Martial Arts Professional Magazine

When Carlos Machado, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu master, first came to the United States with his brothers in 1990, his entire approach to martial arts was shaped by his experience in Brazil. The only school environment he knew had very little structure, with no belt testing or ranks, and Black Belts were awarded only when instructors thought they were deserved, which could take 10 years.

Carlos and his brothers were fortunate to have Chuck Norris as an early friend, who trained with them and helped them open their first schools. Until recently, Carlos was so respectful of his BJJ tradition that he was afraid to make changes at his school, although he was stuck at approximately 100 students and generated only modest revenues.

It was only until he discussed the many ideas that one of his students had learned at NAPMA seminars and other industry events that he “saw the light.” He stopped fearing change and, during 2007, implemented more modern martial arts business practices that have resulted in dramatic growth at his school. Today, he has 250 to 300 students and averages $40,000 a month in revenues.

During this interview, you’ll learn how he made the transition from a traditional-only approach to a modern, business-oriented approach integrated with the best of his BJJ traditions. With a change of mindset, he has been able to create a better learning environment for his students and a better life for he and his family - goals that almost all school owners want to learn how to achieve.

INTERVIEW

Toby Milroy: Carlos Machado, legendary jiu jitsu artist and a Mile High Karate franchisee, is the guest of this month’s NAPMA Success Story.

Mr. Machado, I really appreciate, and I’m sure MAPro readers do too, that you’re taking the time to share your perspective with MMA, Brazilian jiu jitsu and all martial arts schools and help them improve their enrollments and revenues. I know they want to learn about the systems you use to be successful and the innovations you’ve brought to your style.

Let’s start with your background and how Brazilian jiu jitsu has evolved during the last few years.

 

Carlos Machado: I was born into Brazilian jiu jitsu and started training when I was 4 years old, and even took part in a tournament a few months later. My brothers and I have been involved in Brazilian jiu jitsu our entire lives and had the opportunities to compete and win several state and national titles in Brazil.When we arrived in the United States in 1990, we didn’t anticipate that it would be a lifetime decision. At that time, we had contacts with Chuck Norris. Our first gym was in a garage, and Mr. Norris was so passionate about martial arts that he didn’t care, and he trained with us.

To this day, Chuck Norris is one of the best friends we’ve ever had, a very special human being. Through his friendship and initiative, we were able to open our first school in a shopping center in Los Angeles that he and Mr. Bob Wall owned. Shortly thereafter, we opened a second location in Redondo Beach.

When Mr. Norris came to Texas to film his TV show, Walker Texas Ranger, he was still a BJJ enthusiast, but he wasn’t happy that the Machado schools, where he liked to train, were in California. After talking on several occasions, we finally decided to open a Machado’s Jiu Jitsu Academy in Texas. Even then, our first Texas training space was in Mr. Norris’ TV studio.

When we were first teaching in the United States, our goal was to train fighters to be world champions like us. We trained several celebrities and nice students, but we didn’t concentrate on developing the various systems, such as teaching methodology, that are crucial for any school owner who wants to succeed today.

It was 12 years before we developed more of a professional sense of how to serve students better. We had to learn how to teach students, so they could first do the moves and then become very good students in a short amount of time and long-term martial artists.

Brazilian jiu jitsu is such an intricate system that one of the biggest challenges for beginning students, during our early teaching years, was how long it took to become a Black Belt. I’ve had past students who trained for 10 years, before earning their Black Belts. That happened because we never had the proper structure for the operation of our schools.

Brazilian jiu jitsu is now a major element in MMA competitions. As a matter of fact, Quinton Jackson, the current light heavyweight champion, is very much into BJJ, and when he defended his title against Danny Henderson, Jackson said the difference in his game was the addition of more jiu jitsu.

Brazilian jiu jitsu is a great activity for the general public because they don’t have to be MMA fighters or athletes. BJJ is very adaptable to anyone’s shape and background. One of the reasons is that Brazilian jiu jitsu causes much less physical trauma. Students strike in a limited way for self-defense purposes, but most of their training concentrates on leverages, submissions, techniques and positioning. BJJ is good exercise and will make you very fit, but your body isn’t bruised as if you were doing full-scale sparring.

“I still know that there’s much more to learn to sharpen my skills, so I take every opportunity to talk to NAPMA members with successful track records.”

