Three ways to retain students at your martial art academy

By Brody Karmenzind

When running a martial art gym/academy/school, it’s essential to retain students for the longevity of your business.  Sure, your star fighters might bring in money from time to time, however, they aren’t the bulk of your income, the regular students are. We have put together three easy steps to build retention in your gym that will ensure your business success!
 
1. Be personal! If you’re the head instructor of the gym, make sure your presence is felt at an individual level with new students. Even if you are well known fighter, you need to introduce yourself to every new student, help them with techniques from time to time, or even offer a free private lesson. By strengthening your relationship right away, it shows that you care, and it helps builds students sentiment towards your gym and will keep them around.
 
2. Have a great staff! You need to have upbeat instructors that genuinely care about what they are doing. Your staff directly represent your gym aka your brand. You must make sure they are on the same page as you, they need to; keep things fun for your students, look official with gym branded clothing, and be knowledgably about their discipline. Steve Jobs once said that, “A players like to play with A players.” So essentially, you need to hire a good staff that all drive each other to do the best job possible. You can fire the C and D players; they will not help you in the long run. By having a great staff your students will stick around.
 
3. Create team unity through branding! Your gym is not just a building; it’s a brand, just like Nike! You, your instructors, your facility, even your students are your brand. An essential way to create a sense of team unity of your brand is through gear and clothing that all have consistent logos for everyone in your gym. Having this consistency within your gym shows membership, pride in one’s gym and it’s also great advertisement on the streets! Unity keeps people together, and will enable you to retain more students.

 
Implement these steps and your retention will be stronger! What are some ways you have retained students?

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Muay Thai returns to Milwaukee in a big way!  The NAFC and Road to Glory USA have a huge card planned with over 30 bouts!  Don't miss it!  Check out NAFC.tv for more info

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On Saturday April 13^th live from the Mandalay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada and broadcasted nationwide wide on FX comes the much anticipated finale of The Ultimate Fighter 17. Now that the cast has been narrowed down to the final two fighters that will compete to see who will receive the UFC contract undoubtedly MMA fans will be tuning in to see the TUF winner but many more will be tuning in to see two of the top bantamweights in the UFC square off as Scott “Young Guns” Jorgensen (14-6) faces Urijah “The California Kid” Faber (27-6).  These former training partners have both won three out of their last five fights and both picked up their most recent wins by first round submissions.

However Jorgensen’s wrestling skill, conditioning, and aggression could be the major deciders in this bout. It’s true that Faber has great takedowns but Jorgensen has great wrestling defense, and having been a former training partner of Faber, he will most likely know when Faber is going to shoot in for a takedown. Jorgensen’s aggression could be a major factor in this fight as well, by not allowing Faber to settle in and get comfortable as Jorgensen pushes the pace of the fight, it may take Faber out of his rhythm and that’s when Jorgensen will most likely look to capitalize with his striking. The fight should be a barn burner and if that’s the case Jorgensen should have more than enough in the tank to wear down Faber, as Jorgensen’s conditioning is incredible. As Faber will begin to fade in the later rounds look for Jorgensen to come to life and take advantage of the slowing Faber.

Don't Miss Scott Jorgensen battle Urijah Faber at the Ultimate Fighter Finale April 13th. 

On March 29^th the North American Fighting Championship returned to Potawatomi Bingo and Casino to host NAFC “Battleground”. In front of a packed house some of the top up and coming MMA fighters got to showcase their talent for the crowd and as a special treat to those who attended they got to see Sergio “The Phenom” Pettis fight once again in front of his hometown crowd in Milwaukee. Sergio has been fighting for Resurrection Fighting Alliance recently but when an injury forced his opponent off the RFA card, RFA was gracious enough to lend out “The Phenom” to NAFC. After picking up a unanimous decision over Josh Robinson (7-7) at “Battleground”, Sergio would extend his undefeated streak to 7-0 and for Milwaukee fight fans it may be the last time we get to see Pettis fight in the local venues for a while. Sergio is constantly getting more national attention as his career continues to soar to the top, and with RFA being a nationally televised organization it won’t be long before Sergio, much like his brother Anthony, catches UFC president Dana White’s eye and gets called up to the big show.

Also on the card, Sergio’s teammate, James Barber showcased his Jiu Jitsu skills in only his second professional fight. Barber was able to lock in a rear naked choke and tap out his opponent, Joel Chapman (1-1) in 3:17 of the very first round. Barber looks to be a talented and well-rounded fighter that will certainly make his presence felt in the NAFC organization as he continues to grow as a fighter. With many of the NAFC’s biggest competitors advancing to major organizations and Milwaukee continuing to be a hot bed for fighters the future of this young prospect looks very bright.

Combat Corner Professional is the official Fight Glove of Prime Fighting in Washington.  If you are in the are make sure to check out there debut event Fight Night at the Fairgrounds April 13th.

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Combat Corner Professional is the official fight glove of the NAFC!  Don't miss this one.