How to Run an Off-Site
Martial Arts Program
By Melody Shuman
There are many opportunities in every community for martial arts
school owners to conduct off-site martial arts programs. These
programs can either be ongoing, or used as introductory courses
which streamline new students into the dojo. Both have their
advantages and disadvantages. The best way to get the most out of an
off-site martial arts program is to have a plan that works well with
your goals.
In this report, we are going to list out the benefits of an
ongoing off-site martial arts program and an introductory off-site
program along with ways to get the most out of your time and effort.
Ongoing off-site martial arts programs
This type of program is particularly used in recreation centers.
The rec. center usually has a set fee for their martial arts
classes, which is much lower than the average price found at a
martial arts facility. The rec. center will normally collect the
fees from the families and pay an instructor or martial arts
business 70% of the fees collected, or in some cases pay an
instructor by the hour.
The advantages to conducting an ongoing off-site martial arts
program:
- You can reach out to more people in the community,
particularly lower income families who normally could not afford
to train at your martial arts school.
- It is a great place for your training instructors to gain
experience teaching martial arts without having to worry about
them decreasing the value of your on-site martial arts classes.
- It is a great place to experiment with new programs, drills,
and ideas.
- You earn additional revenue that can help with expenses at
your school.
The disadvantages to conducting an ongoing off-site martial arts
program:
- Some people may choose to train at a local recreation center
over training at your school because the price is right.
- You may get students in the class who are less motivated than
your on-site students because the atmosphere is not as
influential as at your school and you may get more students who
have a bad background or less support from their family, which
may lead to more discipline problems in class.
- You may have a lot less space and equipment to work with and
your class time options are limited.
- The compensation for this program may be much less that what
you deserve.
Bottom line: if you are participating in an ongoing off-site
martial arts program, make sure that the benefits outweigh the
disadvantages. Don’t spread yourself out too thin if you do not feel
that the program is worth the effort, or if you cannot streamline
enough students into your martial arts school to make it worth your
while. Some instructors conduct these programs as a form of
community service to underprivileged children. In this case, the
program is definitely worth the time and effort.
Introductory off-site martial arts courses
This type of program is used at local pre-schools, elementary
schools, and recreation centers. Usually the host of this off-site
location will allow you to charge a fee that you both negotiate on
and you keep all of the profits, or they charge and collect the fee
and either give you a 70/ 30 split or pay you by the hour. The main
goal for the host is to provide their people with another valuable
program that includes a win-win situation all the way around. There
are no long-term expectations from either side, so an introductory
martial arts course works well to provide value, service, and
limited martial arts development. Usually the term is around 8 to 10
weeks per course.
Advantages to an off-site introductory martial arts program:
- You have a great opportunity to introduce martial arts in an
organized way, and then graduate them into your existing
programs at your school.
- An introductory course is a great way to establish a bigger
presence in your community and works great with a tactical
marketing strategy.
- It is a great place for your training instructors to gain
experience teaching martial arts without having to worry about
them decreasing the value of your on-site martial arts classes.
- It is a great place to experiment with new programs, drills,
and ideas. Especially introductory Future Kidz courses and
Karate Kidz Zone courses.
- You can earn some revenue in a short period of time that can
help with expenses at your school.
Disadvantages to an off-site introductory course:
- Some student will not continue their training once the course
is complete.
- You will get some students who have less reinforcement at home
than with your on-site students, which can lead to discipline
problems.
- There is little communication with many of the parents.
- You may have a lot less space and equipment to work with and
your class time options are limited.
- In some cases, your compensation for this program may be much
less that what you deserve.
- In some cases, the students will not wear uniforms which may
affect their motivation and martial arts frame of mind.
Bottom line: if you want a great way to streamline new students
into your school, an 8-week introductory course of some type can do
the trick. You can use one of your staff members to run the program,
and then host a graduation at your school so that the parents can
see the results and the students can see what they can experience by
training at your martial arts location. To get the best results,
make sure that you are organized and have your entire course
prepared ahead of time so that you can focus on results.
How to get started on an off-site martial arts program:
- Determine whether you want to conduct and ongoing martial arts
program, or and introductory course.
- Organize as much of the course detail as you can including
goals for the program, goals for the classes, class planners,
extra drills, testing/ stripe process, etc.
- Create a professional letter, e-mail, and brief phone
presentation for your program.
- Make a list of what you will need to discuss to get the
program started:
- Start date
- Schedule
- Square footages of the workout area
- Payment/ compensation structure
- Marketing strategy/ material
- Overview of the program\
- Contact the local preschools, elementary schools, church
organizations, and recreation centers in your area via mail,
e-mail, and by phone.
- Once the details are complete organize your staff so that
either you or a staff member can conduct the off-site program
with little or no interruption to your schools daily format.
- Once you launch the program, consistently monitor the results
to ensure that the time and effort is worth it.
Email me:
melody@shumanconcepts.com for a FREE copy of our Future Kidz
off-site Martial Arts program, compliments of Championsway.
Keep in mind that these programs should be results driven. The
better your programs and classes are then the better the results
will be. These programs are also a direct reflection of your
school’s reputation, so they should be taken very seriously. For
additional help or more information, feel free to contact us at
info@shumanconcepts.com or call 1-866-202-9560.
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