We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

1. Great instructors make great programs.

Probably the most important thing to understand about finding the right school is that great instructors make great schools. There’s a lot of factors that go into how those instructors are found or made, but the bottom line is that the instructor is important and great instructors aren’t cheap.

Any average martial arts instructor can play games with kids, teach some basic martial arts techniques, and lead a class from start to finish. But more rare are instructors who put the “art” in martial artist: the ones that truly engage students, connect with them on a personal level, and lead them through a life-changing program while providing a shining example of respect, integrity, and leadership.

Is saving $10-$30 a month in savings worth missing out on years of interaction with a gifted and engaged instructor?

2. Marketing gimmicks make some programs seem cheaper than they really are.

Inflexibility is cheap. One of the most popular methods of appearing cheap used by gimmick schools is the Black Belt Club or long term contract. By making you pay up front — or agree to pay monthly — for two or three years with no option for cancellation, they can highly discount the program over other schools.

But how do you know this school is a good fit? How do you know they’re going to stay in business? How do you know if their program is a long-term learning school or a sold-out babysitting service?

The month to month membership is the ultimate guarantee of quality. If you can cancel at any time, the school can’t survive unless it’s providing a great service. Offering longer term memberships (6 to 12 months) is fine for those who want to save money, but being offered a month to month membership is a good sign that the school is for real.

3. You get what you pay for.

All martial arts schools have similar expenses: they pay rent, they pay utilities, they pay instructors, they buy equipment, they reinvest for growth, and the owner makes a profit. For all that to happen, the owner knows how much money he needs to make from each membership.

So how is the school down the street that much cheaper? Chances are, they’re cutting corners in a few areas. The first area that gets skimped on is instructor salaries. And if they’re not paying instructors well, they’re not employing great instructors or they’re experiencing a high instructor turnover rate, neither of which are good for you.

Or maybe they’re not investing anything in the community they serve. Perhaps they’re not innovating and keeping their curriculum relevant. There’s lots of ways they can reduce costs. If you strip all of the knowledge, meaning, and connection away, it’s awfully cheap to run a babysitting service that superficially appears to be a martial arts program.

If they have great instructors and a meaningful program, they’re either not making enough money (which means they won’t be around long term) or they’re making money other ways (which means you’ll end up paying more down the line and the cost isn’t as low as it initially seems).

4. There are a lot of low-quality, meaningless, and sell-out schools.

Because it’s dirt cheap to run a babysitting service that’s designed to look like a quality martial arts school, many owners have gone that route. And every instructor that’s ever led a warmup thinks they have what it takes to run a school. For those two reasons, most schools are watered down, meaningless, martial arts theater.

How many cooks are there in your city? Now, out of those, how many are chefs? Like the typical cook, most martial arts schools are just following the industry recipe; they’re average, they taste like everyone else, and they’re a waste of your hard-earned money.

The hard part is finding the chefs. But when you do, spend the money with a smile on your face because you’ve found something unique, special, and meaningful. It’s worth it.

5. You want the best for you or your children.

At the surface, it’s enticing to save money by buying the cheapest. But this isn’t a new skateboard or a flat screen TV. This has the potential to be a deep, practical, life-changing education.

While going with the cheapest may save you $10-$30 a month…

6. You do not want to lose time and money on a bad investment.

Martial arts is a multi-year investment. And the right instructors can inspire a lifetime of dedication to self-improvement, learning, health, fitness, EQ, character, leadership, and more.

Quality martial arts instruction trains people for success and the lessons learned will carry you or your children further in life. It is literally an investment.

Consequently, poor instructors can ruin all of that potential and turn you or your child (or both) off to the opportunities and lifestyle choices that martial arts training and instruction encourages. Years spent in a superficial school constitute a loss of time and a poor return on investment while years spent in a meaningful school constitute time well spent and a huge rate of return.

7. You want a school that will be around for the long haul.

Tens of thousands of martial arts schools close every year. Some are mismanaged, some are hobby schools, some are sinking in debt, many don’t plan for the future, many don’t innovate and become irrelevant, and a few are corrupt.

Schools that offer the cheapest memberships or require large lump sum multi-year payments up front are not likely to be in business long term. Their business model is broken and they’re living on the edge.

