3.5 Aspects of a “Great” Martial Arts School

I’ve been training in various martial arts schools, boxing gyms and health clubs across the country since 1983, and over the years I’ve had the opportunity to experience just about every type of training environment imaginable. I’ve trained in beautiful facilities with thousands of square feet and tiny schools tucked away in places you can’t notice from the road. I’ve worked with incredibly talented instructors and some who probably should have taken a different career choice. I’ve experienced classes that left me physically exhausted and still mentally inspired, and I’ve experienced others where I spent most of the class wondering when it was going to end.

But I learned something from every one of them.

From the great schools, I learned new techniques, training drills, teaching methods and ways to motivate & develop my students. More importantly, I often walked away wanting to become better myself. I wanted to train harder, improve my own skills, become a better instructor and bring some of that same energy back to my students.

And from the not-so-great schools, I learned something equally valuable: what I didn’t want my own schools to become. All of those experiences eventually helped shape the schools I owned and operated, my philosophy as an instructor and, many years later, much of what has become Black Belt Living.

Because I believe a great martial arts school should do much more than produce people who can kick high, punch hard or memorize enough curriculum to earn another belt. A great school should create an environment where ordinary people are challenged to become extraordinary versions of themselves. It should be a place where people learn to do difficult things, overcome limitations, develop discipline, build confidence and discover that they're capable of far more than they originally believed.

And whether you teach Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Jiu-Jitsu, Kickboxing, Kung Fu, MMA or something completely different, I believe there are certain characteristics that nearly every truly great martial arts school has in common.

Here are my 3.5 Aspects of a “Great” Martial Arts School.

1. Student Attitude

I’m pretty laid back about a lot of things in life, but training in martial arts isn't one of them.

I love to train, and I love to train hard. Sometimes that's lifting weights. Sometimes it's heavy bag work, sparring, weapons training or working on a particular skill I've decided needs attention. The training itself has changed considerably as I've gotten older (my body seems to enjoy reminding me that I'm no longer 25) but the desire to improve hasn't.

If you've spent most of your life in martial arts, you probably understand exactly what I'm talking about.

There's something incredibly satisfying about walking out of a great training session knowing you gave your best. You're tired, you're sweaty, and maybe a few things hurt. But you also know you're a little better than you were when you walked through the door.

That's an attitude we need to deliberately develop in our students.

A great martial arts school creates a culture where effort matters most. Students don't have to be the most athletic person in the room, they don't have to learn as quickly as everyone else, nor do they need perfect coordination, flexibility or natural ability. But they should learn that when they step onto the floor, they're expected to give the best effort they're capable of giving that day. That mindset becomes contagious if you’re consistent with this.

(It also takes a load of pressure off of the students who think they need to be perfect to be a good martial artist. Lower belts and younger kids always think that they should look like the higher ranks who are on the Demo Team. And when they don’t it can crush a kid’s self-esteem. This naturally alleviates that.)

Surround yourself with people who constantly complain, make excuses and do the absolute minimum and eventually that attitude begins affecting everyone around them. Surround yourself with people who train hard, encourage one another, set goals and genuinely want to improve, and that becomes contagious too.

Eventually, new students walk into your school and immediately recognize, ‘this is how we do things here’. That's culture beginning to work for you. The goal isn't to create an army of students terrified of disappointing the instructor. It's to develop students who eventually learn to expect more from themselves.

That's a very different thing, and it's one of the first signs that you're building a great martial arts school.

2. School Environment and Culture

Every martial arts school has a culture- the question is whether you deliberately created yours or simply allowed one to develop.

Walk into enough schools and you'll feel the difference almost immediately. Some schools feel welcoming, professional and energetic. Students greet one another. Instructors know people's names. Parents understand what's expected. Higher-ranking students help beginners. People train hard without needing to prove how tough they are.

Other schools feel completely different.

The interesting thing is that culture rarely happens by accident. It begins with the school owner and leadership team and moves downward through the ranks. Also, what you tolerate becomes part of your culture, however, what you consistently reinforce becomes part of your culture faster.

If students are allowed to fool around throughout class without correction, you've taught everyone that focus isn't particularly important at your school. If instructors routinely show up late, you've communicated something about the professionalism of your school. If advanced students treat beginners like punching bags, you've taught everyone something about the leadership at your school. If instructors don't know their students' names, goals or struggles, you've communicated something about how you value the relationships with your students.

But the opposite is equally true.

When instructors notice effort and praise improvement, that becomes part of the culture. When black belts help white belts, that becomes part of the culture. When students learn that personal strength and kindness can exist at the same time, that becomes part of the culture. When parents see instructors holding children accountable while also genuinely caring about them, that becomes part of the culture.

And when principles such as respect, discipline, perseverance, humility, responsibility and service aren't simply words hanging on the wall but behaviors being practiced throughout the school, martial arts training begins accomplishing something much greater than teaching physical techniques.

This is where martial arts and Black Belt Living intersect so naturally for me.

We aren't simply trying to help someone earn a black belt. We're trying to help them develop some of the qualities associated with becoming one. That's why your school's culture matters so much.

