Martial Arts Professional Magazine

By Sang Koo Kang and Earl S. Bagan

All of you who are reading this column most likely have been teaching martial arts for a number of years. Doubtless, you have also been studying martial arts and training for many years; most since you were young, and many for more than 20 years, or more. You are expert martial artists teachers and professionals, helping students with their studies and lives.Most school owners, however, while professional martial artists, are not professional business people or professionals at generating income for their schools.

This is one of the reasons I created the TNT system. It stands for Tae Kwon Do N’ Thai boxing, a unique combination of martial arts and training techniques, packaged so that others can easily incorporate the system into their schools.

By incorporating these techniques, individual schools, as well as the entire community of school owners, including you and me, can raise our standards. I want to help bring martial arts to the level of other professional sports and their athletes, such as baseball or basketball players.

Martial artists are not thought of that way because we don’t think that way ourselves. If we begin to think and act that way, we can raise the standards of our training, so we are recognized as a profession, and as professionals.

The main component is how to run your school, any school. Students and potential students have different needs and are all seeking something different.

Some want to learn self-defense and others want to learn to fight. Some want to lose weight and be in shape, while others want simply to exercise and stretch or condition themselves.

We must learn to ask what they want, and how to give it to them. Then, we must follow through and deliver what they desire.

We have always been told, you cannot compare apples and oranges. Instead of comparing, we will do whatever they want. If they want an apple, then give them an apple. If they want an orange, then give them an orange.

If they want to kick and punch, then concentrate on those techniques. Maybe, they want detailed instruction on specific movements, requiring one-on-one attention, so then offer them private lessons.

One private lesson is equal to five group classes of learning and the results you can produce. Group classes are fine, but private lessons allow special attention to specific areas that desire or require focus. Private lessons can be personalized to target individual needs.