I wanted to start a network group for Chinese Martial Arts School owners to discuss all aspects of running a professional school. Discussions are open to Curriculum, Sales, Marketing, Systems, etc. I have 15 years experience running Chinese Martial Arts Schools and I’ve certainly made a million mistakes. Fortunatly, my schools are now sucessful and profitable. But it wasn’t always like this.
I’d like to communicate with other owners to share experiences.
Like what?
hey michael
just watched your video seminar on opening up multiple schools (napma).
Very informative. Keeps things in perspective.
napma seminar
Eric, How long ago was that? Wow, I think that was like 1996 or 1997. Does it have a date?
Are you running a school? You are in Cali, right?
Michael,
At what point do you decide you are ready/prepared to open a school? Did you make the determination, or did your sifu? Did you start with a few students in a park or garage ro something, or did you take the path that most other businesses took (ie, get a loan from a bank, rent a building, do all the advertising, etc)?
Thanks in advance
School Opening
I opened my first school in 1991, with the support (not financial) of my Sifu. Until this point, we rented (mostly done by a training brother) space in NYC and taught class a few hours per week. At the time, there was very little information out there, regarding MA business. Things have changed dramatically since then.
To open a school, on a full time basis, you most likely need approx. $15K (shoestring budget). To do it the right way, somewhere between $25-$35K is more realistic. Not to mention having some $$$ in the bank to support and capitalize your business.
I have two schools right now. I have had up to 5 at one time. A single school should and can gross over $40,000 per calendar month. That will give the head instructor/owner (provided that they are one in the same) approximately $12K-$25K in profit each month. Like I said, the MA business has come a long way.
Best of luck!
$40kpcm
Oh to earn $40k pcm at my school 
Whats your secret to maintain traditional levels of skill development and hard training?? With so many students
$40k
Actually, I don’t have so many students. Not compared to some schools. Not even compared to some less profitable schools. I only have between 200-300 students in each school.
In answer to your question; a well thought out and structured curriculum, including monthly planners, a rotating curriculum and lessons plans - is how to maintain quality control in your school. If a school does not have these systems in place…it’s kinda hard to produce a consistant result.
As usual, this is my opinion and my observation, working as one of the only Chinese Martial Arts consultants in the industry.
yeah the tape is probably from then, kind of a hand me down.
Actually am in the suburbs of Georgia.
Teach a small group but hope to eventually open a space when the “little one” is older. Have to make due until then. Gives future students some good stories about the old basement days 
For the past 8 years have mainly been gathering information on the MA industry. Can never to be prepared.
I guess at least $20k to be the minimum for a full time, money making school. An after Work school I think you could get away with $10k
PS: your website is excellent, have come away with good ideas.
Question:
Are most schools offering rank in Chinese MA? Do you have a black belt or black sash as a level?
Sifu Parella,
could you please explain the rotating curriculum? I have heard it mentioned by many successfull MA school owners, but I am having trouble really understanding it.
Also, and this is a biggie in my book, how do you develop loyal students? Finding staff members? (try to find someone who is energetic, on the ball, good communication skills, and ISN’T going on to college or med school!)
Thanx,
TT
Rotating Curriculum
Sifu Kellerman,
Rotating curriculum is actually very simple and I believe the most effective method for running your school. I will explain it briefly, you are welcome to call me to discuss it in detail.
The main idea is that everyone in a specific class learns the same material for a period of time (say, two months). Let’s take a basic class for instance. Mine runs for approximatly six months (if the student never missed class). The curriculum for that class is divided into 4 parts, each part 2 weeks long. For two weeks, all the basic students, white yellow or orange, all learn the same material. Let’s face it, you don’t need a lot of pre-requisits to learn anything within 6 months. When these students go to graduation, they all do the same material together.
Example: Johnny has been training in the school for 2 months. He has graduated and learned 1 full cycle of Basic Curriculum, let’s call it cycle 1. Billy Joins up and begins takeing class and they both learn cycle 2 together. They both graduate and demonstrate cycle 2 curriculum. Joe joins and takes his first lesson with both Billy and Johnny. They all begin cycle 3 curriculum. They all graduate.
Johnny, having learned all three cycles moves onto another level of training (if he hasn’t been invited to do so already - we’ll talk about that later)
Billy, has taken cycle 2 and 3 and is about to complete his third cycle.
Joe, has taken cycle 3 and not rotates back to, and will learn cycle 1.
Does that explain it? A rotating curriculum allows the instructor to teach everyone of certain levels, the SAME material for a period of time. It makes you more effective, by not splitting your attention to 3 different levels of curriculum in class and makes graduations go smoothly.
Does that make sense?
