Martial Arts World News Magazine - Volume 23 | Issue 1

MartialArtsWorldNews.com VOLUME 23 | ISSUE 1 

The #1 Business Resource for the Martial Arts Industry 

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CONTENTS 

FEATURES 

28 Martial Arts World News 

Columnists Achieve Rank of 

Grandmaster 

34 New Life for PKA Worldwide! 

103 FREE Tool of the Month 

DEPARTMENTS 

14 Industry Insights 

15 Birthdays 

16 Industry Innovations 

20 Social 411 

54 School Profiles 

65 Classified Ads 

99 Advertiser Index 

YOUR INPUT 

59 Tell Us Your Story 

78 Feature Your School, 

Organization, Accomplishment, 

or Event 

COLUMNS 

6 Editorial 

What does the future of Martial Arts Schools 

look like? 

Master Toby Milroy 

8 Martial Arts World News Faculty 

12 Tactical Self-Defense 

Getting the Edge1 

Grandmaster Tom Patire 

58 Teamwork 

Be a Martial Artist First 

Hanshi Dave Kovar 

60 Mind Mastery 

The Philosophy and Benefits Behind Meditation Practice 

(Part 2) 

Grandmaster Jessie Bowen 

62 Growth Hacks 

Master the Art of Operating Your School 

Mr. Sean Lee 

64 Ninja Business Tactics 

What You Resist May Save You 

An-Shu Stephen Hayes 

66 After School Excellence 

Getting Feedback from Your Students 

Grandmaster Mike Bugg 

68 Pillars of Success 

Think Like Successful People! 

Grandmaster Y. K. Kim 

72 The Way of the Samurai 

Combative Weapons Q & A (Part 3) 

Shihan Dana Abbott 

74 Extraordinary Marketing 

The E-Myth 

Grandmaster Stephen Oliver 

76 Mastering Modern BJJ 

High Quality Leadership Standards Must Be Followed 

Master Carlos Machado 

4 MARTIAL ARTS WORLD NEWS VOLUME 23 | ISSUE 1

STAFF 

80 Next Level Strategy 

Goals We Set Are Goals We Get! 

Shihan Allie Alberigo 

82 Complete Martial Arts Concepts 

Enhance Kata Practice To Reach Your Full Potential 

Professor Willie “the Bam” Johnson 

84 The Millionaire Smarts Coach 

Free Yourself FromToo Much Stuff (Part 1) 

Ms. Lee Milteer 

88 Budo Philosophy 

You Will Disturb No One! 

Shidoshi Alfredo Tucci 

90 Master the Basics 

Energize Your Classroom 

Master Tina Bane 

92 Instructional Excellence 

Don’t Use a Sledge Hammer to Swat Flies (Part 2) 

Grandmaster Tim McCarthy 

94 Business Buzz 

9 Keys of Black Belt Leadership Charisma 

Grandmaster Lawrence Arthur 

96 Martial Arts Philosophy 

My Journey With The A.O.K and Golden Greek 

(Part 1) 

Sensei Gary Lee 

98 Management Excellence 

4 Keys In Planning to Win In Your Summer Camp 

Grandmaster Kirk Pelt 

100 The Warrior Way 

What do you feel motivatedabout right now? 

Grandmaster Bill Clark 

102 Staff Development 

An Epiphany From My Experience Why Students Might 

Leave (Part 1) 

Master Zulfi Ahmed 

104 Tools & Tactics 

How to Lose Respect in One Easy Lesson 

Ms. Chris Lee 

VOLUME 23 | ISSUE 1 

PUBLISHER 


EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

Mr. Sean Lee 

MANAGING EDITOR 

Mr. Jeff Reulbach 

ART DIRECTOR 

Mr. Frank Meyer 

GRAPHIC DESIGNER 

Mr. Amen Blue 

WEB DEVELOPER 

Ms. Erin Pham 

COLUMNISTS & CONTRIBUTORS 



Mr. Sean Lee 







Professor Willie Johnson 

Grandmaster Zulfi Ahmed 

Ms. Chris Lee 











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MARTIAL ARTS WORLD NEWS VOLUME 23 | ISSUE 1 5

EDITORIAL 

What does the future of 

Martial Arts Schools look like? 

Ai, ChatPGT, Self-Driving Cars, Nuclear Fusion, Reusable Rockets, Inflation, Recession 

– What is Next? 

Wow, what a time to be alive!!! Disruption is the new “normal” 

now. The rate of innovation in almost every area of our lives seems 

to be moving from breakneck speed, to warp speed! 

Open AI, Chat GPT (and others) will fundamentally change the 

way we find information on the internet, how we generate content, 

how we solve problems, and MUCH more. Self-driving cars will 

take you to ‘work’, then drive around (like an Uber) and carry 

passengers to their destinations, making you money, then, return 

in time to take you back home, and then go out and 

make some more money for you. 

New breakthroughs in nuclear fusion technology 

now promise to provide clean, abundant, 

CHEAP energy in the next couple decades, 

reusable rockets have saved the US Government 

(Space Force alone) more than $70 million dollars 

this year, dramatically reducing the cost of getting 

satellites into orbit for the next generation of communication, 

science, and commercial uses. 

In my view, all this innovation 

will lead to a new era of convenience, 

and abundance, so long 

as our government manages 

this abundance appropriately 

(fingers crossed). 

So, what about the future 

for Martial Arts Schools? 

Well, I was asked this 

question in an interview 

a couple weeks ago, and 

I took some time to really 

think about it. 

In my opinion, our future 

might look like this: 

For the near-term future, while it’s not yet easy or cheap (or 

possible), to replicate IRL (in real life) human to human contact with 

a high enough degree of immersion, people will want and NEED 

what we do more than ever. 

As we live more and more of our lives on our PC’s, tablets, 

phones and other ‘screens’, more and more people will discover 

that they NEED the type of physically challenging and mentally & 

emotionally FULFILLING programs that we offer. As they see the 

dramatic benefits of our programs ‘over’ just going to the gym, 

and as they crave more meaningful human interactions, and more 

beneficial programs. And that’s exactly what we do, right! 

These new digital platforms and options, and new expanded 

‘abundance’ we’ll have in our economy, will give school owners 

more powerful tools for marketing, managing, and delivering our 

programs. (Something I spend a LOT of my time focused on). 

We’ll be able to serve our students in more immersive, deeper 

ways, and deliver far more value that anyone can even imagine 

today. 

Even today, we see many of our clients deliver content to 

their students EVERY DAY through podcasts, websites, member 

resources, mobile apps and more. Something nearly no schools 

were even considering in past decades! 

While other schools are ‘lucky’ if their students show up for 

class once a week. This should serve as due and SERIOUS warning 

to schools who are not striving to serve their students at higher 

and higher levels! The market is passing you by! You MUST get 

ahead of the curve NOW, or be forever relegated to the scores of 

failed schools laying by the wayside. 

So, in the near term, and mid term, I’m VERY optimistic about 

our industry, about the martial arts school business, and all that 

goes with it, but ONLY if you’re taking ACTION! The market ‘waits’ 

for no one, and is growing more and more impatient with each day 

that passes! 

MASTER TOBY MILROY is a 5th degree black belt. Known as “The Master Systemizer,” Master Toby Milroy 

has positively influenced more martial arts schools than anyone in our industry. He has built a successful multi-school 

organization, lead the national trade association for the martial arts industry, and coached some of the most successful 

martial arts school operators in the world. 


CHECK OUT OUR 

MARTIAL ARTS 

BUSINESS 

DISCUSSION GROUP 

No Egos – No Politics – No Trolls 

Just News, Tips, Strategies, and Tools to Help You Grow Your School! 

facebook.com/groups/MartialArtsWorldNews

OUR EXPERT FACULTY 

6 


is a 5th degree Black Belt, the CEO and 

Publisher of Martial Arts World News 

Magazine, and the Executive Vice 

President for AMS. In addition to building 

a successful multi-school organization, 

Master Milroy has positively influenced 

more martial arts schools than virtually 

anyone in our industry. 

12 


is known as “America’s Leading Personal 

Safety Expert” and has appeared on 

Good Morning America, The CBS Morning 

Show, The Colbert Report, Montel, 

plus in mainstream publications such as 

Family Circle, Redbook, Fortune Magazine, 

and The Wall Street Journal. 

62 

Mr. Sean Lee 

is the Executive Director of Sales and 

Marketing for hundreds of martial arts 

schools and specializes in online and social 

media marketing using his extensive 

professional experience in sports and 

martial arts marketing, contract negotiation, 

and investment. 

64 


has authored more than 20 books, 

worked as a bodyguard for the Dalai 

Lama, supervised over 30 school locations 

worldwide, and was named, "One of 

the 10 Most Influential Living Martial Artists 

in the World" by Black Belt Magazine. 

58 


is an 8th degree black belt and recognized 

as the “Trainer of Trainers.” Hanshi 

Kovar is an internationally acclaimed 

instructor with black belt degrees in ten 

different martial arts styles. His systems 

have been implemented in hundreds of 

schools around the US. 

66 


is a 9th degree black belt and the owner 

of a 1.5 million-per-year location, with one 

of the largest after school and summer 

camp programs in the country. 

60 


is President of Karate International of Durham, 

Inc., a member of the American Martial 

Arts Association Sport Karate League 

and Hall of Fame, and has been a member 

of the Duke University PE Staff for over 25 

years. He is the author of Zen Mind-Body 

Mindfulness Meditation and Zen Mind-Body 

Mindfulness Meditation for Martial Arts. 

68 


is the most successful martial arts business 

leader in the US, having written 

over 30 books on martial arts, business, 

leadership, and success. He has won 

numerous public service awards and is 

the founder of the leading martial arts 

marketing and management company in 

the US. 



72 


is a 7th degree black belt in Kenjutsu, 

starting his 14-year education in Tokyo. 

He has published five books and designed 

a US Patent. Abbott has also 

conducted seminars in over 30 countries 

and obtained his black belt at the Hombu 

dojo in Yokohama. He currently offers 

online classes on LearntheSword.com. 

74 


is a 9th degree black belt and is the 

founder and CEO of Mile High Karate 

schools, and founder of the Martial Arts 

Wealth Mastery Program. 

76 


is one of the pioneers of Brazilian Jiu 

Jitsu in the United States of America. 

Currently a Coral Belt, and promoted 

to Black Belt by Carlos Gracie Junior, 

Carlos Machado came to the USA in the 

early 1990’s with his brothers where they 

formed the RCJ Machado Jiu Jitsu Association, 

one of the strongest & growing 

BJJ organizations in the world today. 

80 


is a 7th degree black belt, the founder of 

the L.I. Ninjutsu Centers, one of the largest 

Ninjutsu schools on the planet, the 

author of 4 books, and an entrepreneur 

with one of the first online coaching companies 

(TakingItToTheNextLevel.com). 

82 

Professor Willie “The BAM” Johnson 

is a 7th degree black belt and seven-time 

sport karate and Kung-Fu world champion. 

He has appeared in four movies, 16 plays, 

and 11 television shows. He is also the national 

spokesperson for the Stronger than 

Drugs Foundation and the Champions 

Against Drugs. 

84 


is an Intuitive Business Coach, awardwinning 

professional speaker, and TV 

personality who has counseled and 

trained over a million people throughout 

her career. Lee is Stephen Oliver’s 

Martial Arts Wealth Mastery’s Millionaire 

Smarts Coach and is also a best-selling 

author of educational resources. 

88 


is the CEO and General Manager of the 

Budo International Publishing Company, 

a leading publisher in the martial arts 

with over 35 years in the industry. He 

is also author of several books: The 

Immaterial Dimension, The Way of the 

Warrior, and The Spirit. He currently lives 

in Valencia, Spain. 

90 


is a 6th degree master instructor and 

owner of a Top Ten martial arts school 

with successful after school and summer 

camp programs. 



92 


is a 9th degree black belt and is a martial 

arts educator with a master’s degree in 

education. He has been instrumental 

in developing two industry-changing 

programs, and has directed and been 

featured in hundreds of martial arts videos 

and webinars. 

94 


is a martial artist specializing in Karate, 

Kung Fu, Kenpo, Shoto-kan, and Goju-rue, 

with 40 Super Kick Karate locations, and 

founder of AFKA. World champion Lawrence 

also runs the Black Belt Success 

Systems consulting firm, training martial 

arts instructors on proper business practices 

in schools all over the country. 

96 


the American Samurai, is a 9th Dan black 

belt, a USA Karate Federation gold medalist, 

winner of five Super Grand National 

Titles, a featured actor in the movie Sidekicks, 

and is the founder of the National 

Sport Karate Museum. 

100 


is a 9th degree black belt and a former 

PKA Fighter of the year. He is widely considered 

one of the top experts in martial 

arts business with over 40 years of 

leadership and innovation, having been 

inducted into almost every Hall of Fame 

in the industry. He is one of the largest 

multi-school owners in the world. 

102 


has amassed acclaim as a world-class 

competitor, martial arts educator, and is 

most notably founder and designer of 

the internationally renowned style, Bushi 

Ban. With over 45 years of martial arts 

experience and over 300 martial arts 

awards, his schools include ten locations 

across Texas. 

104 

Ms. Chris Lee 

is a martial arts business development 

consultant with a background in online 

and social media marketing. 

98 


is a 9th degree black belt and is the 

President of a multimillion-dollar, multischool 

organization, has a 30-year track 

record of success, and is currently on the 

leading edge of martial arts curriculum 

and business innovation. 

We’re Seeking Contributors! 

Do you have something to share? 

We’d love to hear about it! 

CONTACT US: 

407-895-1996 Editor@MartialArtsWorldNews.com 

MartialArtsWorldNews.com/Ureport 


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TACTICAL SELF-DEFENSE 

Getting the EDGE! 

by Grandmaster Tom Patire 

Edge- or bladed-type weapons, like with other specific weapons, 

are their own animals when it comes to realistic defense. Simply 

put, when you deal with any hostile situation, you deal with the 

moment, and that moment relies on what, how, and where you are 

attacked. One must realize that an edge weapon is a very up close 

and personal weapon. Unlike the firearm, which projects an object 

by pulling a trigger, the edge weapon slices and dices and does 

unforgiving damage, especially if the blade is serrated. Pulling the 

trigger on a firearm is much easier than getting close with a blade 

and shredding your victim. I consider an edge weapon a 

very, very personal and vengeance-type weapon. As 

one convicted murderer told me during an interview 

for a book I wrote: “When you want to make 

an example out of someone and you want fear 

to play a key factor – do it with a blade!” 

So, in all the articles written and videos 

filmed on knife defense, why, in the majority 

of attacks against a person with some training, 

does the attacker usually prevail in some 

form or another? All I can say is that it has nothing 

specifically to do with the videos or articles I 

referred to. There are some very good 

techniques and philosophies 

being taught in the arts, but 

unless you are born with 

“situational nasty,” no one 

can really understand a 

bladed altercation unless 

you have gone up 

against one – which 

I have done three 

times in my life, and I 

wear a battle scar on 

my right wrist which 

shows that things 

don’t always go as 

planned. 

What I learned in 

my world of protection 

is that you have to be prepared to go the distance, and either get 

to the weapon before the attacker begins his onslaught, or land 

a fierce strike that either knocks out his sight or equilibrium, or 

permanently takes out his base. 

The following is my philosophy of the word EDGE as it pertains 

to defense against edged weapons: 

E is for EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING is in play; there are no 

rules, just survival at all cost. Do EVERYTHING you can to avoid 

getting cut or, at least, avoid getting cut in a vital zone. Throw EV- 

ERYTHING you can at the attacker, and I do mean EVERYTHING: 

Hands, feet, objects – EVERYTHING you can get to keep the 

attacker and his edge weapon on the defensive and away from his 

comfort zone. Remember, action is faster than reaction, so do EV- 

ERYTHING in your power to stay on the action side of self-offense! 

D is for DESTROY. The weapon is evident, the situation is 

life-threatening – it’s time to unleash the inner you and DESTROY 

the element that intends to DESTROY you and your client. Seek 

out and DESTROY the limb holding the edge weapon. DESTROY 

the base supporting the attacker. DESTROY the vision so sight no 

longer plays a factor. DESTROY anything and everything that will 

stop the attacker dead in his tracks and keep him from his ultimate 

mission: To take you and the client out permanently. 

