The Human Side Of Marketing and Student Retention for Martial Arts Schools

By Christopher Caile

Most martial arts schools don’t have a lot of money or time for self promotion or advertising. But there are a number of simple things you can do to promote your school, keep student interest and encourage retention.  One of the most powerful is the human connection.

# 1 – Connect with visitors and those viewing your classes.

When prospective students drop in to observe a class, make special efforts to have someone greet them, introduce themselves, your school and art and invite them to try a class. This can make a powerful impression. Here it is especially important to be friendly but professional and try to get to know the visitor to create interest.  Let them know you are interested in them and their goals.  Just as important is to get their name and other personal contact information to follow up. This is a minimum if the inquiry is by telephone. Communicate and invite the person to visit.

# 2 – Know your students, pay attention to them and communicate.

Know each of your students by name,  know their personal circumstances, their goals and their strengths and  weaknesses. And communicate as often as possible. Use their name. Let them know you see their improvement or effort. This can be a powerful tool since students respond to attention. They appreciate being recognized personally and your interest in their development. If you know their birthdays, acknowledge them and any other events such as births or marriages. If there is sickness , an accident or a death in the family,  respond with a personal note or a card from the class where students sign their names. You can also visit students if they are hospitalized or attend funerals. This way you let them know you care and are attentive to their circumstances.

When students miss classes, follow up. E-mail them after not seeing them for a while, or better make a phone call. To build a sense of community, use e-mails to keep students up to date, make announcements and distribute photos.

# 3 – Develop a website with student connections to encourage and retain interest.

Your web site should not only be a vehicle to attract new students and provide basic school information, it should also be used to promote group identity and highlight various students and their participation in school activities.

For new visitors your web site should sell you school and art and promote what you are doing. Highlight what is special about you as a teacher, your school’s or art’s philosophy, its history, its special programs and what students can accomplish. Also include a class schedule and contact information. This will give new readers a good introduction to your school.

For Current Students:  You also want to interest current students and keep them involved.. Include news of events, photos of students, school activities, promotions, competitions and other activities. Let students see themselves.  They will refer their friends and family. Also include simple links to Facebook and Twitter to help spread the word. Then there are articles, something virtually all martial arts websites forget. If you frequently update your website with new articles, a blog or other interesting written information, including photos or links to YouTube.com, your students will return to find out what’s new or interesting. This will help student maintain interest and foster a sense of community. You can write these yourself, use a senior student or find something on the web you like and then request permission to post them on your site. FightingArts.com, for example, receives requests all the time just for this purpose.

# 4 – Make connections in class.  

Don’t simply show up for class, teach and leave. Talk to students before class, introduce new students during the class, acknowledge visitors, birthdays or school activities. You can also give short lectures on what you expect, discipline, manners, proper etiquette, respect, etc., or add special drills, self-defense technique, a fighting technique or drill, even a kata application — anything that will promote interest.

In class be sure to acknowledge performance or effort. Don’t yell, be derisive, or overly critical. If you verbally make a correction, it is sometimes good to mix in a smile or add a little humor. Also work with students, or have an assistant do so. Work one-on-one in class, making adjustments, showing proper form or technique. And after class make sure you talk some more with students — another step to continue and build personal connection with the students. Remember, students are consumers and they respond like them.

In short, a very effective form of marketing your martial arts school and retaining students is through personal communication and contact. The more you, and your staff build relationships, and maintain personal contact and ongoing communication with your students, former students and visitors, the better results you are going to see.

About the Author Christopher Caile

Christopher Caile

Christopher Caile is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of FightingArts.com. He has been a student of the martial arts for over 65 years.

He first started in judo while in college. Then he added karate as a student of Phil Koeppel in 1959 studying Kempo and Wado-Ryu karate. He later added Shotokan Karate where he was promoted to brown belt and taught beginner classes. In 1960 while living in Finland, Caile introduced karate to that country and placed fourth in that nation’s first national judo tournament.

Wanting to further his karate studies, Caile then hitch hiked from Finland to Japan traveling through Scandinavia, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and South and Southeast Asia — living on 25 cents a day and often sleeping outside.

Arriving in Japan (1962), Caile was introduced to Mas Oyama and his fledgling full contact Kyokushinkai Karate by Donn Draeger, the famous martial artist and historian. Donn also housed him with several other senior international judo practitioners. Donn became Caile’s martial arts mentor, coaching him in judo and introducing him to Shinto Muso-ryu under Takaji Shimizu.

Caile studied at Oyama’s honbu dojo and also at Kenji Kurosaki’s second Tokyo Kyokushinkai dojo. In his first day in class Oyama asked Caile to teach English to his chief instructor, Tadashi Nakamura. They have been friends ever since. Caile also participated in Oyama’s masterwork book, “This Is Karate.”

Caile left Japan with his black belt and designation as Branch Chief, the first in the US to have had extensive training in Japan directly under Oyama Sensei. As such, Oyama Sensei asked him to be his representative on visits to his US dojos to report on their status.