I’ve discovered a new market recently that I never had an opportunity to evaluate before, and that is the middle-aged male, 45 to 55. This is a major market because of this group’s higher income when compared to the 18 to 35 males that have been our typical students.

Most of my students have Black Belts or higher ranks in different styles. That’s the beauty of Brazilian jiu jitsu; it never contradicts other styles, but complements them.

That has been the Machado approach or philosophy: we never confront or challenge other styles or current trends in the martial arts. We never state that our style is more or less than others. We believe we have a good product and we’re willing to share how we do it successfully. I’m always open-minded and fortunate to have learned many ideas from my students that have added to my martial arts knowledge.

I was talking with Stephen Oliver recently. I admire his intelligence and marketing expertise. His idea is to start children in a Karate program and then transition them into a Jiu Jitsu program.

Karate is a much more established teaching and operational system and has been very successful with children. The public is also more familiar with the benefits of Karate, and needs more education about the benefits of Brazilian jiu jitsu.

Toby Milroy: You’ve brilliantly introduced a number of ideas and thoughts that we can use to expand our conversation. First, please describe how your schools in California and Texas are organized.

 

Carlos: I can’t say much about my brothers’ schools because they operate them independently, but my understanding is that they have very big followings. For many years, despite my name and reputation, I was stuck on a bit more than 100 students. I felt like I was in a slump; I couldn’t move beyond a certain point. It didn’t matter how much I did, how much I taught, it was always the same. I just relied on my teaching skills and my goodwill; and students came and went as they pleased.

Brazilian jiu jitsu is a relatively new style, and we learned a different business sense in Brazil. We thought we had to operate a school in a certain way. For instance, we never envisioned doing belt testing; we thought that the student would earn a belt whenever the instructor decided it was time. We didn’t bow before and after class because we thought that was a tradition for Asian schools, and not applicable to the Brazilian form or way.

I had an epiphany last year when I was in Australia. One of my students had attended several NAPMA seminars and similar events, and we probably spent a month talking about martial arts business and what he had learned. When I was confronted with that knowledge, I slowly started to take counsel on some of those ideas that were working for him, and began to implement them at my school.

I learned about upgrade programs, cash-out options and other concepts, and I then started to play with those ideas. We introduced different levels of memberships, including a basic level and a higher-level of training. Of course, our new upgrade program was an opportunity to increase our revenues.

I also started to do more direct marketing and introduced referral programs. Those actions have tripled my revenues. Right now, we have 250 to 300 students and I’ve been consistently in the $40,000 monthly revenue range.

This was a big change at my school because, before I had different streams of income, my school wouldn’t do as well, so I had to do some extra seminars to bring in enough money to fill the gap. Now, I travel and teach seminars when I want, not because I need the money to support my school.

I still know that there’s much more to learn to sharpen my skills, so I take every opportunity to talk to NAPMA members with successful track records.

Toby Milroy: Your average monthly revenue of $40,000 is certainly well above the industry average. Being a member of the Mile High Karate circle has obviously helped you and others to experience fantastic financial and student results for many years. Many of the ideas and concepts that you mentioned are the important components that have made that happen.

If our MAPro readers haven’t realized it already, you’re a very progressive thinker. Too many school owners are not quite as progressive and try to operate with a very similar mindset that you described earlier.

They rely on being a great teacher, and think that’s all they need to operate a successful business. Granted, teaching is a very important skill set, but it’s only one of four skills you need. You must also be highly competent in marketing, motivation and sales and persuasion skills.

Obviously, you were trying to operate your school with old-school style thinking compared to a modern or professional business approach, which is why so many school owners today are suffering.

Tell us about the challenges and struggles you had to overcome to modify your mindset and the way you operated your schools. What was the change like for you?

Carlos: On the personal level, it was my insecurity. I felt like I was in unknown territory; these were ideas I’d never used in my school, so I was concerned. I was almost afraid. I would have to tell my students that suddenly they had to pay for belt testing. They never bowed to me before; it was almost like they didn’t respect me. They never called me, sir, or by my last name. Despite those changes, I had one thing in mind: I saw results.

I was able to overcome those challenges because I saw other school owners’ results. Mr. Clay Pittman, one of my students, helped to direct me toward that conclusion. He had the same challenges as I did. He was scared to death. He didn’t even tell his students about the changes; he told his brother, who was working with him at the time, just to make those changes.