G is for GET. GET out of the way of the blade. GET your client in 

a safe zone that they can protect themselves in. GET the attacker 

distracted. GET to the attacker’s balance by attacking the legs or 

equilibrium points. GET to the attacker’s sight picture and 

knock out his vision. GET to your weapon or anything you can use 

as a weapon and even the playing field. GET to safety once the 

attacker is disabled or disarmed. GET out alive and live! 

E is for ESCAPE. ESCAPE the first initial strike – that is key. ES- 

CAPE the fear factor and replace it with I can, I will. ESCAPE falling 

prey to self pity (“why me?!”). ESCAPE the severity of the moment 

with direct focus of self-offensive techniques. ESCAPE any way, 

anyhow, and by any means, because the edge weapon you face 

can dictate your existence or non-existence! ESCAPING with your 

life and that of your clients’ is the key element of your defense. 

Remember, it doesn’t have to be pretty or perfect – it just has to be 

life saving! 

Until next time, Be Safe Always! 

GRANDMASTER TOM PATIRE, is known as “America’s Leading Personal Safety Expert” and has appeared 

on Good Morning America, The CBS Morning Show, The Colbert Report, Montel, plus in mainstream publications such as 

Family Circle, Redbook, Fortune Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal. He has written several books and has personal 

safety programs that can be incorporated into your martial arts school, available at TomPatire.com. 


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INDUSTRY INSIGHTS 

Actress Olivia Munn Shares How Martial 

Arts Benefits Her Career and Life 

If you’re a fan of the X-Men movies, then you’ve 

seen the martial arts skills of Olivia Munn on 

display. She says that “All the kids in my family 

had to do martial arts until we got a black belt.” 

Munn trained in Taekwondo and said “it’s a totalbody 

workout not just on the physical side but 

on the mental side as well.” At 16 she earned her 

black belt and continues to train today. 

Olivia says, “The things that stayed with me 

the most from that training were the discipline 

not to give up when something feels too hard 

and the confidence that comes from knowing 

that if I keep working hard, I’ll achieve my goal, 

even if it feels impossible.” Presently, she has 

a martial art set up at home with an MMA-type 

punching bag with arms, legs and a body. She 

performs a lot of kicks, flexibility exercises, along 

with combinations. 

Her karate kid past came in handy when she took on the role 

of Psylocke in X-Men. She trained for six or seven hours a day for 

months in preparation for all of her stunts, wire work, weapons, and 

martial arts for her own fight scenes. She says her favorite kicks 

are a 360 degree roundhouse jump back kick and a hook kick. 

Recently, Munn gave birth and struggled with postpartum 

“All the kids in my family had to do martial arts until we got a black belt.” 

depression after delivering her first child in November of 2021. She 

said, “My hips still feel wonky from pushing out a human being, my 

postpartum anxiety is still here (and horrible), but I got myself up 

and took my first capoeira lesson today.” She also expressed, “Getting 

back to martial arts made me feel a little bit more life myself.” 

Beside her movies, check out her skills at: 

youtube.com/shorts/WrdppLL52Z8 

Legends We Lost In 2022 

Bob Wall 

Always will be remembered for his 

iconic role as O’Hara who fought with 

Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon. Also a close 

friend of Chuck Norris and beyond his acting 

career he earned black belts in several 

disciplines, wrote numerous books, taught 

seminars, and created business systems. 

Gene LeBell 

Known as a martial artist that train with 

many top notch figures, like Muhammad Ali, 

Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, and Rhona Rosey. 

His contributions to the martial arts industry 

as a teacher, grappler, writer, actor, and 

stuntman will continue to inspire beyond 

his life. 

Jimmy Wang Yu 

Once one of the biggest stars in martial 

arts cinema during the 1960s and 70s, with 

classics like One-Armed Swordsman and 

Master of the Flying Guillotine. His action 

films made him one of the biggest stars in 

Asia, and he also had a strong following in 

the U.S. 

Jason David Frank 

Acting as the character known as the 

green Power Ranger on the children’s TV 

Series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, he 

rose to huge popularity among children 

fans. With a background in Taekwondo, 

Judo, Aikido, and Muay Thai he also won a 

number of fights as an MMA competitor. 


INDUSTRY INSIGHTS 

Martial Arts Celebrity Birthdays 

January 

January 1. ..................... Yuen Woo Ping 

January 22. ..................... Sonny Chiba* 

January 25. ..................... Ron Van Clief 

January 30. .................. Lawrence Arthur 

February 

February 1. ...................... Allie Alberigo 

February 1. ...................... Brandon Lee* 

February 5 ........................... Tony Ja 

February 16. ...................... Tayari Casel 

February 17. ..................Clinton Robinson 

February 21. ....................... Joe Corley 

February 26 ................... Mark Dacascos 

February 28 ....................... Lee Milteer 

*Deceased 


INDUSTRY INNOVATIONS 

ATLAS Martial Arts Software: 

A Complete Management Solution 

Martial arts schools need the right management software 

to thrive and achieve their goals. That’s where the ATLAS 

Martial Arts software comes in, the perfect solution for your martial 

arts school’s management and marketing needs. 

ATLAS Martial Arts software provides the most advanced features 

but it’s intuitive and easy to use, so you won’t have a problem 

integrating it. 

It was created by martial school owners for martial school 

owners, which is why it’s such an effective tool that will lead your 

school to continuous school growth. 

The ATLAS Martial Arts software provides tools for complete 

student management, martial arts tuition billing and management, 

as well as POS, Pro Shop, and inventory management. 

Additionally, you’ll enjoy marketing automation and follow-up 

systems, prospect and enrollment pipeline management, and 

state-of-the-art marketing materials and strategies. 

Their lead generation website and hosting are provided for 

free, so your martial arts school can gain more and more leads. 

Lastly, the concierge help and live support will have your back 

every step of the way. If you have any doubts or concerns, they will 

provide the answers you need. 

Overall, the ATLAS Martial Arts software is the complete package, 

specifically designed to lead your martial arts school to the 

success it deserves. 

The Next Big Thing: ChatGPT and OpenAI 

ChatGPT and OpenAI are two of the leading artificial intelligence 

(AI) technologies used for small businesses marketing 

online. They are used to automate customer service, 

generate leads, and increase customer satisfaction. 

Both of these technologies have a 

long and varied history, but their benefits 

for small businesses marketing 

online are undeniable. 

ChatGPT was developed by 

Microsoft in 2020 to automate 

customer service conversations. 

It uses natural language 

processing and AI to understand 

customer inquiries and provide 

responses in real-time. This 

saves time and money for businesses, 

as they no longer need to 

have a customer service representative 

available 24/7 to answer customer 

inquiries. Additionally, ChatGPT can 

provide personalized responses to customers, 

increasing customer satisfaction and engagement. 

OpenAI was created in 2015 with the mission of advancing 

artificial general intelligence. It uses natural language processing 

and machine learning to generate leads for businesses. OpenAI 

can analyze customer conversations and present insights that 

businesses can use to tailor their marketing campaigns. This helps 

businesses to ensure their campaigns are relevant and appealing 

to their target audience. 

The benefits of using ChatGPT and OpenAI for 

small businesses marketing online are numerous 

and can truly impact the future of 

martial arts school marketing. For 

starters, they can save time and 

money by automating customer 

service conversations and lead 

generation. Additionally, OpenAI 

can write persuasive sales copy, and 

help generate advertising and marketing 

resources which will allow you to focus on 

teaching. 

By comparison, in less than a week of going 

public ChatGPT passed 1 million users, but it took 

Twitter 12 months, Facebook 4 months, and Instagram 

2 and a half months. Our friends at ATLAS Martial Arts 

Software are doing deep research and experimentation with this 

new, potentially highly disruptive technology to benefit the martial 

arts industry. Stay tuned for more details! 


INDUSTRY INNOVATIONS 

Martial Art History Museum: Promoting 

Our Industry to the World 

According to its website, “The 

Martial Arts History Museum is 

an exciting place for the entire family 

to enjoy. Even if you’ve never done 

martial arts in your life, you will have 

a great time exploring how Asian history 

became part of American history 

through film, tv, animation and more.” 

To this end the museum has a You- 

Tube channel that features, martial 

arts history, events, biographies of 

notable martial arts figures, and other 

industry related topics. The MAHM 

is open to the public, but also gives 

1 hour group tours providing a great 

cultural experience. It’s an educational 

facility teaching about Asian culture 

related to the martial arts through art, 

music, video, and traditions. 

One more notable aspect of the museum is that it has at least two special events every month. Events can be anything from book 

signings to movie screenings to game nights and even wine tasting. They also put on seminars, workshops, classes, as well as craft fairs. 

For more information about The Martial Arts History Museum visit: MartialArtsMuseum.com 

Tom Patire: 

American’s Leading Safety Expert 

T 

om Patire is well regarded as “America’s foremost expert on personal safety for all ages”. 

His real life experience as a bodyguard of very high profile people and instructor of other 

expert bodyguards, he is truly qualified to be considered the country’s top safety expert. 

Furthermore, Tom makes his expertise in personal safety available to people from all walks of 

life and ages. This all ties in with his mission of making the country safer for all people. 

With this mission in mind, here are just a few of the courses that Tom Patire provides to 

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SOCIAL 411 

Elon Musk’s Twitter Strategy: 

Chaos or Genius? 

M 

ost of what you’ve heard about Twitter after Elon Musk became its new owner has been 

about chaos. Massive employees released, questionable policy changes, big company 

marketers leaving, and top executives departing. Despite all of the controversy going 

on with Musk’s dramatic takeover of Twitter, daily use of the social platform had 

reached “all-time highs” in the first week. In fact, the user growth had a 20% uptick 

and even higher in its largest user market, the US. 

Independent research firms have data which indicates that downloads and activity 

on Twitter are rising since Musk took over. It appears that under his leadership, 

there has been a resurgence in the app when compared to the previous year. The 

reasons for this growth are debatable as Musk would have you think it’s his leadership 

while others would have you believe it’s the drama that people like to follow. 

In the hours and days after Musk’s take over, many of Twitter’s large advertising clients 

‘paused’ or dramatically reduced their advertising campaigns. Our friends over at AMS 

(www.OurAms.com), who run social media advertising campaigns for many of their 

clients, have been experimenting with and seeing some interesting results by exploiting 

this new change. Ad costs for ‘small’ businesses have been falling, as these larger advertisers 

have left more ad inventory unsold. 

AMS is aggressively pursuing the timely opportunity to get ahead of the curve and you might take the chance too. We’ll just have to 

stay tuned in to see what happens next with Twitter, especially as it might relate to advertising your martial arts school. As a side note, 

although not a regular practitioner, as a child, Musk revealed to Joe Rogan that he had trained a bit in Taekwondo, Karate, and Judo. 

Time Is Ticking For The 

Martial Arts Industry 

to Use TikTok 

Did you know that more than 82% of content online is in the form of video? In addition to this 

factoid, for martial arts business marketing success, you should also know that short form 

video is the king. In this realm, TikTok use has exploded to nearly 1.8 billion users worldwide with 

about 70% of the audience ranging from 20-49 years old – that’s your market! 

At one time YouTube was the video source online, but TikTok has 

taken over in dominance and Hootsuite predicts it will be the #1 social 

network period! Users spend 95 minutes daily looking for funny or 

entertaining content. School owners can definitely build a brand 

with this kind of activity, especially since TikTok’s ad revenue is 

growing rapidly. 

It’s time for the martial arts industry to get onboard with this 

fast moving trend by getting an account, creating entertaining content, 

and using the advertiser’s features. At the current time, TikTok 

targeting for advertising is limited in both category and location, but 

be on the lookout for potential updates that could impact our industry. 

Time stands still for no one, it’s ticking and tocking, and so is the 

rapidly growing TokTok platform. 

20 MARTIAL ARTS WORLD NEWS VOLUME 23 | ISSUE 1 

Image by Cristalov (bottom)

Our Goal is to Help Young Minds 

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SOCIAL 411 

3 Reasons Your Website MUST Have 

Lead Capture Forms with Offers 

It’s kind of unbelievable, but some martial arts school websites 

still do not have lead capture forms or they are buried in the 

site rather than in plain site. To have an expectation for someone 

visiting your website to automatically reach out to you by email or 

phone is unrealistic, but if you have a lead capture form the likelihood 

increases. Simply put, lead capture forms on your web pages 

makes growing your business easier. 

Reason #1 – Convenience for Visitors 

A lead capture form provides the means for prospects to reach 

you directly via your website which takes out steps that might 

deter them. If a visitor has to call or send an email, which can also 

be used as mediums for communication, the chances diminish that 

they will connect with you. Lead capture forms are right there on 

the page and are often designed with an auto fill feature to further 

simplify things. With fewer hoops for visitors to jump through, you 

elevate the probability they will reach out to you because it’s easy. 

Reason #2 – Get More Leads 

Possessing an accurate email list of subscribers is huge for marketing 

that leads to school growth. Web pages with lead capture 

forms effortlessly build your email list of prospects for a pinpointed 

target market. How can it be any easier than for visitors to come to 

your website and willing fill out the lead capture form that provides 

you with the information that opens the door to qualified leads? 

Once they hit send, you have added another lead in a non-intrusive 

way to your growing list of eager prospective students. 

Reason #3 – Track Your Leads 

A good lead capture form is set up not only to get the contact, 

but also to automatically follow-up to further move the interested 

prospect into taking action in order to bring them into your school. 

When the form is completed it will generate a sequence or chain 

of emails to market to the prospect to entice them into trying one 

of your programs or classes. Upon hitting send you will be notified 

and be able to track the lead in order to create a strategy to convert 

them into a new student. 

Having lead capture forms built into your website is easy for 

anyone who knows how to build a website and well worth it to 

effortlessly grow your list of leads. Simply put, when your school’s 

website pages have lead capture forms the potential and process 

of gaining quality leads is enhanced and simplified. 


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SPECIAL FEATURE 

Martial Arts World News Magazine 

Contributors and Columnists 

Achieve Rank of Grandmaster 

A lifetime of dedication, study, practice, blood, sweat and tears go into achieving 

the rank and title of Grandmaster. Martial Arts World News Magazine is proud to 

congratulate newly minted Grandmaster Kirk Pelt, and Grandmaster Michael Bugg. 

This past October, 2 of Martial Arts World News Magazine’s 

columnists were both promoted to Grandmaster and received a 

doctorate degree. Martial Arts World News Magazine would like to 

congratulate both Grandmaster Kirk 

Pelt and Grandmaster Mike Bugg for 

their newly received ranks and titles. 

MAWN: Congratulations on 

your promotion, Sir. What specifically 

was your previous rank and 

title, and what is the new rank and 

title you recently received? 

KP: Thank you, sir. My previous 

rank was eighth degree in our 

organization. That’s Chief Master 

It is always the cutting 

edge of new ideas and 

new ways to promote 

the martial arts. 

with Martial Arts World. My new rank and title that I have are ninth 

degree and Grandmaster with Martial Arts World, as well as a 

doctorate degree with Martial Arts World’s Modern Philosophy, the 

Five Fitness. 

MB: Thank you, I received 

the same rank and degrees that 

Grandmaster Pelt got as well. 

MAWN: Great! The achievement 

sounds like the result of a lifetime’s 

worth of commitment. When 

did your martial arts journey begin, 

and how long have you been 

under the guidance of Supreme 

Grandmaster Y.K. Kim? 


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KP: It was a long time ago, although it doesn’t seem too long 

ago. Back in 1985, I began my journey in the martial arts under 

Supreme Grandmaster Y.K. Kim, originally in a satellite school of 

his locations. I started in 1985 practicing with him and have continued 

with him until now. So for almost 40 years I have remained his 

loyal student. 

MB: I also have dedicated my whole life, from a young child to 

the art and science of martial arts. I have been under the guidance 

of Supreme Grandmaster Y.K. Kim for over 30 years and it has 

been very rewarding. 