If you spend a year or two with a school that ends up going out of business, where does that leave you? And if you pay a lot of money up front and then the school closes half-way through your membership, how cheap did it turn out to be?

Be especially careful with the multi-year memberships. Chances are your membership is being sold to a third party, the school gets the contract payment in full up front and you’re stuck paying the bill no matter what happens. If the school requires you to pay it in full up front, the risk is the same. If it turns bad, kiss your money goodbye.

Price is important to a degree, but . . .

Yes, price is somewhat important, but it shouldn’t be a main deciding factor. There’s a lot on the list you should check off before you start your price comparisons.

1. Monitor the use of your child’s photo online. Many cyberbullies will take your child’s photo and manipulate it in ways that are damaging or embarrassing. Be very careful about the images your child presents online, especially those coming from cell phones.

“Turn off picture receiving/sending capabilities for children and talk to your service provider about how to do so,” advises Anna Maria Scheimreif, a guidance counselor with Medford Memorial School in Medford, N.J. “Experience has shown me that most children are usually not being taught to use this capability wisely.”

2. In fact, watch out for cell phones, period. “Cyberbullying can occur through any means of electronic communication device,” Scheimreif added, noting that parents and guardians  are often unaware of all of the capabilities of these devices. ”Buy your child a phone you can understand and control. If you can’t figure it out — regardless of whether your child is dying to have it — don’t buy it.”

Gavin McKiernan, national grassroots director for the Parents Television Council, points out that smartphones present a unique problem. “As a parent, you have very little chance of finding out what’s going on — until it’s a problem.” He suggests proactive steps, limiting access to the Internet or other options at an early age.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/10/07/ways-parents-protect-kids-cyberbullying/#ixzz16s8UkV2v

In the past 30 years, Obesity rates in children have more than tripled. In 1980, the prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years was 6.5%. In 2008 it reached 19.6%. The prevalence of obesity in teenagers age 12 to 19 years has increased from 5% to 18.1% in the same period of time.

This is tragic news; there is absolutely no reason for childhood obesity to exist. Marketers, parents, coaches, and children all have a hand in providing solutions to completely eradicate childhood obesity, Diabetes, and other diseases caused by being overweight.

Martial arts instructors have a huge responsibility in this area. That’s why we’re committed to redefining what self defense is for the 21st century. It’s no longer enough for martial arts instructors to teach kicks, punches, assertiveness, and confidence. The threats facing our students are far beyond that and we must adjust our curriculum accordingly.

Here’s what we’re up to — our five keys to success:

• Teaching students about healthy eating, preventable disease, and making good food choices.
• Inspiring students to pass on the information to their friends, family, and classmates: leadership.
• Coaching students to love and seek out fitness training and physical activity.
• Challenging students to live like a champion in order to become a champion in life.
• Leading by example. All of our instructors are in top physical shape and serve as role models for students.

The perfect atmosphere…

Martial arts is the perfect atmosphere for solving the widespread problem of childhood obesity and Diabetes. Unlike typical team sports, martial arts is a lifestyle. It inspires students to self-mastery and affords instructors the time and attention to transform lives physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally.

We can beat this together. It’s a simple problem with an easy solution. Are you with us?

You can help our mission by using the buttons to the left to share this post. Information-sharing is the first key to solving this issue.

If the answer is no, you can continue your conversation and request some more information. If the answer is yes, turn around and walk out.

The camo belt is the ultimate in martial arts gimmickry. It was dreamed up by martial arts marketing associations who talked thousands of schools around the country into adopting it as an intermediate rank.

“It’ll excite the kids”, “it’ll be a big draw”, “it’ll improve retention.”

Yeah, it will also be the laughing stock of the industry as far as quality schools are concerned. If golden arches are the icon of McDonalds, the camo belt is the icon of the McDojo. Don’t walk away from schools with camo belts, run, and run very fast.

Have you considered martial arts for your children? Here’s 10 reasons why you should seriously consider enrolling your child in martial arts for the back to school season.

1. Focus and listening skills

Martial arts teaches eye contact, active listening, and trains a student’s ability to focus on tasks over the course of 45 minutes to an hour (about the length of a class in school).

2. Attention to detail

The martial arts techniques taught to students are highly detailed. Students are trained to identify both large and small details and then utilize that information to improve their performance.

