The problem with the promotion/advertising of anything in the US, is that it has to enhance the benefits for the consumer. For a lot of us, our own self motivation pushes us to train harder for a number of reasons: self-defense, sport, physical fitness, fun. We have come to the martial artists for some reason and for many of us those reasons are different. It's all about glamorizing the benefits of the particular martial art.
Martial Arts consumers are inundated with information about martial arts, not all of it being good. Martial artists themselves get into squabbling over what is good martial art versus what is bad martial arts. Some of us hate XMA but if it brings people through the door who cares? They are in the door but what happens next? How many instructors will turn someone away if there art isn't what the person is looking for? Very few it seems. We will explain how our art will benefit them and why another art is worse. We need to stop bad mouthing other arts. I don't care where you train, if you want to learn some Kuk sool come learn some kuk sool. If you want to learn TKD, go learn TKD. But when a guy who wants to learn TKD walks into a Kuk Sool school, we will show him why KSW is "better" to get him to stay rather than letting him take his own path or pointing down the street and going that school may be what you're looking for.
Martial arts biggest challenge isn't MMA vs XMA it's MA vs everything else that occupies someone's exercise time. We need to stop the infighting because we need to see how infighting is hurting us all. If people want to get healthy, they can go take yoga, they don't need MA. We as MA sit around and talk about style vs style, technique vs technique, lineage vs lineage. When Bob Consumer comes in the door, he doesn't care about those arguments. He wants value for his dollar, regardless of the reason he walked in the door.
Why are cardio kick boxing classes so full? Why will people pay there gym membership plus extra fees sometimes to take a cardio KB class? Because it's fun and has no politics associated with it, there is no rank, no testing fees just physical activity. It works for the consumer. Are CKB classes the be all end all? No, half the time they are teaching techniques improperly and providing a false sense of security but do we target these people enough? Nope, we sit and talk about how sucky CKB classes are, not about how to get these people out of the CKB but into our dojo/dojang.
Our advertising has to show benfits. I hate to say it but the average person doesn't care what the head instructors rank is. That may get them to call the place but that doesn't make them stay.