A little over a year later, Nakamura, Kusosaki and Akio Fujihira won an epic David vs. Goliath challenge match against Thailand’s professional Muay Thai Boxers in Bangkok, Thailand, thrusting Kyolushinkai and Nakamura into national prominence.

Back in the US Caile taught Kyokushinkai karate in Peoria, Il while in college and later in Washington, DC. while in graduate school. Durimg this time Shihan Nakamura had moved to New York City to head Kyokushinkai’s North American Operation.

In 1976 when Kaicho Tadashi Nakamura formed the World Seido Karate organization, Caile followed. Living then in Buffalo, NY, Caile taught Seido karate and self-defense at the State University of New York at Buffalo (SUNY Buffalo) for over 15 years where he also frequently lectured on martial arts and Zen in courses on Japanese culture.

Caile moved to New York City in 1999 to marry Jackie Veit. He is now an 8th degree black belt, Hanshi, training in Seido Karate’s Westchester, NY Johshin Honzan (Spiritual Center) dojo. In Seido Caile is known for his teaching of and seminars on kata applications. He also produced a 14 segment video series on Pinan kata Bunkai currently available to Seido members.

Caile is also a long-time student and Shihan in Aikido. He studied in Buffalo, under Mike Hawley Shihan, and then under Wadokai Aikido’s founder, the late Roy Suenaka (uchi deshi under Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido and was Shihan under Tohei Sensei). In karate, Suenaka (8thdan) was also an in-house student of the Okinawan karate master Hohan Soken.

Having moved to New York City, Caile in 2000 founded this martial arts educational website, FightingArts.com. Twenty-five years later, in 2025, it underwent a major update and revision.

For FightingArts.com and other publications Caile wrote hundreds of articles on karate, martial arts, Japanese art, Chinese Medicine and edited a book on Zen. He also developed relationships with a cross section of leading martial arts teachers. Over the last four decades he has conducted extensive private research into karate and martial arts including private translations of the once secret Okinawan hand copied and passed on Kung Fu book, the Bubishi, as well as an early karate book by the karate master Kenwa Mabuni. He periodically returns to Japan and Okinawa to continue his studies and participate Seido karate events. In Tokyo he practiced (with Roy Suenaka Sensei) in a variety of aikido organizations with their founders – including private interviews and practices at the Aiki-kai Aikido Honbu dojo with the son and grandson of aikido’s founder, Doshu (headmaster) Kisshomaru (an old uchi-deshi friend) and his son, Moriteru Ueshiba and in Iwama with Morihiro Saito. On Okinawa he studied Goju Ryu karate under Eiichi Miyazato, 10th dan founder of Naha’s Jundokan, and also with Yoshitaka Taira (who later formed his own organization, who specialized in kata Bunkai. While there Caile also trained with Hohan Soken’s senior student, Master Fusei Kise, 10 dan as well as with the grandson of the legendary karate master Anko Itosu.

Caile’s other martial arts experience includes: Diato-ryu Aikijujitsu and Kenjitsu, kobudo, boxing, Muay Thai, MMA, Kali (empty hand, knife and bolo), study of old Okinawan Shoran-ryu & Tomari body mechanics, study of old Okinawan kata under Richard Kim, study of close quarter defense and combat, including knife and gun defenses, Kyusho Jitsu and several Chinese fighting arts including 8 Star Praying Mantis, Pak Mei (White Eyebrow), and a private family system of Kung Fu.

Caile is also a student of Zen as well as a long-term student of one branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chi Kung (Qigong). As one of two senior disciples of Chi Kung master Dr. Shen (M.D., Ph.D.) Caile was certified to teach and practice. This led to Caile’s founding of the The Chi Kung Healing Institute on Grand Island, NY. In Western NY, he also frequently held Chi Kung seminars, including at SUNY Buffalo and at the famous Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, NY. His articles on Chi Kung also appeared in the Holistic Health Journal and in several books on alternative medicine.

Caile holds a BA in International Studies from Bradley University and MA in International Relations with a specialty in South and Southeast Asia from American University in Washington, D.C. While in Buffalo, NY he also studied digital and analog electronics.

In his professional life Caile also worked in public relations and as a newspaper reporter and photographer. Earlier he worked in the field of telecommunications including Managing a Buffalo, NY sales and service branch for ITT. He then founded his own private telephone company. This was followed by creation of an electrical engineering company that designed and patented his concept for a new type of low-cost small business telephone system (which was eventually sold to Bell South). The company also did contract work for Kodak and the US space program. Simultaneously Caile designed and manufactured a unique break-apart portable pontoon boat.

Most recently Caile co-founded an internet software company. Its products include software suites with AI capability for control and management of streaming media, such as video and music, an all-in-one book publishing software product for hardcover, eBook and audio book creation and security software for buildings and government use.

For more details about Christopher Caile’s martial arts, work experience and life profile, see the About section in the footer of this site.