Too many of us have told ourselves that our students will disagree with these changes and leave, but that is not the case. Those that will give you trouble are usually senior students because they have been following the old methods so long that they might resist change.

When I made those changes at my school, I explained to everyone that the changes were for the common good. We started with bowing and I explained that we were creating an atmosphere of respect, and respect brings harmony, which leads to success. I told them that would now be our common goal, so we had to respect each other and the instructors and really show it.

When I implemented belt testing, I created a syllabus, which structured the training in a way to segment the techniques. It takes approximately three months for 24 lessons and then we test our students, four times a year. They advance through five belt ranks in Jiu Jitsu: white, blue, purple, brown and black. The students started to like the system almost as soon as it was introduced.

On testing day, we had 40 students testing at the same time, divided into different groups. Lo and behold, our students brought their friends and parents; our adult students brought their spouses and children. It was win-win for everyone. Who doesn’t like to be acknowledged? That was an opportunity for me to let family members and friends know that our students were doing well. What better way to do it then to have an event, where other people could share the students’ advancement with them?

Toby Milroy: There were two points you made that are very important and I don’t want our readers to miss them. First, you have a very systemized process to help students advance from point A to point B and, second, they have a reasonable expectation that if they do X, Y and Z, then they will reach their goals. It’s not subjective; it’s very measurable, which is a very important for martial arts school owners to understand.

You also described that you’re students are developing an attitude and learning how to set a goal and overcome the obstacles to accomplish their goals. It’s extremely important in the children’s market to focus on those students’ Black Belt outcomes. The technical skills are very important, but parents want to their children learn how to set and accomplish a goal, be respectful and overcome obstacles.

When you integrated the teaching of long-term goal setting, segmented into short-term intermediate goals, into your very traditional jiu jitsu curriculum, how did your students and their parents and families respond?

Carlos: I do have a kid’s program, but my main clientele is adults, 17 and older. Without exception, every one of them accepted it very well. Even those, who initially said that they didn’t care about belts or ranks, were the first to arrive at the belt testing, and fully participated. It’s kind of funny because they said they didn’t care about rank, belts and colors, but that’s OK.

I learned that this structure gives students the means to grow. If they don’t have a prospect of where they’re going, then the incentive to become long-term members is diminished with time. During classes, I take the opportunity to talk about how to set goals and accomplishing them. It’s a process.

In any group or class, there are some students that are more gifted and more athletic. They have different abilities, so they might learn faster, but the advancement timeframe is usually the same. I don’t want to hold back the gifted students, but, often, in Jiu Jitsu, if the instructor doesn’t watch the gifted student carefully, then he will become the one who has the pleasure of showing all the other students that he is superior.

I set up an elite group just for those gifted students, so once they start to show the wrong “signs” in the regular class, I can move them to this elite group that is also my competition team. When they return to the regular class, they’re either assistant instructors or, even if they are not formally assistant instructors, their objective is to train and help the other students and not just train and show everyone why they’re the best. This strategy reduces or eliminates any sense of inferiority that the other students might feel.

Regular students realize they have an ally, whenever a gifted student returns as an assistant instructor. Student results are enhanced, instead of diminished because they view the assistant as someone who will improve their level of competency. It also brings more cohesion and harmony to your classes. This situation also benefits gifted students because, as all instructors know, when you start teaching you become a better martial artist, as you continue to review and reinforce your knowledge.

I also use specific rules to enhance the students’ training experience. Brazilian jiu jitsu is often based on submission; the goal is to control and eventually put a submission hold on your opponent. If a student in my class applies a submission hold to another student, then the first student must teach the student in the hold what he did to achieve the hold. This allows me to teach the counter.

This rule pushes the level of competency even higher because, instead of the student in the hold becoming frustrated or upset because he was “defeated,” he or she is excited and happy that the first student will show the move. It’s much easier, from an instructor’s point of view, to teach a counter to a submission hold that a student already understands. My “rule” has become a psychological and technical training tool that has produced plenty of positive results.

This is just one example of the techniques I try to use to make sure that classes are fun and enjoyable, so no students feel like they’re in a win or lose situation, which is not the case. I want everyone to win. That’s the ultimate goal.

