Columnists & Contributors

Matthew Brenner

Martial arts business growth & marketing columnist

Matthew Brenner is a martial arts entrepreneur and school-growth strategist, and the founder of Double Your Dojo, where he works with school owners on building enrollment and revenue through organic marketing, community partnerships, stronger sales systems and better retention. He played a significant role in the growth of Action Karate, helping the organization expand from approximately 15 schools to more than 30 locations — firsthand exposure to what it takes to generate leads, enroll students, develop staff and build systems that hold up across multiple locations. Today his emphasis is on generating new students without becoming dependent on paid digital advertising: grassroots relationships with schools, preschools, daycares and other local organizations, and a Triangle Codex methodology built on making a school a highly visible part of its own community. He holds a black belt through Action Karate and has also trained and competed in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Writes on: martial arts business growth, grassroots and organic marketing, student enrollment, community outreach, sales, retention and leadership — for martial arts schools, BJJ academies and combat-sports gyms.

3 Moves That Turn Leads Into Students Faster · Read the Matthew Brenner archive — 1 article · More about Matthew Brenner at DoubleYourDojo.com

Jim Graden

Martial arts fitness pioneer

Seminole, Florida’s Jim Graden is internationally recognized as a martial arts fitness pioneer. Jim developed Cardio Karate, the NAPMA Fitness Kickboxing Certification, The Ultimate Bodyshaping Course (UBC), and UBC for Kids. He’s also the president of the Project ActionFoundation. He can be contacted through NAPMA.com.

22 articles in the archive

Douglas Adamson teaches Shorei Kai (an Americanized Okinawan karate system), Yamani Ryu, a classical Okinawan weapons system, and Pikiti Tirsha, a classical kali system. He can be contacted through NAPMA.com.

16 articles in the archive

Peyton Quinn

Chief instructor, RMCAT

Peyton Quinn is the chief instructor at RMCAT in Colorado and the author of the book, Real Fighting, and, most recently, Freedom From Fear. He can be contacted through NAPMA.com.

13 articles in the archive

Chris Dewey is a university professor and martial artist. He holds Black Belt ranks in Judo, Jujitsu, Taekwondo and Hapkido, and has been training for more than 30 years. He is the owner of the Starkville Martial Arts Academy and is Chair of the United States Judo Association Coaching Education Committee.

12 articles in the archive

Fariborz Azhakh

Team Karate Centers, Woodland Hills

Fariborz Azhakh is the owner and head instructor of Team Karate Centers Inc. in Woodland Hills, California, and produces martialinfo.com, one of the world’s largest and most prestigious martial arts Web sites.

11 articles in the archive

Grand Master Keith D. Yates

10th Degree Black Belt; author; founder of AKATO

Grand Master Keith D. Yates began training in 1965 and earned his first Black Belt in 1968, at seventeen, under Texas karate pioneer Allen Steen, Grand Master Jhoon Rhee’s first Black Belt on American soil. He also trained with Jhoon Rhee, Skipper Mullins and J. Pat Burleson, and in 2001 Steen promoted him to 10th Degree Black Belt. In the early 1970s he established a martial arts course for academic credit at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and he taught North Texas YMCA classes from 1967 until retiring from regular classes in 2024. In 1976 he founded the Southwest TaeKwonDo Association, now the American Karate and Tae Kwon Do Organization (AKATO), and he is Chairman Emeritus of the American Karate Black Belt Association. He has written hundreds of articles and numerous books, including The Complete Book of Taekwon Do Forms and The Complete Guide to American Karate and Tae Kwon Do, served as managing editor of Official Karate Magazine, and holds an M.A. in Biblical Studies, summa cum laude, from Dallas Theological Seminary. His honors include the Texas Martial Arts Hall of Fame, the Martial Arts History Museum Hall of Fame (2015) and the Official Taekwondo Hall of Fame (2022).

Writes on: conditioning and flexibility, student health screening, exercise selection and injury prevention, in his Fitness Track column.