The hope and goal of becoming a 

Grandmaster is in essence what 

drove me for all these years. 

MAWN: Wow, that’s some serious old school traditional commitment. 

Next, can you please briefly explain what brought you to 

this level and put you in the position for this distinguished honor 

and promotion at this time. 

KP: Since 1995 I’ve been a professional martial artist, meaning 

I have made my living from it. I’ve run a school since then and 

throughout that time have had the opportunity to learn under 

Supreme Grandmaster. He personally spends time in our main location 

and I was able to study and improve myself in all aspects. It 

has been a deep and meaningful study of martial arts techniques, 

philosophy, psychology, instruc tion, and more, as well as marketing 

and management, and all the business skills you need to 

operate a hyper successful school and organization. I’ve been able 

to study, research and learn the business directly from Supreme 

Grandmaster Kim. 

It is always at the cutting edge of new ideas and new ways to 

promote the martial arts in order to bring new enrollments and 

to make the system more valuable for the students. So they truly 

improve their lives physically, mentally, morally, financially, and in 

life, so they can have a successful life. That’s what our Martial Arts 

World system is about. As you know, we 

are the home of life champions. 

That’s our slogan, which makes 

Martial Arts World an institution of 

self-improvement. 

So through that opportunity 

I’ve been able to study and improve 

myself to the point where I 

can contribute at a level 

necessary, to not only 

teach the students, 

but teach the leaders 

of the leaders. I’m very 

honored for that, but it’s 

a huge responsibility 

because I am also the 

President of Martial 

Arts World. 

MB: I have 

achieved so much 

during my martial 

arts journey including 


www.ElitePublications.org


numerous awards. I am very proud of having the opportunity to 

help change the lives of many students and have been a partner 

in education with the school system for great change in the lives of 

students and teachers. 

MAWN: Self improvement is surely the business we’re in. Now 

in just a few words, can you describe what went on during the 

event in which you received promotion? 

10,000 martial arts school schools 

and 10 million members. 

KP: Well it was actually a two-stage event. It began at a black 

belt testing that we had on a Friday October 14th, 2022 in Chester, 

Virginia. That was where Grandmaster Bugg and I tested together 

for our ninth degree, Grandmaster title, and certified doctorate 

degree from Martial Arts World formally. 

It finished up on Saturday the 15th at the Martial Arts Super 

Show. The Martial Arts Super Show is a humongous event for our 

students. It has individual competitions and demo team competitions, 

which is one aspect of the super show. It’s a public event 

and promotion where we invite the entire community to come and 

watch these special performances that have celebrity and community 

leaders as judges for the event. 

It’s a celebration day of the martial arts and of the students. It’s 

a celebration for the parents and the community. Very fortunately, 

this one happened to be a celebration for Grandmaster Bugg and 

myself to receive our certification that day in Richmond, Virginia. 

MB: As Grandmaster Pelt said, this all took place in Virginia in 

the town where I have my school location. For me, it was a joy to 

test in front of the Virginia team during the black belt graduation. 

It felt great to go through testing with the students to have an opportunity 

to show my skill and leader before them all. 

MAWN: That does sound like a spectacular event - 

super. Next, Can you sum up how you felt 

when you received your new rank 

and title? 

KP: That’s a tough one 

because I had a plethora of 

emotions. Number one, I would 

say honored. I would say 

honored, fortunate, and thankful of course 

to Supreme Grandmaster Y.K. Kim and 

the Martial Arts World organization 

for everything that he and 

it has taught me throughout 

the years. Martial Arts World 

is me. It’s in my DNA. I’m 

a result of it, which also 

made me feel proud. I 

was very proud of the 

leaders that were 

there sharing with 

me in this celebration. 

Our martial arts 


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instructors and leaders as well as the students. 

You know this whole journey is about giving hope. The hope 

and goal of becoming a Grandmaster is in essence what drove 

me all these decades. I wanted to be a Grandmaster. That was a 

culmination all in that one day. Of course, I wanted to thank my 

family for their unwavering support, but also felt deep respect for 

Supreme Grandmaster for everything that he had taught me and 

still is teaching me. So there was a wave of emotions that came 

across me at that time. Very honored, proud and thankful. 

MB: It was a tremendous honor to receive the title Grandmaster. 

There are many Grandmasters out there that are doing great 

things. I am hoping that I can lead and 

follow in their footsteps to continue to pave 

the way for others. 

MAWN: That’s a great answer, Sir. Excellent! 

With your new rank and title do you 

have any new or elevated responsibilities? 

And, and if so, just explain a little bit. 

KP: Yes. Of course, being the president 

of Martial Arts World comes with 

great responsibility in helping our other 

instructors and school owners to be successful. 

There’s also a huge responsibility 

to grow Martial Arts World and to further 

develop the martial arts world. My next 

level of responsibility is a commitment and 

dedication to make certain that I duplicate 

future leaders. 

I believe that that’s the key to the success 

of martial arts in the future in general. 

Martial Arts World has to develop our 

future leaders. We have to develop our black belts, instructors, 

and masters properly by giving them all the tools and all the training 

they need in all aspects. That means providing them with the 

philosophy, psychology, instruction, marketing, and management 

understanding and know-how to make sure that we duplicate 

ourselves for the next generation and the next generation. This 

will ensure that the martial arts continues to grow and Martial Arts 

World continues to grow. 

MB: For myself, I would just add that this new title inspires me 

to continue my growth and to be humble about my accomplishments. 

And of course, there is an even higher level of responsibility 



to set an example and lead the rest of our team 

to future success. 

MAWN: Beyond those questions, do you 

have any future goals for yourself personally or 

for the Martial Art world organization? 

KP: Yes. 10,000 martial arts school schools 

and 10 million members. In addition to supporting 

Supreme Grandmaster Y.K. Kim in building a 

Martial Arts World University to develop future 

leaders for our society, not just the martial arts. 

Again, I’m very thankful, very honored, 

and very humbled all at the same time to 

have reached this level. You know, being 

one of the first to have a doctorate degree 

in Martial Arts World philosophy, modern 

philosophy, known as The Five Fitness, is a 

true honor as well. It has been a study that 

required a lot of effort, practice, and implementation, 

but the result is truly rewarding. The real result I’m 

talking about is seeing the students develop and improve. 

We’ve worked together and went through some great times, 

went through some challenging. 

MB: I have some personal goals as well. One is to write a book 

on how I became a successful person and school owner through 

the guidance of Supreme Grandmaster Y.K. Kim. For the Martial 

Arts World organization I am responsible for the training and 

setting up of new locations in the Virginia area. Our goal is to set 

up 2 to 3 schools every year and I’m very enthusiastic about and 

committed to that task. 

MAWN: Thank you, Sirs. 

Do You Serve Martial Arts Professionals? 

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NEW LIFE FOR P 

Grandmaster Jeff Smith 

is best known as the former seven-time PKA World Light Heavyweight Karate Champion. 

His honors include an induction into the Taekwondo Hall of Fame and the first person to 

be presented the Joe Lewis Eternal Warrior Award, along with Bill “Superfoot” Wallace 

and Chuck Norris. Jeff Smith is the COO and Director of Instruction for Mile High Karate 

and Martial Arts Wealth Mastery. In addition, he is the President of Sports Operations for 

PKA Worldwide.

KA WORLDWIDE! 

Grandmaster Joe Corley 

is a 10th degree black belt, hall of famer, top national point fighter, was the Number 1 

Middleweight Contender in PKA Kickboxing, founder of the Battle of Atlanta World Karate 

Championships, executive producer for PKA fights on NBC, CBS, ESPN, SHOWTIME, 

USA, and recipient of the Joe Lewis Eternal Warrior award. In addition, he is the CEO of 

Sports Operations for PKA Worldwide.

COVER STORY 

MAW: You are two living legends in 

the martial arts industry Grandmaster Jeff 

Smith and Grand Master Joe Corley. You 

both have a wealth of experience and 

success on many levels in several domains 

within the industry, but let's specifically talk 

about PKA Worldwide and what is going 

on with the organization. So can you walk 

us through a brief history of PKA from its 

origin to where it is now. 

JC: PKA started in 1974 on the ABC 

television network’s Wide World of Entertainment. 

Our president now, Jeff Smith, 

won his first World Light Heavyweight 

title in the LA sports Arena, September 

14th, 1974. He, Bill Wallace, and Joe Lewis, 

along with Isaias Duenas from Mexico, won 

the first world titles on that night. I was a 

judge at that event and was eight months 

into recovery from a triple spinal fusion. I 

watched Bill Wallace fight that night, and all 

of a sudden I got the bright idea, “If that's 

all he can do, I need to challenge him for 

the world title.” So I did that. Then in May 

eight months later, we got in the ring at the 

Battle of Atlanta. And that one event really 

changed my life. Since 1975, after Wallace 

and I fought, we have put a thousand hours 

of programming on television on ABC, 

NBC, CBS, ESPN, USA, Turner Sports, 

Showtime, and a Pay Per View event. Then 

in 1994 PKA went relatively dormant. We 

had someone sabotage a Pay Per View 

event that we did with Showtime. And I 

went and curled up in a very tight little fetal 

position until around 2003, focusing on our 

studios in Atlanta. 

In the meantime, UFC came onboard 

in 1994 and then was on its deathbed in 

2001. Dana White and his partners came in 

and bought the UFC for $2 million in 2001. 

Then they sold it in 2016 for 4.2 billion. So 

that was a really good investment on their 

part which showed that combat sports 

could live beside the other great sports. At 

that time, that was the largest single sports 

transaction in US history. 

So, just this past March, Jeff Smith and I 

and several others put our heads together 

and relaunched the PKA . We are now into 

our 10th month and we're all happier than 

we have been since 1974. 

MAW: As a matter of perspective, these 

were not like your local gymnasium karate 

tournaments. These were big international 

and televised events. What kind of scope 

are we talking about? 

JC: In a thousand hours of programming, 

we produced more than 250 events 

like that on all those networks. Some might 

remember seeing Rick the Jet Roufus, 

Jean-Yves Theriault, Bad Brad Hefton, 

Jerry Rhome, Dennis Alexio, and Jerry 

Trimble and all kinds of great people like 

that. In fact, Joe Rogan calls Jerry Trimble’s 

highlight reel the best he's ever seen. He's 

Jessie bowen and Superfoot present legacy award to Joe Corley in 2022 


COVER STORY 

also a big fan of Rick the Jet Roufus and 

Bill Wallace. 

Also, Grandmaster Jeff Smith fought in 

front of 50 million people in the Ali/Frazier 

Undercard. Jeff actually won that fight 

very handily. And Jeff was there with me 

in Don King's office a few days later when 

Don King said, “Here's my home number. I 

want you guys to call me cuz I wanna own 

this kickboxing.” Jeff watched me tear that 

number up on the way down the elevator 

from the penthouse suite and at Rockefeller 

Center, so that I would never be tempted 

to call–because I didn't wanna put myself 

or the sport through that kind of pain. 

At the time, these events were as big as 

it gets. Events in huge sports arenas that 

were nationally televised. It was when there 

was only one ESPN and these events were 

running on prime time Friday or Saturday 

night like a big pay per view. ESPN came on 

board in 1979 and the very first week ESPN 

was on the air, we had a main event with 

Don the Dragon Wilson. When Bill Wallace 

and I fought in the Omni, we had 10,000 fans 

there. When Jerry Rhome fought Ross Scott, 

we had 10,000. And when Roufus, Theriault, 

and Trimble and all those guys fought in 

Battle of Atlanta XVII, we had another 10,000 

people there. So we were hosting big audiences, 

and we were always among the top 

three rated sports on ESPN. We were always 

number one among the 18 to 34 year olds. 

We were on every network with great 

ratings, but we were the pioneers and took 

the arrows. Combat sports just were not 

welcomed and boxing wanted us dead. 

Everywhere that boxing had any influence, 

they made sure to squash us. They 

were very successful at it for a long period 

of time, but when the Fertitta brothers 

dumped the $40 million into the sport, 

it gave them the staying power to blast 

through all of the resistance. They went 

through all the travails and succeeded with 

$4.2 billion worth of success. 

JS: They owe a big portion of that to the 

PKA because PKA, in essence, laid all the 

groundwork for all these networks because 

they had seen combat. The only combat 

sport on back then, was PKA, and there 

were a couple others doing kickboxing. But 

PKA was the first and the longest running 

one. When Joe ceased operations, for that 

period of time, UFC was at the right place 

at the right time with the TV, people, and 

the audience primed from their memory of 

seeing the PKA for that many years. 

Really, we say, UFC stood on our 

shoulders, right? So now we're kind of 

doing that today as well. We're saying, now 

we're gonna go stand on UFC's shoulders. 

They helped get an even bigger audience. 

And we want people to see where the 

UFC came from. I mean, where did our 

sport originate and what it looked like back 

then? That style of fighting, we feel, with 

no kicking the legs is going to produce a 

higher quality of technique and extend the 

longevity of the fighters from not getting 

their legs damaged. You know, as a kicker, 

if you're a Taekwondo guy and you have a 

knee problem, you're not going to do much 

kicking. So when somebody's kicking you 

in the leg or the knee, look at Rick Roufus 

as an example. The first time he fought with 

leg kicks was when he was fighting a Muay 

Thai guy. The rules actually said there was 

not supposed to be any leg kicks, but the 

center referee let them go on, and that 

damaged Rick's leg. He had to go through 

several operations and then had to rehab 

and come back. 

Just like football players nowadays, how 

they protect the quarterback. There would 

not be a Tom Brady if they didn't have that 

roughing the passer calls and stuff like 

that, right? So we thought that the sport 

deserved to pay the fighters the respect 

due and extend their longevity rather than 

shorten their careers. This gives a chance 

to develop a lot of great champions and 

show a higher level of kicking techniques. 

UFC has great techniques in ground 

fighting, but most of the standup fighting 

is not high quality. Occasionally you’ll see 

a nice kick or two, or a kick knockout, but 

they're more the exception than the rule. 

But because of the rules, the guy can grab 


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COVER STORY 

In an "Americas Got Talent" Format, These Amazing Strikers Compete 

for a Chance to Move on to the World Chairmanships. 

your leg, the guy can sweep you or take 

you down. So a lot of guys hold back on 

the kind of flashy kicks that they could do. 

We're trying to open up the opportunity to 

develop these flashy and exciting fighters 

like Raymond Daniels or Stephen Thompson. 

These guys that have never even 

been able to show their full capabilities with 

their flashy kicking techniques because 

of the rules have kind of handcuffed them 

because of the styles they've been fighting. 

JC: We just finished a 5th trial in October 

in South Hill, Washington with Jerry Piddington 

- five events in the last 4 - on the 

hunt for the greatest strikers on the planet. 

So we have fighters coming from Muay 

Thai, MMA, Kickboxing, Karate, and Taekwondo 

to see who’s gonna be our greatest 

strikers of all time. We just had a long 

conversation with Herb Perez and Tokey 

Hill, and were talking about all of these 

world champion level competitors in Karate 

and Taekwondo. Where do they have to 

go with a professional career afterward? 

So they'll be able to come directly to PKA, 

and we'll be able to make huge stars out of 

them as we move forward over these 

next few years. 

JS: We think by having a grassroots 

organization available for these guys 

that are in Taekwondo and Karate will 

be great since that's where I, Bill and 

Joe came from. Coming from that background, 

it's easier to convert over to our 

PKA style of fighting. Whereas if any of 

these Taekwondo or Karate champions 

that were in the Olympics wanted to 

go into professional MMA stuff they 

have to do ground fighting. If they 

were gonna do the Muay Thai type of 

kickboxing, they're gonna have to put 

their legs at risk. If their knees get damaged 

they won’t be able to showcase 

their full capacity of skill. Because even 

Muay Thai allows them to hold a knee 

and elbow. We don't allow those kinds 

of techniques.. It's strictly punch, kick, 

and repeat. 

MAW: Looking at the evolution of 

the rules in MMA or UFC, they have 

gone from basically an infomercial for 

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to a lot more striking. Essentially, 

it seems like in optimizing ratings 

and the excitement of the events, they've 

been stripping away some of the advantage 

of being only a ground fighter and 

adding a lot more advantage to the striker. 