Students may eventually forget the exact combination they learned on a Tuesday night fifteen years ago. But they may never forget the instructor who taught them not to quit when something became difficult. They may forget a particular kicking drill, but remember discovering that they were stronger than they thought in that one class a few years ago. They may forget exactly what you said during a mat chat, but carry the principle behind it into their marriage, career, parenting and relationships years later.

That's impact- and great schools create it intentionally.

3. Instructors and Coaches

I've trained with a lot of instructors over the years. A LOT.

And if there's one thing I've learned, it's that the person standing at the front of the room can either dramatically accelerate a student's growth or slowly destroy their enthusiasm for training.

I've watched instructors allow students to remain comfortably mediocre in their skill set because correcting them required too much effort. I've watched people teach self-defense techniques they couldn't realistically perform themselves. I've watched instructors attempt to teach things they barely understood because they saw someone else do it online. I've watched coaches stare at their phones while students were paying them for supposed ‘quality’ instruction. I've even watched beginners get thrown into situations they clearly weren't prepared for and then get blamed when things went badly.

That's not tough training, that's pathetic and useless teaching. A great instructor understands the difference between challenging someone vs overwhelming them.

If an exercise is difficult, teach the student how to build toward it. If a technique isn't working, determine why. If a beginner isn't ready to spar hard, give them the time they need. If someone is struggling physically, find a way to challenge them at their current level while continuing to move them forward.

That's coaching. That’s teaching. That’s leading.

Great instructors also understand that their responsibility extends beyond demonstrating technique. They set the emotional temperature of the room. Their enthusiasm matters, their preparation matters, their appearance matters, their language matters, their patience matters and their personal example matters.

Students are always watching us, even when we don't realize they're watching.

That's why I believe instructors should make a reasonable effort to live the principles they're teaching. We don't have to be perfect. None of us are. But if we're teaching discipline, we should demonstrate discipline. If we're teaching humility, we should be capable of admitting when we're wrong. If we're teaching lifelong learning, we should still be learning ourselves (take a look at the Absolute Black Belt Test!). If we're asking students to become healthier, stronger and more capable, we should be making an effort to do the same.

A great instructor doesn't simply stand in front of students and say, "Do what I tell you”. Whenever possible, they demonstrate: "This is how we live."

That is true leadership.

And it's one of the reasons instructor development should be one of the highest priorities in any martial arts school. Your facility can be beautiful. Your marketing can be brilliant. Your curriculum can be outstanding. But ultimately, the people delivering that experience will determine how students feel about your school.

Develop great instructors and you'll develop better students. Develop better students and you'll build a stronger school.

3.5 The Classes!

You can have beautiful bathrooms, expensive mats, a fancy website, inspirational posters and a front desk that looks like it belongs in a five-star hotel, but if your classes are boring, poorly organized and uninspiring, none of that is going to save you.

The class is both the product and the service that you sell.

A great martial arts class should challenge students physically, mentally and technically. Depending on your style and curriculum, students may work cardiovascular endurance, strength, mobility, coordination, balance, speed, power and stamina while simultaneously developing actual martial arts skills.

They should hit things, they should move, they should sweat, they should think strategically, they should learn to solve problems, they should occasionally struggle, AND they should laugh!

And somewhere during all of that, they should get better at their martial arts skills.

I've always believed in exposing students to a broad range of skills where appropriate: Boxing, Kickboxing, advanced kicking, practical self-defense, traditional martial arts, weapons training, ground defense and other methods that keep students learning and developing throughout their martial arts journey.

But variety for the sake of entertainment isn't enough, there should be a bigger and more meaningful purpose behind what you're teaching.

A great class has structure. Students understand what they're learning and why they're learning it. Fundamentals are reinforced while new challenges are introduced. Beginners experience success without being babied. Advanced students remain challenged instead of simply repeating the same material year after year.

Most importantly, students should feel that their instructors are ‘with them’.

They should know that when something becomes difficult, you're not standing on the sidelines waiting for them to fail. You're coaching them through it, correcting them, encouraging them and you're demanding more when they're capable of more and occasionally backing off when that's what they genuinely need.

This style of relationship is what creates trust. And trust allows us to challenge students beyond places they might willingly go on their own. That's when something interesting begins happening, students think they're learning how to kick better, but they're also learning persistence. They think they're developing punching combinations, but they're also learning focus. They think they're preparing for a belt test, but they're also learning goal setting, consistency and delayed gratification. They think they're simply getting into better physical condition, but they're discovering confidence that begins showing up in other areas of their lives.

That's Black Belt Living in action.

A great martial arts school isn't great because it has the most trophies, the largest facility, the most students or the highest-ranking instructor. It's great because people become better there. Better martial artists, absolutely, but also stronger, healthier, more disciplined, more confident and more capable human beings. And maybe that's the real measurement every school owner should occasionally ask themselves:

Are my students becoming better people because they train here?                 

If the answer is yes, keep going. Keep improving and keep challenging your instructors. Keep developing your students and keep raising your standards. Because you're doing much more than running a martial arts school.

You're creating a place where people learn how to become black belts on the training floor, and begin learning how to live like a Black Belt everywhere else.

That's what I would call a GREAT martial arts school.