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Every page and every article Martial Arts Professional publishes, in one list. The journal has covered the business of running a martial arts school since 1996.
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The Journal
- Home
- All Articles
- The Martial Arts Professional Interview Archive
- Business Breakthrough TV — The Video Library
- Print Archive, 2005–2012
The Industry Directory
- Martial Arts Industry Directory
- Martial Arts School Software: What Eight Platforms Cost, the Two That Won’t Say, and the Three Built for Somebody Else
- Who Collects Your Tuition: Six Billing Companies and Five Ways of Getting Paid
- Martial Arts School Insurance: Who Publishes a Price, and What It Buys
- Martial Arts Marketing Agencies and AI Ad Tools: Nobody Publishes a Retainer
- Safeguarding: The Federal Law Most Martial Arts Schools Think Covers Them, and Doesn’t
- Associations and Rank Bodies: What You Pay, and What It Lets Your Students Do
- Uniforms and Equipment: Fourteen Suppliers, and Every One of Them Sells to Your Students Too
Reference
- Glossary of Martial Arts School Business Terms
- Columnists & Contributors
- NAPMA Martial Arts Professional Lifetime Achievement Awards
About and Contact
- About Martial Arts Professional
- Editorial Policy
- Stephen Oliver, MBA — 10th Degree Black Belt & Founder, Mile High Karate
- Press Room
- Advertise in Martial Arts Professional
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Sections
- Teaching & Curriculum 78 articles
- Mindset & Leadership 73 articles
- School Owner Profiles 47 articles
- Industry History 41 articles
- Marketing 28 articles
- Staff & Systems 26 articles
- Archive Interviews 24 articles
- Enrollment & Retention 22 articles
- Pricing & Profit 18 articles
- Business Breakthrough TV 10 articles
- Martial Arts Business News 2 articles
Contributors
Every Article
367 published articles, newest first within each section.
Teaching & Curriculum 78
- Autism in Your School: For You And Your Business!
- ADHD in Your School: Better Classes and Better Enrollments!
- Seek to Understand
- The Secret to Being a Dynamic Instructor
- The Ultimate School Character Development Program by Zig Ziglar
- Following My Passion and the Market, Part 2
- Learn From Your Students
- Backing Down the Prison Bully, Part 3
- Following My Passion and the Market, Part 1
- In Pursuit of Mastery and Leadership
- The Need for Intensity…Somewhere…in Your Program, Part 2
- Controversial Exercises
- Teaching an Introductory Lesson—Part 1
- What is Kata For? It’s More Than How to Hurt the Attacker – How Not to Hurt You
- What is Kata For? Fighting Is More Than Wildly Attacking
- The Seven Qualities of a Champion
- Dynamic Strength Assessments
- Disarming the Enemy
- Create an Upturn at your School with a Proven Revenue Generator
- Backing Down the Prison Bully, Part 3
- The Need for Intensity in Your Program, Part 1
- Capturing Your Share of the Adult Self-Defense Market: Part 13
- Conditions of Learning, Part 2
- The Prison Tale Continues
- That Do Factor—As in Karate-Do, Taekwondo and Judo
- Conditions of Learning, Part I
- Are Your New Students Ready to Step Up to a New Exercise Program?
- How Not to Burn Bridges: An Open Letter to My Four Sons
- Implementing a Student Health History
- Understanding Adrenal-Stress Effects, Part 1
- Crossing the River
- Black-Belt Tests, Part 2
- Promoting Safety in Martial Arts Fitness Classes
- Stepping Off the High Horse
- Controversial Exercises, Part 6
- The Adrenal-Pump Factor, Part 1
- Beware of your Comfort Zone
- Dealing With Forcible Rape
- Capturing Your Share of the Adult Self-Defense Market, Part 12
- Controversial Exercises, Part 5
- Controversial Exercises, Part 4
- Black Belt Testing
- What is Kata For? – Centering
- Static Stretching Do’s and Don’ts
- Controversial Exercises, Part 3
- My Learning Experience at a Karate Birthday Party
- Black-Belt Tests, Part 1
- On Mental Attitude
- How to Maximize Fitness Results for your Students
- What is Kata For? Part 2: Classical Training Versus Dance or Gymnastics
- Controversial Exercises, Part 2
- Speed Can Save Your Life
- The Case AGAINST Age Specific Programs – Part 2
- Is Nothing Worth Fighting For?