3. Healthy social skills

Students consistently work with their peers in a martial arts class. They learn how to lead individuals and small groups, work as a team, handle conflict and disagreement, and to communicate effectively even when frustrated. Having healthy social skill is self defense.

4. Self-confidence

A lack of self-confidence can lead to many issues throughout the school year: from bullying, to making friends, to avoiding participation in sports or other activities. Martial arts gives students the self-confidence to stop hiding and start shining. Self-confidence is self defense.

5. Anti-bully education

Most students will find themselves in a bullying situation at some point during their school career. Martial arts teaches students how to avoid most of these situations and how to handle them effectively when they can’t be avoided using non-violent solutions.

6. Black Belt Attitude

Even though your child isn’t a black belt, they’ll be inspired to act like a black belt. A good martial arts school will promote things like doing chores, respecting family and teachers, random acts of kindness, and using self-control at home and in public.

7. Goal setting

Students need to learn how to set and achieve realistic goals if they’re going to be successful in school and in life. Martial arts is a platform for learning goal setting and achievement. The rank structure alone is an amazing tool for this. But more importantly they will learn to set dozens of personal goals across many different categories and they’ll do this over and over for years in martial arts training.

8. Physical activity and healthy eating

Martial arts is obviously a fantastic tool for physical development. But a great martial arts school will combine that with nutrition education. In a world where diabetes will affect 1 in 3 children born after the year 2000, not teaching healthy nutrition in the martial arts classroom is negligence. Healthy eating is self defense.

9. Character development

Do you see your child as having a lot of character? Are they courteous? Do they have integrity? Do they persevere when things get tough? Do they control their words and actions when they’re frustrated or angry? Do they have an indomitable spirit? Those are the core tenets of martial arts training.

10. Academic achievement rewards

A good martial arts school will publicly reward academic achievement with praise and patches for their uniform. And we work with parents to inspire students who are having trouble staying organized, completing homework, studying, or otherwise having trouble in school.

A priceless, real-world, life-changing experience.

Martial arts is not “just another activity.” It’s not “just another sport.” It’s a priceless, real-world, life-changing experience that will teach students to master themselves so they are not mastered by anything.

But understand that not all schools are the same. There are plenty of martial arts schools that are worthless belt factories that exist solely to make money and may not give your child any of the above things. Make sure you look around, ask questions, and make an informed decision before enrolling your child in a martial arts program.

If you choose the right school, it will be the best decision you’ve ever made for them.

Here are a few reasons why you need to look extra close before signing up at a franchise school:

Belt Factories

Franchise schools are typically less personal when it comes to the relationship they have with their students. Don’t be surprised if you’re treated less like a valued student and more like a walking dollar sign. Because of this, the standards for reaching next ranks can be very low in order to increase retention and make up for lower quality instruction.

The bigger the franchise, the more likely the school is a “McDojo” and a belt factory.

Membership Gimmicks

Chain schools are more likely to use the latest in marketing and membership gimmicks. “Corporate” is deeply involved with the latest and greatest strategies all the industry associations are peddling to get more of your money (and not necessarily in an honest way) and they’re quick to pass those techniques down to their network of schools.

Meaningful Curriculum

Chain schools receive their marching orders from a corporate headquarters that may be completely out of touch with your personal needs. They use a cookie cutter approach when developing their curriculum and training their instructors. With this approach, instructors tend to be less engaged, less personal, and less dedicated to the school and the program.

Instructor Turnover

Franchise schools typically have a far higher instructor turnover rate than locally owned schools. Because the instructors aren’t screened adequately many average (not good) instructors get through and have to be released later and the good instructors feel like they’re part of an empty shell of a school, which leads them to leaving on their own. This isn’t good for your martial arts education.

Locally owned schools typically train their own instructors organically and internally. This means that your instructor has been raised in the program they teach, they’ve been involved with the same school for many years, and the head instructors are typically solid professionals with tons of experience.

Customer Service

When something goes wrong, you’re going to want a personalized solution. Do you think you’re going to get that from a huge organization that just sees you as a number? Didn’t think so. Where a franchise director is going to hide behind “corporate policy”, the local owner is going to be far more flexible to your needs.

They aren’t all bad, but you should look twice

If you have the option of choosing a locally owned school over a gigantic franchise school, I’d take the locally owned school (providing everything else adds up).