I am a very young advertising assistant for the martial arts dojo of my instructor, with whom I began taking classes with at the YMCA three years ago. Ever since he decided to open his own dojo, we have not been getting many students. We started out sharing a building with a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school and were not very successful. My instructor (who teaches a combination of traditional Japanese styles, which he founded) had three students, myself included, for the majority of that time. His business partner (who teaches Kung Fu and Tai Chi) had four or five students. We decided to hold class in a public park for the summer to raise money for a new location. This has not gone well so far; my instructor has not gained any students, and seems close to losing two of them, and his business partner lost all of his students except for two. Because I do not want to be the only student in class, I offered to help with advertising, although I can not do much because I am about sixteen years old. I have tried talking to my friends to get them interested, posting flyers in local businesses, posting ads on local facebook pages, and nothing seems to be working. This week I will be working with the owner on new marketing ideas. I need suggestions desperately. Please help if you can.
Additional details: Both classes involve Asian culture and modern fighting tactics.

My instructor’s business partner has a strong personality; people either like or dislike him immediately. Though he has never taken my instructor’s class, he is used as a sort of assistant instructor, and often integrates his martial arts style with our’s. This could be driving away the people who prefer my instructor’s teaching style over his.

As I mentioned before, I am very young. My instructor needs to approve every type of advertising I do, but he works two jobs and has very little time. He also does not want to take great risks as far as money.

We are a traditional dojo. We do not go to a lot of tournaments or do olympic style sparring. We also do not have contracts or a “black belt guarentee.”

Our classes are $75 per month, with three one-hour classes a week. Classes take place in an area with many tournament taekwondo or MMA schools, but no other traditional dojo.

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Jay’s Answer:  How are the other martial arts schools doing in your area? Are their class sizes similarly small? Over the years, the bread-and-butter of most dojos have been after-school classes for children. Dojos additionally charge for each belt testing, new belts, etc.

Most people don’t really know the difference between various styles of martial arts, except what they see depicted in movies. And even so, most people don’t understand the underlying benefits of short-term training and long-term dedication to the study of their art. Ultimately, what’s your sensei’s dream dojo – a community of adults practicing 2-3x/week, a group of seniors improving their balance, a group of people who help their community by showing how martial arts “grounds” them, etc.?

Is your instructor better suited for teaching beginners or advanced students? Teachers generally gravitate to teaching fundamentals (which can be refined over the years) or complex sequences (either form or function). Whatever your teacher’s specialty, the message needs to attract those types of students. Most students aren’t interested in function (the “martial” part of “martial arts”). Most are interested in dance-like movements that make them feel better.