This more exciting part has led to more 

knockouts now as you're seeing a lot more 

striking in UFC events. So tell us a little bit 

more about these five events. Tell us about 

the structure. You're doing this regional 

structure where you're recruiting and 

you're bringing people to a regional event. 

Describe the structure and how people 

might get involved in that. 

JC: Well, we have a great website now 

that will probably be finished by February 

which is at pkaworldwide.com. We also 

have pka_worldwide on Facebook, Twitter, 

and Instagram. We've got a hundred 

million potential competitors around the 

world. By that we mean people who are 

taking either Karate, Taekwondo, or kung 

fu. They stand up, punch, kick, and repeat, 

and they don't wrestle on the ground. 

Their ears look like yours, mine, and Jeff's. 

They haven't had to get out of a hole that's 

smaller than their head which breaks down 

the cartilage in their ears. So these are 

incredible athletes that are potential fans 

Rick the Jet Roufus and Joe Corley featured in cover story 

in USA Today 


COVER STORY 

and potential competitors in PKA. 

As for the structure, think about it just 

like any boxing organization. You'll have 

ratings in every weight class and world 

champions in every weight class. Ultimately 

they will fight and defend their titles just 

like they do anywhere else. To get there, 

we are gonna go down to eight fighters in 

each weight division. They'll fight among 

themselves to get to number one, and 

then we'll have a number one seed. For 

example, we're talking with a young man 

now named Randy Blake. He won a world 

title and has 52 wins with 35 knockouts. 

Although he hasn't fought in a couple 

years, because of his stature in the sport, 

we're gonna have him as the number one 

seed. Then eight people in his division will 

fight down for a chance to fight him. When 

that person fights him, we will have our first 

2022 or 2023 world heavyweight champion 

crowned. From that point on, everybody 

in each one of the weight divisions will do 

the same thing. After that, the champions 

will defend their world titles, their US titles, 

their regional titles, and their state titles, 

and it'll be called PKA Worldwide. We also 

have great connections throughout the 

whole world; Asia, the Middle East, South 

Africa, and Latin America. Years from now 

you won't recognize it. 

MAW: So if I'm a kickboxing type of martial 

artist in my gym wherever that might 

be, do I go look for one of these regional 

events? You said you had five so far with 

three more to come. So about 8 a year. Is 

that kind of what you're looking for? 

JC: Well, we may do three more. We 

may just fill in whatever blanks we have by 

reaching out to all the people that we know 

who know who the best fighters are and 

just fill in. For example, if we have five in 

the heavyweight division, we might reach 

out to the people we know. We might bring 

in one from Brazil, one from England, one 

from Canada to make the eight happen. In 

these first five, we've gone out and gotten 

some of the guys that are just unknowns. 

Which are really kind of the fun stories 

when you learn their backgrounds. 

One is a six time world Taekwondo 

champion who's fought in a few kickboxing 

fights. He was funny when I spoke with 

him the other day. His name is Julio Cesar 

Carlos. When I did the interview with him 

and after the trial with us, I said, “Tell me, 

Julio, how many Bill Wallace seminars have 

you been to? Because you just kicked better 

with Bill Wallace kicks than Bill Wallace 

did.” He said, “Well, that's nice of you to 

say. I really wish I could have been in one, 

but I've learned these kicks from watching 

Bill Wallace's videos.” I said, “Wow”. A 

few weeks later I'm talking to Julio on the 

phone and Wallace calls me. So I put Julio 

on hold and picked up with Wallace. I say, 

“Bill, I’m gonna have you talk to a young 

man here who “out-Wallaces” Bill Wallace.” 

So I put him on. As soon as I hit the merge 

button, Bill Wallace says, “I’m mad at you, 

Julio”. Julio says, “Who is this?” He says, 

It’s Bill Wallace. I heard that you’re out 

Wallacing Bill Wallace, and that’s just not 

gonna stand.” 

He's a tremendous guy. In New York, the 

TV stations came out and did the story on 

him and he was doing things like bouncing 

on a mini tramp. He's 140 pounds and 

has got legs the size of Jeff Smith. So he's 

bouncing on a tramp and a guy throws a 

ball at him, he jumps, hits it with his spinning 

back kicking, knocks it right back to the 

guy, just like he caught it and threw it back. 

He also has ropes wrapped around trees 

out there, and he is punching the trees. 

JS: This training is at his house, in his 

backyard. It’s like a Rocky story. He’s doing 

The 3 Amigos, Wallace, Smith, Corley, and Family 

all of these exercises that develop reflexes 

and jumping and kicking and hitting these 

targets while jumping on a trampoline. 

Another thing is that he's got a heavy bag 

hanging from the tree in his front yard that's 

on the street section. So on the limb of that 

tree, he hung his heavy bag, and on the 

light post on the street he wrapped the 

rope around it like a makiwara to punch 

on it. I mean, this is New York City, right? 

The news station was excited and the TV 

announcer was so impressed he wanted 

to try it himself. So he got on the tramp, 

trying to do it and catch, even bounce and 

kick the pad or punch the pad and catch 

the ball. He was falling all over. Finally the 

announcer said, “Well, you make it look so 

easy, but when you go try to do it yourself, 

it's pretty amazing.” 

JC: Those kinds of people are going to 

be our stars. We do the judging in these 

trials like America's Got Talent during the 

pandemic. Jeff came down and visited me, 

and he wouldn't let me take it off the America's 

Got talent station. So when we put this 

together, we decided that we would have 

four judges. Jeff is our Simon Cowell, and 

then there's three other judges. The two 

fighters will fight each other for a couple 

rounds, and the judges give them feedback 

and move one onto the next round. Then 

they'll fight another person that day for 


COVER STORY 

two more rounds, and they'll fight another 

person that day for three rounds. Then 

they'll leave that event that day as the 

choice for that particular weight division in 

that particular city. We'll get eight from each 

one and then move on. 

JS: Right now we have ten weight 

classes for men. We’ve got nine for ladies. 

For these events, the judges we have are 

the who’s who of martial arts. Bill Wallace, 

Rick Roufus, Linda Denley, Troy Dorsey, 

Tokey Hill, Robert Visitacion, Jerry Piddington, 

Randy Blake, Tommy Bottone, Chris 

Algieri, Darrell Henegan, Don Wilson, and 

Daisy Lang, the former World Taekwondo 

and boxing champion. Anyway, these are 

the kind of talents that are gonna light up 

the airwaves in 2023. 

JS: Our whole premise was to consider 

how popular UFC became, since it's more 

popular than everything right now. But if you 

think about it, it's mostly dominated by jujitsu 

style fighters, and not by strikers. Now 

if you look at the martial artists in the world 

worldwide, at best, at best, 20% of them 

are jiu jitsu or ground fighters. That means 

80% of them at least, are stand up striking 

stylists, like Taekwondo, Karate, and any of 

the Chinese styles. So we figured that there 

has to be at least eight to ten times as many 

in the whole market that are strikers. So 

how much more excited are they gonna be 

if they get to do their style of fighting? 

JC: I think we’re at the right place at the 

right time. We’re all really energized. We’re 

ready to go. So I’ll tell you three levels. 

Level 1, As it was, so shall it be again. Level 

2, We’re on the hunt for the greatest strikers 

on the planet. Level 3, We’re gonna be 

50 Million Saw Jeff Smith win at Thrilla in Manila 

punching, kicking, and repeating. So that’s 

the easy way to think about it. We’ve got 

a great team. Great guys in the PR department. 

Great people in the social media 

department. We have great people. We 

have Rich Rose, who was a president for 10 

years of Caesars World Sports and is one 

of Jeff’s co-presidents. The other co-president 

with Jeff is Howard Dogan, who owns 

the Syracuse Crunch Hockey team, which 

feeds into the Tampa Bay Lightning. So he’s 

thinking he wants us to do our very first 

live event down there in Tampa. We’ve got 

a former Playboy playmate, Ulrika Ericksson, 

who went on to become a renowned 

wellness coach as our vice president of 

wellness. We have a tremendous organizational 

chart. 

Rick Ruofus is our director of Global 

Fighter Development. Bill Wallace is our 

VIP International Ambassador. So we’ve 

got four 10th degrees and three 9th 

degrees running the new PKA WORLD- 

WIDE. In essence we’ve got 354 years of 

experience running a combat sport. Many 

of our leadership have more degrees on 

their Black Belts than the fighters coming 

in have years of experience. 

MAW: So what is the next event in the 

upcoming schedule? 

JC: We expect to be doing our first 

broadcast in February of 2023. We have 45 


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COVER STORY 

fighters signed and ready to go and will be 

fighting on our original undercards. So we’ll 

be getting a chance to build them up, just 

like we built up so many people on ESPN. 

Remember, all these people aren’t just getting 

started. These are people that have 10, 

15, 20 fights already, and had the courage to 

come out and sit down in front of our Simon 

Cowell there and get feedback from him. 

JS: The reason that we did it with this 

format is that we felt there are martial artists 

all over this country that are great stand 

up style fighters, but they never had the 

opportunity to do a UFC, MMA, or kickboxing 

because they weren't in the right area 

that they were doing it. So we said, “Why 

don't we visit all these different parts of the 

country and let everybody come in and 

do an audition kind of the same way that 

America's Got Talent does?” Then when 

they came up to fight their first round, we 

actually had them in headgear and all padded 

up with the referee controlling it. So 

the object wasn't to knock the guy out, it 

was to show us your best technique. 

When they finished fighting, we didn't 

say, “This guy knocked him down three 

times. So he won.” We were basing it on 

how good the quality of their kicking, 

combining their hands and feet together, 

and how they moved around defensively. 

In other words, did they have good 

technique? Of course, with Rick Ruofus, 

Bill Wallace, Troy Dorsey, and all of these 

champions, we were able to recognize who 

Corley and long-time mentor & friend Chuck Norris 

was a good quality 

fighter. We paired 

guys against each 

other as evenly as 

possible, so we 

matched their record 

against record. 

If somebody only 

had a few fights, 

we wouldn't put 

that fighter against 

somebody who had 

a bunch of fights, 

but to someone 

closer to their experience. 

Some of 

them were so good 

that we sent both 

guys to the next 

round. So there was 

not always just one 

winner. It was fun 

for them and like 

they were just working out at the gym and 

then we selected the guys based on how 

they looked in training. 

JC: It was an audition. They didn't get a 

win or a loss. But we spent the money for 

the professional video crews to be there. 

We now have the social media people 

dropping these videos just about every 

day like you see the UFC does these video 

blips. We have those out all over the place. 

Then when we get ready for the very first 

title fights of these people or challenging 

1975: Wallace-Corley Staredown In Atlanta's Omni 

for the titles, we'll have all that background 

video to choose from. Including the interviews 

that we did with him on that day like 

the one with Julio Cesar Carlos talking 

about the Wallace techniques and more. 

Also we’re doing these fights in what we 

call the striker's cage. So people who grew 

up seeing everything in the cage are going 

to see our strikers in the cage. One of the 

things that we've learned is that inside a 

geometric design you've got 360 degrees 

of interior angles available to you. So in 

a boxing ring, you have four 90 degree 

corners, which takes up a big portion of 

the ring. So almost half of the ring, you're 

stuck in a corner. But you have 45 degree 

angles in an eight sided ring or an octagon 

and the fighters tell us how much easier it 

is to come out of those 45 degree angles. 

This allows them to continue being on the 

offensive instead of getting back in the 

corner and playing defense. 

JS: It's much harder to catch somebody 

in a corner when there is no corner! It's a 

short angle. 

MAW: It sounds a little bit almost like a 

combination between the Ultimate Fighter 

pre-show, right? 

JC: Yes, very similar. 

MAW: So if I'm a fighter and I'm looking 

to get into this would I go to the PKA 

Worldwide page on Facebook or go to the 


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COVER STORY 

PKA Worldwide website and apply there to 

get selected? 

JC: For the events that we have a fighter 

signup page there. We will also have a way 

to get in touch with anybody that wants 

to become a member. If you want to just 

become a person that follows and keeps up 

with it, you can do that through all the social 

media and on the website. 

We also just signed our apparel deal 

with Brandon Steiner who handles Derek 

Jeter and Mariano Rivera 

stuff. He was also the pro 

that auctioned off all the old 

Yankee Stadium stuff when 

the old stadium was torn 

down. So yeah, we're gonna 

have great t-shirts, hoodies, 

and all those kinds of things 

coming out, like our punch, 

kick, repeat t-shirts. 

JS: A great new one we 

have is the PKA Stand Up 

and Fight Like a Girl t-shirt 

because we've started with 

9 women’s weight divisions, 

and there will be champions 

like Rhonda Rousey and 

Holly Holm. So we’re also on 

the hunt for them in order 

to find some of these top women to be 

seeded and participate. Some of them have 

come to the auditions already, and we've 

already picked several of them. The good 

thing about all of this footage and hiring our 

professional TV crew to come in is that they 

go in the ring and do an interview with them 

and then talk to them after the fight. So you 

get a real feel, just like a real event. And then 

when we do the televised events, we’ll have 

all of this footage to go back to show everybody 

how they got here. The backstory for 

each of them. 

MAW: Sounds exciting. Now from the 

school operations business standpoint, 

school operators and students, one of the 

things that PKA always was really good at 

has been to inspire people to investigate 

martial arts. What you guys are doing, gets 

the television cameras in front of people 

who are showing people what martial arts 

is all about. Now if you look at the history 

of the PKA in contrast with the UFC in the 

view of the traditional school operators, the 

UFC feels a lot less respected. There’s a 

very thuggish nature to it with foul language 

and inappropriate behavior outside 

the ring. Whereas when the PKA was very 

popular in the seventies and the eighties, 

you always saw Bill Clark or Bill Wallace 

go kick the hell out of somebody and then 

help him up. Then in their interviews, you 

would see them as a nice human being 

and respectful with a sense of honor. This 

seems to be missing a little bit these days, 

so what would you guys say about that? 

Joe Corley, Jeff Smith, Bill Wallace & Bill Clark on Cover of Who's Sho 

JC: Oh, you're right. I can still walk 

through an airport and have someone 

come up and say, “Joe Corley, my son and I 

got our black belts because we saw you do 

a self-defense tip on ESPN.” I replied, “So 

how far did you guys go?” They’ve responded, 

“I made it to third degree. My son made 

it to fifth degree.” So we know that happens. 

When we sat down with our branding 

people the first day, they said, “We want to 

let your fans know what PKA stands for.” We 

have a brand essence that now includes 

“We stand tall even when we fall, and we 

get back up.” It’s a mission that ties in with 

every martial arts school that you guys consult 

with would be happy to be part of. 

We have reestablished the PKA Associated 

School Program which is already 

being rolled out. We’ll have a big number 

of the PKA schools and licensed schools 

everything is said and done. Jeff and I are 

instructors at heart, so we’re always teaching. 

If you are around Jeff for five minutes, 

you’ll learn something. He just teaches 

and teaches. So we keep teaching and 

we're gonna bring that spirit you're talking 

about back to martial arts competition. 

Even still, there will be good and bad 

guys. To that end, some people you’ll love 

to dislike, but they're gonna be sincerely 

unlikable, I guess is a better word. They're 

going to be sincerely unlikable with no 

help from us and that's okay. But they’ll be 

respectfully unlikable. 

JS: Somebody's gotta be the villain. 

But we really think that it's gonna bring 

the martial arts community 

back to watching our great 

action on TV. Whereas most 

of the martial arts schools, 

especially the traditional 

schools around the country, 

don't even watch UFC and 

that kind of fighting. It's so 

far from what they do in their 

normal day to day and not 

the right kind of personality 

that they want to see. They 

don't like those role models. 

They need role models that 

are educated people, nice 

and respectful putting the art 

back in martial arts. 

MAW: Fantastic. So the 

organization and events are 

attracting an audience and are growing 

rapidly! Do you have the venue chosen for 

the January event yet? 