As far as staff training, we could talk about it all day. My schools do make a consideral amount of income. It does allow us to pay our employees very well. There are three levels of employees in our schools. Part Time Instructors or Program Directors (called a “number 3” person), Full Time Program Director (number 2) and Chief Instructor (number 1) Do you want to keep and have professional staff? Start by building your business so that you can afford to pay them a professional wage. #3 person gets approx. $300-$450 per week, number 2 makes $650-$1300 per week, and the number 1 earns $750-$2000 per week and can earn even more. All these numbers are a reflection of a competitive base salary and commission/bonuses. Bonuses for number of new enrollments and other areas, and commissions based on the gross income of the school each month. For two many years, my schools could only pay people $250-$650 each week, depending on the position. As I have developed systems in my schools that enable me to earn more money, I can now offer CAREERS, NOT JOBS! That was a big change for me!
Developing loyal students,…hmm, let me see. First, give them what they want. I didn’t say ‘teach them what they want’, but allow them to progress. They came to you to get BETTER. Teach them in a way that allows them to actually improve their skills and be recognized for it. And then learn to walk the talk. As a head instructor, YOU are the product. Train hard, IN your business and ON your business. Stay in good shape, have integrity and keep all your promises. Don’t screw anybody with money, and don’t provide a craapy service. In the end, people train with someone they respect,…or else they leave. Sound familiar? Think about it. Be a leader in your schools, boys and girls. If you don’t know how to do this, be responsible and learn how.
And one more thing about students; Don’t be thier friend. Be their Instructor. That is what they came to you for in the first place, remember? The rule of thumb is: Be personable with your students. Don’t be personal.
All the best!
my story thus far…
After getting my ‘sifu’ title from the teacher I had been with for 13 years I moved to a different town with the basic goal of teaching/opening my own school.
FTR, I have been training since 1982. 7 year in one style then 13 and now 2 years with Pong Lai.
I didn’t have the ability to get the capitol to start up right away and my personal financial situation meant I needed to continue having a day job.
So, I started teaching in a gym. Adults only.
Then I opened a kids only program at a rec center.
Then I moved my adult program to the rec center to consolidate my efforts.
Last September I saw a space for rent close to my house and checked on it and found I could pay the rent with the existing students. So, with about $4500 I opened the doors.
After fiddling with class times I’ve settled on this:
Tue/Thur 6:30 - 7:30 Novice - No sash - white sash - gold sash
Tue/Thur 7:30 - 8:30 Beginner - Orange - Purple - Blue
Mon/Wed 6:30 - 8:83 Intermediate and up
Mon/Wed 5:45 - 6:30 Kids 8 - 12
I generally bring 13 and up straight into adults after consultation with the parents and observation of the kid.
I don’t want to mess with the 5 - 7 year old age group at this point - having said that, I have 1 five year old.
Adults start coming to the two 1-hour classes and as they progress move into other classes. They still have the option to come to the lower level classes for refresher lessons. Eventually they can come to 8 hours a week if they so wish.
I run a rotation through the curriculum as well but slightly different then Lama Pai Sifu illustrated above.
I have my curriculum broken up into categories: Forms, Hand Drills, Kicking, Chin Na, throwing, etc. Each sash level has the same major categories. I will teach the same category for 1 or 2 weeks and then shift. We almost always work solo forms at least a little bit every night as well as the arm drills.
Not growing at all though. Averaging one new student every 2-3 months.
Competition in town is pretty stiff. There are around 30 schools in the county, most of them concentrated within the city limits. City Pop. is about 75k with a total county pop. of 225k.
Most of the schools are your average karate/tkd schools with just a few standouts, IMO.
Over the last year I’ve run newspaper ads and community newsletter ads and posted flyers on every bulletin board in town.
At the moment, as happens every summer with my day job, I’m simply too busy to work on more marketing. It will be september before I can look in that direction again.
I had dropped sash ranking at one point but picked it up again as it is an instrumental tool in attracting and keeping students in a commercial school.
I?ve never opened a school or taught full time but I expect to do so, hopefully within the next year so if anyone can help with any of the questions below I?d be very grateful:
Location:
How do you look into a locations potential? I?m not sure if they?d provide the information but I was thinking about writing to a few MA magazine companies to see how their sales compare in different regions. I know this wouldn?t be very accurate but might give me a rough idea. I?ll also compare the sales figures to the number of clubs in the area.
Venue:
What ?must haves? are there for choosing a venue i.e. toilets, showers, changing rooms, storage facilities? (bear in mind this would just be starting off from a small club so I?m not looking for luxuries ? just necessities)
Splitting the classes up:
Age ? Under 15?s for kids classes and 16+ for adults. Would that work as a good split?
Gender ? Whats your opinion on women only classes? Are they successful?
Skill level ? Should classes be mixed or would you split them up? I was thinking mixed classes with maybe one or two adult advanced classes a week.
Lesson emphasis ? whether its fitness, technique, health, or competition emphasis:
Maybe having a pad workout twice a week to accommodate the people that just want to do MA for the fitness and conditioning benefits ? could be advertised as martial arts aerobics or something similar.
Technique lessons could be mixed and would be the ?core? class.
Flexability and Chi Kung could be separate for people only after the health benefits or aren?t able to do regular exercises. Could bring in some older students.
