the rum soaked fist: internal martial arts forum

Dear forum-goers,

For those of you with experience teaching privately and/or in a school, I was wondering how you are finding students. I have begun teaching one student privately and will begin teaching at a Taekwondo school two nights per week next month, but it seems like Craigslist is not going to cut it. I have tried posting in the neighbourhood group on Facebook and I'll try the city group as well. My younger brother, who lives in Washington DC said that I should try www.meetup.com, but that costs money.. Any other suggestions? Also, how do you determine your hourly rate? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You may have to open a commercial school. I spend 6 months in California every year. When I'm in California, I even have hard time to find sparring/wrestling partner. I even put ad in local gym that I'll pay $20 for anybody who is willing to spar/wrestle with me for 15 rounds.

Ignore me

Wow, I can't believe that you have to pay them... That's bullshit. I don't have the money to open a school, though, and it's not profitable in this area...

I've had a few friends do quite well by selling videos on Vimeo by subscription. Your sword work would be good for this.

The Vimeo channel they opened provides a pretty good flow of money and works as advertising for students as well.

Edited: the other post are more relevant to today's time

best of luck....

toto, you not in Kansas any more

Could be worth a try. What's your friends channel? I'll have a look.

Check this out.

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/markrasmus

Flyers around schools and colleges? I’ve got a few people showing up that simple way.

Also consider SEO for your homepage, optimize it for searches with Kung Fu and your city’s name. Everyone who is interested in something searches the internet for info. So targeting people who are already interested in your “products” is the best way to go.

Google rankings really help, make sure you have a Google page, link it to your website, register your location on it so it flags up on the map, keep website and google page updated, create a FB, Twitter and Instagram page, link to local people, post interesting stuff about your training. Share good stuff from other people, it creates a reciprocal environment. Spend 30 mins a day doing it. Get out into the locality and help and demonstrate at events, get all the 'local' qualifications to get yourself and your club recognised. People don't come to you - you have to go to them first - and then word of mouth does the rest.

MaartenSFS wrote:how do you determine your hourly rate?

When I told my daughter that I only charge $15 per hour, she told me that she charges at least $150 per hour for her pole dancing instruction.

http://natashawang.com/

The age old problem .. unless you are a BJJ or MMA gym it seems!

I think you will really have to play the traditional angle and scoop up the people who dig that stuff. I would avoid anything too fighty etc because then you are going head to head with MMA and BJJ schools in the area and they have a recognised approach that more people would flood too in modern times. Also the fighty crowd is normally very different to the average traditional crowd and you end up having to put the beat down on some people who come to test you out. I have had run ins with Karate & Taekwondo Blackbelts etc in my time.

I ran a Xing Yi & Tai Chi class in Cheltenham for 6 or 7 years and we never got above 8 - 10 people with a core group of about 5 which just about covered the cost of the hall i was using. That was with relatively little marketing though, But if people want an obscure art they will be actively seeking it. Thats about the max you can expect for TCMAs taught in a very traditional way. Opening up a kids kung fu class is an easy win if money is your goal, not something i have done either though.

I have provided online courses for a number of years now and that can work depending on the material. I honestly believe that SOME things work in that sphere but .... alot doesnt. I dont teach any combative stuff online for instance as it needs to be felt. Solo training and basics are no different to any other solo physical training however ... if people are ok with learning how to swing a kettlebell online they should be ok learning how to perform solo work from martial arts.

Be prepared for the haters though ... people seem to loath anything martial related taught online for money. Just remember, the majority of those people have taken an online course in something, some time in their life, though so most are hypocrits. They do have a point when it comes to teaching practical fighting online though ... i honestly dont believe it can effectively be done.

Good Luck! thanks.

Good post Chris.

I think martial arts can be taught online though, so long as they are technique-based. I'm thinking mainly of BJJ here - Marcelo, Art of Jiujitsu, Keenan Online, BJJ Library, Gracie Combatives, etc, all give you access to the techniques (and the little details) of how these world class people do Jiujitsu... and I think they all do a good job.

I think it works in jiujitsu because people are normally already going to a class, with access to training partners, so they can watch a video, then try to actually do it the next day.

Of course, nobody is going to care about any online BJJ course unless it is done by a "name" person who is a known world champion or remarkable/innovative in another way (like Eddie Bravo).

I think the jury is still out on whether you can learn things like Tai Chi, Bagua and XingYi online....

Steve Rowe wrote:, link to local people, post interesting stuff about your training. Share good stuff from other people, it creates a reciprocal environment. Spend 30 mins a day doing it. Get out into the locality and help and demonstrate at events, get all the 'local' qualifications to get yourself and your club recognised. People don't come to you - you have to go to them first - and then word of mouth does the rest.

God post

Content marketing and blogging will keep people interested, maybe even give them something they like to share.

Also, interviews are great. People love to share when they have been interviewed. It could be well known athletes, people from different styles etc. Or even well known local people who did something for sports or gyms. Even if you don't target MMA people directly, you can get some interview with some MMA teacher who has a good school. You would be surprised how many MMA practitioners who would love to test traditional stuff. In fact I've got most of my students from other styles, BJJ and MMA in particular. And now we are not talking about flashy Wushu but about traditional Tai Chi.

You can also collaborate with another MA school or club.

Remote learning seems to fit with the times. For anyone who doubts it's efficiency W E Fairbarn (as the recent thread reminded me) pretty much nailed it in his All In Fighting Book; Find a friend and practice every day working your way through the techniques. Apply increasing force but start slow and increase stopping short of injuring your partner. Practicing this way with the right intent will eventually help you overcome any psychological barriers in injuring an attacker. Once the techniques are mastered pick your favourites in line with your physiology etc. Repeat this method and broaden your horizons with training methods and partners in line with your interests and requirements.

It's not rocket science and arguably bypassing traditions and conventions that you will immediately face when walking in to a class would speed some people on the path to fighting efficiency, not for all people as some may need some hand holding, but to suggest this is not a valid way of learning now is crazy!