JC: No, we've got five cities that we're 

working on to choose from. Tampa seems 

like it's high on the list. We've got a site in 

LA that we like. One in New York that we 

also like. Also Atlanta may be an option 

which pulls at my heartstrings. I've got a 

shot of me throwing a front kick touching 

Bill Wallace. It has a quote that says, 

“Sometimes a single event can change the 

entire direction of your life.” So with that 

in the back of my mind, I'm thinking that 

Atlanta wouldn't be a bad place to kick this 

back off. There are other options where 

really good martial artists gather for events 

during this next year. 

There are other options where really 

good martial arts martial artists will gather 

for historic events during this next year. 

MAW: Yes, all those sites sound great. 

Thank you guys for informing us and we 

look forward to some great things coming 

up from PKA Worldwide. 


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COVER STORY 

PKA LEADERSHIP 

Joe Corley 

Chief Executive Officer 

The face of kickboxing for more than two decades, 

first as a promoter, then as the co-owner 

of the Professional Karate Association (PKA), 

and then as a broadcaster producing 1,000+ 

hours of kickboxing, which paved the way for 

the MMA boom. 

Ulrika Erikkson 

Vice President of Wellness 

Ulrika is a certified wellness coach and yoga 

instructor. A Swedish-born model and spokesperson 

who worked for Playboy Enterprises for 

over a decade. Eriksson will help PKA fighters 

with mental wellness, serve as a commentator 

on televised bouts, and appear in social media 

video segments. 

Jeff Smith 

President, PKA Sports Operations 

The original PKA Light Heavyweight Champ, he 

fought as the co-main event of the famed Thrilla 

in Manila. Now one of the most sought-after 

teachers. Serves as Director of Instruction for Mile 

High Karate & COO for Martial Arts Wealth Mastery, 

a national martial arts consulting company. 

Jim Thomas 

General Counsel 

Attorney, adviser and confidant to Evander 

Holyfield, he negotiated more than $100 million 

in purses. In 2005 authored, The Holyfield Way 

– a behind-the-scenes eyewitness account. 

He also served as a GM in the Arena Football 

League and Commissioner for the Women’s 

Senior Golf Tour. 

Rich Rose 

Co-President, PKA Business Operations 

After a successful career in public relations, 

Rose promoted boxing and other sports for a 

decade as the President and COO for Caesars 

World Sports before founding AllSport Productions 

– a sports & events consultancy. 

Howard Dolgon 

Co-President, PKA Business Operations 

The CEO of the AHL Syracuse Crunch following 

30 years in the public relations and marketing 

field as a founding member of Alan Taylor 

Communications, Inc., the leading independent 

sports public relations agency with an expertise 

in boxing. 

Rick Roufus 

Global Director of Fighter Development 

“The Jet” was a 2nd generation star of kickboxing, 

a fan of Jeff Smith and “Superfoot” Wallace. 

Rick compiled a 65-9-3 record and earned 

world titles in multiple weight classes. His experience 

as a fighter and trainer will help guide 

and mold the next generation of professional 

kickboxers. 

Don Willis 

Director of PKA Associate Schools 

A 9th Degree Master Black Belt, Don Willis has 

dedicated more than four decades of his life to 

growing martial arts. He was the PKA’s Director 

of Officials Training and then became the 

Global Director of PKA Schools. 


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SCHOOL PROFILE 

Sun City Martial Arts 

Han’s Martial Arts has been operating in El Paso, TX, for over 40 years and has over 

400 students. 

Master Han has chosen a challenging pursuit 

since he is also an active competitor in both boxing 

and kickboxing, so he spends a lot of time training 

for his fights. He is a 2-time amateur Ringside World 

Boxing Champion and 3-time amateur IKF World 

Kickboxing Champion. Then, as a professional, he 

became the UBS Inter-Continental Middleweight 

Champ. 

In his “spare” time, he has chosen to open his own 

martial arts school. In the first 100 days of operation, 

despite all the time demands of training for his fights, 

he has built up his enrollment to 85 students, which 

is pretty impressive considering he is managing the 

school as a one man show, with no other staff. 

Master Han suggests, “I’m just a fighter . . . and 

you look at how many fighters in the world have successful 

schools. . . it’s very rare.” So in an attempt to 

avoid the same fate of so many others, he decided to 

depend on a management support company. 

He said, “I have a hard time checking up on who’s 

paying and who’s not. Having AMS’ full service tuition 

billing has been a great assistance. The knowledge 

they have is amazing.” 

Again he said, “AMS is a big part of why I even opened up a 

school, because I don’t think I would have without the confidence 

AMS gives me to be successful.” 

We know that fighting careers don’t last forever, but as his 

father has shown, a quality martial arts school can last for decades. 

We wish him good luck and a lifetime of learning in the martial arts 

for him and his students. 


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You can Still Have Full Classes in a Small Town 


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Chief Instructor Chris Nelson opened his 2100 sq. ft. school in a small, 

rural community of about 20,000 people. Now, he’s doubled his school 

and his gross income too! 

MAWN: Chief Instructor Nelson, let’s 

start with a baseline . . . considering last 

year – what was your enrollment in after 

school and in your evening classes, and 

what was your income? 

CN: At the start of the year we had 

30 in our after school program and approximately 

50 to 60 in our traditional 

program, which was generating around 

$16,000.00 a month. 

MAWN: Then, you made some 

changes that caused dramatic and 

quick growth... What were the results? 

New, Modern Training Facility in “Small Town” Eustis Florida 

with 60 after schoolers. 

MAWN: So it has literally doubled 

your after school program? 

CN: Absolutely! 

MAWN: Wow! And I understand you 

even reduced your rent? 

CN: I reduced my rent by $1,000.00. 

MAWN: So did the Atlas Pro System 

work for you right away? 

CN: For the traditional program it 

worked right away. We got people to 

come in literally the next day after we 

started. It worked really well. With the after 

CN: Right away the increased enrollment forced us to move – 

which is a good thing – from a 2100 sq. ft. building to a 5500 sq. ft. 

building. So we had a lot more room. Our enrollments continued 

to increase and by six months later we increased from $16,000.00 

to $23,000.00 a month. 

MAWN: Wow! That’s pretty impressive! Let’s talk about the after 

school program specifically: You said you had about 30 when you 

started a new system. What happened through summer camp and 

now? 

CN: Through summer camp we continued to use the new system 

and it got us up to about 50 during the summer time. And at 

the start of this school year we’ve been at the most we’ve ever had 

school program it took a little bit of time for things to get rolling 

– as far as the after school and making sure we were getting quality 

– it took about 3 months, but after that it just started to snowball 

and continue. That’s when we got all the way to 60. 

MAWN: This sounds really, really good. So you went from a 

2100 sq. ft. facility to a 5500 sq. ft. facility, increased your income 

$7,000.00, you doubled your after school program, and you’ve 

gotten a better reputation, all thanks to the Atlas Pro System. 

CN: Yes, Sir. 

MAWN: Well, thank you for sharing your success with us. We’ll 

look forward to checking back with you in a couple of months or so 

to see how you’re doing! 


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TEAMWORK 

Be a Martial Artist First 

by Hanshi Dave Kovar 

Right now it’s difficult to find time to just be a martial artist. Everyone is extremely 

focused on their business and maintaining their schools. However, we can’t forget that 

continuing to train and practice martial arts is just as important for us as it is for our 

families and students! 

Martial arts as we know it today has its roots in 

“bushido,” the code of the Samurai. The word “samurai” 

means “to serve” and the best Samurai did not take their 

position lightly. They held themselves to the highest 

standard in all aspects of their life. 

Because they were warriors, they 

constantly honed their martial arts skill 

and fitness level, as these literally 

meant the difference between 

life and death. Perfect health was 

their goal, so they lived their life 

accordingly, constantly aware of 

how their environment and habits 

of consumption affected them. 

Most importantly, the best Samurai 

lived a life of service – giving 

to their community and 

being a noble example of 

human potential. Commit 

yourself to living 

the life of a modern 

day Samurai. 

Here are a few 

traditional Samurai phrases 

that are as relevant to today’s 

martial artist as they 

were the first time they were 

spoken: 

Bushi-ni-nihon-nashi = 

“No two words“ or “Don’t 

speak with forked tongue” – In 

modern times, we call this living with integrity. 

Hou’ shi Sei-shin = “Spirit of contribution” – Being serviceminded. 

Chou you de ari = “Moderation, variety and balance” 

Gan batte kuda sai = “Always doing your best” 

Focusing on your business and teaching martial arts to others 

should be at the top of the list, but don’t leave your own training 

out of the equation! Take time to be a martial artist. 

HANSHI DAVE KOVAR is an 8th degree black belt and recognized as the “Trainer of Trainers.” Hanshi 

Dave Kovar is an internationally acclaimed instructor with black belt degrees in ten different martial arts styles. His 

systems have been implemented in hundreds of schools around the US. 


Photograph by Paul Campbell

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the world of martial arts business. 

We are always on the look out for notable, engaging and 

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MIND MASTERY 

The Philosophy and Benefits 

Behind Meditation Practice (Part 2) 

By Grandmaster Jessie Bowen 

The guidelines for meditation are reflecting a philosophy. This philosophy supports 

belief in oneself and belief in life. 

Increasing your belief can deepen peace and relaxation. 

People are receiving the benefits of meditation through a reflection 

that they have the capacity to relax facing any circumstance in 

life. Thus, the effects are positive such as emotional ease, physical 

health, mental clarity, good relationships, and fulfillment as a 

person. 

The energy that flows in the human body is dynamic and varying. 

Everything is an intelligent expression of life’s energy from 

planet movements, blood circulation, and others. Moreover, what 

you see, what you hear, what you think, and what you feel are all 

expressions of that energy flow. If you can adapt to the movement 

of life without any resistance, then you can experience peace and 

tranquility. But if you are fighting and resisting the flow 

of life, then you can experience suffering and stress. 

Meditation can provide both short-term and 

long-term benefits. It includes better sleep, faster 

healing, less anxiety, lower blood pressure, 

lower cholesterol, stronger immune system 

response, and decreased use of alcohol, cigarettes, 

and drugs. 

Meditations can help you make 

the flow easier. It encourages 

trust so that things can 

naturally unfold in your life. 

Your awareness of how 

you control, resist or let 

go of the flow of life is 

deepened. 

Keep in mind that life 

does not only revolve 

on easy things but also 

on difficult things 

as well. In fact, 

life always has its 

pair of opposites 

such as pleasure 

and pain, sorrow 

and joy, success 

and failure, love 

and hatred, and 

others. Still, it is 

not impossible 

to achieve true peace. It is not too late to learn how to drop and let 

go of any resisting forces that are blocking the normal movement 

of life. Letting go of hindrances can result in insightful relaxation. 

The flow of energy must be used not for resisting but to help your 

natural intelligence in supporting your mental, emotional, and 

physical well-being. 

The energy that is flowing into your life must never meet any 

resistance. Most people have the habit of resisting pain and certain 

emotions. But if you can still relax in such a situation, then you are 

not robbing yourself of feeling relieved and alive. Embracing whatever 

comes to your life is simply an act of loving. Today, meditation 

is more broadly used to describe a lot of practices that can bring 

different results. 

To learn more about how you can become a superstar meditator 

and harness the power of your mind check out my book Zen 

Mind-Body meditation for martial artists and my meditation CD Zen 

Mind-Body Mindfulness Meditation: Discover The Power To Live 

Your Vision is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. The audio 

program is available on my website 

www.coachjessiebowensonlinestore.com/zen-meditation-program 

GRANDMASTER JESSIE BOWEN is president of Karate International of Durham, Inc., a member of the 

American Martial Arts Association Sport Karate League and Hall of Fame, and has been a member of the Duke University 

PE Staff for over 25 years. He is the author of Zen Mind-Body Mindfulness Meditation and Zen Mind-Body Mindfulness 

Meditation for Martial Arts, as well as several other books, programs, and audio CDs on meditation and success training. 


Photograph by Daniel de la Hoz

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GROWTH HACKS 

Master the Art of Operating 

Your School 

by Mr. Sean Lee 

Suppose you were in need of a serious surgical procedure, but an expert with a 

wrench instead of a scalpel was going to perform it. Would you knowingly subject 

yourself to the hands of an inappropriate expert or less than the best with so much at 

stake? Of course, not! You’d want the person with the right skills doing the job. How 

about the operation of your school? 

Surely you’ve heard the expression, “Jack of all trades, master 

of none.” As an experienced martial arts school owner or one just 

starting out, you know or are finding out how relevant 

that quote is in regard to running your school. You 

know that operating a martial arts school requires 

a multitude of tasks and many of them 

you’re not prepared for. 

First, you must get paid because you have 

chosen running a school as your profession. 

Pro’s get paid amateurs don’t. Collecting 

student tuition can be one of the most difficult 

tasks for a school owner because you go from 

being the teacher to a bill collector. In addition, 

tuition management requires keeping accurate 

records like an accountant. Are 

you prepared for either of these 

tasks? 

Second, you have to build 

up and maintain your student 

enrollment. Getting students 

into your school calls for 

good advertising and promotion. 

You have to come 

up with ideas that work 

each month. Do you 

know how to design 

and write a simple flyer so it looks professional and makes your 

school look better than your competitors? It’s likely, you don’t do 

graphic design or write ad copy on a professional level. 

To keep up with your competition, you should also have an internet 

presence. This means you need to have an attractive school 

website that draws your community to your school. Do you know 

how to design a website? 

Third, you have to manage all aspects of the school professionally. 

Handling telephone calls and visitors in a way that leads 

them to enroll is very important. Are you equipped with sales 

skills? Scheduling, training staff, and building maintenance are also 

necessities and require management skills. Have you managed 

others or a business before? 

Think about it, if you just had to do the tasks mentioned on your 

own it would require bill collecting, accounting, graphic design, 

writing, advertising, promotion, web design, sales, and management 

skills. This is just the tip of the iceberg and we haven’t even 

talked about the reason you opened your school which is to 

instruct in the martial arts. To do all of this on your own is professional 

suicide. 

Maybe you’re thinking, “I can hire individuals to do each of 

those tasks.” Unless you’re already wealthy that may end up being 

financial suicide. Just imagine the cost for an accountant or a web 

designer alone. Even though this is true, the idea of getting some 

help is the right track for mastering the operation of your school if it 

could be done inexpensively. 

SEAN LEE is the Executive Director of Sales and Marketing for hundreds of martial arts schools 

and specializes in online and social media marketing using his extensive professional experience in 

sports and martial arts marketing, contract negotiation, and investment. 


Photograph by anyaberkut

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NINJA BUSINESS TACTICS 

What You Resist May Save You 

by An-Shu Stephen Hayes 

Our To-Shin Do martial art was developed from the original combat methods of 

the Togakure ninja of Japan. One of our hallmarks is an educational process that 

incorporates an understanding of psycho-emotional influences described by a series 

of five element-nicknamed patterns. 

The water element describes a tendency to put distance 

between self and others in order to gain more clarity and understanding 

of what is going on. We could call it going within in 

order to better understand the situation without. In its lowest most 

degenerated form, the water element shows up in a personality 

as a tendency to push away others and regard them with a sense 

of hostility. In its highest form, the water element 

influence is a tendency towards 

scientific knowing, subjective 

knowledge of truth that rises 

from the depth of the heart. 

As a way of dealing 

with conflict, the water 

element shows up as reliance 

on tactical positioning 

to render useless the 

power of others. With skillful 

movement into unexpected angles, 

water strategy leaves an aggressor in a 

position where his strengths are pointless and 

he is wide open to counterattack. 

The water element fighter is 

known as a tactical fighter, 

a scientific combatant. 

Nonetheless, 

every now and then, 

I’ll find a tough 

male student who 

resists the water 

element aspect 

of our martial 

arts training. The usual explanation goes something like, “I’m just 

not a guy who backs off when someone gets in my face. If someone 

comes at me, I charge in and take him out. I never back down.” 

The water element strategy is not backing down. The water 

element is tactically placing yourself where you can with utmost 

efficiency and effect stop an aggressor’s advance. As true as that 

is though, a tough “always charge the hill” sort of guy can still 

out of habit dismiss as a retreat or a hesitation any 

tactic that is not a fire blast forward. He has trained 

himself to take pride in seeing himself as tough 

and ready, and he just will not let himself angle 

out instead of charging in. 

