Hi guys... A few months ago I was asked by my senior instructor to open a JKA Dojo in my local town. Until now, I have a great difficulty in starting up. Not that I'm not confident as an instructor. I have had several experiences teaching kids and adults during our summer camps held annually. I just need some professional advice from instructors and students alike. Help me out.
I think that your senior instructor needs to help guide you. I'm not an instructor, but I would think that if he is wanting you to open a dojo, its important that its done right and to use his experience to lead you where you want to be.
First, you may have to deal with a couple aspects of your dojo/dojang/gym as a business, as dirty as that sounds *shudder*. Just don't lose touch with people, you know? The aspects you should look for: Advertising and Marketing. Get your name out there, tell people, show them what you do. Is there a particular age group you are targeting? If not, select age groups and find reasons why your art may appeal to each one so you have a larger range of students. PR Kindness goes a long way. Get your name out there. Flyers, ask places about solicitation, perhaps a cheap add in the new paper if you are in a large city area. Go out there yourself, talk to people. Put a sign up infront of you training place. Professionalism. Make things look clean. Anticipate things, and common questions. Have a book that explains etiquitte and philosophy. Set rules for the training hall, make them general, however, present them in a very gentle way and respectably. in addition to rules, you muist include philosophy, what your art is, a little history, importnat things such as terms, and meanings of things. this will avoid uncomfortableness in slightly shy students. Sometimes they will be more apt to continue if they understand what they get themselves into. Post some philosphy of your art in your school. like any tennants or focus points, simple peices of printed paper and tape go a long way. Be a people person. I hope this view of a student helps.
Everyone has made very good points so far. I have a couple things to add. 1. Do you already have a place to teach? 2. If so, have you looked into insurance for your school? 3. Do you know how many students you want, or how many you can handle? 4. Will you teach kids and adults at the same time, or will you have separate classes? 5. Will you even teach kids? 6. Are your goals to have a huge class, or to have a small class so you can give everyone more personal attention? 7. If you're going to have a big class, do you have any other black belts or other students around to help you with class. 8. How much will you charge? 9. Do you need/have mats or heavy bags? 10. Do you have a whole sale account with any martial arts supply company, so when students begin you can get them a uniform, sparring gear, etc cheaper and quicker? I'm sure you have already thought of some or most of these and probably have solved more than a few. This is no way a complete list, just what I could think of off of the top of my head. Good luck on your school. edited because I pressed the save button too soon
there are very good points here and i would like to bring to your attention the paperwork. for me that was the most tiring thing. everything else was plain sailing. i had some problems with the city council because of the name of my club. the name of the city was supposed to be included in the name of the club. if someone wants to do that, then there are special procedures and the mayor has to issue a special permission etc. so in the end i chose another name and avoided more paperwork and waiting. i don't know if that's the way things are done there, but in case they are, i am just reminding u of them. think about the money as well: how much money do u have to pay for using the gym, how much will u charge thus how many students do u have to have to be able to pay for the gym. think about the behaviour that u would like to have in the dojo. start with it from the very beginning. set an example. u can't allow ur students to do whatever they want and then after 2 months change the rules. that does not work. a commercial on the local radio or TV station would also come in handy besides the posters or flyers. tell ur friends about the club. since u r new to teaching as well, don't start critisising ur students right away. they will start training because they want to learn. be patient. demonstrate the techniques, provide explanations, tell ur students when and why and how they can and should use a certain technique or a combination. what u do has to have a purpose, it has to be meaningful. be strict but the students should feel comfortable to ask u when something needs to be explained. u will accomplish this in time. don't start the training session unprepared. make a plan of the training session. later u'll get the hang of it and it'll be easier. don't think that something will be easy for ur students just because it's easy for u. don't forget that they are beginners and u r not. first they have to get used to the martial art, to the movements and adapt their bodies. hope this helps. good luck
All very good advice. Mine is a little more simple: Decide where you want to be and work a plan to get there. You said you aren't underconfident in your teaching ability, what are you concerned with most?
