Interested in running your own affiliate school? Are you emotionally attached to teaching your hobby – what you like to do as a martial artist? Or are you running a business, earning a dignified living teaching effective martial arts for the most benefit to the largest number of your community members?
What is the purpose of your training group? Is your school’s purpose to:
- Perpetuate an art or style?
- Impress your seniors?
- Pay homage to your instructor?
- Serve as a shrine to you?
- Provide you with a way to bring in money without really working?
- Give you training partners for your own individual study and progress?
Other reasons for operating a martial arts school might include:
- Helping as many people as possible enhance their lives through martial arts
- Strengthening your community by teaching more people about the values of self-confidence, discipline, and respect that comes from knowing how to protect yourself
- Maybe saving someone’s life by teaching as many people as possible how to protect themselves
- Giving people a sense of power in their lives by helping them develop their physical and mental potential through the martial arts
Notice that the first group is non-student-oriented. You are not focused on serving the student. You are serving your own agenda and expecting your students to commit to serving you. The second group is student-oriented. You are focused on providing for the needs of the student.
To-Shin Do Training Center Mission Statement
- To enhance our community and its citizens by means of positive personal development skills acquired through To-Shin Do martial arts training
- To provide a safe haven of positive energy and support for our students’ mental and physical growth
- To inspire the quest for personal excellence through our example as Black Belts both in and out of the martial arts school
- To ensure the long-term growth and prosperity of the school and its staff members by providing legendary student service
- It is crucially important for all of us to be teaching from the latest To-Shin Do® curriculum. We need to renew our motivation to provide the best possible instruction and service imaginable.
Again, what is your mission? What is the purpose of your school? Are you running your school as a hobby to satisfy your own emotional needs and bring in a few bucks on the side? Or are you a professional educator running a profitable business dedicated to bringing out the best in as many of your community members as possible, thereby sustaining a dignified and powerful life for your family?
That focus on professionalism does not mean that you should not pursue those things that you enjoy – just step back and objectively evaluate whether what turns you on is the same thing that your clients are looking for. If you are really interested in running a quality school and earning a decent income then you must approach your business as a career – not as a way to pursue your hobby full-time.
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