For years I have searched for the right wording 

to allow the tough guy to see taijutsu water 

tactical angling as one more tool of the successful 

combatant. In the world of sport or tavern fighting, 

“never back up” has become his proud credo, 

his badge of self recognized courage. Yes, but that is a 

consensual fight with one other person. What about the world 

of war, unexpected assault, or the overwhelming confusion of a 

gang attack? 

“How about this,” I now offer. “You’re on a surfboard in the 

ocean and the largest shark imaginable cruises toward you. Do 

you want to charge those gaping jaws full of razor teeth, or do you 

want to slip the attack and stab in from the side where you can batter 

the gills with your board and fists and fingers? Are you ‘backing 

down’ or are you using tactical movement to better win with less 

wear and tear?” 

You can be tough and determined, and be smart at the same 

time. Maybe that view will help one more person give up resisting 

a very valid aspect of fully empowered human capacity. 

AN-SHU STEPHEN HAYES has authored more than 20 books, worked as a body guard for the Dali 

Lama, supervised over 30 school locations worldwide, and was named “A legend; one of the 10 most influential 

living martial artists in the world” by Black Belt Magazine 


Photograph by Prostock-Studio

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AFTER SCHOOL EXCELLENCE 

Getting Feedback from 

Your Students 

By Grandmaster Mike Bugg 

There’s a popular saying that you should work smarter, not harder, which is something 

to keep in mind as we explore the concept of intelligence. 

There are several things you can do at your school to work 

smarter, not harder. The lifeline of your school is your students. 

They dictate the growth and development of your school. Without 

students, you’re definitely doing things the hard way. Within 

your school, you work hard to bring in tons of new students in 

your doors, but once you bring the new students in, you’ve got to 

close the door behind them; otherwise you’re constantly trying to 

replace new students—an effort that’s not working smartly at all. 

So, how do you keep the students you get? 

That requires establishing communication between your staff 

and students. You’ve got to learn what your students like about 

your school so you can better serve their needs and retain them 

as students. 

Here are a few tips on how you can get the necessary feedback 

from your students so that growing your numbers is a 

breeze, and you can work smarter, make your school 

healthier, and make your students happier. 

Your most important source of student desires 

and wishes is obviously going to be students. 

However, you shouldn’t overlook feedback from 

parents. There are times when students may feel 

intimidated, shy, or embarrassed to share certain 

ideas with you, and parents can be helpful with 

communicating things that kids are slow to share 

(like bullying at school). Also, since parents hold the 

purse strings, it’s not a bad idea to find out what 

they like and don’t like about your program 

so you can address those concerns before 

they get out of your control. You may also 

want to utilize your relationship with local 

schools to get more feedback on what 

students like and don’t like, or what 

might be effective in the martial arts 

school and what won’t work. Talk to people who have tried these 

things before. There’s no sense reinventing the wheel if there are 

more efficient ways to improve your program and retention. 

Make a comment box for the lobby at your school. You can 

have your students decorate it with martial arts-themed drawings. 

Place it near your front door or somewhere that people will see as 

soon as they come in. Provide a simple questionnaire for people 

to fill out that includes some things you want to know, like do your 

students enjoy your activities? You can include a scale from 0–5 

that makes it easier for students to answer. At the bottom leave 

a blank space where students can write comments. This will give 

you invaluable insight into how students are enjoying your school 

and what can be done to improve their experience. 

Check in with parents through regular calls home. You can 

present these calls as progress reports on each student’s performance 

and get their opinion on many aspects of your school’s 

instruction. 

If you haven’t ventured into the digital world and social media 

yet, it’s never too late to get started. AMS offers outstanding products 

and services that can help you develop your school website 

and online strategy. A Facebook account is a great place to post 

polls and get feedback from your community. Operating a blog 

with a comment section gives you access to unfiltered feedback 

from your students. 

Your staff is also a good source of information about your 

school’s strengths and weaknesses. Hold regular meetings where 

you can ask your staff questions and get their input on curriculum 

and course objectives. If staff members leave to pursue other 

career interests, conduct exit interviews where you can hear their 

suggestions for improvement. 

Opening your ears and getting feedback on your school is 

essential to achieving your greatest success. Working smarter and 

not harder will yield you incredible results! 

GRANDMASTER MIKE BUGG is an 8th degree black belt and the owner of a $1.52 million-peryear 

location, with one of the largest after school and summer camp programs in the country. 


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PILLARS OF SUCCESS 

Think Like Successful People! 

by Grandmaster Y. K. Kim 

Success begins inside your head: Be careful what you think! For every time you think 

small thoughts, Your prospects start to shrink. If you choose to think poor thoughts, 

your future will be bleak, but if you choose to think rich thoughts, you’ll reach the 

highest peak. So throw away your mental limits:Think big and deep and 

wide; free your mind and you will find success is on your side. Nothing is 

impossible, so set aside your strife, and dream and wish to set big goals, 

to find success in life! 

Successful people have a Successful 

Mindset 

Thinking big and thinking about possibilities 

will open the door to many opportunities. If you 

can think what ordinary people can’t think, then 

no mountain is too high to climb, and the sky is 

your only limit. You can create a successful 

future. 

Think positively: “Yes I 

can!” -- nothing will be 

impossible. 

Think wisely: Think about 

why (causes) and how (solutions), 

and you can turn 

any crisis into opportunity. 

No obstacles will be too 

tough to overcome. 

Think sincerely: You 

can discover how intelligent, 

positive, confident, 

capable, and strong you are. 

Focus on your dreams and 

you will have positive energy to create a positive future. 

When you think big and think about possibilities, and you think 

positively, wisely, and sincerely, then wherever you are, people will 

welcome you. Your life will be fun, meaningful, worthwhile, and you 

will enjoy a successful life. 

Failures Have a Poor Mindset 

Think small, negatively, carelessly, or stupidly: You will feel 

incapable and painful, and therefore you will do stupid things. You 

will limit yourself and close the door to opportunities. On top of 

that, you will doubt yourself; you won’t achieve anything, you won’t 

build relationships, and you will have a painful life. Wherever you 

are, people will avoid you and you will suffer. 

Can you think like successful people? 

1) Keep your dreams alive: Intentionally practice The 5 Pillars of 

True Success until they become your second nature. You will have 

a successful mindset. 

2) Keep your successful mindset alive. How? Exercise daily 

to get in shape: A positive body brings a positive mind. When 

you think like successful people, you think positively, wisely, and 

sincerely. 

*This is an excerpt from the book The Five Pillars of True Success 

in the section on The Top 10 Successful Habits. 

GRANDMASTER Y. K. KIM is the most successful martial arts business leader in the US, having written 

over 30 books on martial arts, business, leadership, and success. He has won numerous public service 

awards and is the founder of the leading martial arts marketing and management company in the US. 


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THE WAY OF THE SAMURAI 

Combative Weapons Q & A (Part 3) 

by Shihan Danna Abbott 

The Japanese Art of Chanbara Promises Safe Sparring for All Martial Artists 

Q: Which weapons are used for which targets and at 

which ranges? 

Short and long swords use the same basic 5 point areas either 

at a meet or in battle. 

1. Mein or head strike 

2. Kote or wrist strike 

3. Do or stomach strike 

4. Ashi or leg strike 

5. Tsuki or thrust (which is usually aimed to the upper chest or neck). 

The short sword is mostly a one handed sword and the long 

sword generally uses 2 hands to control correctly unless the combatant 

is trained in Jodan and can use the 

long sword with one hand which is very 

difficult. A short sword which is usually 

60 centimeters (24-inches) can also be 

called a wakizashi. 

(The short 

swords used 

by the samurai 

class) This was for 

more in-fighting, 

but was not a warring 

weapon like the 

long sword. 

Just imagine that you 

were in the United States 

civil war and you had a 

pistol and rifle. You 

would use the 

rifle much more, 

but if something 

became of your rifle 

you would naturally 

go to the pistol. The 

Japanese Katana or 

choken was the samurai’s rifle and the wakizashi or kodachi was 

the samurai’s pistol, as a matter of speaking. Of course, there are 

many more weapons like the knife or tanto for very close in-fighting 

and the staff and spear, which are the longest-range weaponry. 

The spear is mostly thrust to the head, neck, chest, and stomach 

as with the staff. Now, the staff in this day and age has many 

applications and can be used to strike many parts of the body, but 

still uses the 5 basic strike areas. *NOTE: the staff was considered 

a spear with the tip broken off. In the United States many practice 

with the staff and all are quite good/excellent. But many take the 

staff which was a longer range weapon and turn it into a medium 

range weapon. The Japanese call this, “the kayak paddle method” 

which leaves one open and can be easily put into difficulty. 

SHIHAN DANA ABBOTT Is a 7th degree black belt in Kenjutsu, starting his 14-year education 

in Tokyo. He has published five books and designed a US Patent. Abbott has also conducted seminars in 

over 30 countries and obtained his black belt at the Hombu dojo in Yokohama. He currently offers online 

classes on LearntheSword.com, his unique swordsmanship academy. 


Photograph by imegastocker

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EXTRAORDINARY MARKETING 

The E-Myth 

by Grandmaster Stephen Oliver 

Years ago, at the recommendation of my friend Tom Callos, I read a book for 

which I have since gained increasing respect. The book is called The E-Myth by a 

gentleman of the name of Michael Gerber. Since I first read his book, I’ve had several 

opportunities to hear him speak, and have met him in San Francisco. His book 

describes the martial arts “industry” perfectly. 

He says that most small businesses in the United States were 

founded by a technician (read: Black Belt or Instructor), who one 

day had an “Entrepreneurial Seizure,” and for some mysterious 

reason became convinced that they should be self-employed. 

The ensuing reality is that the area that person 

was excellent in (in our industry, that is often 

martial athletics, or sometimes teaching) becomes 

a small part of their job. They now 

also have to understand and be good 

at marketing, sales, accounting, negotiations, 

legal issues and even facilities 

maintenance. 

Most of these suddenly-independent 

business owners quickly find that they 

have to work a LOT harder than before for 

a substantially smaller amount of 

money, doing many activities 

for which they may, in fact, 

be poorly suited. 

In fact, a majority 

of small businesses in 

the U.S. are “walking 

dead,” struggling along 

with very little progress, 

working the owner into an 

early grave, and returning 

little in the way of financial 

rewards. 

I don’t think that it would 

be an exaggeration to say 

that martial arts school owners are often at the bottom of the heap 

when it comes to this pattern. 

First Figure Out What You LOVE 

I really think that rule number one in deciding what you are going 

to do and how your business is going to unfold, is to figure out 

what you really love to do. 

If you really love to teach on a daily basis, then you probably 

never want to open multiple locations. 

If you really enjoy training, you may want to consider something 

else as a career, then slot your leisure time for your martial arts 

training. 

I’ve seen many schools begin because a Black Belt just really 

loved to compete or to train. That’s a bad basis for beginning a 

school that requires teaching, marketing, accounting and a host of 

other skills and time commitments. 

GRANDMASTER STEPHEN OLIVER, is a 9th degree black belt and is the founder and CEO of 

Mile High Karate schools, and founder of the Martial Arts Wealth Mastery Program. 


MASTERING MODERN BJJ 

High Quality Leadership 

Standards Must Be Followed 

By Master Carlos Machado 

Something as simple as brushing your teeth before you start talking to your students. 

Placing a mint in your mouth before you go to teach. What do these small things 

matter for a school owner? Simply put, high quality is found in all the small details 

and belief in what you’re doing. 

I can’t have somebody working with me 

that doesn’t believe in what they’re doing. The 

result will be that he’s not going to be able to 

replicate the quality. In fact, he’s going to be 

the first obstacle to it! Sometimes instructors 

and affiliates have to mature to a point where 

they say, ‘OK, I want to be successful and will do 

what it takes.’ Not everybody awakens to this 

kind of drive for high quality with the 

same intensity at the same time. 

Recently, I’ve seen success 

stories amongst some 

of our affiliates. An example 

is this gentleman 

who is married with 

two young kids and 

he wanted to run a 

dojo. That was his 

dream, but he 

was working a 

full-time job in a 

manufacturing 

plant. Of course, 

many of us unfortunately 

know 

how it is to work 

full time and then 

try to teach a martial arts class and run the business. 

Think about it. What quality of energy are you going to have left 

for anything else in your life? When you go home, you won’t want 

to play with your kids. You won’t want to spend time with your wife 

because you’re too tired. You just want to go to bed! Commitment 

to too many things, saps your energy and decreases your quality 

in leading. 

One day this affiliate school owner said, ‘I can’t wait for the day 

that I don’t have to do my daytime job. I can’t be 100% dedicated to 

the school business.’ About six months later, he was able to refrain 

from doing the full-time job and be a full-time martial arts ownerinstructor 

which was a good initial step. But It still took him another 

year for him to be really successful because he was still resisting 

any - and everything that we were trying to tell him. 

My partner and I have Zoom sessions every single week where 

I talk about the martial arts mindset which leads to high quality 

leadership. Some of the subjects about running a martial arts 

school covers marketing and business principles. Finally, the affiliate 

instructor said, ‘You know what, I’m going to just shut up and 

do it, not question it. I’m going to just see what happens.’ 

When he did, it was his most successful month. He made 

as much money as he did all year in that one month. From that 

point on, he said, ‘I don’t question it anymore.’ The thing is, it’s 

best to really apply the principles for high quality from those 

who may know more than you to build up your leadership standards. 

Even if you can accumulate knowledge, if you don’t use 

it, it becomes wasted. 

MASTER CARLOS MACHADO is one of the pioneers of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in the United 

States of America. Currently a Coral Belt, and promoted to Black Belt by Carlos Gracie Junior, Carlos 

Machado came to the USA in the early 1990’s with his brothers where they formed the RCJ Machado 

Jiu Jitsu Association, one of the strongest & growing BJJ organizations in the world today. 


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latest tools, tactics, and strategies 

for operating a successful martial 

arts school or organization. 

We here at Martial Arts World News 

Magazine are on an unstoppable 

mission to help our industry grow, 

and one of the best ways to do that 

is by sharing “what’s working” and 

what’s not. 

So, we want to feature schools, 

school owners, instructors, 

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our readers would find valuable! 

No story is too small or too big for 

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Email Editor@MartialArtsWorldNews.com 

Or Contact us at: 407-895-1996 

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NEXT LEVEL STRATEGY 

Goals We Set Are Goals We Get! 

by Shihan Allie Alberigo 

The link to success is goal setting. In a Harvard study some twenty years ago, 

a professor interviewed nearly 100 people. In his study he asked how many 

people set goals. 

Out of the 100 people only 2% of the people actually set goals 

and stuck to them. Some 20 years later he interviewed the entire 

group and found that the 2% of the people that set goals had accomplished 

more and had a net worth that was 10 

times higher than the entire rest of the group, 

quite a powerful testimonial for goal setting. 

Usually the first of the year is a time when 

people set goals and plans for the upcoming 

year. Many people have high expectations 

of what they want to accomplish. Some may 

want to lose weight, get out of debt, become 

a better person, quit smoking or other bad 

habits, so they set their goals and go on a 

quest for self-perfection. The only 

problem is they are unarmed in 

the battle of goal setting. There 

are some basic principles 

that a person needs in 

order to realize the 

benefits of success 

and goals setting. 

MAP- the massive 

action plan. 

This is the plan that 

takes you from start 

to finish. A person 

who falls short of accomplishing 

goals may not have a 

clear plan of how they are going to 

get to the end result of the plan. For 

instance we need to make a goal, 

have a plan, take consistent action, 

and have a success coach, 

review your progress and renew your goals. This is a student creed 

in the L.I. Ninjutsu Centers Martial arts schools of L.I., N.Y. I teach 

my students that goal setting is imperative to success in all that 

you do. Whether it be achieving your Black Belt or having the best 

marriage possible. 

