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To accomplish this, John Graden has designed a new program that is says is like the Bizarro martial arts system. Everything is the opposite of a traditional style.

Graden is the Executive Director of the Martial Arts Teachers’ Association (MATA ). He says that as beneficial as the martial arts are, many adults are turned off by the uniforms and 80% of what a student has to learn are outdated and difficult to learn techniques that make up any of the Asian based martial arts.

Graden says, “Adults today know more about martial arts than any generation in history. For 19 years the UFC has been educating millions of viewers that style does not matter. Adults know this. They know that if they join a school 80% of what they learn will be antiquated, complex movements that are hard to learn, hard to execute, and hard to remember.”

As difficult as a traditional art is, Graden says it’s superb training if you do it. Learning a traditional style is an excellent way to get in shape and build confidence, but it has its limitations.

According to Graden, “Learning a traditional art is like learning traditional ballet. Great for self-discipline and self-control, but it has little appeal as an activity choice.”

To help attract adults back into the martial arts school Graden has created a curriculum that is exact opposite of a traditional style.

Following the example of Steve Jobs strategy for creating the iPhone and iPad by “Getting the technology out of the way” Gradens’ new program, MATA-MA for short “Gets the style out of the way” by narrowing the focus to three areas:

1. Mental Benefits such as self-discipline, self-control, and self-confidence.
2. Fitness but not like Tae Bo. Safe, drill oriented training with no contact.
3. Easy to learn and execute self-defense and basic martial arts.

MATA-MA is a blend of the most basic principles of all martial arts styles without any of the padding. Students rotate through monthly modules that are easy to learn and then execute them in vigorous drills that quickly anchor the technique for the student and create a great workout.

Module 1 is Kickboxing.
Here students will learn the basics of kickboxing and train like a kick boxer without the contact.

Module 2 is Martial Arts.
Students in this module safely learn the lethal strikes and blows from various martial arts systems without the fear of getting hurt.

Module 3 is Weapons and Ground Defense.
The martial arts has a rich history of developing deadly weapons out of everyday items. Students will learn how to use these weapons and also learn the basics of defending themselves on the ground in case a self defense situation ever ends up there.

All modules have self-defense components so students are always learning how to defend themselves. The self-defense is drawn more from law enforcement training than martial arts which makes them easy to learn and use under pressure.

The program is delivered worldwide to martial arts schools via streaming video so instructors have clear lesson plans and are taught what and how to teach the material by Graden and his team of select instructors.

Graden emphasizes that he is not trying to do away with traditional martial arts. To that end, he teaches instructors to offer their traditional system as a special course of training. That way, 100% of the students learning the traditional art are in class because they want to learn that material.

This way, 100% of the students who want the traditional style can get it and 100% of those who want the mental benefits, fitness, and basic martial arts will get exactly what they want as well.

“The traditional martial arts styles are beautiful and important to the history of what we do. It’s just that they’re not for everyone. This new program gives the students, whether it’s an adult or child, instant value and 100% of what they want out of their investment of time and money in a martial arts activity. The response has been fantastic.”

All martial arts schools would benefit from aligning with local charity. Charities are always looking for ways to raise funds and awareness.

By creating events and projects that bring a charity funds and awareness you position your school as an active business in your community.

Your goal in working with the charity is to get them to promote you and your school to their database, on their website, and to the local media.

You are seeking to use their marketing people to promote the project that you are partnering with the charity on.

While these projects also work well with for-profit businesses, non-profits tend to be easier to work with and also get more media attention.

To make this really work, you’ll want break out of the norm and come up with something more than another break-a-thon. While they are fine, everyone does them. You want to elevate yourself above the competition and create something more attention getting.

For instance, would a local organization pay for you to conduct campus self-defense / safety seminars at local schools?

Would an organization buy quantities of your self-defense book and distribute them to students?

Would an organization purchase air time for you to teach self-defense tips?

Maybe they would pay for the production of shooting your safety tips for download from their website.

Here is an example of a series of John Graden Safety Tips I did in my area of St. Petersburg, Fl in the 1980s.

Study your local charities and businesses that are active in supporting the community. Align with their goals and help them help you to gain more exposure for you and your school.

It’s McDojo this and belt factory that and he’s all about the money. Until we have some organization, that will continue to be the song in our collective heads.

 The reason martial arts has no standards is because the martial arts has too many standards. The reason  martial arts has too many standards is because martial arts has no standards. 

Here is what I mean; martial arts is an unlicensed profession. There are no tests you have to take to open a school. You can come out of university with an MBA or you can come out of Pelican Bay and open a school.

Since there is no universal board of examiners for martial arts standards are set by individual instructors and, in some cases, organizations. That leaves thousands of schools to set their own standards.

The closest we’ve ever come to having real universal standards was when I created the American Council on Martial Arts (ACMA). Rather than focus on standards of technique I focused on standards of teaching.

With the help of John Corcoran and Mike DeMarco from the Asian Journal of Martial Arts, we gathered a group of accomplished teachers and professionals in and related to the fields of teaching, psychology, physiology, motivation and sports medicine. The link between them all was they were martial artists as well. They had to understand our passion and they did.

