EmptyneSs

im only 20 years only right now, but martial arts is what i want to do with my life. however i dont really know how to go about it. i would really love to one day have my own school and teach, and train fighters. i dont really care about money and material things, enough to get by and being able to do what i love for a living is all i want. does anyone have any advice and any tips on how to go about making a living in martial arts? i know i need alot more experience and training but im very dedicated.i just look at all these jobs people have and nothing really interests me except for training and doing martial arts. i dont want to be some nobody working away my life and having to kiss ass all day for a paycheck. i dont want to be a soft handed corporate guy driving his luxury car and living big. i want to work hard at something that means something to me and be able to do it for the rest of my life. any advice?

Tom Yum

My guess is that you'll have some bitter-sweet years ahead of you, where you're able to barely make the bills but see yourself achieving little business goals here and there.

Don't ever loose your passion for what you enjoy.

Be sure to talk to Damian Mavis, Tim, Burton, Excessive Force and the others who run schools - they might be able to give you some tidbits about the MA instruction and the life.

However, don't ask Tim Burton about running a martial arts school.....he makes weird films

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Love it, leave it or fix it.

wardancer

Strive, train and join a team and become a MMA fighter.
Win a couple of fights and open your club.

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karate biz

I started my school when I was 18 back in 1991. It was a difficult up hill battle. Running a business is hard. Don't get in the ring without training! And don't go into business without training. My advice to you is to get a job with a professional martail arts school. Many accross the country are hireing.

cakegirl

You could also do a small business course at a community college.

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Ryo

I suggest looking around for potential jobs/internships at local schools. Working at a martial arts school will give you first-hand experience for if/when you decide to start your own. Plus, if it turns out to be an unpleasant experience, at least it was just a job and not a business that you had invested all your finances in. So...yes. Try looking for jobs. Join local clubs. Learn as much as you can and do your best to gain credibility.

Good luck.

eXcessiveForce

Realize that when you open a school training becomes less of a priority as does teaching. Sales becomes number 1. This is what happens naturally. This doesn't mean you can't strive to better yourself and teach well but it means that you need to focus on business much more than martial arts many times. I tell my juniors no one will pay you to teach, instructors are a dime a dozen, but many will let you teach if you can make sales for them.

here is a list of jobs to do to prepare yourself for the hardship of owning and operating a school.

Work at McDonalds -humility
Work at telemarketing- perserverence
work at a preschool- get used to little kids
work at a large retailer-find out how ordering, stocking, and sales quotas work.
Find a job with a successful small business person and have them mentor you. It could be a martial arts instuctor or someone completely out of that area.

All my students want to run schools, few really understand the work involved. Also don't worry about material things you won't have any for several years if you decide to run your own school. Everything you make will go into your school for 3 to 5 years probably. Get used to working long days and nights and not doing a whole lot.

I watched a Kung fu school open once in an area close to me, I'd drive by once in awhile and I would seen the instructor, back to the very nice glass front building, sitting at his computer playing on the internet. Every time I went past that is what he was doing. Never saw a class, never saw him practicing, just sitting infront of the computer waiting for students to show up. 2 months later all the equipment was gone and so was the school.

Much more to martial arts business than teaching and training.

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eXcessiveFORCE.

If you must use force, make it excessive.

fayd

I picked up a book "Starting and Running Your Own Martial Arts School", by Karen Levitz Vactor and Susan Lynn Peterson at Borders. It's well written and highly detailed. Most importantly, it covers all of the logistical information that many people forget about: cleaning supplies, staff, office supplies, etc. It also gives example cost analysis spreadsheets and estimates on innitial investiments. Hope this helps.

Train hard...

Ground Pounder

I can tell you how to run your own school kid.

First there is a few things you have to do in order to make sure your school is run well.

You need to train real, real hard and learn all grappling you can.

Than fight in the UFC and create a name for yourself. Make sure you win...

After you have about $45,000 saved up "depending on where you live" you can buy a small place and you can teach whatever you want even if it has nothing to do with ground fighting.

Also in order to make sure your business is run smoothly you are going to need to use contracts. You can go to High schooles and colleges and find students that are willing to sign whats called a black belt contract. "usually 4 years". Once you have about 30 of those and a crap load of kiddies "because kids are $ anyone that teaches knows this" you will be on your way. Good luck.

Ground and Pound em!

JasonE

Train to become the guy you would ideally be training under.

As you train, learn to listen, to watch, and to assist others.

Become an excellent teacher.

Learn all the aspects of the business and make a detailed plan:
Cost of rents (consider several kinds of locations)
Insurance (required)
Lease negotiation (will save you lots of hassle if done well)
Tenant rights (know your rights and limitations)
Advertising options (some things work better than others)
Contract vs no contract (depends on your market)
Association requirements (if affiliated to any)
Equipment needs (critical to your budgeting)

Once you have looked into the above, you can start planning:
How many students at different rates you need to break even (CRITICAL)
How long you can afford to operate at a loss until you break even (CRITICAL)
What size of space you can afford at different rental rates

and other details...

Most schools fail because they just don't plan adequately.

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Jason Erickson, CST, CMT
Personal Trainer and Massage Therapist
www.CSTMinnesota.com

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bujinkandas

Hi, you can make good money with your martial arts skills. The thing is you will need to do a variety of things. You could open a school and do very well or you can have multiple streams of income so if your school does not do well your other endeavours can. I have written a book about this based on my 25 years of experience and money making utilizing these skills. I hope it is ok to post it here.

BujinkanDAS

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excessiveforce

bujinkandas

I saw another post about a book I bought called little dojo, big profits. I bought it and it is a pretty good book. It talks about starting with a little money.

ddrive

Here are some things you have to think about.

1. [Roles within the Dojo]
I would suggest taking college courses in business until you get a degree and find a "honest" partner [with a business, economic, and/or management college degree] willing to handle the financial & marketing of your dojo. Also, insurance is something you should really look into! Plenty of injuries can occur in a dojo, so you want to be prepared.

2. [Sponsors / Tournaments]
One way to get your dojo out is through competition. Compete first, and if you make a name for yourself, then bring your students. If your time and effort pays off, you can get sponsors. The better the sponsor, the more they'll invest into your dojo. If your dojo gets large enough, you can even start hosting your own tournaments, and that means more students.

3.[Networking with other schools]
Constant communcation with other schools definitely helps give you better insight to all things going on in the martial arts community. If you're good at networking, you can also get other schools within your area to support you, and even come in to help out with your classes.

4. [Be Innovative]
What's going to seperate your dojo from another? This allows you to truly critique yourself and develop new training methods & products that will enhance the performance of your students. Good luck in your endeavors!

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ddrive

In addition to seeking a business degree, it would be best take courses in psychology, physical education, physical therapy, and sports medicine [it would be better to minor in them].

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LoneHusky

How about a psychology degree?

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