MA Insights - April 2020
1. ARTICLE: Martial Arts In a New World
2. ARTICLE: Being Home Doesn’t Mean You Have To Miss Class!
3. PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: Dollamur Mat Attack!™ Athletic Surface Cleaner
1. Martial Arts In a New World
In normal times owning a martial arts studio can be both challenging and rewarding. However under a world of pandemic and lockdown orders it’s only challenging. How you face this current challenge may very well determine whether or not you’ll be in business or not when the “all clear” is given. In this article we’re going to take a look at what some school owners are doing to maintain their student base along with some ideas that you can implement now so that you and your students are in the best position possible to succeed in a post COVID-19 world. 
The President and Congress passed the monumental CARES Act that made available billions of dollars to small businesses like yours. The details of the programs available is outside of the scope of this article. However with a little investigation and a trip over to the SBA.gov website and you’ll find out more information. Programs are available to help with rent, utilities, mortgage payments and payroll, including your own salary as an owner. Talk to your accountant or tax preparer for more guidance but don’t wait. These programs are open until a certain date in the future, but are dependent on the funds allocated to each, so don’t wait!
Talk to your landlord or mortgage holder. These are uncharted waters for everyone, especially landlords and tenants. Hopefully you and your landlord look at your relationship as partners. If that’s the case you’re very likely to come up with a solution that serves both of your short and long term needs. Have the conversation. Find out their situation, your rent might be their only source of income. Failing to pay your rent might cause a foreclosure from the landlord’s bank down the road. It might be an uncomfortable conversation but it’s one you must have.
Looking Out For Your Students
Like you, your students wish this never happened. They would much rather be coming to class but right now that can’t happen. Thankfully for us the relationship between a martial arts studio and its students is more than just a simple business transaction. It truly is a relationship. But with all relationships it’s a two-way street. It would be selfish for you to expect your students to continue to pay tuition for months without the benefits they’ve come to expect. Many school owners are using Zoom and other technologies to provide a limited live class schedule showing drills or techniques to students that take advantage of the offering. Even if they never log in, providing this service shows students that you’re making the effort to give them the service they need. This can be the difference between a cancellation and a student for life.
- Schools like Team Passos in Sterling Virginia do regular ZOOM sessions with students to keep them sharp and energized.
Of course you are going to have students that are going to cancel. Although it may be difficult now is not the time to hold someone to a contract. Work with them, hopefully we’ll all be through this sooner than later. I’ve talked to some schools that are offering discounted or free months in the future for maintaining their memberships through this time. Others are offering reduced fees now along with reduced fees in the future. For instance, for every half-off month during the lockdown, a half-off month when things are operational again. This type of give and take now can make all the difference in getting through to the other side.
Planning For The Future
It’s impossible to ignore the fact that this situation is going to have major implications on society and how we do business for months, years and beyond. Some students are not going to come back. Martial arts, whether it’s jiu-jitsu, karate, TKD, or anything else is about contact and being up close and personal with your training partner. Some people are going to be afraid of this sort of contact and may leave martial arts forever. Hopefully that’s a small percentage. But be ready to have in place a cleaning and hygiene protocol that’s off the charts. Think about going to the grocery store today, carts are being wiped down, shields to protect cashiers have gone up, markings on where to stand. Obviously those types of steps can’t be adopted in jiu-jitsu or other martial arts but there are plenty of things that you can do to limit the spread of any contagious virus. Temperature checks on students prior to entering the mats, gi checks (if it stinks you’re out), installation of germ killing UV lights, mat cleanings between every class, hand sanitizer for students to use liberally, mandatory use of towels to wipe sweat or face. Whatever changes you make be sure to let everyone know, not only for their effective purpose, but to let all your students know that you’re taking steps to protect them and keep them safe.
- Commercial Grade UV Air Sanatizers like this one are common in hospitals and are proven effective at destroying many dangerous airborne microbes
Use This Time Productively
Some schools are using this time to perform some overdue maintenance along with upgrades. Having down time without students could be a perfect opportunity to put up a new coat of paint, replace flooring, lighting, or even replace mats! Using this time without students will allow you to perform tasks that might otherwise require you to close up for an extended period of time. Right now you probably don’t have a choice so it makes perfect sense.
- Recently AOJ in Newport Beach California used the shut down as the perfect opportunity to repaint, and replace their existing FLEXI-Connect® mats with brand new replacements
It’s a New World
Like other watershed moments in history, this will have lasting impact beyond the immediate. Sit down with your team and students and figure out what’s going to change for you and your business. Address the needs of your students, instructors, and yourself to come up with a plan now and be ready to go once the doors open again.
2. Being Home Doesn’t Mean You Have To Miss Class!
The nation-wide stay-at-home order has definitely put a damper on the fitness industry. Traditional gyms, cross training studios, yoga studios, bootcamps, and Martial Arts studios have all been instructed to close at this time. But that doesn’t mean that your students can’t use this time to keep up their skills and their enthusiasm to get back into class once the stays are lifted!
Reports of fitness equipment selling out across the country have been widespread but one important piece of equipment remains - Dollamur FLEX-Roll®, FLEXI-Connect® and Swain™ Hybrid Home Mats! People from coast-to-coast and around-the-world are converting bedrooms, garages, and basements into their own personal martial arts studios. Our Home Mats are available in a variety of sizes and colors to accommodate any setting. They’re Made right here in the USA and we’ve been shipping out daily!
Many schools are providing on-line instruction to their students through this pandemic. Having a proper space to perform drills, or to spar with family members can make all the difference and help maintain student’s engagement in the sport. Even after things return to normal, having a space to roll at home will help to keep students hooked.
School owners, we’ve got a special deal for you to help encourage your students to keep up their training. Email masales@dollamur.com for all the details.
Checkout the entire line-up of Dollumar Home Mats Here https://www.dollamur.com/dollamur-store/martial-arts-mats.html
3. Dollamur Mat Attack!™ Athletic Surface Cleaner
Mat Attack!™ by Dollamur is a cleaner, disinfectant, fungicide, mildewstat, and virucide that will kill worrisome microorganisms such as MRSA and was confirmed by the EPA to kill Human Coronavirus (reg. 10324-93) on hard non-porous surfaces.
Highly concentrated - one gallon makes 64 gallons of cleaner. That's about $0.78 per gallon. FREE Shipping.