- There Comes a Time
- Why I Love Martial Arts Fitness
- Teaching an Introductory Lesson—Part 2: Teaching Basic Boxing
- Martial Arts Fitness or After-School Care?
- Consistency, Simplicity and Intensity
- Self-Discipline
- Discipline in a Martial Arts Facility
- What is Kata For? What Mistakes Stop Kata from Working
- The Key Elements of a Martial Arts Fitness Class
- It’s All About the Course
- Raising the Standards of Martial Arts Instruction
- Traditional Values at Tournaments
- The ABCs of Your Class
- The Ultimate Black Belt Test: My Suggestions to the Industry and a Protest of Sorts
- Thich Nhat Hahn: A Teacher with Much to Teach the Martial Artist
- The 40 Most Common Mistakes Fighters Commit, Part 7
- The 40 Most Common Mistakes Fighters Commit, Part 6
- The 40 Most Common Mistakes Fighters Commit, Part 5
- The 40 Most Common Mistakes Fighters Commit
- The 40 Most Common Mistakes Fighters Commit, Part 2
- The 40 Most Common Mistakes Fighters Commit, Part 1
- Career Guidance for the Full-Contact Fighter
- The 40 Most Common Mistakes Fighters Commit, Part 9
- The 40 Most Common Mistakes Fighters Commit, Part 8
Mindset & Leadership 73
- “Were You Born With It?” – Part 3
- Stick to the Flight Plan
- Nitty-Gritty Reasons
- Were You Born With It? Part 2
- Were You Born With It?, Part 1
- Life Lessons From Martial Arts: How to Set a Goal
- Crossing the River
- Turn off Inhibition and Turn on Wealth Attraction
- From Motivation to Motive-Action
- Time Integrity for Entrepreneurs: Enjoy the Time of Your Life, Part 3
- I Know
- Crab Story
- Stick to the Flight Plan
- Finding the Right People to Help You Meet Your Goal
- “Were You Born With It?”—Part 1
- Stay The Course!
- How a 700 year-old plan of attack can still work for you!
- It’s what you learn AFTER you know it all that really matters
- Time Integrity for Entrepreneurs: Mental Time Leaks, Part 1
- Time Integrity for Entrepreneurs: Idea Day, Part 2
- The Game of Running a Martial Arts School
- Time Integrity for Entrepreneurs: Idea Day, Part 1
- The Seven Ingredients of Success
- The Essence of Good Time Management, Part 2: Where Do You Perform Well?
- The Seven Ingredients of Success Ingredient Four: Financial Freedom
- Balance
- The Seven Ingredients of Success Ingredient Three: Loving Relationships
- My Son’s Story: Saved by a Student
- The Four Emotions that Can Lead to Life Change
- Setting The Bar Higher
- Have the Courage to Act
- Abundance is a Mindset, Part 1
- How to Transform Nothing into Something of Value
- Nitty-Gritty Reasons
- The Seven Ingredients of Success: Are You Fit to Lead?
- Nitty-Gritty Reasons
- Four Steps to Success!
- Invest these 10 “Assets” that are more Important than Money to Succeed at the Highest Level
- The Seven Ingredients of Success Ingredient One: Peace of Mind
- Accessing Your Intuition, Part 1
- Your Greatest Resource — You!
- Practical Project Management
- Conduct a Personal Inventory of Your Knowledge Resources
- Is Martial Arts Instruction a Real Job?
- What Matters Most
- Using the Intention to Serve to be a Great Leader
- Time Integrity for Entrepreneurs: Mental Time Leaks, Part 2
- “Hacking” Your Own Performance
- Taking Smart Risks
- The Formula for Failure and Success
- Are You a Leader or Manager?
