Self Defence teaching is a tough but rewarding business, and in this article, we are going to address a few things.
We will look at why more people don’t seek out self-defence training. We will look at the difference that being a self-defence instructor makes to the lives of individuals.
And we will also look at how you can overcome the barriers to more people taking up training.
Ready, let’s do this.
Here is a challenge:
Stop anyone, anywhere and ask them this question.
“Do you think it is important that a person can protect themselves?”
The vast majority of people will say yes.
What does this tell you?
That everyone thinks self-defence training is a positive thing.
So why aren’t more people training, in fact, why isn’t everyone training in self-defence?
There are 3 core reasons that we will explain today.
- Self-defence training causes a reduction in social status.
- They are not confident that the training will help them.
- They put other needs as a higher priority.
Let us break down each aspect.
1. Self-defence training causes a reduction in social status.
Do you remember the days of seeing people walking to their local Kung Fu club dressed in their uniforms?
No, well that is because it was in the 70’s and 80’s.
Yes, it might have been cool to walk the streets in your Karate suit back ‘in the day’, but now people look at you like an outcast from society.
The general rule is that kids look cute in their traditional Martial Arts clothing, but adults don’t.
Self Defence systems such as Defence Lab and Krav Maga have gone a long way to establishing great visual branding with uniforms and logos that people are proud to wear.
This helps to defeat the visual social status reduction of doing self -defence but people do still have preconceived ideas.
And this further reduced the social status of self-defence lessons.
If you were to tell anyone that you do ‘self-defence’ a range of images pop into their heads.
From people in jumpers in church halls doing wrist locks.
To being smashed into the floor by a throw.
None of which inspire that ‘cool sensation’ that people have when they say ‘I do self-defence training’.
This is yet more reason why professional systems such as Defence Lab are so important because they change the outward image of self-defence using branding.
Hollywood movie star Liam Neeson trains in Defence Lab, that is as cool as it gets!
But so many martial arts and self-defence systems have poor branding that they still have this ‘uncool vibe’ attached to them.
2. They are not confident that the training will help them.
People genuinely believe that self-defence lessons are a good thing.
But the Martial Arts industry harms itself far more than it does to promote itself.
For example, I saw a viral self-defence video the other day.
An attractive lady was showing the ‘self-defence move’ that every woman should know.
Needless to say, everyone was sharing it, millions watched it, and the Martial Arts community descended on it like vultures.
“That won’t work, stop sharing this rubbish” was the general tone of comments.
In the Martial Arts industry itself, we have ridiculous levels of debate about what does or doesn’t work in real life; no wonder people are not sure what to train in.
But most people can look at a video and think realistically that something would never work.
And that video was a case of this, yet millions of people watched it, sending them the message that self-defence training is not very good.
In addition, people also think about the time it takes to become good at a Martial Art.
This puts people off. 3 to 4 years of weekly training to become proficient at a system that may or may not help them to defend themselves.
That is a big ask of anyone, so people don’t bother.
3. They put other needs as a higher priority.
This is perhaps the most important part of the failure of why people don’t train in Martial Arts.
It comes way down in their list of priorities.
Have you ever seen kids classes, they are usually packed out with parents watching.
This is because every parent wants their child to be able to ‘stick up’ for themselves.
This is a high priority for them.
As adults, we have hundreds of competing demands and pressures.
From the kids homework, ironing uniforms, making dinner, going to the gym, speaking to friends, work, relaxing and so on.
To ask them to give up at least an hour a week for the next 3 years will set alarm bells in their head screaming ‘no way do I have this much time to give’.
And then, of course, comes the money. Learning martial arts and self-defence costs money.
From training fees, equipment, uniforms, gradings and more.
And this again creates friction.
So Why Do Self-Defence Instructors Make Such A Difference If People Don’t Beat Down Your Door To Train?
Remember we started this in-depth article by saying that if you stopped people and asked: “Do you think it is important that a person can protect themselves?”
Almost everyone would say yes.
But then our 3 reasons creep in, and people don’t act on their views.
We will cover how to overcome this at the end, but the reason that you make a difference is that you are there for the people that search you out.
People search for self-defence training because it solves an issue.
They may have been attacked before and don’t want it to happen again.
They may simply feel vulnerable, have witnessed an attack or know a friend who was assaulted.
It could be a range of reasons.
But these are people who desperately want to know how to stay safe.
For the people that seek you out, you are not a self-defence instructor, you are a lifeline.
A person who can take away the worry. A person who supplies them with confidence. A person he shows them how not to be a victim. A person that makes them feel safer.
There is nothing out there that solves these issues like self-defence does. Because the empowerment that it provides people is not the same as other activities.
Going to a Yoga class does not leave you with the feeling that you could fight back if attacked and win.
And in the process of teaching self-defence, you change peoples lives.
And this is the real difference.
It separates self-defence training from other activities because it is the only solution to the problem ‘how can I protect myself?’
And that problem is huge if you have ever been the victim of an attack.
How Do You Overcome The Barriers To People Joining A Martial Arts/ Self Defence Club?
In this post, we have shown the powerful difference self-defence instructors can make to the lives of those that are looking for training.
But what about those that agree it would be a sensible thing to do but are put off by the 3 barriers?
These are people who are aware of the issue that violence may enter their lives and they are woefully unprepared to be able to take action to deal with it.
But despite this fact, they still do not seek out or sign up for lessons.
The difference that you can make in their lives is the same and those who seek out self-defence training.
So how can we get them to come on board?
The answer lies in dealing with the 3 factors blocking them.
Firstly the status aspect.
You can address this by creating an environment that is ‘cool’.
Defence Lab achieves this in a variety of ways.
From the high-end branding and logo to the clothing range and jewellery.
Defence Lab stands out enough to be different, enough to grab attention but in a way that people look and say ‘wow, love your T-shirt, what’s Defence Lab.’
When it comes to the confidence that your system will help them, consider showing case studies if you have them, student testimonials, videos of students training and of course reference law enforcement officers who say they train in your system.
The final blockage to getting them to sign up for training is the fact they have other priorities.
To overcome that you need to make signing up for lessons as easy as possible. Your location should have good parking, the sign-up and payment process should be simple and straightforward.
Make it ridiculously easy to use your services, any small barrier matters.
Ok, so that’s great. I hear you say, but how can I find these people and connect with them?
This is what marketing and advertising are for.
Yes, you will need to pay for these things to grow your self-defence business because people have competing demands it takes time for them to take action.
Facebook Ads, Google As, having a website and ensuring it is on the first page fo Google are key to reaching as many people as possible.
Buy A System That Has Done This For You.
I know what you are saying, this all sounds like hard work.
And you are right it is.
The reason why so many self-defence schools never make any money is that to grow requires a lot of components.
From a system that is engaging and effective, a pricing structure that is profitable.
You need branding that catches the eye and business and marketing training that ensures your leads keep coming in.
Defence Lab offers this for a low monthly payment.
Yes, that is right you can become a self-defence instructor for less than the price of a meal out.
Can I Make A Living Teaching Self-Defence?
The answer is yes.
You can make an exceptional difference to the lives of others and earn a great income; we have instructors that are doing this already.
Defence Lab was created to provide great quality self-defence instruction but in a profitable way.
From our huge range of business assets to online and physical training. Defence Lab is growing because of the success of our instructors.
What are you waiting for?
Become a Defence Lab instructor and change lives.
Click here to learn more.
Thanks for reading