each issue of a print magazine. It can be difficult to make sure all the information is exact and accurate when covering topics that are out of our control. As of the date this article is being written, not all schools have confirmed that they’ll resume fully in-person instruction. We don’t know yet how “normal” things will be through the winter months. What we do know — regardless of COVID and regardless of whether learning resumes in-person — is that the back-to-school season this year will be a great time for martial arts schools across the country.

It’s critical that you plan ahead for this busy season. In addition to figuring out a process for recruiting as many new members as possible, you also must take precautions to ensure that you don’t lose your current students due to the influx of newcomers. This always has been something to pay attention to, but it’s even more important today.

The following are four essential recruiting tools for the season.

• In-Person Presence

You need to be present at both public and private schools as much as possible. Meet the teachers, set up a booth at welcome-back events and take any opportunity that a school will give you to have access onsite. You need to be there.

• Online Presence

If COVID taught us anything, it’s that a virtual connection is every bit as important as face-toface contact. Having a fast-loading, easy-tonavigate website for your school is key. A Facebook page is mandatory. If you need help in this department, call MAIA, and we’ll steer you in the right direction.

• Referral Program

You need to have a great referral program in place. Make sure all students know that a referral is the best compliment they can pay their instructor. Now more than ever, word of mouth goes a long way.

• End-of-Summer Event

Finally, you need to get everyone back from summer and from COVID quarantining. If it’s safe where you live, host a back-to-school party for all your students at your dojo. Such an event is not just for kids, either — get your adult students in on the fun! Organize special activities to reintegrate everyone into your school’s culture. This will translate to improved retention as you continue to grow. It does no good to enroll 20 new members if you lose 21. Holding special events helps you avoid this.

As always, remember to stay in contact with all your students, old and young, new and longtime. Call or email them, send them messages on social media, and sit down with them in your waiting area or chat on the mat.

Bear in mind that your most important tool for retention has never changed, and that is teaching amazing classes. When classes are fun, challenging and high-quality, students don’t quit. So as we approach September, keep your eyes on the ball and make it a great back-to-school season.

To contact Frank Silverman, MAIA’s executive director, send an email to teamcfck@aol.com. Find him on Twitter and Facebook at @franksilverman.

FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK

FRANK SILVERMAN IS THE Executive Director of the Martial Arts Industry Association, and the owner and operator of 11 martial arts schools in Orlando, FL. He’s also the author of Business Is Business: Passion and Profit in the Martial Arts Industry. Follow Frank on Twitter and Facebook @franksilverman. Contact him at teamcfck@aol.com.

THE MAIA REPORT

MELISSA TORRES IS THE DIVISION Manager of the Martial Arts Industry Association. She is a practitioner of kung fu san soo, Cage Fitness and yoga. She is passionate about helping school owners succeed and achieve their goals. She can be reached at mtorres@masuccess.com.

BLACK BELT LEADERSHIP

NGUYEN “TOM” GRIGGS, ED.D., is a sensei in Japanese jujitsu at TNT Jujitsu under Hanshi Torey Overstreet in Houston, TX. He’s the owner of Lead Connect Grow, LLC. Organizations hire him to develop black belt-level professionals in the areas of Teams, Leadership and Conflict Management. Feel free to email him at tom@ntgriggs.com.

IN THE CLASSROOM

DAVE KOVAR OWNS AND OPERATES a chain of successful martial art schools. Additionally, he operates Pro-Mac (Professional Martial Arts College), dedicated to helping martial artists become professionals in Business Management, Mat Mastery, Sales Mastery, Wealth Management and CuttingEdge Classroom Concepts. In 2010, he was the recipient of the Martial Arts Industry Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Contact him at dave.kovar@kovars.com or check out his blog at kovarsblog.kovarsystems.com.

TURNING POINT

HERB BORKLAND WAS ONE OF Jhoon Rhee’s original white belts at America’s first taekwondo school and, later, a closeddoor student of Chinese “soft” styles pioneer Robert W. Smith. For three years, starting on ESPN, he hosted the weekly Black Belts TV show. He did the screenplay for Cynthia Rothrock’s HBO-featured Honor and Glory and is an Inside Kung-Fu Hall of Fame martial arts writer. He can be reached at herbork@comcast.net.

CONSULTANT’S CORNER

MIKE METZGER IS A MARTIAL Arts Industry Association consultant and the owner of 14 martial arts schools. He has consulted for various school owners around the world. He can be contacted via email at mmetzger@masuccess.com.

MASTERFUL RETENTION

CHRISTOPHER RAPPOLD IS THE founder of a successful martial arts organization, Personal Best Karate, headquartered in Norton, MA. He’s a five-time world karate champion and is currently the executive director of the world-renowned Team Paul Mitchell, a championship team supported by sport-karate’s longest-running sponsorship. Rappold is the author of the landmark MAIA program Retention Based Sparring. He can be reached at founder@personalbestkarate.com.