- Conducting a Personal Inventory of Your “Knowledge Resources”
- Transform Your Fears into Strengths—and Success, Part 2
- The Last Shot Fall Seven Times, Get Up Eight
- The Seven Laws of Mental Mastery Part 1
- There’s No Nobility in Poverty
- The Seven Laws of Mental Mastery
- Luck Has Nothing To Do With Success
- Thriving in a Scary Economy, Part 1
- Zero-Based Thinking
- Become Big by Thinking Big
- Stay Focused on the Big Picture
- My Uncommon Answers to Seven Common Martial Arts Industry Issues
- Two Sustainable Business Practices
- “Professional” Doesn’t Mean Clinical
- Does the Martial Arts Industry Own the Anti-Bullying Market? Some questions and stats, and one awesome resource.
- The ABCs of the Martial Arts Business: Understanding The Basics Makes All The Difference, Part 3
- The ABCs of the Martial Arts Business: Understanding The Basics Makes All The Difference, Part 2
- The ABCs of the Martial Arts Business: Understanding The Basics Makes All The Difference
- Against All Odds
- Let’s Be First Together
- Why People Fail: Help, I Can’t Escape the Box Where I Put Myself!
- Are You More Or Less Effective Than You Were A Year Ago? You Have More Technology and Process More Work, But Are You More Effective?
School Owner Profiles 46
- Martial Arts Professional Asks… Jay Abraham, Marketing Guru
- Stephen Oliver’s Mile High Karate ® Background Information
- Jean Claude Van Damme, Martial Arts Film Star
- Tony Robbins, Personal Development Expert
- Brian Tracy, Karate Black Belt and Human Potential Expert
- Listen to a Great Interview with Jhoon Rhee, Martial Arts Grandmaster and Living Legend, and Learn Many Valuable Lessons from his Life and Achievements, Part 2
- Martial Arts Professional Asks…. Tom Hopkins, The Builder of Sales Champions
- What If There Was A Recession, But You Didn’t Attend?
- Professionalism Done the Right Way With Brian Tracy; Part 2
- “I Tripled my Monthly Revenues, After I Conquered My Fear of Change!”
- My Secret of Success, Part 2, With Chuck Norris
- Martial Arts Professional Asks… Bill Amelio, 2nd-Degree Black Belt and CEO of Lenovo
- The Champion’s Reunion, Part 2, with Jeff Smith, Bill Wallace and Joe Lewis
- Jay Abraham: Exclusive Interview for the Martial Arts
- Martial Arts Professional Asks… Tom Hopkins, The Builder of Sales Champions
- Andrew Wood: A Legend in His Own Mind!
- The Father of the Modern Martial Arts School Business Model
- Martial Arts Professional Asks… Zig Ziglar, Legendary Motivational Speaker and Author
- Six-Time Pro Bowl Legend Karl Mecklenburg Unmasks the Heart of the Student Athlete
- Mastering the Martial Arts Business Asks…. Brian Tracy and Tom Hopkins.
- From Struggling to Successful, and a Second Location with the Right Coach
- Are You Confused? Who Is Stephen Oliver and Why Should I Listen to Him?
- How My School’s Gross Income Increased by 300% and My Net Income by 1,000% in Just Twenty-Four Months
- The Champion’s Reunion, Part 1, with Jeff Smith, Bill Wallace and Joe Lewis
- The Partnership of Success
- The Champion’s Reunion with Jeff Smith, Bill Wallace and Joe Lewis, Part 1
- The Most Influential Martial Arts Business Leader in the U.S.
- How My School’s Gross Income Increased by 300% and My Net Income by 1,000% in Just Twenty-Four Months – And Why I’m Richer Than Ever
- Stephen Oliver – Biography
- Listen to a Great Interview with Jhoon Rhee, Martial Arts Grandmaster and Living Legend, and Learn Many Valuable Lessons from his Life and Achievements, Part 1
- What Other Leaders in the Industry Are Saying About Stephen Oliver
- “I Want to Share My Amazing Business Secrets That Will Help You Overcome the Obstacles to Your Success!”
- “I Experienced Amazing School Growth When I Filled My School Calendar with Events, Promotions and Community Activities!”