Toby Milroy: Let’s expand on your comments about the two qualities, competence and confidence, that students want to experience. When a student feels competent, he or she knows how to perform a specific move or form. The worst example for a prospective student who visits a jiu jitsu school is two high-level Black Belts grappling on the mat. The prospect won’t understand how he or she can ever develop the competence to duplicate the skills of those Black Belts. A much better example for a prospective student is to observe students that are the same size, age and body type doing beginners’ techniques. That makes it real for the prospect.

A student must also learn to feel confident, and early in his or her training. If your curriculum is systemized, A + B = C, then it’s much easier for the student to understand that if he or she learns X and Y, he or she will accomplish Z. That system can work in any style, either traditional or eclectic.

Carlos, what do you do initially to help new students feel competent? What do you do during the first few lessons to make them feel confident with what they’re learning?

Carlos Machado: The first opportunity to instill competency is during the intro class, which either one of my senior instructors or I lead. We make it an easy class, at an easy pace. We simply want to break the ice and explain some concepts. We talk about sequence; we have three different formulas when we teach the intro class.

Most of the time, all new students attend an intro class, whether he or she is totally inexperienced, has some Brazilian jiu jitsu experience or is a high ranking student, but new to my school. It was a challenge at first to include everyone in an intro class, but I developed a system that works for me.

Let’s assume I have a 7:00 pm intro class, with one to 10 new students, representing the entire range of experience: the middle-aged person who knows nothing about martial arts and is out of shape to a Purple Belt, which is a high rank in Brazilian jiu jitsu. How can I teach all of them in a way that results in a smooth class, where everyone feels he or she understands the why’s and why not’s of jiu jitsu?

I want the high-ranking student in my intro class because he doesn’t know what to expect from the training at my school. I want to show the totally inexperienced student that, despite his background and lack of experience and fitness, he will be able to learn and perform with the whole group.

The only difference is that I keep it simple for the beginner and I introduce some complexity for the experienced, but new, student. I teach the beginner an easy, three- to four-move sequence, a simple self-defense technique, with a takedown and a follow-up on the ground where you control, position and eventually do a submission. That’s all I do, very short and sweet.

For the Purple Belt student, who already knows many of the techniques, I’ll increase the complexity. If I teaching a mount/escape, then the Purple Belt will learn that sequence with a little detail here and there that will be satisfactory to his level, without holding back anyone and delaying a normal, 30-minute intro class.

I will then explain the formalities of bowing, how you address each other, how you address the attitude in the class. If a regular class is in session, then I tell the intro class which of those students is a lawyer, a dentist or a construction worker. I want the new students to understand that there are people of all walks of life, of many professions, training at my school, not just young guys at a rat gym.

When an intro student is a professional, and many of them are, I want him or her to know that there are other professionals training at my school. I don’t want those professional people to feel out of place in the class. I always give my intro students a tour of the school. I show them the rules board, with our 10 rules for hygiene, attendance, how to address each other, etc. I show them our entire facility, so they are informed and ready go to the office and make a commitment. Our goal, if we can, is to enroll them the same day as their intro class.

Toby Milroy: Anyone reading this interview can no longer make the excuse that his or her system, style or school is different. The primary responsibility of any instructor from the first intro class is to walk every new student through the process, by the hand, one step at a time. You want to explain your expectations and show how the process works. Every school owners’ goal is to help new students become Black Belts and be long-term students, hopefully forever. I think you described that very eloquently in your system.

Let’s talk a little bit more about your target audience because you have a different mindset and a different approach than many schools in your niche. Many mixed martial arts schools are focused on attracting 17- to 25-year-old males and teach them to be fighters.

While those students are a huge component of your program, you’ve also appealed to a much broader market spectrum. How did you come to think that way and how have you made that transition? What has it done for your school and your business?

Carlos Machado: My goal is to change lives; and I think martial arts is the tool. I want to change my students’ lives for the better. I want them to be more focused, happier.

What I discovered, however, after carefully reviewing my student files, is that the more you pay, the longer you stay as a student. I came to this conclusion by first asking, of the students I had, which ones are still students? Who left and why?

I learned that students, who start at a lower membership level and who can’t afford your higher priced programs, tend to stay there and quit more often than those students who pay for a higher priced program at the beginning. That was very interesting.

So. I came to the conclusion that if you pay more, then you’ll stay longer, but I was not convinced, yet. I researched further and noticed that the higher priced programs are full, and with more committed students. I then tried to determine why.

