3 Min Black Belt Business Newsletter
Do you run a martial arts school of any style? Get insights from the top 1% of martial arts biz owners that you can use to get more students, keep more students, and grow your team to create your dream business. 3 days a week, 3 min read, no fluff, all strategy.
Is Your Schedule Hurting Your Retention?
Most martial arts school owners donโt realize thisโฆ
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But your class schedule might be the reason students are quitting.
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Not your teaching. Not your classes. Just the times you offer them.
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Letโs be real,ย juggling a schedule that separates students by age group and belt rank is tough.
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And t...
by Matthew Brenner โ
Jun 18, 2025
retention
schedule
Stop Charging a Registration Fee! Do This Instead..
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Let me ask you a question:
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When was the last time you signed up for somethingโฆ and got hit with a "registration fee" or "admin fee" that made you want to scream?
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It happens all the time:
Joining a gym? $99 initiation fee.ย
Buying a car? $199 document processing fee.
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You sit there wonderin...
by Matthew Brenner โ
Jun 16, 2025
equipmentpack
marketing
registrationfee
Whatโs Better, Hiring From Inside vs Outside?
โShould I promote a student... or hire from the outside?โ
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This is a question I get from almost every school owner when they start building their team.
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Weโve done both in our schools. And hereโs how I like to think about it:
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๐ Hiring from the inside is like training a homegrown patriotic sol...
by Matthew Brenner โ
Jun 13, 2025
hiring
team building
The Hidden Reason Students Quit (That Has Nothing To Do With Class Quality)
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Hereโs a retention mistake I see too many good school owners make:
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They deliver great classesThey build awesome relationshipsThey run fun events
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Butโฆ slowly over time, their school starts to feelโฆ gross.
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Let me explain.
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When someone first joins your school, everything feels new and exci...
by Matthew Brenner โ
Jun 11, 2025
retention
school cleaning
Is Your Pricing Structure Actually Costing You Money?
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Do you ever think your tuition structure might be overly complicated?
Imagine if you are a prospective student, and you walk into a martial arts school..ย
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โWell we have 4 membership optionsโฆ each with different down payments, AND a percentage discount if you prepay. Oh, and this month weโre r...
by Matthew Brenner โ
Jun 09, 2025
marketing
pricing
tuition
Should You Hire Family In Your Martial Arts School?
It depends. But be careful, like a nuclear power plant, it can either create unmatched power or absolute destruction.
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Let me explain.
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I work with family members, and for the most part, itโs great. Today, two of my brothers and one of my sisters are involved in our schools.
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But hereโs the ke...
Jun 06, 2025
The โRockyโ Strategy To Make Your Students Feel Like A Movie Star
Toward the end of Rocky II, there's that iconic training montage where Rockyโs finally focused, running through the streets of Philly. At first, heโs aloneโฆ
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Then one kid starts running behind him.Then a few more. And eventually, hundreds of kids are chasing him, cheering, trying to keep up.
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B...
by Matthew Brenner โ
Jun 04, 2025
retention
rocky strategy
How Martial Arts Schools Are Recruiting Students from Other Peopleโs Summer Camps
Donโt run a summer camp? No problem. Here's how to recruit new students from the camps in your area ๐
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Summer can be tough.Families go on vacation. Students travel. Classes thin out.But not every kid is away for the summer.
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Most of them? Theyโre at summer camps.
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The question isโฆAre YOU showi...
by Matthew Brenner โ
Jun 02, 2025
marketing
๐ช๐ค๐๐ฎ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐
๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฒ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ค ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐๐ช๐
๐๐๐ฉ๐
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(๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐๐ฉ ๐จ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐
๐๐๐)โฆ.
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This is stupid simple and easy!
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And costs nothing besides a few fingers taps on your phone
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This will work whether you teach karate, tkd, bjj, or ballerina dancing
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(Ok maybe not the last one)
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Hereโs what to doโฆ
ย search for local Facebook groups in your area...
by Matthew Brenner โ
May 30, 2025
karate kid
marketing
I Lost Great Instructors Because I Skipped This Step
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Let me ask you a question:
Why is it that someone can be incredible at martial artsโฆ but terrified to teach a class?
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Iโm serious.ย
Someone could throw a spinning side kick that would KO a rhino or have a nasty rear naked choke setupโฆ
But when itโs time to teach a jab-cross to a group of 5-yea...
May 23, 2025
One Sharpie Trick to Keep Students Training For Years
Let me ask you a question...
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How long does it take to get a high school diploma?
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Everyone knows the answer, 4 years.
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Same with college. Even if some students take a victory lap, thereโs still a general expectation. โIโm class of 2028,โ they say proudly.
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So why donโt more martial arts scho...
by Matthew brenner โ
May 21, 2025
black belt countdown
retention
How To Recruit New Adult Students In 1 Hour
Yeah, I know I usually talk about recruiting kids for your martial arts school without relying on ads.ย
But today weโre flipping the scriptโฆLetโs talk about how to enroll Dads (organic marketing).ย
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June is Fatherโs Day season, and this is the perfect time to launch a simple event we call Dads H...
May 19, 2025