The 4 dimensions of a Professional Martial Artist

Jun 3

The Martial Art school serves as an intermediary between ones professional life, and home life. For the average student, they will work throughout the day, then attend your school/class before settling home for the evening. The hope is that their experience in that in between time leads to the home receiving a happy, unencumbered human being. If training makes us better people, then by extension our schools should produce the experience that creates better people.

This is a tall task that can leave many owners intending to do the right thing; just not at the right time. Let’s take some time to outline what the job entails.

Owning a school is about performing in all 4 of the following elements, with our school ultimately falling to it’s weakest link:

Philosophical Merit:

“Thoughts become actions, actions become habit, habit becomes reality, and reality becomes destiny”. Philosophical merit has to do with the quality of ideas that are being shared in class that positively influences your students lives. Often stemming from a combination of value/cultural system, philosophical groundwork is what shapes the ideas being shared in your classes. Pls read the following article about philosophy and answer the questions below.

What makes a philosopher?

“Without foolishness, there is no wisdom, but without apparent foolishness, there can be no wisdom” What is your foolish idea in becoming a martial artist?
“So a philosopher must invariably be somewhat separate from the society they comment on if they hope to be in a position of the ‘informed outsider’.” What are the things you notice about the martial art and training industry as a whole that cross your own personal standards?
“Essentially, then, one is not merely a philosopher by way of philosophising alone. The true philosopher must live in and for their philosophy. Even if the philosopher acts in contrast to their own philosophy (as has so often occurred), it must occupy their thoughts unceasingly.” What societal problem does your school and it’s experience solve, and how does it do so?

Communication Skill:

“Whats going on? Who am I in the situation?, Whats happening next?” There’s are the basic internal questions the audience asks themselves in any conversation and communication skill has to do with how well one explains their philosophy in the most receivable way possible.

Physical Ability:

Physical ability has to do with an instructors ability to kinetically demonstrate a particular lesson; but in particular demonstrating all the components that comprise of a technique. Since demonstrating is a means of visual learning, a good teacher must be able to demonstrate fundamental skill and not confuse it for personal skill.

Business Acumen:

As per Josh Kaufman, ‘Personal MBA’:

Create something people want (Create Value)
Let people know about it (Marketing)
Turn prospects into customers (Sales)
Deliver what you promised (Overdeliver your value)
Make enough money to keep going (profit)

Business acumen is about understanding these principles as the function your enterprise seeks to serve. It encourages that one understands the full cycle of creating value to profit—because that what we think creates value does not always lead to profit and one must be efficient in this regard.

Outcomes

If you have a strong philosophy, you will have a strong value proposition; a reason for students to come learn from you. Take some time to unearth your standards and how it solves a problem for your community and students. When your philosophy is strong in your heart, you will always be motivated to improve and provide better experiences class by class.
Communicate your philosophy and concept clearly on all your channels. It should answer: “what do I do and how do I do it?” The outcome, should be an increase in leads. By sharing your solution, students who hold the problem in which you can solve will reach out. In effect this creates a pull to the type of students you want.
Execute. Your communication and physical skills should align with your philosophy and culminate into a well executed class plan; and your trials should turn into regular students. Your sign up process must be simple. It should not interrupt the momentum you have successfully created and be so simple that it is almost an after thought. The less steps involved the better.
Execute again. And again. And again. Overdelivering as a martial artist is a matter of time, not happenstance. You should be producing better classes over time, and students should be looking forward to continuing, not wondering when they should stop. This has to do with having a curriculum ready (more on this next week) so as to provide a path for progression.
Be profitable. Improving your students lives must be positively correlated with improving your own life, and ultimately an increase in your financial health. You have a moral imperative to remain solvent, because doing so allows you to continue solving your students and communities problems.

“Keep the main thing, the main thing”

Stay, Pay and Refer

To succinctly reword everything we have discussed, the main outcome of operating a movement based school is to know the core of it’s success: Your job is to have people pay, have them stay, and have them refer to others about you…happily.

Students should stay…happily. Your students stay because you are solving their problem. They love that their problems are being solved, but most importantly they love the way in which you solve their problem. They love your process that is distinctly you.
Students should pay…happily. Remember that payment is a vote. Everytime a student pays, they are essentially expressing their vote for you. It is the ultimate report card of your performance and you must learn to see this as such.
Students should refer…happily. When a student tells their friends and family about you, they are saying, “this school and teacher is solving the very same problem you are experiencing. You’ll love the solutions they provide”. This is the ultimate vote. Because in addition to voting with their money, they are also voting with their voices. Sometimes it is by word of mouth, but additionally it is done via social media. If you are doing good work, capture some of it so that your students can use their voices online to talk about you.