Of course, I hate it when a student wants to train, but does not have the means to pay for the class. He or she will choose the membership he or she can afford. The students that commit to a higher-priced program from the beginning are more likely to have better paying jobs, so they can afford it. Those students are also likely to have that same job in the future, so they will continue to have the income to pay for the more expensive program. The more you pay, the longer you stay.

Toby Milroy: In the language of martial arts business, in almost all cases, although there are some exceptions, price determines perception of value.

You identified a couple of the demographic constraints that make that true, but let’s put it in these terms as well: Do you have differing perceptions of the value of a Yugo compared to the 500 E Class Mercedes? Of course, you do. Is the Mercedes 10 times better than a Yugo? Not really because both consists of an engine, tires, a rear end and all the other common body parts. Both cars transport you from point A to point B, although the Mercedes will be smoother, quieter and have many more features.

The reason you perceive the Mercedes as being much more valuable is, in some measure, due to price. Because it costs more, I have to think about it more. I have to save more money to afford it. I have to write a bigger check when I buy it; therefore I place it in a higher category of value.

If I’m a student at XYZ Karate, paying $30 per month, then my perception of the value of the school’s service is $30 a month. If I’m a student at your school and I pay $230 per month, my perception of the value of your training is almost eight times higher. When I’m paying for more perceived value, then I make sure I don’t miss a class. If I’m a parent paying that $230 a month, then I do what is necessary to make sure my child attends every class.

If you undercharge, then you’ll discover the same negative results in your files, as Mr. Machado did. You’ve hamstrung your retention rate. You’ve also severely handicapped long-term success for your students because, frankly, if they don’t perceive your program to be valuable, then it’s okay that they don’t go and don’t progress to the next level. If they don’t perceive it’s high value, then they don’t really care if they’re learning. That is an extremely important concept for all MAPro readers to understand. In many cases, price determines perception of value and you must keep that door open for long-term training for your students.

The other important point you made is that you can’t limit your market to the “all-stars” because if you only teach the all-stars and focus all your energy on them, then you’re limiting your marketing approach and market penetration.

Remember, regardless of whether you teach martial arts, dance, gymnastics or high school basketball, approximately 20% of the students are twice as efficient as the other 80%, while only approximately 5% will be all-stars.

Carlos, I’d love to hear a little bit more about what you do at your school to facilitate the growth of the top students who are the most athletic, the quick learners, who are easy to teach, compared to the students that are more challenging?

Carlos Machado: I put our top students in the “propaganda department.” They are the members of our competition team and the faces that the public sees at tournaments. I want my top guns to show the other students that we provide a training environment in which they will push themselves to their limits.

My other students become excited because they are proud that those top guns belong to our team, it’s a team environment. They’re also happy that they have such excellent students on their side because, when it comes to a regular class, those competition team members are either assisting me in the class or, even if they’re participating in the class, they’re helping more than trying to overcome the other students with their skills.

If you will, my top guns become the animals in competition training, but not regular class training, which was developed for those adults with professional careers. I want them to think they are able to advance, but don’t feel misplaced because a star is next to them.

Another point I want to make that refers again to the value of having adult students who are professionals: attorneys, physicians, etc. is that they can reduce the effects of a down economy. There’s no better way to ensure that your martial arts school will thrive than if you have a student base predominantly of people in professional categories. Even if there’s a recession, it will take much longer to affect students in that income bracket than those with lower incomes, who are either struggling or are likely to be the first to lose their jobs.

I know the value of perception and commitment; it’s a socio-economic thing. If I have more money, (and I’m not saying that money is everything), then I can move to the next level of success in my business. If you don’t make the money that you’re capable of making, then you’re cutting yourself short.

If you want to cater just to the young men that want to be MMA fighters, then I think that’s a great career and a great market. You’ll probably make more money as their manager, earning a cut of their purses and becoming involved with MMA organizations. If your target audience is those adult professionals, then you can’t base your class on the stars - those that could become MMA champions.

Toby Milroy: One of our major challenges at NAPMA is convincing and educating our members to communicate the benefits of martial arts instead of the features in their marketing and intros.

In almost every case, when a member asks us for solutions to his or her marketing problems, it’s because his or her ad, flyer and/or telephone script focuses on features and not the benefits. School owners and instructors are telling parents how their children will love martial arts because they have the opportunity to kick and punch, break boards, swing a stick or a long staff and maybe be on the demonstration team. Too many school owners forget that parents really don’t care.

