There's a BJJ school in Fife that advertises birthday parties, too. The school had a rocky start, but the guy who runs it is a legit brown belt.
I don't see that as a sign of good things to come. But BJJ isn't the topic of conversation. What's coming down the road is predictable, if the marketing strategies from TKD are adopted.
The way I see it, the OP identified a pervasive problem, and I believe you guys are refusing to accept that the successful marketing strategy is largely to blame. You're a victim of your own success.
Does this mean that adults don't train? No. I'm sure that in some places, there are yet other marketing strategies that focus on buzzwords like "family" where the school owners put pressure on the parents to join their kids... at a family discount, I'm sure.
For the record, I literally laugh out loud (well, more of a snort of disbelief than a laugh...) when I read a thread from you guys complaining about how parents treat your schools like daycare centers. "They just... drop the kids off and LEAVE!" How could they do that?
You know, I started to quote directly from threads on this board, but there are too many. It's like guys who complain about their love handles while drinking beer and eating hot wings. "I just don't get it. I exercise... but I just can't get rid of this gut! Nothing I do works."
It's obvious what the issue is... whether you want to see it or not. This doesn't mean he should stop enjoying beer and hotwings. The point is, there is a clear cause/effect. It's obvious. There are choices being made.
Steve you are right we are a product of the system we made. I myself have an afterschool program now at the school, my wife and a few other people run it, we had to so we could keep the doors open. Not saying it is right or wrong I fought against it for five years. Parents come by around 6 - 6:30 p.m. and pick there kids up and never give it a second thought. One thing about us though we admit we are doing it to keep them and our doors open. The other thingis this we have a seperate adult class for the more serious adult and we have a family class where parent and kids workout together. They both our doing well but we have marketed to the right groups for each class. We also have our competition team classes that is geared toward Olympic style sparring for those wanting that aspect. My wif ehas a Zumba fitness class that is mainly woman wanting something but does not want a martial art per say. Nobody on this board should ever say we did not do this yes we did we followed and did what was making other people money, I know I did.