This Ain’t Chinatown!

4 04 2025

Recently, I had done some soul searching after a few eye-opening conversations with my elder Kung Fu brothers. On three separate occasions, I was told that I tend to live in the past, as I’d been told many times over the years. Naturally, due to ego, I resisted and rejected those assessments. But with some reflection, I realize that yes, I do. I mean… look at this entire blog. LOL

At 55 years old, I’m not completely a dinosaur. Certainly not to my septuagenarian brothers. Yet in many ways, yes I am–I long for the days of old, many bouts with depression because I constantly compare myself to the man I was 20 years ago–even to guys half my age. While I have resisted becoming a Kung Fu Al Bundy (“scored two touchdowns in one game in high school!”)–someone else’s got that covered–I am most certainly guilty of looking at the state of Kung Fu today, then looking back at the state of Kung Fu 40 years ago, then shaking my head. I need to work on that…

There are indeed many lessons young people can learn from the past. At the same time, there are many lessons people from the past can learn from the present. Kung Fu, like all things good, must evolve and update itself. We must fight the urge to hold on bitterly to the things as they were back then, and allow natural progression to bring things to the modern day. The last article discussed Kung Fu for the future. For this one, I would like to discuss Kung Fu for the present. That is, what we can do so that our students can prosper today.

  1. Consider loosening up some traditions. Not suggesting we eliminate the hand greeting or Sifu title! However, some traditions are indeed outdated and weren’t even that great when we did them “in Chinatown.” For example, is it really necessary that every gathering of Kung Fu guys be in a Chinese restaurant? After all, most of us are not located in Chinatown. There are plenty of restaurants whose proximity brought us new students. Wouldn’t it be fair, then, if we brought some of our students to eat in their establishments? I’m sure some of my students would actually enjoy some Soul Food or Indian cuisine. Who made the rule that Kung Fu cats must only eat Chinese food? Or imagine if you went to your favorite clothing store, and the manager stuck a mop in your hand and told you to clean the floor while still charging you full price for your gear? Or you were late to a dentist appointment and the DA had you sit in Horse stance or do pushups? Just saying. Let’s keep the traditions that actually make sense and have a purpose, than have them just because our Sifu did it to us.
  2. Accept that not everyone gauges themselves by tournaments. I was a tournament fighter, but I was told 25+ years ago by a student that the thought of fighting in front of 300 spectators scared the hell out of him. I reassured him that I would not force him to compete. Guess what happened maybe a year or two later? He asked me if I thought he was too old to compete, and he entered–and won. One tournament, and he never did another. This student is today close to 80 years old and he still keeps in shape. Had I not received good counsel years earlier, I might have belittled his concerns and lost him as a student. In days past, our teachers were much more competitive than today’s teachers so many of us were compelled to compete in order to build our school’s reputation. Today, with social media there are other ways to do so. Competition is still good–they are great places to “try out” one’s skills and sharpen teeth–but not everyone wants to do so. There is room in every martial arts community for the various specialties and activities. Let students gravitate towards those that tickle their fancy. Some will want competition, some will enjoy demonstrations, others will enjoy lion dance, while yet others are satisfied attending class and learning new skills. Avoid imposing your desires onto the students.
  3. Utilize lesson plans. If you’ve never used lesson plans, you’d be surprised how helpful they are. There are several types and each have their functions. Curricula and lesson plans are different things. Curriculum is the long term plan–what students will learn from one level to the next, and may be as long as a year or two per level. The lesson plan is what is taught day by day, month by month, or even 90 days at a time. Say for example, according to your curriculum, a student will be considered a beginner for the first two years. In those two years, he or she will learn three forms, and maybe 150 techniques. Your curriculum may divide all that information into three or four sublevels. Let’s call them “Beginner level I”, “Beginner level II”, and “Beginner level III”. You might designate each level to be taught in 9 month blocks, learning one form and 50 or so techniques. So for Beginner level I, you plan for what is taught in months 1, 2, 3, all the way to 9. This will help you keep the classes focused and goal-oriented/goal-specific. Using this tool, your classes are efficient and it ensures that students know what they need to know by the time month #9 rolls around and they are both knowledgeable and skilled, ready for their exam. Money and time well-spent. This is much better than yesteryear’s method of standing in front of the class asking yourself, “What did we work on last week?”
