A student can throw a tidy combination on the pads. Their guard comes back, their feet move and they know what comes next. Then sparring starts. They hesitate, reach from too far away or throw the whole combination whether it fits or not. Before tel...

How to Teach Sparring to Beginners: A Safer, Smarter Progression If you're wondering how to teach sparring to beginners, the answer isn't simply to make them spar more. Start by teaching the skills inside sparring – movement, distance, defence, cont...

A few days ago, it was hot in the dojo. Not slightly warm. Properly hot. One of the children was working combinations on the bag with two large fans pointing towards her. From the right angle, it looked like we had set up a dramatic photoshoot. Wind...

Most martial arts schools don’t have a lead problem. They have a retention problem. New students come in. They seem interested. They buy the kit. They attend for a few weeks. Then one day they just stop showing up. No message. No complaint. No drama...

New Students Usually Leave Quietly – Why Martial Arts Schools Need A Better Onboarding System New martial arts students often leave quietly because they feel unsure, unnoticed or unsupported. Here’s how a better onboarding system can improve retenti...

Your Warm-Up Is Not Just A Warm-Up A better martial arts warm-up should prepare students for the lesson ahead, not just make them tired. Here’s how to make your warm-ups more useful, focused and connected. A warm-up should do more than make students...

A better intro lesson beats a better sales script. Every time. That might sound strange if you have spent years being told that the secret to converting more trials is having the perfect closing line, the perfect objection handler or the perfect “li...

Sparring is not separate from class quality. It is one of the clearest signs of it. When sparring is well designed, students build timing, distance, control, confidence, decision-making and composure. When sparring is badly designed, students get ne...

Most martial arts school owners spend a lot of time thinking about how to get more students. More leads. More trials. More enquiries. More adverts. More website traffic. More posts on Facebook that hopefully do something other than mildly annoy your...

If you’ve taught martial arts for any length of time, you’ve probably had the thought: “I cannot teach this jab again.” Or this guard pass. Or this escape. Or this same round kick that seems to vanish from everyone’s memory the second you say, “Righ...