Parents and the buyer of every product and service want to know the benefits, not the features. If you’re in the power tool business, then you shouldn’t sell a drill because the customer wants a hole, not a drill. He wants the drill because of what it will do for him.

You have a really unique approach in Brazilian jiu jitsu to communicate benefits to your students. Would you explain it to our readers? What has your students responded and how has your approach benefited your school?

Carlos Machado: Most of the people that call my academy already know what they want. I very seldom have a phone call from a prospective student asking about martial arts in a general way. Every contact I make and every lead I receive are already predetermined to go a step further. My responsibility is to facilitate how fast that can happen.

My internal referral program is a major tool for attracting and enrolling new students. We try to implement more joint activities within the group of students, so, for example, we schedule a UFC party at a restaurant, and the rule is each student must bring a friend. The friends come and participate in that event and experience that friendly and enticing group environment. We give each friend a pass for a free class.

Obtaining a name and phone number from a current student and inviting that referred prospect to the school is successful to a certain extent, but I’ve tried to take our referral program one step further. I ask my current student to bring his friend (the referral) to a friends’ day because it breaks the barriers. I know those prospective students will have many questions and be very hesitant because they might think my school and program is for tough guys, so most of the time they’re insecure.

If they have no martial arts experience, then I have a strong reason to believe they probably have some physical insecurities. They think they are entering the lion’s den and will be eaten alive; but, of course, that’s not the case. We want those referrals and the local community to recognize, before they come to our academy, that the image of our school is of a place for people to meet and socialize in a nice way, to use martial arts to help each other. We don’t want the adults in our community to struggle and miss the opportunity to participate in activity that will change their lives. I believe we’re in the business of changing lives.

I know that if one of my adult students learns to focus his effort and dedication to pass a martial arts test, then that will serve him well in his profession, whenever he is facing a business challenge. He will have developed the focus to succeed. If a student is experiencing undue stress in his profession and/or life, then, after a vigorous class, he’ll leave a new man. He’ll go home and hug his wife and kiss his kid and be a happy man that day because he had that martial arts experience to close the deal.

It’s not uncommon for students from different professions to be unhappy with their jobs because of the stress of business, deadlines and the demands of the boss. Some have confided in me that they had a terrible day and sometimes just watched the clock, waiting for the time to go by; but, once they became students, their anxiousness for the end of the business day was a positive thing because they can’t wait to come to my jiu jitsu practice. What else can you ask?

Can you imagine if those adult students didn’t have a jiu jitsu class in their lives how much more they would be missing and not experiencing? That’s the benefit I try to make sure my prospective students understand.

School owners, and specifically BJJ schools, must market to a broader audience than just those already familiar with the martial arts. We want to attract everyone who is not in the martial arts because they have no clue how much more quality they can add to their lives if they incorporate the martial arts.

Toby Milroy: Carlos, it’s obvious to me that you’ve learned some ideas and methods to grow your school and expand your life; and it shows in your passion. I can tell that you’ve tried not to fall into that rut or routine that many of us do in our professions, jobs and lives. Anthony Robbins says when you’re green you grow and when you’re ripe you rot.

It’s another lesson for our readers: Whenever you stop seeking and learning new ideas and information, especially what you don’t know well, and then implement those ideas, you stop growing and you rot.

I want our MAPro readers to know that you are helping to provide our members with some of those new ideas and information. We’ll be featuring video segments from you on the NAPMA Innovations DVD that members receive every month, and you’ll be at the 2008 NAPMA Extreme Success Academy. I think that your passion for teaching and creating great students and changing their lives will be a big benefit for all of our members.

You are also working with Master Oliver and me and our corporate team at Mile High Karate to add a Brazilian jiu jitsu component to our martial arts system. Your BJJ curriculum will be very robust and provide Black Belt students with an opportunity to expand their learning and experience beyond a standard or traditional style. What are your goals for our Black Belts, what do you want to accomplish with them during the next 24 months?

Carlos Machado: Our initial goal is for every Mile High Karate Black Belt student to earn an equivalent Blue Belt in jiu jitsu. The Blue Belt is a major steppingstone in Brazilian jiu jitsu because once a student becomes a Blue Belt his or her path to Black Belt is already set. A student can advance faster and more effectively because he or she will learn all the details.