  4. Be encouraging, helpful, and inspiring. We live in narcissistic times, and students are often used to teachers who are motivated by money or ego, or other reasons. Many of our students were raised in households with divorced or estranged parents, and they crave that parental connection. When we run our schools like a drill sergeant or dictator, we miss the opportunity to give our student that connection that martial arts teachers often can. Remember, we are here to do more than impart fighting knowledge. We are first in the business of helping the students become better versions of themselves. Whether adult or child, they may have insecurities they haven’t spoken on or a host of many other things we can help them with. Without prying into their lives, by simply being a higher version of ourselves as teachers, we automatically help them with that. Students rarely know what’s bothering them, let alone will they ever tell you. By being encouraging, always available, and inspiring to our students we automatically have that covered. Kung Fu is a difficult enough activity to learn. Helping them through the frustrations of learning a new skill, even if only being encouraging while they struggle to learn–we help build up their self-esteem. And don’t think this only applies to children; adults have them as well. There are students who are overweight, those who are self-conscious about looking ridiculous, maybe even dealing with low self-esteem from having been bullied or picked on as a child or teen (or even in their adult life!). Being encouraging and gracious will help those students grow in ways we may never know. It isn’t always about the fighting and forms. When they do well, acknowledge it. If they struggle, give them a little extra instruction. If they get frustrated, reassure them that they’ll get it if they keep trying. This improves them as a student, and the extra patience improves you as a teacher.
  5. Value Student Retention. Always remember that a martial arts school is not just a family or lineage of martial arts–it is a business. And in order for that business to exist, it must retain its students. When students quit, it isn’t because “this generation doesn’t understand commitment”–as I’ve heard many martial arts students say–it’s because, for whatever reasons, that martial arts school couldn’t keep that student’s interest. There are too many schools that have held onto students for decades for the excuse that it’s the generation to blame to be credible. Some schools have simply done the right things to keep students interested while others have not. Perhaps at a later time, I will write an article to expand on this subject. For now, let’s just say that students quit for mainly either of three reasons–their goals are not being met, their budget does not allow them to train, or their life’s commitments have gotten in the way. The last two are mostly out of our control, although you can reduce tuition for a student if they simply cannot afford classes. The first reason, goals not being met, is not only the main reason students quit but the hardest one for teachers to accept. We must know what is important to the student, and use everything in our power to help them achieve those goals. Oftentimes, we can help the students achieve their goals but for whatever reason we aren’t accomplishing that. Perhaps the student is bored. Or they want fitness but we are pushing forms on them. Classes may be too difficult. Or too easy. There may be a ton of reasons but students don’t quit schools where they are happy, progressing, and prospering. It is important that each time you are about to lose a student, you know why and find a way to keep them interested. When you do lose them, make it a priority to find out why. Quite often it will be difficult to find out the real reason why; students are often embarrassed and don’t want to hurt your feelings. However, pry ever so gently, because you will need this information to grow as a teacher. This is a tough pill to swallow: Most of the time a student quits, it is our fault as teachers. Their job was to bring the interest and enthusiasm to match it. Our job is to fulfill that interest and keep it. It’s that simple.
  6. Your school must be “all things for all people”. Many will argue against me on this one. They say you “can’t please everyone”, but a martial arts school should be one of those exceptions. Perhaps we cannot offer quite everything, but we certainly have to offer as much as we can deliver. And not in every class, too. As Sifus, we have multiple talents and skills–we can teach fighting, forms, fitness, weapons, lion dance, etc. We should be able to have separate classes where students who are particularly interested in one aspect or another can select the classes and programs that suits their needs. Kung Fu should not be one-size-fits-all. It is a very lazy method to tell students you need it all, so just come to class. That’s a good way to build up the enrollment of the school down the street, I’m sure that Sifu will enjoy your philosophy. Some of us do not have the schedule or floor space to accommodate everyone. But at least isolate some aspects, where most of your students can get what they need, even if they have to occasionally train in an aspect that they aren’t completely excited about. If possible, I would also recommend offering a less intense class for students who find it difficult to keep up–for example I had a class for older adults–as well as a killer class for the Kung Fu diehards who want to train like they’re in a Shaw Brothers movie. Assign time for free practice, as some students lack space at home to practice, as well as make yourself available for private lessons. There are students who need extra attention, and arranging for a private lesson is much better for continuity of the class than having the entire class pause while you help one or two students learn something that the rest of the class already knows.