- “How the Mastermind Effect Helped Me Find a Positive, Supportive Environment for Amazing School Growth and Personal Prosperity!”
- The Innovative Mindset for Entrepreneurs, Part 1, with Lee Milteer, NAPMA Success Coach, and Dr. Gene Landrum
- Building Lasting Wealth by Hitting Your Real Estate Investment Targets
- How I Stopped Being an Obstacle to my Success and Achieved Record Enrollments!
- How one NAPMA member remained a Traditionalist yet expanded his thinking to serve more students with a quality program and generate a new gross revenue record.
- Mike Vacca: What the Mastermind Actually Changed
- Geoff Cielo: Leadership Development as the Growth Lever
- Paul Miller: Running a Four-Million-Dollar Operation, and What Comes After
- Buzz Dirkin: Student Service as the Whole Business
- Robert Blum: Turning Around a School That Had Limped Along for Fifteen Years
- David Inman: Running a Top-Performing School
- Joe Borucki: From Struggling to a Second Location
- Paul Miller, 2013: The Four-Million-Dollar Operation, Three Years Earlier
Industry History 41
- Nick Cokinos: The Man Who Helped Turn Martial Arts Into a Profession
- Remembering My Friend Chuck Norris
- A Bigger Vision for the Martial Arts Industry
- School Owners “Blown Away” During Disney World Visit and High Level Training
- NAPMA Presents at Action Martial Arts Magazine Hall of Honors
- Stephen Oliver and NAPMA Honored for their Deep Contribution to the Martial Arts Business
- Kimbos, Bimbos and the Future!
- Remembering the Legacy of a Champion: Joe Lewis, 1944-2012
- NAPMA Executives Conduct “On-Site” School Consultations
- Taking MMA from the “Gym” to the “School”
- 2011 Financial Power Summit: The Four Secrets Used by the Most Profitable MA Schools
- An Historic Celebration: Jhoon Rhee’s 45 Years Teaching in the U.S. Congress
- A Special Tribute to Grand Master H.U. Lee and Chief Master Richard Reed
- 12 Reasons The 2010 NAPMA Extreme Success Academy Will Transform Your School and Your Career!
- Advertising Information
- Sterling, Virginia, 2015: A Mastermind Meeting and What Came Out of It
- Panama City, 2015: School Owners at the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center
- West Point, 2014: What a Martial Arts Mastermind Went to a Military Academy to Learn
- Welcome New Members!
- Thanks for the Referral!
- NAPMA Members Appreciation Events!
- 2012: What the Martial Arts Industry Took From the Disney Institute
- 2012: When the Martial Arts Industry Went Looking for Jim Collins
- Watch the UFC to See the Ultimate Martial Art
- Imagine Martial Arts As a Western Tradition
- Fighting Belongs in the Ring
- I am 24-year career law enforcement officer. I am currently a training director….
- I can’t say enough about the Little Ninjas Program.
- Thanks for your consideration.
- NAPMA was a reason why my school grew to 300 students.
- Greetings From Scotland!
- I want to congratulate and thank NAPMA for awesome monthly packages in April and May.
- What are you thinking?
- My husband and I have been a lifetime member of NAPMA and have run a professional martial arts school for more than 30 years.
- I am very grateful for your help.
- Thank you for the many insights you and your staff were able to provide about where the martial arts industry…
- Thank you very much for a great weekend in Denver
- What is this obsession that you have with making every student a Black Belt?
- Thanks for all your help and great encouragement in our time of need,….
- I just received a Donald Trump Doll from Stephen Oliver…
- I read your commentary in the February issue of Martial Arts Professional.
Marketing 28
- One Bad Review Out of Fifteen Thousand Flyers Is Not a Reason to Stop
- How to Generate More Traffic to Your Website
- Twenty Mistakes School Owners Make, Part 2
- 150 to 300 New Intros Per Month with No-Cost Advertising
- The Power of Testimonials
- How to Use Low-Cost Public Relations Strategies to Grow Your School and Become a Celebrity in Your Community
- Create a Referral Culture: Business culture affects staff as well as customers
- Multiply your Print Advertising Results, Quickly and Easily, without Spending Another Dime! Part 10
- Multiply your Print Advertising Results, Quickly and Easily, without Spending Another Dime! Part 9
- Positioning Your Martial Arts School
- Multiply your Print Advertising Results, Quickly and Easily, without Spending Another Dime!