Consider this- Knowing what you want, for instance you want to 

lose weight. That is an admirable goal. So how do you do it? You 

must get on a diet and an exercise plan. You must have a plan - this 

plan is to set out a daily routine of what you want to do to get to 

that goal. Possibly going to aerobic classes, martial arts or even 

walking in the neighborhood. A success coach - this is very important. 

You need someone that can keep you on track, when you 

want to fall off, someone who will push you a bit. Take consistent 

action- this is going out everyday and working toward your goal. 

It takes 21 days to develop a good habit. So be consistent. Review 

your progress- take the time to see the steps you are taking and 

recognize them. See the strides and accomplishments. If you have 

none then reassess your plan. Renew your goals- this step is important 

because it helps you achieve the goal by realizing why and 

how come you set it in the first place. 

Goal setting is a science. So set the goals and move forward. It 

is easier than 1,2,3. 

SHIHAN ALLIE ALBERIGO is a 7th degree black belt, the founder of the L.I. Ninjutsu 

Centers, one of the largest Ninjutsu schools on the planet, the author of 4 books, and an entrepreneur 

with one of the first online coaching companies. 

80 MARTIAL ARTS WORLD NEWS VOLUME 23 | ISSUE 1 Photograph by IvelinRadkov

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COMPLETE MARTIAL ARTS CONCEPTS 

Enhance Kata Practice To Reach 

Your Full Potential 

by Professor Willie “The Bam” Johnson 

Remember, practicing your kata is a way to personal expression and with it you will be 

assured of reaching your full potential. The following drills will not only improve your 

kata but also make your forms practicing more interesting and fun: 

1. Slow Motion Kata 

The seven areas of kata are focus, breathing, harmony of motion, 

technique, flexibility, body control, and rhythm. Rhythm is the 

most important ingredient in kata expression because performing 

a kata in slow motion allows you to work on all seven of the 

areas mentioned. After getting a feel for your movements, 

you will then be able to increase the speed. 

2. Section Practice 

Section practice should be implemented 

before you increase your speed. All of the martial 

arts systems have different kata. To be able to 

practice sections, you must break them down 

in 10 movements each which gives 

three sections. Now work 

each section five times each, 

increasing the number of 

repetitions after sixty days. 

3. Speed 

Now that you understand 

sections, you can 

begin working your sections 

at full speed with 30-second 

breaks in between. The 

key areas to focus on are 

balance, landing solid as a 

rock, and full extension of 

your techniques. 

4. Kata to Music 

This is different from musical kata because you are not trying to 

choreograph your kata to music but instead to work to the rhythm 

of your favorite music. Use fast music to increase your speed; slow 

music to check your techniques. 

5. Adding to a Kata 

Katas are imaginary fights. Therefore, during your training, you 

can add to this imaginary situation and simultaneously incorporate 

all of the techniques that show your true talents--high kick, 

gymnastics, hand techniques, or jumping techniques, etc. By doing 

this, you will truly display your own individual expression. 

6. Designing Your Own Kata 

A very good drill is designing your own kata. This is done by 

taking all of your best techniques and putting them together in 

your own kata format. The level of difficulty is set by you. The 

beauty of these forms is that they can be practiced in a small space 

which will really improve your close-in fighting skills. 

7. Blindfolded Kata 

You will need a partner for this drill or you may end up injured 

when you run into a wall. Start off in the middle of the room with 

the assistance of your instructor or a classmate. This will help you 

work on getting a feel for your movements and body. You may not 

always be fighting in a well-lit room, so the ability to fight in the 

dark can be a real asset. 

After you feel confident using these drills with your form, try doing 

your weapons kata the same way. 

PROFESSOR WILLIE “THE BAM” JOHNSON is a 7th degree black belt and seven-time sport 

karate and Kung-Fu world champion. He has appeared in four movies, 16 plays, and 11 television shows. He is also 

the national spokesperson for the Stronger than Drugs Foundation and the Champions Against Drugs. 


THE MILLIONAIRE SMARTS COACH 

Free Yourself From 

Too Much Stuff (Part 1) 

By Lee Milteer 

Success and the Law of Vacuum 

A couple of months ago I sold my commercial office building 

of 16 years. I was faced with the daunting task of paring down 16 

years of files and the contents of six rooms, many closets, and a 

storage shed to fit in my new office, which is exactly half as big. 

I was stunned by the reality that most staff are afraid to throw 

anything away, not only physically but online. There were very few 

things I could delegate since no one really had a big picture of 

the end result but me and could make important keep-or-release 

decisions. I will admit it took many months and weekends of me 

going through every file, and reviewing the importance of furniture, 

equipment, supplies, and whatnot. 

I was able to literally cut my space in half and remove hundreds 

of pounds of paper, files, unneeded furniture, and old 

equipment. I now have a much more effective and 

efficient office space, where everything is up to 

date and easy to find. I learned a lot of great 

lessons which I am going to share with you 

in this 5-part series, Free Yourself from Too 

Much Stuff!! I not only suggest you involve 

your family at home to get on board with 

some of these lessons, but also your 

coworkers. I felt a profound sense of 

relief, freeing myself from THE PAST 

and all the trouble, care, and 

worry that had attached itself 

to my really old stuff. 

Take an inventory of 

your Life-Giving items 

and Life-Draining items. 

Physically, your old stuff 

needs to be stored, 

cleaned, and insured – 

draining you of time and 

energy you could be using 

to pursue happiness. Mentally, 

all this stuff takes 

up burdensome space 

in your subconscious 

mind. Less stuff = more 

time, energy, and less 

stress! Less stuff = 

peace of mind, major 

breakthroughs in solutions, 

ideas, new ways 

to make more income. 

Strategy for Creating Prosperity 

Get rid of what you don’t want in your life to make room for 

what you do want. It is said that: NATURE ABHORS A VACUUM. 

To have the opportunity to attract what you do want – such as a 

better relationship, or more abundance – you must make room for 

your desires to manifest. 

No matter what your economic status, no doubt there are many 

possessions that you’re not using, which are just cluttering up your 

life, home, and office. “Things” have a way of piling up as life goes 

on, and before you know it you are burdened with a space that no 

longer feels or looks good. It’s liberating to GET RID OF IT. Donate 

to charity. Drag larger items out the curb – you’ll be surprised at 

how quickly it disappears! 

Keep in mind that when you give yourself permission to let go 

of “stuff” it paves the way for growth. You can remove this chaos 

by being honest with yourself. Take back control of your world by 

letting stuff go that is not working, needs fixing, is outdated, or has 

no meaning to you. Release all this stuff that robs you of time and 

energy! 

If you’re living in fear of lack and tightly holding on to everything 

– your material possessions, your time, your love, your energy or 

ideas – you’re shutting yourself off from the flow of life. When you 

dam up a stream, the water becomes stagnant. When you close off 

your life, you become stagnant. The more unwanted things clutter 

your life, the less room there will be for wanted things to appear. 

MS. LEE MILTEER is an Intuitive Business Coach, award-winning professional speaker, and TV personality 

who has counseled and trained over a million people throughout her career. Lee is Stephen Oliver’s Martial Arts 

Wealth Mastery’s Millionaire Smarts Coach and is also a best-selling author of educational resources. 


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BUDO PHILOSOPHY 

You Will Disturb No One! 

by Shidoshi Alfredo Tucci 

I love education, whose first function is to fulfill the first commandment of my personal 

ideology as far as others are concerned, that is: YOU WILL DISTURB NO ONE! To 

which I gently added my personal apostille of ... AND IF YOU CAN, PLEASE OTHERS ... 

I’m not talking about fake genuflection, redundant reverence, 

pomposity or deceptive compliments, no. Rather, I 

mean kindness and respect, which a friend of mine rightly 

defined as: “The right distance.” When a beardless young 

waiter attends me in a restaurant with phrases like “What 

are you guys gonna have?”, I deeply dislike the astonishment 

of the lack of skill and composure of the 

staff. When you are serving (no demerit 

at all in it, quite the opposite!), you cannot 

place yourself at the same level 

of the person you serve. 

Thus, my position in this magazine 

is to be at the service of those 

to whom I owe myself; that is, both authors 

and readers count on my commitment, which 

is giving the best of myself to present the 

information that others have to transmit. So 

I am the path that others must tread to reach 

their destinies, and the path is never the 

protagonist, but the means on which 

each one walks as God gives the 

person a meaning to go wherever 

the person thinks it appropriate to 

set out. 

If they ask me for directions, 

I mark a route on their maps; if 

they ask me about shortcuts, 

I warn them that there is no 

shortcut to success, it’s the old 

“no pain, no gain”. And even if 

they tell me that to go to Paris 

from Madrid, you have to 

go through Buenos Aires, I 

dare to correct only if my advice is asked; otherwise I don’t state a 

single word. 

No flies enter a closed mouth, and the clever learns more from 

the fool than the fool from the clever. 

Yes, well, it’s good that you can be almost always out of 

reach, but you’ll never completely get rid of so much stupidity: 

unfortunately, there too many “streetlight-huggers” (ass-kissers, 

brown-nosers) who in their pretentious folly want you lying in 

their problems. 

Fools, who confuse gentleness with submission, kindness 

with friendship, and pretend to make their wars a matter of my 

jurisdiction. Understand me, friendship is something precious to 

me, but to a friend you help him avoid conflicts, you don’t get him 

into them. 

The most elementary urbanity, common sense and good manners, 

so dictate. Record the unique law that summarizes all the 

relationships: “You will disturb no one... and if you can ... (because 

you have enough energy left, or simply because you feel good doing 

it) well ... please others”. Apply yourself to it and you’ll see how 

things will go a lot better in life! 

SHIDOSHI ALFREDO TUCCI is the CEO and General Manager of the Budo International Publishing 

Company, a leading publisher in the martial arts with over 35 years in the industry. He is also author of several 

books: The Immaterial Dimension, The Way of the Warrior, and The Spirit. He currently lives in Valencia, Spain. 


Photograph by m_blum

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MASTER THE BASICS 

Energize Your Classroom 

by Master Tina Bane 

There are three requirements to energize your 

classroom: 

1. an exceptional curriculum 

2. a beneficial class schedule 

3. physical and mental sweat 

An exceptional curriculum means that it is easy, exciting 

and meaningful to teach and easy, exciting and beneficial 

to learn. 

A beneficial class schedule means that students 

learn how to set goals and overcome obstacles 

to achieve those goals by participating in the six 

week rotating class schedule with a combination of 

short-term and long-term goals provided by a 

well-organized belt and tip testing system. 

Here is the most idealistic and 

beneficial class schedule: 

First, set your color belt testing 

cycle for every six weeks, 

with a goal of most students 

being eligible to test every 

twelve weeks (after two full 

cycles). Hold your test on a 

Saturday. 

Second, focus on a different 

area of technique every week, so that 

it is easy to teach, easy to learn, and 

beneficial. 

For example: 

Week 1 ..Breaking Technique and Philosophy (e.g., Physical 

Fitness) 

Week 2 ..Poom se (Forms) and Philosophy (e.g., Mental Fitness) 

Week 3 ..Self-Defense and Philosophy (e.g., Moral Fitness) 

Week 4 ..Sparring and Philosophy (e.g., Financial Fitness) 

Week 5 ..Championship and Philosophy (e.g., Life Fitness) 

Week 6 ..Review & Test Rehearsal and Philosophy (e.g., Modern 

Leadership) 

The strong points of the six week cycle schedule are that no 

one gets bored – neither the instructors nor the students -- because 

every week provides a new challenge, plus after every test 

there is a new set of skills to learn. Students are excited every 

week to come to class. 

Third, each day practice the same technique differently. For 

example, during breaking technique week: 

Monday: explain the purpose of breaking technique, how to 

practice individual techniques stepby-step 

in the air, and add the philosophy of breaking bad habits. 

Tuesday: practice on targets with the philosophy of focus, 

speaking the philosophy of the day with each technique. 

Wednesday: practice with your partner as if sparring, speaking 

the philosophy of the day with each technique. 

Thursday: practice with your partner exhibition or action movie 

style, speaking the philosophy of the day with each technique. 

Friday: practice in groups as if competing in a tournament, 

rotating to practice refereeing skills; also review for those who 

missed any previous day. 

Exciting and beneficial classes mean that students get a 

good physical and mental sweat, so they will clean out their bodies 

and minds. 

MASTER TINA BANE is a 6th degree master instructor and owner of a Top Ten martial arts school 

with successful after school and summer camp programs. 


Photos (top left & bottom right) by JackF

INSTRUCTIONAL EXCELLENCE 

Don’t Use a Sledge Hammer to 

Swat Flies (Part 2) 

by Grandmaster Tim McCarthy 

On the emotional level, you can use 

the same principle for motivation. Each 

student is motivated by different 

things: Some are aspirational, so 

when you show them the possibility 

of what they can achieve, they 

get excited. Others are fearful, 

so when you show them something 

that looks (to them) to be 

dangerous, they become hesitant 

and withdraw. 

I used to say in 

enrollment conferences, 

“By 

the time you 

become a 

black belt, 

you will be 

able to break 

concrete with your bare hands.” Some prospective 

students really liked that vision of themselves 

and enrolled right away, while others 

immediately thought, “I’m going to 

break my hand,” and walked away 

without enrolling. I learned that 

not everyone thinks like I do. 

Similarly, there is a principle 

in discipline called “Minimum 

Consequences” that basically 

states that the punishment 

should be just enough to 

change the behavior, but no 

more. The trick is that you 

have to know the student. 

One student will immediately 

stop a wrong behavior 

with just a look, while another may need a harsh word, 

and still another may need to understand why what he 

is doing is harming someone else. Push-ups is not 

the only answer to every infraction (although 

what is perceived as a punishment is actually 

a benefit because it makes them physically 

stronger). 

What I am trying to say is 

that if you learned the 

martial arts in a 

militaristic 

school, 

with harsh 

discipline and 

hard hits, you need 

to evaluate those teaching methods with more experienced 

eyes. Do all your current students need that style of teaching? 

Or will most get the same or even more benefit without the 

use of excessive force? How can you improve your teaching 

methods to match the needs of your current students? Sure, 

you have the power of a hammer, but not every student is a 

nail. You also have tremendous skill, and you can catch more 

flies with honey than with vinegar. It is up to you to evaluate 

your students and choose when you need to be as sweet as 

honey and when you need to be as strong as a sledge hammer. 

If you are losing too many students on their path to black 

belt, which is more likely: They quit because you were too nice 

or because you were too harsh? 

GRANDMASTER TIM MCCARTHY is a 9th degree black belt and is a martial arts educator 

with a master’s degree in education. He has been instrumental in developing two industry-changing 

programs, plus has directed and been featured in hundreds of martial arts videos and webinars. 


Photograph by NeilLockhart

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9 Keys of Black Belt Leadership 

Charisma 

by Grandmaster Lawrence Arthur 

1. To be believed, you have to be believable. Say 

what you mean and mean what you say. Your behavior 

must be consistent with what values you would like 

everyone to believe you live by. Black Belt Excellence 

has to be on display in your school. No piles of whatever 

behind the front desk, or in the corners of the room. 

2. To be interesting, you must be interested. Talking 

is okay, but listening is better. Create lasting relationships 

by asking questions. Listen to their answers and 

ask questions about their answers. You’ve 

heard the old saying, “You have two ears 

and one mouth for a reason”, learn to 

use them in proportion. 

3. Give respect in order to 

receive it. Respect is reflected. 

Giving respect to another person is 

like opening a door to new opportunities. 

Be first to bow, shake hands, smile, 

and speak. 

4. Only real compliments are sincere. 

Recognize the good in others and make it personal. 

Be a good finder. “Any fool 

can find something wrong 

and point it out,….and most 

do”. Stop using phrases 

like “Good Job” or “Awesome” 

and instead, tell 

them exactly what you 

noticed and compliment 

them on it. 

5. Graciously 

accept compliments. 

Never 

refuse them. 

Deflecting a compliment often draws unwanted attention and 

belittles both you and the person who has offered it. Just say, 

“Thank you.” 

6. Say what you are for, not what you are against. Once 

you voice your opposition, you become part of the problem. 

Once you say how you can help, you become part of the solution. 