Hopefully these suggestions can help you run a more effective program. If you have suggestions you’d like to share, please comment below! If you like what you see, we’d like to invite you to subscribe to our blog off the main page and please share our articles! If you are on social media please look for our like page and private group on Facebook and add us! Thank you for visiting our blog.


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Categories : Kung Fu Philosophy

Building a Kung Fu School To Last

4 04 2025

One of the biggest puzzles we must solve in the west as Kung Fu men and women that is unique to the west is the answer to the question: What can I do to ensure the multigenerational life of this system? It would seem that all that is needed is to write books, create YouTube videos, teach students, and we would have our answer. The key term in this question is “multigenerational” life; meaning how can I *ensure* that this art lives through multiple generations of practitioners? I could produce martial arts media–write books, submit articles, record videos–which will certainly ensure that my art is remembered through history. However, none of that is a guarantee that the art is enjoying a vigorous, active, ever-growing in strength life many years after my students and I are dead and buried.

Yes, it is true that not everyone cares about this. Some of us simply want to make our mark on the community while we are here, and what happens when we are gone is up to our students. This article isn’t written for those folks. We are addressing those who want our arts and lineages to continue to prosper through multiple generations of students and teachers, for many generations. I am in no way an expert. However, I do have some suggestions you may find interesting and helpful. Let’s get right into it.

My philosophy is based on the idea that we must have strong schools. At least one, and that school’s operations should be able to carry on long after it’s owner has passed on. Please keep this in mind while reading this article, and also know that I am not diminishing other forms of promotion, like teaching in small groups or producing martial arts media.

