Starting my own school in a few months - need advice

Maybe I missed this somewhere. But what's the impetus to start an MMA class specifically? If that's not really your background (or mine when it comes down to it), why not simply teach a martial arts class? Marketability?

 

Because that's where the money is. Nobody wants to be the karate kid anymore, it's all about teh ultimate fightars.

 

Yeah, that's what I figured. On the one hand, it makes sense knowing the market. On the other...

 

A very good point. I have decided, if everything goes as planned, that I want to give it a go in late 2012. That is after my legs have healed, and after I´ve competed in the grappling and kickboxing tournaments.

The thing is, it is not legal to compete in MMA in the country I live in (only train), so we have to compete in neighbouring countries. I´d have to talk to foreign promoters, drive all the way to that other country, have money for hotel stay, etc. So there is some planning involved.

Firstly, it is (too me, at least) much more exciting to train a combination of martial arts where you can create your own toolkit.

Second, I got to use the different techniques I´ve learned over the years.

Thirdly, there is no other gym in the city that teach MMA, which means less competition.

I know a lot of businesses claim "we love competition", but if you can have a near-monopoly of sorts with strong barriers to entry, and a good, established brand, that is certainly the best business model. You create a moat around your business, and you put a few sharks in as well. I do not want to jump into a saturated market where there is such a well-established business already.

But also of equal importance, I´d love to be able to train different martial arts as my profession and meld those into the MMA format.

 

I think you could have bitten off more than you can chew here Dalia.

I would go do some proper MMA first and learn this well before opening up on your own. No offence your age and actual real world lack of MMA will be a huge problem.

Otherwise you will end up putting about a poor quality school lacking decent instruction. This may sound harsh but if people are paying you for tuition they want to learn it right first time.

I know you don't want to jump into a saturated market but getting insurance for what you teach and don't know could be a problem. Also if some smarty pants Sombo guy rocks up and submits you till the cow comes home you will end up with a martial arts school that folds quickly. Teach grappling if you get good at it but to teach MMA you need to be good at MMA.

Otherwise it will be a McDojo of the MMA world and fold quickly. In MMA you can't hide behind tradition of affiliation people pay and want to learn the right stuff otherwise they willl go.

 

Which you could do with any martial arts class. "Mixed martial art" is a term that frequently gets (in my view) misused to describe any amalgam of martial arts practices. To me, it's pretty clear that "mixed martial art" or "MMA" has been adopted by the sporting format. "Hybrid," "amalgamated," "eclectic," "integrative," and various other terms are still up for grabs, though.

See above.

Which would be really fortunate, if you were truly qualified to coach MMA. But I agree that, without having been a competitor yourself, it's a bit of a misrepresentation, made in an effort to take advantage of market forces.

Nobody wants that. I didn't want to be competing with 250 other applicants at my last job interview. But I am what I am. And I have the qualifications I have. If it were as simple as saying "I'm a PhD in this subject area, with donkey's years of experience," I'd have done that. But that's not the truth.

But you're not a participant in the MMA format. Which means that you're taking advantage of people's enthusiasm for this stuff in order to facilitate your own desires. That's the point that I keep getting stuck on.


Stuart

 

Seriously mate, take heed of what's being said here: Any criticisms of your lack of MMA/instructing/general fighting experience that are made on this forum are going to be felt 100-fold when your operation is set up and your neck is on the line. If you rush to get in the ring before your knee is healed, you risk being humiliated and crippling yourself. A rush to get into the instructor's chair can end just the same way, and you'll end up wishing you'd waited just a bit longer before taking that leap of faith.

Before I set up my own class, I had 7 years of experience in various martial arts, and spent a minimum of 12 hours a week training, not to mention travelling to some of the best instructors out there for seminars and 1-to1s and competing at club level. Even when I was offered an instructor grade in one of my systems, I turned it down, since I knew there was still a lot for me to tighten up before selling my services to the general public.

As Owen has just said, MMA is a sport these days, and although you have trained in BJJ and kickboxing, you have not trained specifically in MMA, nor have you fought or instructed in it. Knowing a mix of martial arts does not make you a mixed martial arts instructor. Just like knowing how to throw punches doesn't make you a boxing instructor.

Finally, with regards self-defence/self protection - this is also a very specialist field, and once again, lack of experience with this specialisation could end up branding you a "fraud" for the rest of your career. Especially if your advice ends up landing one of your students in jail or the hospital.

You obviously have a passion for what you do and a passion for passing on knowledge. Both of which are crucial for becoming a good teacher. Don't ruin your chances by rushing in with such limited knowledge and experience, and don't mislead people by claiming to instruct at least two fields that you have no proven competency in whatsoever. Your time will come eventually - just be patient.

 

double post

 

Thanks for the criticism guys.

I have decided to continue on the same path. Some might call it stupidity; personally, I feel quite good about the idea.

Updates:

1. I´ve talked to the action & fitness center, and they want to give me 3 hours a week for about 600 dollars.

2. I´ve talked to a martial arts club which is starting the biggest martial arts/fighting center in the nation. They are very helpful and want to give me my own room for about 1200 dollars a month, and if I find another gym, I can split the expenses 50/50, and rent out the rest. I think we can use the ring the boxing club has for a few sessions on strategy in the ring instead of the octagon.

3. My jitz is coming along fine now. I am sparring with a judo brown belt and it is no struggle, just good fun. I am also doing good against the blue belts.