Competition based classes would be something I would look at at a later stage but what are your opinions? I think it would be a nice follow up class to the fitness-based classes.
Collecting fee?s:
Do your students pay as they go or are they members that pay a monthly subscription?
Sales:
Do you have a club uniform? Do you sell this? Do you sell other clothing, footware, weapons, training aids or nutritional products on the side? Do you sell these outside of your club too? How do you approach manufacturers/wholesellers?
Advertising:
Where do I start?! Newspapers? MA magazines/websites? Gyms/Leisure centres? Flyers?
Thanks for any advice!
Great thread Sifu Parrella, very interesting info.
Also, thanks to other guys for great input too.
We (Boston Sanda Kungfu) are interested in learning all we can about running a school, both for our own use and for the benefit of the students.
We’d be interested in learning anything we can about this business, and also sharing any experience that we have with other CMA schools.
Question (something I’m looking into currently): We’d like to get a group health insurance plan together… is there any particular martial arts specific things we should know or any insurers that specialize in catering to martial arts schools? Whats the most cost effective way to get insurance for a small group of martial artists?
We originaly though we would need separate men’s and women’s changing/locker/shower rooms, but had to compromise on our square footage, so we simplified things into one changing room with seperate bathroom. For gear we have a grid of open square cubbies that people can stash clothes in. So far it seems to be working well, even on busy nights, with one shared toilet room, one shower, and a seperate common unisex changing room that has 3 changing stalls. The stalls are about 3’x3’ (smaller than you would think can work, but they actually work fine) with hooks and bifold doors. We copied the basic layout of changing stalls that you would find in a retail clothing store. About half our clients are women, and it seems to run comfortably and smoothly. So far so good. Now I’m glad we didnt spend money and extra square footage building larger more complex men’s and womens locker rooms, and adding more sinks, toilets, lockers.
Storage room space is important too. We are going to build a locking storage room approx 12’x15’ by 8’ high and frame it on top with 2x6s so that we can store things on top as well.
let me ask this question.
is it possible to operate a good martial arts business/school while holding a full-time job which has you on a Swing Shift???
i've been having problems with figuring this out. now, i'm not looking to be able to make a bunch of money. just have a good school.
thanks , Steve
Chris,
thanks for your reply and breakdown of my post. i appreciate your explanatory observations of my post. i tend to post in the broken pattern of thought that i have.... LOL.... let me try to elaborate on my situation and my thoughts on it, more clearly.
i have a few students, who i teach on a (swing shift) regular basis. by this i mean, we have scheduled classes which are set on a monthly basis, not your typical weekly (m-w-f) schedule. i charge a modest amount of $40/month, per student. i know the material and time are worth more - however, i feel that since we do not train in a Commercial bldg, anything more would be senseless. i dont need the money, in fact i give it to my wife, but i enjoy teaching others and watching them grow and progress.
i was not charged for my instruction, by my sifu. my drive time, commitment and loyalty was payment enough (according to him). so, i feel funny charging for something that was a "Gift" to me. does this make sense? where i live there is little competition, by that i mean there are two TKD schools and one CMA school, in the whole county.... and its not a high income county.
i guess my question is: what is the feasbability of operating a school, in a commercial bldg - with a "monthly training schedule" that consists of each week having different days? i realize or believe they are slim, but figured someone may have some ideas or know someone who does this.
more of a broad "feeler" question.
Steve - Yuen Kay San Wing Chun (in case ya’ll were wondering)… :rolleyes:
Sifu Parella
by the way, i think your idea for a CMA Business/school forum is a GREAT idea. you seem to have great ideas and insight…
i’d love to talk more on this subject, with you OR others…
Steve
Chris,
again, thanks for your input. i would also be interested in hearing what Sifu Parella thinks.
why do i want to branch out/expand/move? good question, i think it comes down to passing on what i know and have learned to a broader spectrum of people. of course, this can only be done (properly) with a detailed and structured curricullum. the more you have, the more slip through the cracks (so to speak)
additionally, i would like to teach those interested some legitimate and worthwhile martial arts. No offense to anyone out there, as i have met some outstanding Korean MA’s, but here - while the schools arent the worse - they surely wouldnt hold up to many.
i agree that the potential for this school is great, my schedule may not be - as you have mentioned.
so, my vision or future ideas are: to increase my student base, (right now i'm training my Core Group) and open a school in town, which would be easily seen and commuted to. right now we work out in Carports and Barns. i love it, but i'd also love to have an established school. kinda hard to explain. you see, down here, there are very few CMA schools - the ones we have are scattered (total of maybe 12 in two states).
i want to spread the CMA and my system, so that anyone who wants to can easily learn Kung Fu. not everyone is as fortunate as me, gas for my training alone was more than most tuition out there (traveled 1.5 hours - one way to train).
my concern is my schedule, which i believe is going to be the primary problem for most individuals, considering Human beings are creatures of habit. so a set weekly schedule is ideal compared to a monthly one that someone has to check their calendar for class dates.....
Steve