Missing Training People – Why I Was Gone – Ruminating About Who You Are and How I Can Help
I haven’t been around for a long while and I miss certain aspects of this gig. What do I miss? I miss helping someone learn how to throw a proper Thai kick and the moment of realization that they generated that power. The moment they realized they had a tool that people should and can be afraid of if they met the business end of it. Honestly, that had less to do with me and more to do with the fact that person probably learned, at that moment, that was who they have always been. I just happened to be the guy who unlocked it by holding a punching or kicking pad and that satisfying, “POOM” noise came out when they hit me and the pads as hard as they could.
What do I miss about the business end? I miss actually feeling like a business owner and that I was in control. The buck stopped and started with me. I was the end all be all of this business. A good feeling. The problem? It was never profitable as a local business and it was never going to be with me at the helm. Why? The sheer fact of who am I well built to train. A lot more about this later in this post.
That was my mistake. Truth? It was about as profitable as I was going to make it. It was successful at getting who was available and responded to my marketing locally. Who was that? In general, 25-45-year-old women who liked soccer or had kids. I started tending more and more that way and it was working. However, it is a finite amount of people unless you become something I am not. I’m not, as I learned, I’m far too nice, an MMA fighter. I’m also not a huge fan of training kids because I don’t buy into the marketing that says kids learn discipline from the martial arts. The truth about that? Some kids learn discipline from martial arts. Others don’t. They have to be pre-disposed to it. Expecting anything else is not smart. Many of the people who espouse this are the kids who fit this scenario from the beginning. You have to be like them to get the same results. But, we’re not all the same are we? Therefore, yes, I can give your kid discipline, but it has to be who they are before they even meet me. There is no magic juice. No matter how much the marketing or sales they that exist. It doesn’t.
So, what do I teach? Self-defense. Plain and simple. Stuff you’re supposed to know if it is going to be you or them going home. If they are serious then you are too, but if it is your drunk uncle and you need control then you can deal with them at that level. Most martial arts only teach one side of the continuum. We call it, “injuring to a degree.” An amount appropriate to the level needed and not more.
Obviously, there are levels to that thought. You have to have emotional control and you have to know what you’re capable of when you decide that it is time to defend yourself. Knowing my marketing and who responds to it means that you are probably a lady. You have a family. You want to protect them and getting fit during it would be a great idea. Exactly what I’m here for and do. If you want all that then you are in the right place. You don’t have to grapple with males. Moreover, you don’t need to be sweat upon. You just need to be where you are and practice. Why? Pandemics are a good reason why. Also, as we see, local marketing or this as a business is bad for me. I’d have to be in a bigger town and, honestly, is a very moot point at this moment. I can’t promise you’ll be the best in the world but you will be the best you can be. You’ll feel confident and you’ll know most everyone you meet is in trouble if they mess with you. Honestly, I know, in working with people like you, you deserve it. You have sacrificed enough and you have worked more than hard for you and your family. It is time for you to carve out a little space in your world where you know that you just might be one of the baddest people in a room.