I just found this article that I wrote many years ago for John Graden. It was also in one of his books. John Graden took the martial arts industry to another level when he developed NAPMA. Before NAPMA you could only learn how to run a martial arts school through information from the billing companies. The story is 100% true. Since then we have grown and succeeded incredibly.
Since that was writen our success has multiplied. I was a speaker in the last 3 NAPMA World Conference and I became NAPMA's NSSN Florida representative. I have been in 100's of newspapers and magazine articles. I have written for numerous local newspapers and magazines. I have written and been interviewed in numerous national magazines. I have been on the cover of 4 magazines including MAPRO NAPMA's magazine. We have been featured in over 150 TV shows. In 2013 we were featured in 19 TV shows. I'm a publish author "Anta's Ageless Warrior Fitness" and have 2 videos out "Anta's Art of Fighting Without Fighting Anti-Bullying" and Anta's Shaolin Physical Conditioning."
Reading this article brings back memories of our humble beginnings and how much we have grown since then. It also reminds me of how John Graden help change my life and the martial arts industry.
I hope that you enjoy my article and story.
In 2002 as a speaker at the NAPMA World Conference with my wife Elena, John Graden and Ryan Hickey
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. My road to success in the Martial Arts began when out of curiosity I pulled a copy of Martial Arts Professional out of my Kung Fu instructor’s trash can. As he sorted through his mail I noticed an interesting photo of a lady doing Cardio Karate with resistance bands on the cover of a magazine. I asked him “Sifu what is that?” His reply was sh#$ and threw it into the trash can. I was closing the school that night and pulled the magazine out. As I opened the pages of this magazine I was amazed to read that there were Martial Artists making a living, teaching Martial Arts. I was always told that no one could make a living teaching Martial Arts.
I read of a new fitness craze Cardio Karate, way before Billy Blanks’ Tae Bo videos hit the infomercials. Wow this was the link between my two loves Fitness & the Martial Arts. I called NAPMA and asked them to send me Martial Arts Professional. At that moment I thought, maybe my childhood dream could come true. I remember that as an 8 year old in the ‘60s I told my Dad that when I grew up, I wanted to be a Black Belt and a Bodybuilder. Now I am a personal trainer, a former competitive bodybuilder, and a Black Belt. Yet for 10 years I worked as a Correction’s Officer in a state maximum security prison. Thanks to John Graden and NAPMA I had a vision and began believing that I could fulfill my childhood dream of living from fitness and the Martial Arts.
I began teaching Kung Fu and Fitness Kickboxing at an open pavilion at a Country Club, charging a minimal tuition fee. After 6 months and approximately 20 students, I came up with an idea. I told my wife, why don’t we become NAPMA members and in 3 or 4 months we’ll cancel. We can get some ideas, we have nothing to lose. The more NAPMA packages that we got, the better our classes got and the greater the growth of our school. Within a few months of joining NAPMA my wife and I went to the NAPMA World Conference. This was a Martial Arts instructor Disney World. My wife and I both got certified in NAPMA’s Fitness Kickboxing by the originator Jim Graden. We began marketing our school and letting go of our traditional baggage. By now I was hooked and waited for my NAPMA package like a kid waiting for Christmas. My membership in NAPMA became the best investment that I ever made. By now I read every book that John Graden ever wrote. How to Open and Operate a Successful Martial Arts School, Black Belt Management, and The Ultimate Martial Arts Q & A Book.
I consider myself a NAPMA raised and fed school owner. As a baby in the Martial Arts industry NAPMA was truly a blessing. Instead of having to learn from experience I would call NAPMA. They would connect me with one of the experts on the subject. They would give me their advice and I was able to conquer the challenge.
I remember going to a seminar in Orlando, FL and my wife encouraging me to ask Rob Colasanti, then vice-president, to help me solve an embarrassing problem. I finally got the courage to tell Rob my dilemma. Rob made me feel good and told me that we all have made mistakes. He felt that I could turn this problem around. The story goes like this. In the prime of the Tae Bo craze a lady came up to me after my class enquiring about my Fitness Kickboxing class. I had learned enough already to ask her how she had heard of my class. She told me that she had seen me on a Spanish TV show. So I said great, do you watch the show? She said well I work for that show. So I proceed to put my foot even deeper in my mouth, by asking her what she did on the show. She told me she was the host. This TV show had just filmed at my school, but I was interviewed by a field reporter. I had seen the show one time right before my segment aired and I did not recognize her. She asked me for the price of my classes and I was so embarrassed that I gave them to her and she left. This was one of my most embarrassing moments. How could I ever forget this or outlive it? What amazed me the most was that the vice-president of the world’s largest Martial Arts Professional organization had the time and compassion to help me with this minor yet embarrassing moment? Rob told me to send her a certified letter addressed to her via the TV station and tell her that I would give her complimentary classes. A few weeks later she left a message in my voicemail and she began taking kickboxing classes. This was over 4 years ago and Rob still remembers the moment.
Before reading John Graden’s Black Belt Management book I had never heard of a press release. After 5 years of teaching, 4 in an open pavilion and 1 year in a storefront, my school has been featured in 10 TV shows, in Miami’s largest newspaper, The Miami Herald, numerous times including 3 front page articles. When a famous Master came to do a seminar in a neighboring city, I was interviewed by the Miami Herald. When 2 local schools had a disagreement in a local city council meeting, I was also asked for my opinion. John Graden wrote in his books that he became the martial arts expert in his community. When the next Karate Kid movie came to St. Petersburg he was taken by a movie critic to review the movie as the Martial Arts expert. I can thank John Graden for giving me the knowledge to become the Martial Arts expert of my community. My school has been featured in Black Belt Magazine, Inside Kung Fu, Tae Kwon Do Times, The Karate Voice and Martial Arts Professional. I also write for my community newspaper, The Doral Tribune and the Planet Magazine.
When I began to negotiate the lease for my storefront school, I reread Chapter 6 of How to Open and Operate a Martial Arts School. As I negotiated, I would call NAPMA’s regional director John Exum and the NAPMA office for advice. The realtor told me that he knew that I would succeed since I was an expert in negotiating a lease. The truth of the matter is that I had never negotiated a lease before. Thanks to John Graden’s book and NAPMA I became an expert. I now have many instructors and other businesses ask me for help on negotiating a lease. My school is being labeled the Starbucks of the Martial Arts industry and even other instructors have come to see my school. This is truly a NAPMA school.
I was privileged to give the first Spanish Seminar at the NAPMA World Conference in 2001, Mr. Graden’s 7 Laws of Success Without Selling Out. I also introduced Pilates to the Martial Arts community in 2002 and have continued to be a lecturer at the NAPMA World Conference. I am no longer a Correction’s Officer teaching Martial Arts. Today I’m a Martial Arts Professional changing the life of my students and molding our future leaders. Thanks to John Graden and NAPMA. John Graden is not only a dream maker, an industry leader, but a true role model and motivator. I still have on my refrigerator a card that he sent me after one of my lectures at the NAPMA World Conference. The front of the card said “A Personal Message from John Graden”. Inside the card he wrote, “Hola Amigo (Hello My Friend), your star is rising and will continue to soar! Thanks for another great set of classes at NAPMA, Gracias (Thanks)! John Graden, as I continue to soar I will never forget who lit the flame, John Graden. Gracias Amigo!
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