10 articles in the archive · More about Keith Yates at AKATO.org

For 15 years, Elsa Cordero was involved in the martial arts — teaching (at the Jhoon Rhee Institute of TKD and later at Jeff Smith Karate), competing (seven-time National and International Forms Champion and inductee of the Diamond Nationals Hall of Fame), and finally co-owning three schools in the Washington, D.C. area.

3 articles in the archive

Terry Bryan

Founder, American Black Belt Academy

Terry Bryan is a respected speaker and coach for business owners and real estate investors. During more than 30 years in martial arts competition, he won two world titles and more than 300 first-place wins in the Black Belt and Masters divisions. His American Black Belt Academy grew to become an international organization.

8 articles in the archive

Sang Koo Kang taught 800 students at his TNT Martial Arts Centers in Miami Beach, Florida. He is a 6th-Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and a master of other styles. His columns were co-written with Earl S. Bagan, a student of Master Kang’s for 11 years and a 3rd-Degree Black Belt.

4 articles in the archive

Master Eric Sbarge is a NAPMA Maximum Impact and Inner Circle member and, with his wife Hu Wan Chih (Debra), owner of The Peaceful Dragon Cultural Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has trained for more than 25 years in Tai Chi Ch’uan, Pakua, Hsing-I, Shuai Chiao and Shaolin Kung Fu.

2 articles in the archive

Joe Corley

CEO, PKA Worldwide; Battles of Atlanta

Joe Corley is a 10th Degree Black Belt and the CEO of PKA Worldwide. He was consistently ranked in the U.S. Top 10 as a point fighter, has managed 40 Battles of Atlanta, produced more than 1,000 hours of PKA kickboxing for television, and trained National Point Champions and World Kickboxing Champions. His story, and the PKA’s, is told in The PKA and Joe Corley.

2 articles in the archive

Rick Bell

Enrollment specialist

Rick Bell is a marketing specialist and veteran martial arts school owner, considered one of the leading experts on enrollment in the industry.

8 articles in the archive

Rob Colasanti

Former president of NAPMA

Rob Colasanti is the former president of NAPMA, a veteran Black Belt of more than 20 years, a former school operator, and the author of How to Build the Martial Arts School of Your Dreams. He is an ACMA-Certified instructor and a popular speaker on school operations.

2 articles in the archive

Bob Sillick

Trade journalist

Trade journalist. Contributed the long-form Four Keys to Your Future feature, a yearlong series opening on exit strategy — deciding where a school and a career are heading before building anything else.

1 article in the archive

Brian Tracy

Human development and motivation

ACMA board member Brian Tracy is one of the world’s leading experts in human development and motivation, and a martial artist since 1964. He is the author of many of the best-selling audio programs in the world on these subjects.

18 articles in the archive

Lee Milteer

NAPMA Inner Circle success coach

Lee Milteer is a success coach, professional speaker, author and developer of the Millionaire Mindset concept. She served as the success coach for members of NAPMA’s Inner Circle and Peak Performers groups.

10 articles in the archive

Jim Rohn

America’s foremost business philosopher

Jim Rohn was considered America’s foremost business philosopher. He wrote best-selling books and produced many video presentations, including Take Charge of Your Life, The Five Major Pieces and Building Your Network Marketing Business.

8 articles in the archive

Tony Robbins

Peak performance strategist

A Jhoon Rhee Black Belt, Anthony Robbins has served for three decades as an advisor to leaders around the world and is a recognized authority on the psychology of leadership, negotiation, organizational turnaround and peak performance.

3 articles in the archive

Denis Waitley

Author, The Psychology of Winning

Denis Waitley is one of the most sought-after keynote speakers and productivity consultants in the world, and an acknowledged authority on self-development and individual performance. His audio program The Psychology of Winning is among the best selling ever produced.

2 articles in the archive

After 20 years in the U.S. Navy, Jim Edwards became a tax practitioner in 1974 and has personally prepared more than 10,000 income tax returns. His focus has always been small business owners and helping them understand the tax system.

2 articles in the archive

Harvey Mackay

Speaker and sales author

Harvey Mackay is an internationally recognized speaker and author who has helped salespeople, entrepreneurs and business managers improve their competitive edge, productivity and bottom line.

1 article in the archive