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Thank you!
Happy to report everyone came back the following week for training and the mood was entirely up beat.
Jim has taken two weeks off to allow his knee to recover, but I expect him to start training again Sunday.
James energy is doubled and his enthusiasm seems to be contagious — way fun!
Thanks Rick – the experience was both a real challenge and an enormous pleasure.
And it was really fun having you as our guest – you were a pleasure to share meals with and your seminar was excellent and thought provoking!
Very exciting to have such a clear view of new material to work on
Thank you!
Not enough time to read this entire thread, but what I have read is solid — the website is looking better, testimonials yes, clarity yes and the product is you — bang on Laird — and I want a T-shirt!!! Heck, Rory needs T’s too — they really help with branding — I’m constantly wearing my McKaskell Haindl t’s
This new direction and focus rocks!!
Time to ditch my writer’s block and get that testimonial out.
Good stuff Rick!
Agreed – when one has run out of choices the few that remain don’t look as bad as doing nothing….
I find guns really, REALLY freaking scary now that I’ve spent a little time with them.
Ignorance is bliss
Dang, there’s a lot to learn…
ordered ‘Complete Book of Shooting’ from library – still waiting, but I went Thursday to do some plinking at Crumlin. They’re bending their rules a little for me because I’m supposed to take a course there before I can handle club pistols, but there weren’t enough people signed up to run it last month so the firearms master spent a little time with me so I’d know the protocols and be able to shoot a little before having the course – which will run end of march now.
What a ton of fun! And loads of advice from some folks who appear to know a lot about shooting targets – it was most helpful.
The club has several pistols and for my first time I chose a Browning Buck Mark:
http://www.bullseyelondon.com/browning-buck-mark-standard-urx-22lr-pistol-051407490-canada.html
planning to go again this Thursday — thinking Jim and I will need to fins a new evening to train — but I’m clear while his foot heals as he’s not back to training again yet.
So, we had re-scheduled Jim’s test for February 15, but the day before we were training with two of the fellows who were going to play uke and Jim somehow managed to injure his foot. Rick knows about tis because I emailed and things looked not so bad, but there were stitches involved.
Anyway, Jim went in to have the stitches removed and, because of the continued pain, they did an ex-ray and it turns out he broke one of his metatarsals.
So, we’ll need to wait for that to heal up…sorry, anti-climactic, but I’ll keep you all posted about new dates.
Damn.
Interesting to read this thread.
My view of the wauke was really opened training golden eagle…same physical movement kind of…completely different flavour and interpretations.
Then training with Rick.
Then, at a savat seminar I attended – the guy was showing us really cool stuff which was devastating and maybe overly complex, but it did some cool things and it was all wauke….indeed – it was uechi right from the kata.
Then going to florida last spring and working with some other uechi folks and I was moving…shearing and circling my arms — using the wauke when my uke, an instructor herself, said something to the effect of, “hey, that’s not uechi – you’re not supposed to do that”…and yet it worked really well. Huh? She explained what I did came from wingchun and I shouldn’t do that at a uechi seminar…um…really?…dumbfounding
Well, I’m sticking with what I can make work.
I don’t think there’s any point trying to change what they think — best simply to do what works and let others sort it out looking up from the floor.
Haven’t seen this in years – raw, simple power…awesome!
Of course, a tiny jolt to my neck like that these days would cripple me…sad I didn’t find the dark side earlier LOL
Just backing up a little and thinking about life experience.
The credibility that comes from violent experience is a big one isn’t it…
Tough to get and not something one should ever try to fake — I think the fakers are easy to spot.
The BJJ guys have a lot of competition experience.
The systema and krav folks have aspirations of military exposure.
The SD guys usually have life, work or military experience.
David Mott has the energy side for those who seek it.
But the karate guys seem to always harken back to a more violent time when the style was actually used…Huh?
I’m beginning to like Ian Abernathy — he seems to be turning the karate world on its ear by actually challenging people to think martially again. His is another model worth exploring because it’s quite a different presentation for marketing purposes, yet his seminars appear to remind me a little of the way Rick teaches…except they all where the white pyjamas still. I haven’t attended one yet, but will eventually. on my massive hit list.
I’m hearing:
1) kids
2) adults
3) mixed kids/adults classes
4) secret roomI’m also hearing:
1) a desire to spend time exploring with committed students
2) students are not as interested in committing now as they were before
3) a feeling of being tired of investing yourself without getting much in return.If we were to extend reach a little what if the focus became simplified — just a thought, but would things look different if the focus became:
1) families
2) self defense
3) Uechi RyuWhere families became – ‘kids’ classes’ where parents are welcome.
Self defense could focus on the folks who really need it — I always liked Rory’s observation that the folks who tend to train MA are also the folks who are least likely to require the training — the demographics are worth checking there…we tend to see most violent crime being among young folks who monkey-dance and require sensitivity training more than they require MA training or we see it used by criminals taking advantage of people with certain victim profiles – the elderly for instance. Monkey dancers require one kind of training and folks with vulnerable victim profiles require another. These might be your adults though…could be worth checking out.
And if anyone is curious about how to master themselves they could be the ones that get invited back into the secret room so that it is not so much a secret room as a place where you focus on the root of what you know and share the hard won knowledge…your way.
Sorry, I’m rambling…I’m just thinking that if there is a way to find a different focus for your communications with your target market you’ll get folks coming out more and for every twenty who come in a family or for an SD seminar there might be one who may actually become interested in Uechi and sounds like a win.
This isn’t easy stuff to figure out and it’s a constant battle to stay ahead of the curve…or, often to even find the curve!
There are so many factors at play affecting the success of one’s business model.
Having said that I believe there are certain core truths. I see many similarities between the industry I work in (cabinetmaking essentially) and the MA industry and if I were extrapolate the core truths based on my limited experience I would likely find the following generally ring true:
1) It is essential to make it clear to your prospective client what you offer – and I think it’s okay to offer multiple things…In our business we build cabinets to design and we offer design as a service, but we also offer repair service and refinishing neither of which are typically offered by cabinetmakers. In MA I don’t see nay reason why one cannot offer kata training and SD and depth of practice and personal training and nutrition…currently, I find all these things in separate suppliers, but wouldn’t it be great to be able to get it all in one place because isn’t it all kinda related??
2) It is essential also to be open and clear about what you stand for — quality/depth of knowledge/education/equal opportunity — whatever. These qualities must be clear and cannot change — which is to say – if you purport to stand for quality and customer service then one day you go and do shoddy work or suddenly decide not to return calls this makes people angry and feel betrayed. This is bad. On the other hand you qualities don’t need to be advertised the simply need to be practiced. Advertising qualities always comes across sounding highly insincere. You want other people talking about your qualities – not you.
3) The economy will always be a factor.
4) Exposure to risk will always be a factor – this includes ever changing government regulations and the myriad ways in which public perception/interest affect policy makers.
5) Students, like workers and clients, will always come and go — the fact that they are fickle is one of those constants like the economy and exposure to risk.
6) Make sure you love what you do because that love is often what carries one when the money isn’t there. And folks thinking about using you will pick up on the enthusiasm you feel for your business.
7) If you have a business partner it will always feel as if that person does less than you do — not to worry because you business partner is thinking the same about you.
8) All things take effort.
Other than that – you can try to second guess what the market wants and what will get and retain students, but I think it all comes down to doing what you do, but doing a better job of getting the message out to attract more potential students.
Doesn’t mean bragging — it does mean letting folks know what you do — even when they’re already part of your organization.
I think this is what Randy does well — he’s constantly communicating.