- Multiply your Print Advertising Results, Quickly and Easily, without Spending Another Dime!
- How I Generate 120 Leads Per Week with Internal-Referral Events!
- Multiply Your Print Advertising Results, Quickly and Easily, without Spending Another Dime! Part 6.
- How to Multiply the Results of ANY Type of Print Advertising, Quickly and Easily, without Spending Another Dime!
- How Can Your Web Site Attract More Students?
- Using Press Releases to Attract Free Media Attention to Your School
- Multiply your Print Advertising Results, Quickly and Easily, without Spending Another Dime!
- Creating Automatic Referrals: Having a Great Program and Student Relationship is Simply NOT Enough
- Using E-mail to Generate New Students
- Multiply your Print Advertising Results, Quickly and Easily, without Spending Another Dime!
- What’s Your USP?
- The Karate Kid Grosses $106,284,000; NAPMA Strategies Drive Record Numbers Into Martial Arts Schools.
- NAPMA Martial Arts Success Stories: Learn the Low-Cost, Yet Effective, Internet Marketing Secrets of NAPMA Inner Circle Member Jason Yi
- Implement a Five-for-One Referral Program and Watch your Enrollments and Profits Multiply
- Promote the Results of Fitness Kickboxing, Not the Activity
- Letting the Public Know Who you Are
- How You Market and Sell is One Thing – WHAT you Market and Sell Is Another
Staff & Systems 25
- Design the Month Before It Starts: The Goal Worksheet My Staff Signs
- Learn a Top Staff Trainer’s Secrets to Develop a Top Staff
- A Good Instructor Doesn’t Always Make A Good Manager
- The Ultimate Martial Arts Enthusiast Shows You How To Systematize and Create a Profitable “Turnkey” School, with Master Ranulfo Gonzalez
- Important Issues for Large School Operators, Part II: The Non-Compete Clause
- The Four Keys to Your Future
- Twenty Mistakes School Owners Make, Part 1
- 20 Mistakes That School Owners Make-Part 2
- Be Careful What You Wish for—You May Get It! Part 2
- The Other Side of Strategy
- Be Careful What You Wish for (You May Get It!)
- Tactician to Strategist—Part 2
- Tactician to Strategist—Part 1
- How I Opened Five Schools in 18 Months
- Breaking Through Plateaus
- The Pulse of a School
- The 9 “Secrets” of Leadership
- The Five Qualities of Productive Work
- Improve the Performance of your Team, When you Understand the Role of a Leader
- Hiring from Within
- Double Your Revenue-Generating Hours
- Master Robert Lewis, Martial Arts Extreme Success Academy speaker, explains why a franchise system makes it easy to grow your martial arts school beyond your dreams.
- Riches in Real Estate. 2008 NAPMA Martial Arts Business Extreme Success Academy speaker Chris Hurn reveal the secrets you need to know to own your building and help you make the smart choices for extreme financial success.
