Page 27 - Martial Science Magazine February 2018 dig

BIRTHDAYS, THEY WORK

Birthdays, they work. Do you remember your birth-
day? Where was it? Was it fun? Was it a good memory?
Did you enjoy the fun time with friends? As a school
owner, I have realized the value of fun: It makes the
time spent at your school unforgettable. Most parents
nowadays understand that martial arts are a great ac-
tivity for kids. Birthdays create huge amounts of traf-
fic for your school, they teach that the world does not
revolve around martial arts, and they let your parents
and team know how much you value what’s important
to them – their child’s special day.

In most cases, martial arts enthusiasts, such as myself,
dreaded this idea for years because we did not want
to view the dojo as a playhouse. But we want to be
next to heavily trafficked areas. This is what birthdays
provide us, that people see our facility and culture. As
business owners, our goal is to have a lot of consistent
and appreciative students who will not only want to
stay but create a great environment for everyone who
will enjoy the value of being in a martial arts school.
Without destroying our integrity as a martial artist, or
our arts, in my case Shotokan Karate, we want to cre-
ate an event that has structure and rules so parents
and kids understand that it still is a martial arts school
and we value the idea of structure.

There are numerous games that you can play, these
can include noddle games, dodgeball, partners games,
and even tug of war with the parents. This is such an
important part of the event because when there is a
significant amount of people it can make the party
fun and exciting. The interaction and the bonding of
team play and incorporating family is such an import-
ant selling point for our martial arts industry. Here at
Ageless Martial Arts our priority we cater to the needs
of the participants/children in the birthday make the
party exciting, and great service is the best advertis-
ing that money can buy. I promise you first hand to all
the martial arts readers out there, that it is the way to
go. Many of these ideas I have received from a school
called One Martial Arts in San Francisco CA, with
Brannon Beliso and It’s Time Live events he holds. I am
extremely grateful for the way he has taught us and
what he has shown that doing these types of events
can help businesses grow.

FEBRUARY/2018 27