I haven’t asked myself this question over the years because I assumed I knew. I assumed I knew because I was once a prospective student looking for a school with my own parents and since have looked for and found many schools to join for other styles that I’ve been interested in. But what I’m starting to realize about prospective … (Read the rest)
Here’s an important question for martial arts school owners and parents all across the globe: what’s the best way to segregate students so that instructors can lead the highest quality classes while creating the least burden on parents?
From the beginning of my teaching career, classes were segregated mostly by rank and slightly by age. The youngest students (ages 4 … (Read the rest)
Why do certain kids always get picked last in gym class?
Why do certain employees always get skipped over for promotion?
Why does life seem to present opportunities to some while it appears to ignore others?
My analysis is that it’s because those individuals would never pick themselves. If you’re not willing to pick yourself, neither are your peers. Doors … (Read the rest)
Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it. ~ Lou Holtz
Sometimes the most well-meaning efforts have the biggest negative impact. One of the worst things we can do to students as parents, teachers, and coaches is to save them from failure, save them from the real consequences of their actions, and to save … (Read the rest)
I was watching an “inside training camp” special that gave you an inside look at college football training camps. It was interesting to me because the producers put a lot of focus on the coaching staff. There was a lot of yelling, a lot of emotion, and a lot of what you’d probably expect to see at a college football practice. … (Read the rest)
I’ve talked at length over the past few years about how the martial arts industry is shooting itself in the foot. I’ve written some of my points down (here’s 10 of them in one article, here’s one, and here’s another) and there’s still a lot more to come, including some big ones. In keeping with the theme, … (Read the rest)
If you’ve ever seen me coach at a tournament, you’ve probably noticed that I get fired up. I see some coaches just sit back in the chair and relax and casually observe. I have no idea what they’re doing or thinking; that style of coaching is impossible for me.
I don’t want my coaching to come across the wrong way, … (Read the rest)
Have you ever watched an interaction between two children where one is playing with something and the other wants it, so a mini battle ensues and the parent or teacher tries to teach the lesson of “sharing” to solve it?
I’ve seen it more times than I need to. I remember when I was a kid having the “lesson” taught … (Read the rest)
As the owner of a martial arts school, I’m always approached by parents who want their child to learn “discipline.” I guess I can’t blame them; the martial arts industry has marketed discipline to the world since I can remember. But what is discipline? How we define the concept is important because my discipline might not look like your discipline…. (Read the rest)
Are you being a manager when you think you’re being a leader? Here’s a great Seth Godin clip on what true leadership is about:
Thoughts? The comment section is open below……. (Read the rest)