THE KICK YOU NEVER SAW COMING!

BETH BLOCK, A 4TH-DEGREE BLACK belt in karate, is the president of Block Insurance in Orlando, FL. Block has protected businesses that serve children for the past 24 years. She is the writer of Martial Arts Minute, a weekly riskmanagement newsletter. You can reach her at (800) 225-0863 or beth@blockins.net.

IN THE KNOW

SARAH LOBBAN IS THE ASSOCIATE Publications Editor for the Martial Arts Industry Association. She has trained and fought in MMA and muay Thai, and currently trains in jeet kune do. She can be reached at slobban@centurymartialarts.com.

YOU MESSED UP! NOW WHAT?

KATHY OLEVSKY AND HER husband, Rob, own and operate Karate International in North Carolina. Kathy is the managing partner in their five-school operation. She’s an 8th-degree black belt with 32 full-time years of teaching and operating martial arts schools. She can be reached for questions or comments at kathy.olevsky@raleighkarate.com.

HEALTH KICK

THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE

ERIC THE TRAINER (ERIC P. Fleishman) is a Hollywood-based celebrity personal trainer with over 28 years’ experience. He has worked with top actors and musicians, MMA fighters, and the military. He hosts the popular TV show “Celebrity Sweat,” which you can watch on Amazon Prime. His enthusiastic message of living a healthy life has been adopted by many groups, most recently the American Culinary Federation. For questions or comments, contact Eric the Trainer at Mainemonster@gmail.com.

PHILIP E. GOSS, JR., ESQ. IS a member of the Florida and several other Federal Bar Associations. Phil welcomes any e-mail comments or questions at PhilGosslaw@gmail.com and will attempt to respond personally, time permitting.

INSPIRATION OVATION

KAREN EDEN IS A 7TH-DEGREE master of tang soo do. She’s a broadcast journalist who has appeared nationally on CNN, FOX and Animal Planet as well as on local affiliates for NBC and PBS. Karen is also a published book author and magazine columnist who has written for or been featured in every major martial arts magazine globally. Contact her at renedenherdman@gmail.com. MASUCCESS IS PUBLISHED BY

VOL. 22, NO. 5 // SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021

EDITOR EMERITUS John Corcoran

EDITOR Robert W. Young

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MARTIAL ARTS INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION Frank Silverman

MAIA DIVISION MANAGER Melissa Torres

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sarah Lobban

MAIA INTERNATIONAL CONSULTANTS Robby Beard Jason Flame Antonio Fournier Cris Rodriguez Kurt Klingenmeyer Mike Metzger Adam Parman Shane Tassoul

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Donna Diamond

ART DIRECTOR Paul Duarte

DIRECTOR OF MEDIA AND PUBLISHING DEVELOPMENT Patrick Sternkopf

COLUMNISTS & CONTRIBUTORS David Barnett Beth A. Block Herb Borkland Karen Eden Jason Flame Eric P. Fleishman Antonio Fournier Philip E. Goss Jr., Esq. Nguyen “Tom” Griggs IBISWorld.com Perry William Kelly Kurt Klingenmeyer Dave Kovar Sarah Lobban Mike Metzger Kristin Miller Kathy Olevsky Suzanne Pisano Christopher Rappold Frank Silverman Shane Tassoul Melissa Torres Dwight Trower

CORRESPONDENTS Herb Borkland (VA) Karen Eden (CO) Andrea F. Harkins (AZ) Andre Lima (CA)

PUBLISHER David Wahl Perry William Kelly (CANADA) Terry L. Wilson (CA) Keith D. Yates (TX)

MAIA LLC, 1000 Century Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73110; (866) 626-6226.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts and photographs submitted to MASUCCESS, if they are to be returned, and no responsibility can be assumed for unsolicited materials. All rights for letters submitted to this magazine will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright purposes and as subject to the editorial staff’s right to edit and to comment editorially.

MAIA, its owners, directors, officers, employees, subsidiaries, successors and assigns are not responsible in any manner for any injury that may occur by reading and/or following the instructions herein. As publisher, MAIA makes no endorsements, representations, guarantees or warranties concerning the products and or services presented or advertised herein. We expressly disclaim any and all liability arising from or relating to the manufacture, sale, distribution, use, misuse or other act of any party in regard to such products and/or services. MASUCCESS is a trademark of the MAIA. © 2021 MAIA LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

The mission of MAIA is to grow, promote and protect the martial arts industry, and to provide benefits to its members to help them become more successful.