  1. Draft a logical curriculum that both imparts the most important skills in a reasonable amount of time, while is effective in producing the best skilled students. Too often in Kung Fu, the term curriculum is not much more than a list of forms. While this has worked for many years, I would argue that a techniques/skills/forms/goals curriculum would work better. Today’s beginning martial arts student has far more options to choose from than those of 30-40 years ago, and the schools producing the highest caliber students will most likely draw the most interest. Our curricula should be well-thought out and well-planned, even if we have to make major changes from the way the masters of the past taught. What our Sifu did was good for his time; we live in a modern world with modern needs. Regardless if we are looking to simply preserve an art, build fighters, teach philosophy, or train rebels–we must find an efficient, effective way to teach our arts that builds upon and improves upon the past.
  2. Make producing tomorrow’s teachers a top priority. In the past, teachers were very patient in the way they taught classes. We turned our noses up at schools we considered a “Black Belt Factory”, and took our time in producing new Sifus. Problem is that too many of us taught for decades and produced only 2-3 Sifus–some may have promoted even fewer! Life has a way of passing us by quickly, and if we aren’t careful, running our schools with a “business as usual” mindset we may find that we have nothing to show for our time in business. Many schools are centered on the teacher’s personal goals for himself, like achieving rank or popularity. Many are profit-driven. Many are so competitive, as long as students are bringing back medals and trophies, the Master believes he is successful. But when you are on your deathbed, and you know you will never teach a class again… who will carry the torch for you? Don’t wait until you are old and retired to ask yourself that question. From the moment you begin teaching, developing tomorrow’s school owners and Sifus will ensure that your system is here to stay. Ask yourself, if you passed away today, will your school continue to thrive or will it shut down?
  3. Cater to the goals of your students, not just your own goals. Martial arts have a way of bringing out the narcissism we all have within us. I repeat–the narcissism we all have within us. Don’t feel bad, we all have at least a small degree of narcissism. We have to, because as human beings our self-interest, self-esteem, and self-preservation are what keep us alive. But most of us have this trait under control and in check. However, once we are in a position of leadership, influence, power, and admiration, we could easily get sucked in and lose control of our selfish tendencies. When we open schools, we mostly do so as sole proprietors, basically absolute authorities, of our own little kingdoms. Nothing wrong with that… my school, my rules. It backfires when we run the school that we’d want to join and we don’t run the school that our students and potential students want to join. This leads to us only being able to recruit a tenth of the potential students out there. You see, there may be as many as ten reasons a student will choose a kung fu school. If our school philosophy appeals to only one of them, we attract only one type of martial arts student, or 1/10th of the student pool. Not everyone wants forms. Not everyone wants to fight. Not everyone wants to be in class with 9 year olds. Some students are mainly interested in fitness, some want self defense. Some want to wear cool Kung Fu uniforms, while others want to train in comfortable workout attire. Offer classes and teaching goals that all ten types of students are attracted to and you will recruit 100% of those who visit your school. And don’t just offer the classes, find ways to excel at teaching those classes so that their needs are met.
  4. Understand that Kung Fu schools aren’t just fight gyms, they are also communities and community resources. One of the most famous martial arts schools in history, Jing Wu, was founded to use Kung Fu as a tool to produce stronger, more well-rounded citizens. It was a patriotic organization that offered academics, philosophy, fitness and health, and civics. When you look around each martial arts school near you, how many families does that school influence? Sure, you may teach combat and fighting, but do your students benefit in any other way? Certainly, martial arts schools take children off the streets, give them a safe environment to spend their afternoons around like-minded children, teaches discipline, and gives young people one more adult (or group of adults) who provide leadership, love, and direction besides their own families. There are many ways a martial arts school can benefit the community close to them. We can offer a homework club/afterschool program, offer local organizations a place to conduct their business, pull families together for events and community functions, teach workshops for any number of subjects–the sky is the limit. Or it can simply be an athletic center. Use your creativity and imagination. In what ways can our knowledge benefit members of the community? I know a teacher who offers the parents and grandparents of his students a free exercise class during the daytime when his students are in school. I recently met one who offers language classes. I myself offered a writing class and afterschool tutoring. These things may not directly promote martial arts, but for sure they will expose people to Kung Fu who may not otherwise ever consider studying it. Even if they don’t, they bring many benefits to your neighbors and the loved ones of your students.
  5. Learn the art of teaching. Knowing Kung Fu does not guarantee that you are knowledgeable in how to teach the arts. Most of us learned from teachers whose main focus was punching, kicking, and wielding weapons. 50 years ago, that was all you needed, save for a building so students don’t get rained on. Today, martial arts is not a necessity and is done for leisure, so if the teaching is not enjoyable or effective, students may very well trade in their memberships to go and take Jazzercise or something lol. There aren’t many resources to learning how to teach, but they are out there. (NOTE: I am writing a book on teaching, which should be completed by sometime in 2026) Make use of them. Talk to more experienced teachers. Poll your students on their experience with you. Learn to accept suggestions and criticisms. Observe teachers around you, and make mental notes on what learning from them may be like. Criticize and study your own teaching methods. Doing this will help your students get more out of the knowledge you are imparting. I recall a teacher recently bragging on YouTube how most of his students never make it to instructorship because his training was so difficult and his standards were so high. One couldn’t help but to wonder if his students failed to excel because the teaching wasn’t very good. I would argue that a master-teacher is one who can develop the most awkward, most timid, and least coordinated students into a sharp martial artist. This is what real teaching skill is; finding a way to help students get the most out of the training, regardless of the challenges. Incorporate this, and then teach it to your students so that they will become even better teachers than you were.
  6. Partner and collaborate with others in your lineage. This is perhaps one of the rarest things we see in Kung Fu. There was a saying I use to hear, that a Kung Fu school is like a den of Tigers. We build warriors, and it is natural that they will fight. The goal of the Sifu, then, is to be the ringmaster and get those tigers working together. You see, a pack of tigers will either fight each other to the death–or they will form the most powerful, unstoppable army and rule the jungle. A hand with its fingers outstretched can slap you and make it sting, but pulled tightly into a clenched fist, it can strike a mighty blow. Kung Fu lineages whose teachers work closely together can form an unconquerable kingdom. They have the benefit of many teachers sharing knowledge with their students. They can negotiate purchases with great leverage to get everyone low prices and excellent terms. They can support each other’s endeavors and ensure success for everyone. I knew of a collaborative in Northern VA of Tae Kwon Do teachers who advertised as one unit (US Tae Kwon Do College)–in ads it looked like a school with around 8 locations but in reality they were all independent schools. They purchased equipment in bulk from the manufacturers–not retailers, but the actual manufacturers. When one threw seminars or tournaments, they all patronized them. Their members could train in each other’s schools, which made membership to any of the schools an added value and reason to join. If one went out sick, he could trust another to guest teach or send an assistant. Imagine if you had that with your own classmates. Working together is probably the most powerful one thing you can do to promote a system.
  7. Finally, have a long-term plan and list of goals for your Kung Fu system. It must be more specific than simply “promote new Sifus”… How many instructors do you want to produce? Have you identified future candidates? Will someone take over your school when you retire? Do you wish to have multiple branches in your city or adjacent cities? Which direction would you like your system to go into? It’s up to you, just define your goals and put all your effort into achieving them. Stay focused. Stay disciplined. Good luck.