Brazilian jiu jitsu is exciting because it blends with everything. BJJ never contradicts other styles; it makes the curriculum even more appealing and makes students even more enthusiastic because BJJ can be taught in sequences, A, B, C, D, which is how I teach it. You don’t learn an isolated move here and an isolated move there that you cannot put together. It’s connecting the dots. Students will know very quickly how good they can become, not just in the karate system, but also in BJJ.

Since Mile High Karate students already have a martial arts background, the correct mindset, the addition of BJJ will make them formidable students. I’m working with the cream of the crop. I think this will be an experiment that will prove to the martial arts world that we can have the best of both: A sound martial arts business with a wonderful martial arts program.

I think Mile High Karate is showing to the world that it can teach you how to market, how to sell and also how to be the best martial artist. By combining karate and jiu jitsu, Mile High Karate has broken all the barriers. I think this is history in the making.

Toby Milroy: We’re all very excited about your involvement. Providing students and instructors with new curriculum material has always been a key component to long-term student retention beyond Black Belt. There must be something new and exciting for students to learn and for instructors to teach, something that will continue to build core competencies past Black Belt.

Let’s turn to the last topic of this discussion. What we’ve learned during the years at NAPMA and Mile High Karate is that the people with whom you surround yourself is an essential key component to any type of long-term business success, martial arts success and life success.

NAPMA has been doing its best to focus members’ attention on that concept with its two mastermind groups: the Inner Circle program has 15-20 of the top owners in the industry and the Peak Performers group numbers 40-50 owners working towards higher levels of success. Both groups have regular in-person and electronic meetings where a wonderful synergy is created, so they can share ideas and grow together.

How significant has the mastermind experience been for you? How valuable has it been for you to be able to learn from and grow with a group of like-minded school owners, pushing and pulling you to the next level?

Carlos Machado: In my case, the value or influence of the mastermind concept was very limited in the past, but has now become a much more valuable in terms of marketing and business. As a martial artist, trying to improve, I’ve always believed that you leave your ego at the door. I’m there to grow. I want to grow. Whatever it takes to grow, I’ll pay the price. To go on the mat, roll with an opponent and be tapped out a number of times is a learning experience. I ask him what did you do and how do I be like you? My mindset with a superior opponent is not that guy is so much better than me; I feel terrible. No, I try to have a positive mindset: How can I be like you? Help me be like you?

You need that same approach in business. If I meet or know a school owner that has been more successful than me, then I ask him to help me succeed like he did. I open my arms, my mind, my soul and my heart because I have nothing to hide. I want to be better at what I’m doing with what he knows. If you approach another school owner with that kind of open, positive attitude, then he or she gladly try to give you his or her insight in small bites that you can digest and implement easily.

If you’re not ready for that knowledge, then the amount of it can be overwhelming. That’s why being in a mastermind group is so valuable because there is more than one member who can help you focus on what’s really important. Don’t be afraid to admit you are a White Belt in business and then let those other group members teach you, just like your instructor taught you martial arts, what you need to know to become a Blue Belt, Purple and eventually a Black Belt in business. I told Mr. Oliver that he had to make me a Black Belt in business. I’ll make you a Black Belt in BJJ.

The fascinating thing about a mastermind group is that there are no egos; there is no room for walls; everything is open. You can nurture each other because the whole objective is for everybody to grow. One person doesn’t grow at the expense of the others. Everyone is winning all the time. I think this concept is extremely important because there are so many people who experience difficulties in their lives, not because they don’t know, but because they don’t have a support system of people that have been there already, know better and will help them reach the next level.

Mr. Clay Pittman is one of my first Black Belt students; and he is a supportive member of my team, helping me in my business. I like to listen to people in my immediate group as well as successful people in other types of businesses. I’ve learned that many of the concepts that have made them successful can be applied to my business and produce great results.

I wish I had more time for my self-education, which is why I’ve set aside time in my calendar this year for college. Some days, I can invest all of my time to pursue knowledge about a topic I need to know. Other days are filled with opportunities, such as being interviewed for Martial Arts Professional magazine and other publications, appearing on TV shows and receiving awards.

I don’t want that recognition for my ego; I want it, so I can pull people under my influence and show them the martial arts, which I believe will help them in their lives.

At the end of your life, people won’t ask how much money you made, but how much good you made. How many people you loved. How much you transformed the world. I think those things are eternal.