7. Dress to impress, and always look your best. It is human 

nature to judge appearances. You can be perceived positively 

or negatively: the choice is yours. 

8. Words are indelible-use them wisely. What you say, you 

can’t take back. Bad words are like bad attitudes. They simply 

work against you. 

9. Avoid “charisma crushers” by using proper tone of voice 

and body language. 

What you say and how you say it always tells what you 

really mean. 

GRANDMASTER LAWRENCE ARTHUR has been a martial artist, specializing 

in Karate, Kung Fu, Kenpo, Shotokan, and Goju Ryu, since 1968. He owns 40 Super Kick Karate 

locations and is founder of the American Freestyle Karate Association (AFKA). A world champion 

and hall of famer, Lawrence also runs the Black Belt Success Systems consulting firm, which trains 

martial arts instructors on proper business practices and is used by schools all over the country. 


Photograph by SUNG YOON JO

MARTIAL ARTS PHILOSOPHY 

My Journey With The A.O.K and 

Golden Greek (Part 1) 

By Sensei Gary Lee 

Texas has always been bigger than life to me and there is a great reason why. I blew 

into Texas in 1979, living and working at George Minshew’s now famous Black Belt 

Academy in Houston, Texas. George had accepted my way of fighting and he was 

instrumental in putting me on the national circuit back then, however it all started with 

the A.O.K. 

Back then the Boxing Commission wanted to control Texas 

Sport Karate and they controlled everything; judges, locations, 

fighters, and agendas. Some of the Amazing men of Texas were 

George Minshew, Roy D.Kurban, Jose Santa Maria, Ishmael 

Robles, Al Francis, Joe Alvarado, and Mickey Fisher. Early in the 

organizing Mr. Al Francis and Mikey Fisher left, Al formed the 

A.O.K.A. and Mickey moved to Oklahoma. 

This group of producers and pure Texan fighters 

stepped up and put together an amazing idea. 

They formed a non-profit group of organized 

producers and the non-profit organization 

to control the contact of what was going 

on deeply in Sport Karate events in Texas, 

point Karate. Kickboxing was forming slowly 

with Walt Masons T.A.C.K.A group which 

organized Kickboxing in Texas, but it was 

Black Belt and Under Belt fighting that was 

the concern of the Texas Boxing 

Commission. 

It was a glorious time 

in Sport Karate in Texas. 

The A.O.K. hosted its 

first state championship 

in 1980 in San 

Antonio, Texas. 

It was hosted 

by the great Fighter Al Francis and the newly organized Sport 

Karate group, the A.O.K, and it was a huge success and was off to 

a great start. Tragically the Highly public figure Dimitris Havanas 

“The Golden Greek” was killed in a plane crash in 1981 and the 

A.O.K decided to honor Greek’s Legacy by giving “The Golden 

Greek Award” every year to the Top Players in Kata and Fighting 

with the most points winning in Texas Tournaments. 

“The Golden Greek Award” and MVP of Texas in Sport Karate 

first recipients were Tim Kirby, Rooster Machen and for Women, 

Cynthia Benavidez. It was 1981 and every Texas Black Belt player 

wanted to win the Golden Greek MVP and it was fierce competition. 

It was not only Texas fighting, it was Texas fighters working 

for their acceptance, the MVP Award from their peers, it was 

extremely difficult. 

SENSEI GARY LEE, the American Samurai, is a 9th Dan black belt, a USA Karate 

Federation gold medalist, winner of five Super Grand National Titles, a featured actor in 

the movie Sidekicks, and is the founder of the National Sport Karate Museum. 


Photograph by Дмитрий Ларичев

MANAGEMENT EXCELLENCE 

4 Keys In Planning to Win In 

Your Summer Camp 

by Grandmaster Kirk Pelt 

Our headquarters school has run a very profitable and successful summer camp over 

the last couple of years in Florida in the face of a pandemic and market changes. 

It takes fundamental effort and changes in how you promote 

and how you execute. These simple principles lead to 

record results last year for summer camp at the head headquarter 

school. In the beginning stages of the year, we’re at 

$140,000 in revenue this year and already two thirds full for 

summer camp and we’re targeting between 200 campers and 

$225,000 this year. 

In a typical suburban profile demographic 

city you must have a fundamental mindset 

for success. Don’t be a victim. I understand 

the pandemic and we had to deal with it like 

everyone else. You have to start in order to 

have a successful summer camp by having 

the mindset to be a victor. 

The first step is you have to plan to win. 

Planning to win requires preparation as the 

key even though it is only into the first quarter of the 

year. In fact, we began to prepare and planned to 

win last year back in October. If you haven’t 

picked up the cart and started to run 

down the street yet, it’s time to do it 

now. So plan to win. 

In order to plan to win: 

First, you have to decide 

what resources you’re gonna 

use to promote. So what do I 

mean by resources? I mean 

what your promotions will be. 

What are the actions you’re 

gonna take to get the word 

out about your summer 

camp program? For example, 

brochures. You have to plan what resources you’re gonna 

use to promote your program beforehand. 

Second, you have to plan your operation. You have to plan the 

complete 9, 10, 11, or 12 weeks of summer camp. You completely 

plan it ahead which means you need to plan a full schedule taking 

into everything you’re gonna do during the summer camp. 

Third, you have to plan for your staff. This is a big one. You have 

to plan how you’re going to staff the camp in order to maximize 

summer camp and minimize the stress on your staff and you. 

Fourth, you have to plan what your income, your expenses, 

and your profit will be for summer camp. We’re just talking about 

summer camp, but of course, your traditional program is a whole 

different part of the business that requires a projection too. We’re 

specifically talking about summer camp. 

So these four steps are what you should do initially in order to 

have a successful summer camp. 

GRANDMASTER KIRK PELT is an 8th degree black belt and is the President of a multimillion 

dollar, multi-school organization, has a 30-year track record of success, and is currently on 

the leading edge of martial arts curriculum and business innovation. 


Photograph by Ratana21

ADVERTISER INDEX 

A Touch of Zen 

ATouchofZen.com .................................61 

Action Mega Convention 

ActionMegaHoh.com/. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 

Atlas Martial Arts Software 

AtlasMartialArtsSoftware.com ...............2, 40, 93 

Action Hero Photos 

ActionHeroPhotos.com ............................97 

Adventures of Harry & Friends 

AdventuresOfHarryAndFriends.com ................21 

Amazing Martial Arts Websites 

AmazingMartialArtsWebsites.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11, 81 

AMS Billing 

OurAMS.com ............................. 23, 70, 108 

AMSkids 

OurAMS.com/AfterSchool ......................63, 77 

Black Belt Principles 

BlackBeltPrinciples.com ............................91 

Break Like a Champ 

TeamChipTKD.com ................................79 

Budo International Magazine 

BudoInternational.com .............................83 

Extraordinary Marketing 

ExtraordinaryMarketing.com ........................75 

Master Karen Eden 

CenturyMartialArts.com ............................15 


ElitePublications.org ...........................31, 107 

Kick Start Kids 

KickStartKids.org .................................. 17 

Kids Point MMA 

PointMMA.com ....................................87 

Kovar Systems 

KovarSystems.com ................................57 

Learn the Sword 

LearnTheSword.com ...............................27 

Lee Milteer 

Milteer.com ........................................91 

MA Biz Academy 

MABizAcademy.com .......................... 55, 101 


MaBusinessInstitute.com ......................29, 105 

Martial Arts History Museum 

MAMuseum.com ..................................95 

Ninja Fighting Techniques 

tuttlepublishing.com ...............................33 

Otomix 

Otomix.com .......................................12 

Sport Karate Museum 

SportKarateMuseumArchives.com ..................97 

An-Shu Stephen K. Hayes 

NinjaSelfDefense.com .........................33, 47 


4d-2d.com ........................................86 


TomPatire.com ....................................34 

Vision 

VisionMA.com ......................................3 

Warrior Defence Lab 

TheEvolutionOfKrav.com ...........................35 


YkKim.com ....................................45, 68 


Lulu.com ..........................................26 


THE WARRIOR WAY 

What do you feel motivated 

about right now? 

by Grandmaster Bill Clark 

When it comes to people there are different motivations – security, money, success, 

love, growth, personal growth, contribution, significance… 

Do you know what motivates you? If you can’t 

answer that right away, it’s most likely one of the 

reasons you are not as fulfilled or happy as you 

would like to be. 

Personally speaking, I’m highly motivated 

by growth and contribution. And that is what 

drove me to keep learning and contribute to the 

growth and education of others. Every 

day I wake up highly motivated. 

Really! I’m moving towards 

my goals but my real drivers are 

my personal growth, the growth of our business 

and my ability to contribute to the success and 

happiness of others. 

For me, this is the real WHY. It’s the part that 

is really fulfilling for me. It’s not about 

the goals as much as why I want 

to achieve them. I’ve met too 

many people who set goals 

but hardly make any steps 

towards them. It’s not 

that they don’t have 

goals, they just don’t 

have the motivation 

to reach them. It’s 

critical that you 

know your key 

motivators! 

However, 

all these will be 

wasted if you 

can’t develop and maintain sufficient motivation to 

put them into action. While it is easy to talk about 

success and happiness, it is the work needed to 

achieve them where most people fall off the wagon. 

I went to school with some fantastic people. We 

had a lot of fun together. Some of us went to university 

after we graduated from school, others started 

families. And some of them got jobs. 

Many years later, at school reunions or chance 

meetings, I reconnected with many of them and 

was really interested to see what they had done 

with their lives. Some were really happy, but most were living lives 

of quiet desperation in boring jobs and barely meeting the financial 

needs of their families. They were amazed at my life, how much I’d 

learned, traveled, and achieved… even become famous. 

Like me, you probably remember your days at school and how 

you would talk with your friends about the future. 

The road to success begins with the idea: Get out of bed, walk 

out the gate. Just put one foot in front of the other as you head 

somewhere and it will always lead somewhere! Sure, there are 

forks in the road, but they are choices you get to make that shape 

your journey. 

So I had friends who wanted to be mothers and fathers, to 

raise a family… and they did. And I had friends who dreamed of 

great things that never did them. And I had friends who didn’t say 

anything and did so well in business and in the stock market and 

retired at 42! But I also had a dear friend who dreamed of great 

things, and had the talent, but got so lost along the way, they killed 

themself. To me, that is the saddest one. It doesn’t matter what 

your goal is, what matters is that you are passionate about the 

journey towards it. 

GRANDMASTER BILL CLARK is a 9th degree black belt and a former PKA Fighter of 

the Year. He is widely considered one of the top experts in martial arts business with over 50 years 

of leadership and innovation, having been inducted into almost every Hall of Fame in the industry. He 

is one of the largest multi-school owners in the world. 


Photograph by kieferpix

STAFF DEVELOPMENT 

An Epiphany From My Experience 

Why Students Might Leave (Part 1) 

by Grandmaster Zulfi Ahmed 

Have you ever had this conversation with someone and/or even a dialog with your own 

self? It goes something like this, “Well they were just not serious,” or “they never took 

their training seriously,” Or “I knew it from the start that they did not take Martial Arts 

seriously,” or that they “never connected,” or that they “never knew what was going on.” 

You know the emotion that I am referring to. Usually it was 

about the student or their parents. Well in some cases this could 

not be far from the truth. But in most cases, this is not at all the reality. 

It is what we want to assume or even our own 

excuse to justify losing a student. 

You see, when we lose a student, we 

have a natural tendency to, most of the 

time, put the blame on the student and 

simply shuck it as they were not being 

serious or connected. We have to justify 

it, in order to keep our sanity, and not to 

let this stress us out, like it does most of 

the time. 

Well, today I have a totally different 

take on this. Ask yourself this question. 

If in the first place they were not 

serious or that they really did not 

want to start or take this activity 

seriously. 

Then why in the world did 

they enroll in the first place? 

Why in the world did they take 

time out of their busy schedule 

to investigate our activity and 

search for our business and 

make an effort of going 

through the process of finding, trying, and then starting an activity 

which if in the first place they already knew that they would quit? 

Why in the world would they spend their hard earned money to 

spend it on something that they knew that they would quit? Just 

think about it for a moment! It just doesn’t make sense does it? 

Now here we can argue that they made an impulsive decision 

and that they later on changed their mind. Ok, I can agree with 

this. But if all your customers are making an impulsive decision 

then something is really wrong with this picture. No, not everyone 

makes impulsive buying decisions, no matter how savvy your selling 

process is. No, not everyone. 

We know statistically that on an annual basis, Martial Art 

schools lose 80% or even more members every year. If it was not 

true then almost all the schools would have a couple of thousand 

students in 5 to 10 years. But this is not the case is it ? We lose 

more than what we keep. And that’s the honest truth. 

As far as losing students, 3 to 5 % loss is normal and can be 

justified, I can understand that. Due to life circumstances and 

changes in people’s lives we surely lose students. But the majority 

of the time things don’t change in a fast and drastic Manner. Yes at 

times it does happen but not often. 

Then why do we lose so many students all the time? Think 

about it! Could it be that we might be the ones at fault? And to be 

blamed? For Most of the losses? Think about it with an open mind. 

Without ego or pride. Maybe we need to take a look at it from their 

perspective for a minute. 

GRANDMASTER ZULFI AHMED has amassed acclaim as a world-class competitor, martial 

arts educator, and is most notably founder and designer of the internationally renowned style, Bushi Ban. 

With over 45 years of martial arts experience and over 300 martial arts awards, his schools include ten 

locations across Texas. 


TOOL 

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bring new students in your door. 

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bring dozens of new students 

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also receive a fully developed 

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To receive this Special Gift, visit 

MaBizAcademy.com/Gift

Tools & Tactics 

How to Lose Respect in One 

Easy Lesson 

by Ms. Chris Lee 

If you want to lose the respect of your students, here’s how to do it and do it quickly: 

act like a bill collector instead of a martial arts instructor. 

Most of the martial arts masters I speak with on a daily basis 

became professional instructors because they wanted to share 

with others the benefits they had received from practicing the 

martial arts. They remember the close bond they had with their 

own master, and the impact he had on their lives. They hope they 

can earn that kind of respect from their own students and have a 

similar effect on their lives. 

They did not open a martial arts school so 

that they could chase after people for money. 

That just wasn’t part of the game plan. 

Unfortunately, things happen. The 

primary income of a martial arts school is 

the tuition students pay for instruction, 

and that tuition is usually paid over time, 

in monthly payments. Not everyone 

will remember to pay on time. Some 

people will have accidents and other 

unforeseen expenses, and will not 

want to pay for a month or two. At 

that point, what can you do? 

Here’s a little secret: the right 

answer is NOT to become the bill 

collector and ask the students 

for the money they owe you. 

The right answer is also NOT to 

ask your wife or a staff member 

to ask the student for money. 

Both of these solutions create 

more problems than they solve 

because they set up an adversarial 

relationship between 

the student and the school. 

Fortunately, the right 

answer is also just one easy step: hire a professional tuition billing 

service from the beginning to take all those headaches away. You 

can then take all the time you and your staff currently spend on 

sending late notices, calling students on the phone, and dealing 

with frustrated parents in person, and use that time to recruit new 

students. Every hour you spend collecting current tuition could be 

invested in recruiting new students who are worth thousands in additional 

income. When you try to handle your billing in-house, you 

save a nickel and miss out on making dollars. It’s just not worth it. 

Professional companies also provide additional professional 

services, like accounting. Whenever you want to know who has 

paid and who is late, you can get up-to-date reports online anytime. 

In addition, the best companies offer other valuable services 

like marketing materials, management assistance, and consulting. 

If you or any member of your staff is wasting time and ruining 

your reputation by chasing after students for money, I recommend 

that you trade in your headaches for extra time to enroll new 

students, and earn new income. Call the professionals at AMS at 

1-800-275-1600 to preserve your dignity and the good reputation 

of your school. AMS is your one-stop-shop for martial arts school 

owners. We do it all, so you don’t have to. 

MS. CHRIS LEE is a martial arts business development consultant with a background in online and 

social media marketing. 


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Martial Arts World News Magazine - Volume 23 | Issue 1

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