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Categories : Jow Ga in America, Kung Fu Philosophy

My Book: Make a Living with Backyard Dojo

24 07 2014

Let’s change the topic for a second. I’m assuming that the average reader of this page is a traditional Kung Fu teacher who does not run a commercial kwoon/dojo. You don’t want to be an alternative day care center. You don’t want to sell rank every three months. You don’t want to water down classes to keep everyone’s interest. Your Sifu taught you form, Lion Dance, fighting, even how to teach–but he didn’t teach you how to make money with Kung Fu did he?

Of course not. Our Sifus did this for love of the art and propogation of the system, and chances are pretty good that you did too. However, you have to have money to make keep the school (and ultimately the system) going, right? There are plenty of books, courses and seminars to teach the McDojo owner how to run his business–but about about you? The traditional, hard core, Sifu? There isn’t much. Perhaps you don’t even own a school. You’re enrollment is small. You don’t have $499 to plunk down on a Guerilla Marketing course. What is a Sifu to do?

Well… I’ve written a small book, which my editor calls a “mini-book” because it’s only 22 pages long. I wrote it for the Masters of small, independant martial arts schools who would like to feed their families with their schools. These are not men who want hundreds of students and million-dollar high-tech dojos. They are true to tradition, in both skill and business practice, and the most they want is to open a humble commercial location that pays the bills and puts food on the table and their kids through college.

I have invested thousands of dollars trying to learn the business side of the martial arts. I’ve been talked into offering a belt system, utilizing contracts, teaching in day care centers (seriously), teaching seminars on tour, even opening satellite classes across the country. I have taught in the middle east, in central america, as well as in sober living homes. All this, in pursuit of wanting nothing more than to afford teaching the real art to my most dedicated students while these other ventures paid my bills. My ultimate goal back then was to offer my training for free. I learned a lot about business, and learned a lot about how I can market and run my business without doing what everyone else does.

Anyway, the one thing I noticed was that I could not find business information that was directed at a guy like me–who teaches full contact; who uses profanity in my classes; who yells at students; who has ex-cons and gang bangers in my classes; a man whose students (including children) leave the school bruised, banged up, bloodied, and sometimes in need of stitches. Yes, I have insurance. Yes, I pay taxes. And yes, there is a market for my type of martial arts. I have a website, I’m in the Yellow Pages, occasionally I am on the radio and on cable TV, and I don’t promise good grades.

I have seen many good friends and good martial artists who have closed shop because they did not have the business tools to stay in business. One of the painful reminders of this, was a fear years ago, when I had refused several students of a friend’s dojo who attempted to join when they saw the writing on the wall. 6 months later, they were there after his school closed, and then he stopped teaching out of his garage. I’ll say this here, and some of those students read this blog, but I thought as traditional Karate teachers in Sacramento go, he was absolutely the best… even better than me.

So I wrote this book for you guys. The guy who surfs the net looking for ways to keep his school going while his wife urges him to “get a real job”. The guy (who, like I once was) working for minimum wage on a graveyard shift job in order to keep a school. The guy (like I was) who used money from tournament winnings to pay bills because his enrollment was too low to pay rent and eat.

I was asked to make it at least 40 pages, but I had a message to give, and it came out to 22 pages. Sorry Mike! I didn’t want to fluff it up or pad with filler just to make it seem “worth the money”… I know people who teach their martial arts that way. You’ll find that the other books I write will be the same way: short, to the point, but full of good, useful information. And I am not some young, wet-behind-the-ears MBA who knows nothing about what the real business world is like. Just like I am not some 50-something millionaire Karate clown trying to convince you that you’re not legit unless you’re selling belt exams and birthday parties.

If you want to really put bread on the table with good, quality martial arts, this book is for you. Look at our “Offerings” page off the main page, and you’ll see ordering information there. Please, leave comments or at least email me to give me feedback after you’ve read it!

Thank you for visiting the DC Jow Ga Federation.


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