The ACMA was administered at the prestigious Cooper Aerobic Institute in Dallas, TX. Dr. Ken Cooper is the guy who coined the term, “aerobics” and is the personal physician to major figures of sports and politics.

 I knew that getting martial artists to agree on technique would be virtually impossible. I knew that I had to bring in universally accepted methods of teaching, regardless of the sport or activity, that could not be argued with and they weren’t. 

The level of acceptance was virtually instant with anyone not threatened by knowledge and my leadership.

Joe Lewis was the first enroll in this course. Bill Wallace, Jhoon Rhee, Jim Graden, plus my students Kathy Marlor and Rob Colasanti plus hundreds of others traveled Dallas to complete this program.

The ACMA is being updated into the MATA Instructor Certification Program. However, I believe we can come together to create a standard for execution (not of me again please) that can, in fact, bring a universal standard for the most basic of techniques.

Stay with me on this. Think in terms of universal principle rather then the minuet technicalities of your particular style. I am not saying that you would have to change your technique.  Yet I know all of us would benefit from learning the concepts of what is widely regarded as the base execution of a technique. 

Once we learn and are tested on our knowledge of this, we can then go back to our schools and integrate the principles into our preferred styles.  

What would the technical standards of martial arts encompass? The most basic, simple techniques could be the Level One certification. 

For simple purpose of illustration they might include:

Fighting Stance

Front Kick

Movement

Back Kick

Side Kick

Round Kick

Forward Hand Strike (know the difference between a jab and a back fist)

Rear Hand Strikes

How to Create Power

How to Create Speed

Basic Self Defense Principles of Safety

Basic Self Defense Techniques

 With our new MATA-MA and MATA-Pro memberships, I’ve been spending a tremendous amount of time coursing a path that will elevate all of us beyond the flawed and failed systems of the past. It’s my belief that the best way forward is shake loose of the past and focus on what our students really come to us for rather than clinging to an out-dated process that has proven to be of near zero interest to the real world.

1985 at Florida Karate in Seminole, FL

Broken Rhythm Attack Demo-1985

It was at that event that the man many consider the greatest black belt in history was surprised and honored with a powerful portrait by NFL Films Emmy Award Winning Artist Bob Mueller. You can see the painting at www.JoeLewisArt.com.

Recently undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumor Joe Lewis, the first world heavyweight kickboxing champion, earned his black belt in just three-months. Most students take 3-5 years to earn a black belt.

Lewis also trained with Bruce Lee and won the national karate championships in a mere 18-months after his first karate class. He has appeared on over 100 talk shows including co-hosting the Merv Griffin show and starred in several well received action films.

But even Lewis was not prepared when his protege’ John Graden surprised him at a tribute with a powerful portrait of Lewis in his classic side stance pose.

“No Ordinary Joe” was commissioned by Graden for Emmy Award winning artist, Bob Mueller. Mueller, well-known for his remarkable paintings of football and hockey stars, is also a 6th degree black belt who says painting Joe Lewis was an honor.

Mueller says, “I have created works of art of some of the toughest men to ever play professional sports. Names like Dick Butkus, Lawrence Taylor, and Gordie Howe are among the greatest of all time. My rendition of Joe Lewis combines the energy of these Hall of Famers to create an impression of his unique talent.  Every brush stroke of this painting has iconic gestures and symbolic inner meanings that celebrate the man, the ultimate fighting machine, Joe Lewis.”

Meuller including many special details in the painting that represent the legend of Joe Lewis. Those details are also at www.JoeLewisArt.com.

The Executive Director of the Martial Arts Teachers’ Association, Graden managed to keep the painting a secret until the night of a banquet in Lewis’ honor in Tampa, FL.

In attendance were hundreds of Joe Lewis fans, friends, and family including Linda Lee, wife of martial arts icon Bruce Lee and Walter Anderson, who published Parade magazine for over 20-years.

Many luminaries in and outside of the martial arts world sent their best wishes via video or hand written letters including Chuck Norris and prominent psychologist Nathanial Brandon, who despite his own severe health issues took the time to deliver a heartfelt video message to his old friend.

Towards the end of the evening Graden took the stage and shared some of his experiences with Joe Lewis since he, along with his brother Jim, became his proteges in the mid-1980s.

Graden then screened a short video depicting the creation of the painting and introducing Mueller to the crowd. Many of Mueller’s paintings adorn the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, OH.

Working with NFL Films, Mueller won an Emmy for the documentary showcasing his paintings, “The 100 Best Players in the NFL.”

Graden concluded the presentation up by telling his mentor, “My goal was to cement your legend by immortalizing you in the company of NFL Films and an Emmy Award winning artist.”

Graden then invited his brothers, Jim and Mark to the stage to pull off the cover and reveal, “No Ordinary Joe” to an enthusiastic ovation.

Links Mentioned in this Minute

The Official MATA Self-Defense Business System http://www.SelfDefenseProfits.com

The Official MATA Life Skills 24-Month Curriculum http://www.MartialArtsLifeSkills.com