Monday, March 09, 2009

How is the economy affecting your martial arts?

I actually started this post by posing, "How is the economy affecting your martial arts business?," but deliberately changed it to "martial arts." It seems to me that anything that affects someone's disposable income, or his willingness to spend it (i.e. his confidence in the economy), then it must affect all aspects of that actvity, be it skiing, competitive table tennis, or martial arts instruction.

Have any of you had to close a school, had your school closed, had to reduce training, or changed your plans to start?


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12 comments:

Noah said...

I used to practice karate, judo, iaijutsu, and kobudo in Illinois, but since I moved from Illinois to Arizona, I have been unable to be an "dojo active" karate student. Judo is half the cost of karate instruction, so I have been doing that, but even still I only get to attend 2 classes a week because with the economy the way it is, I couldn't afford to be picky about which shift I got.

Elias said...

This might make you giggle a little bit, but I'm actually training more.

I lost my job.

But I'm at Uni so I should be ok.

Patrick Parker said...

We're booming. I increased the size of my kids class by about 4x and added classes in stick&sword and karate. My secret? I undercut the cost of the only competition in the area - My particular financial and life situation let me charge about 1/3 of what the other guys charge.

Colin Wee said...

My class size has increased but it's only because I let on to my barber that I do martial arts -- and she's recommending me to all her customers. My goodness. I had to go back and tell her to stop. Colin

Dojo Rat said...

Obviously I haven't been to a Barber in years :)
I think as this Depression develops, the Martial Arts will be the place to be. No extended vacations, no luxury, just standing around in a room punching and throwing each other on the floor.
Seriously though, I think that for small study groups, community center programs and the like, it's cheap exercise and entertainment. Enrollment may increase!

Anonymous said...

I've noticed a trend of trying to give more value for the cost of tournament competition such as bigger discounts for second event etc.

Anonymous said...

We actually had one ATA school close down in Wichita Kansas. They even mentioned they might re-open in a year but don't look that to happen. It is hard with no disposable income!
Thanks,
Troy

Anonymous said...

I've cut back to the "once a week" plan at my school. I've found. as long as I have the discipline, I can keep my training up at home, and save a little money.

wagli01 said...

I've lowered my prices to accomodate the shift in the economy. Hopefully this will help.
ATA Martial Arts!

Dan from Madison said...

I am happy to say that attendance where I go seems to be increasing. I do not own the gym, but am there often. We are a Muay Thai/BJJ gym for the most part.

I can't speak for the adult programs, but it seems that we are getting more and more adults all the time in the fitness and beginner classes. The gym opened up some kickboxing based "boot camps" and those seem successful too.

Lori O'Connell said...

I lost my job which led to me spending more time training and more focus on running my dojo. That being said, the early part of this year has been the slowest it's ever been for new students and I lost a few students who couldn't afford it any longer because of financial issues. I did, however, recently run a free uniform offer for new students and it seems to have brought in some interest. I am also starting to teach daytime classes this May, hoping to tap into a market that hasn't been touched much in my area. We shall see how that goes.

Andy said...

To cope with the stress of finding a new job in times of crisis, you need martial arts to stay focused. Perhaps you could skip a seminar, perhaps drop a martial art if you do more than 1... but that's it. Martial arts is a way of life, giving up on your way of life is impossible. At least for me it is. I will always find a way to stay on the martial path.