- Why People Fail: The Wrong People in Charge
- Protecting your Profitability Begins with a Clear Understanding of your Roles as an Employer
Archive Interviews 24
- Stephen Oliver: The Way of the Mile High Maverick
- Bill Amelio: Computing the Science of Success
- Chet Holmes: How to Pack Your School Using the Stadium Pitch
- Lee Milteer: Time Integrity for the Martial Arts School Entrepreneur
- Jim Thomas: The Ultimate Black Belt Negotiator
- Tom Hopkins: Mastering the Art of Selling
- Brian Tracy: Success Principles for Martial Arts Excellence
- Tony Robbins: Leadership from Inside Out
- Jay Abraham: Martial Arts Marketing with a Master
- Zig Ziglar: Motivation for the Martial Arts Professional
- Benny Urquidez: Spirit of a Warrior
- Billy Blanks: Seventy Million Tae Bo Sales
- Gene LeBell: The Toughest Man Alive
- Jhoon Rhee: The Way of Truth, Beauty, Love and Profits
- Timothy Ferriss: Less Work and More Productivity
- Jeff Smith: Champion Fighter, Master Businessman
- Rob Colasanti: Hitting Hard in the Martial Arts Business
- Jackie Chan: The Art of Giving Back
- Stephen K. Hayes: Pioneering the Ninja Arts in the West
- Kathy Long: No More Mr. Nice Guy
- Joe Lewis: Echo of Greatness
- Evander Holyfield: Real-Deal Success
- Jackie Chan and Jet Li: The Forbidden Kingdom
- Jean Claude Van Damme: Inside the Mind of the Jean Claude Van Damme
Enrollment & Retention 22
- 92 Leads, 6 Enrollments: Where Your Intros Are Actually Dying
- 300 at 300: The Only Two Numbers Between You and a Million-Dollar School
- The Power of Truth, Integrity and High Ethics
- You’ll Like the Results, when you Give your Students Exactly what they Need and Want
- Can a Web Site for my Current Students Really Increase My Bottom Line?
- Creating a Long-Term Vision, Part 2
- The Seven Secrets of Sales Success
- Confident Sales Management
- Locking a Steel Cage Around Your Student Body…the Keys to Ironclad Student Retention, Part 7
- Locking a Steel Cage Around Your Student Body…the Keys to Ironclad Student Retention, Part 6
- Locking a Steel Cage Around Your Student Body. The Keys to Ironclad Student Retention, Part 5
- Thriving in a Scary Economy, Part 2
- Locking a Steel Cage Around Your Student Body The Keys to Ironclad Student Retention, Part 4
- Locking a Steel Cage Around Your Student Body…the Keys to Ironclad Student Retention, Part 1
- Fitness is Like a Dollar Bill
- Creating a Long-Term Vision, Part 1
- Paint a Complete Benefits Picture to Enroll More Fitness Students
- “My School’s Growth and Retention Rate Dramatically Improved, When I Developed a Stripe-Based, Rotating Curriculum.”
- Screening Students
- How To Praise Your Program, Properly
- What If They Want to Think About It? How to Conquer the Stall Tactic
- What If Prospects Say, “I Can’t Afford It.” How to Handle Price Objections
Pricing & Profit 18
- You Had Zero Renewals Because You Talked to Zero People
- You Were Charging More in 1970: How to Raise Your Tuition Without Losing Your Nerve
- Inspiring (Holiday) Story from a School Owner!
- When your income goes up…your taxes don’t necessarily need to follow suite
- Protect your Assets with the Right Business Entity, Part 1
- Just because your Income Increases Doesn’t Mean your Taxes Should Too
- Would You Rather Be the Apple Store or Wal-Mart?
- Use Layers of Legal Entities for Virtually “Bulletproof” Protection of Your Martial Arts School and Its Mission
- Protect your Assets with the Right Business Entity, Part 2
- The Folly of Low Price
- Wealth vs. Lifestyle
- What Most School Owners Forget To Ask When They Open A Martial Arts School!
- New Credit Card Processing Policies Crippling Martial Arts Schools All Across the Nation
- Protect your Assets with the Right Business Entity, Part 3
- What’s Your Net Worth?
- Are Your Classes Too Cheap?
- The Merchandise of Fitness
- Straight-Talk-Secrets to Develop Your Professional Self-Worth and Implement Higher Tuitions
Business Breakthrough TV 10
- Grand Master Jeff Smith
- MABB TV Episode Featuring The Great Grand Master Jhoon Rhee!
- The Most Dangerous Trends in the Martial Arts Business
- Some of the WORST Advice in the Martial Arts Industry!
- The Truth About “Selling Out” in the Martial Arts Business
- Building a Better Mouse Trap?
- The Most Dangerous Trends in the Martial Arts Business – Watch at Martial Arts Business Breakthrough TV
- MANDATORY Martial Arts Business Systems!
- A New Year for Your Martial Arts School!
- Ethical Upgrades, and Managing Your Staff!