4. Hopefully going to train with a Renzo gracie black belt this weekend.

5. Health is improving, knees are getting better. I can practice superman punches and stuff like that now.

 

That's because it is stupid.

How can you talk ring strategy when you have never fought in one? Taking one or two fights is not going to be enough experience.

You should stay focused on your own training. You do not have the qualifications to teach MMA and still will not in 6 months to a year.

 

Obviously it's difficult to compare prices since its comparing things in different countries, but I'm getting 10 hours a week for 400 euros a month. I can also access the space a lot more for the same money if I want it. It includes storage for equipment, fully judo matted floor, free weights, kettle bells and boxing bags. 600 dollars for 3 hours a week seems like daylight robbery to me.

 

Don't forget to ask if they want fries with their training.

 

Hey there. Are you sure about this? Just because people say "Yeah awesome, I'll join" doesn't mean that they actually will, especially once they realise that they actually have to do some training and are no longer merely cheering on BJ Penn from the comfort of their armchair.

Expressing interest is one thing, actually doing it is another.

A couple of my friends (one of which got as far as the final auditions in one of The Ultimate Fighter series, but was let go after a medical revealed a problem) decided to open up an MMA store. After doing their due diligence and with several big MMA gyms in the area and hearing the "OMG, I would SO shop there", they opened their shop to initial fanfare and were closed within the year...

Obviously this is a bit different to what you're hoping to do, but you're both trying to sell a "product" seemingly based on people who have some interest.

Do the people who told you that they are interested do any form of martial arts? Kung Fu? Karate? A bit of Judo? Or are they just fans of UFC?

I've done MMA for just over a year now, but there is no way I would teach, not even the basics. Similarly, I've done kung fu for what must be the best part of two decades, I am highly ranked and I teach, but I am in no way a master, I still have much to learn, so I couldn't dream of running my own school.

Have a proper think about what you are planning and hoping to do, though it does look like you've already decided. Eagerness is great and I applaud your sense of determination, however, once you get what you think is a fantastic idea in your head it is difficult to shake.

Good luck in what you do, but do heed the words of others in this forum, there's a wealth of experienced martial artists on here.

 

I know. The gyms are stacked in this city and the price varies between 400-600 dollars. It feels a little bit like robbery as well, but then again, such are the market prices.

I have not per se fought in a ring, but I have sparred in a ring, I know what works, I've been taught in ring strategy from some great people, and most importantly because I know a lot about ring strategy?

Those people who have been so enthusiastic have had a martial arts bakground, either in tae kwon do, karate, or boxing.

I realize this as well. But martial arts are very popular in this city, and I think I can attract enough people to cover the costs (which means like 10 people). Most clubs in this area have 100 students, and many of the martial arts clubs are full. Nevermind that they have a lot of experience and has been operating for a long time, but still.

I've also been to a few clubs over the years (like 30 in total) and I've seen a lot of tendencies that could be avoided, a lot of things that could be improved, in nearly all of them. Of course, things can always be improved when I start up as well, but I think I can really make something positive out of this.

 

At the end of the day, if you're in a city without any MMA gyms then you could open up an origami class and call it MMA and the classes will be stacked these days. In the are in germany where I live there are a few decent kickboxing and boxing gyms and NO MMA or thai boxing gyms except mine but everyone these days wants to train in MMA or Thai boxing so they can say they are "teh hardcore". So what you end up with is a bunch of Wing chun guys callign their gym MMA but still just teaching wing chun - without even TRYING to apply it to MMA. So much so that when the odd person comes through their doors saying "when do we spar?" they get accused of being thugs and told "go to the local thai boxing gym instead, they like to learn to beat people up!" lol. I figure they're sending good business my way. It seems that these sort of clubs are very common in this area and clubs like my own are very rare.

 

That is quite sad.

What do you consider the biggest challenge in running your own gym, taking into perspective your own merits, physical and technical abilities, etc.?

 

Resisting the urge to pressure people into coming to training more often. Its a service industry. The people pay me to coach them, I dont pay them to come to training. Fair enough if somebody expects to fight I expect them to be at every training session from the time I get them a match till the night of the fight, but it's difficult to see people who have a lot of natural ability and yet don't come to training that often or really dedicate themselves. I have to remind myself that it's their choice and not mine.

Also, I have to deal with a complete idiot who coached before I arrived.

 

Easy to get people in the door, another to keep them. Be wary of who you market this to, because if you're only experienced enough to teach newbies but attract more experienced people than yourself, it will smell trouble for business. The chances of it happening is quite high if your city has 100 students in each ma gym like you say. You'll probably get floaters coming off those places. Perhaps you will be fortunate and don't get serious trouble makers.

Just out of curiosity, what do your current instructors have to say about this?

I think teaching a kids class first is a better strategy than going for adult students in your case. Parents will pay through the nose for their kid's development, and you could also target high schoolers and teenagers. That way you get experience coaching people that could learn something from you, before putting your neck on the line for adult students who tend to have issues learning off younger people anyway.

 

I started my Samurai school after watching the lone wolf and cub series,
My biggest problem is getting student because it is a long walk through thick jungle up hills to get to my Dojo, I offer spiritual enlightenment, deadly techniques & a youtube black belt.

How do you get a youtube black belt you ask
1. practice ten techniques from youtube
2. use these on me
3. pay me

 

Sadly I have heard worse!