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The Art of Thanks!

Posted by Allie Alberigo - Kyoshi at 11/21/2012 1:18 PM | Add Comment

As I sit here in my office of my martial art school there is a test going on. Let me preempt that by saying I already taught my 8-9 am ITP - Instructor Training Program and TLCD - Team Leadership Character Development Class this morning. I had ever intention of teaching all the classes in the school this morning but my senior black belts set up a promotion today for one of our beginner kids to move to his white belt.

Imagine a room filled with energetic, highly motivated people. Well this room is filled with grandparents and family to watch this young child move on to his next belt and they are busting at the seems with motivation. This is a normal occurrence at L.I. Ninjutsu Centers. I have noticed more and more students really start to get what we really do. Now it appears that I am rambling a bit, but the real motivation of the post is to state, with the correct team everything works perfectly.

Honestly - there are times that I want to look at what my team is doing and put them under a microscope. Sometimes doing what my teacher did to me, critiquing everything I do, but honestly they are doing an amazing job. I am very happy with what I see and the quality of what is being taught.

So as I watch, I feel proud and excited that I am doing it correctly as I knew I was. I want to help others to get to this point. All of the tools and teachings I do are on my www.takingittothenextlevel.com program. Yes, it is on there and so much more plus the kicker is it is only $69.99 per month with NO Contract time period. I am so confident I am willing to let you do a month to month program. Which I never do in my martial art schools.

If you are ever in need of a FREE coaching call too, just simply email me at Shihan@lininja.com, no go check out my program - please. LOL.

In spirit;

Allie Alberigo

Posted by Allie Alberigo - Kyoshi at 10/13/2012 8:37 AM | Add Comment

Shut up and Listen – When is yelling ok?

I have been teaching martial art for over 33 years. I started the martial arts at 3 years old and it has been my life the entire time. In fact, it has been my full time profession for over 20 years. I have seen students come and go, and I would say that in my 20 years of running a martial art school I have seen at least 5 cycles of people in my school. What I mean by that is about every 5 years the generation shows a significant change in attitude and learning aptitude.

Sadly within the last 4 years, I have seen the attention span of the child diminish dramatically. Within the past week I had to raise my voice at least 20 times just to break the daze or into the consciousness of the student.

I learned how to yell at people from my yoga teacher. Wait! Before you shut me off, please hear me out. I once watched my Yoga teacher Swami Buaji as he taught a class. We had a very experienced Yoga practioner in the class and Swami was trying to help her and gave her instructions. By the way, Swami was 117 at the time. He has passed on recently at the age of 124 years old.

He repeatedly told the women to straighten her arm during a posture she was performing and she continued not to do it. He would get louder as he instructed her and she continued not to understand.

He then raised his voice and she said stop yelling at me. He said “no, no my dear I am not yelling at you, I am speaking loudly because you don’t seem to hear me.” She fixed her arm and that was that.

Today, I had to do the same thing within my class to get the student to listen. Remember yelling is not a negative thing, unless you have a negative tone. Stern strong instructions are very effective. Sometimes people need that in order to truly get the message. Who knows – what is going on in their heads. Maybe they are thinking about 4 other things. A strongly spoken message is also a great pattern interrupt. At times this is essential in order to make people listen.

For example: If whispering Stop in an emergency when chaos is breaking lose - doesn’t have the same effect as if you were to yell it. That is why during adrenaline training self defense classes we teach people how to yell their commands with confidence and intensity. It is much more effective.

So what are the 3 key steps to yelling?

1) Always do it in a proper manor with no aggression and confidence.

2) Make sure that you are doing it at the correct time. I have heard people yell and it appears rude. Our goal is to make sure the timing is right and use it when necessary.

3) Use your voice as a pattern interrupt. At times just saying Hey; loudly can make all the difference in gaining attention and then you can lower your voice and speak normally. Once everyone is paying attention then you go back to business as usual.

Posted by Allie Alberigo - Kyoshi at 8/30/2012 10:16 AM | Add Comment

This or That?

In light of the recent events regarding Steve Lavallee - (I even have a hard time using the title of Kyoshi when speaking of him).

Mr. Lavallee in my eyes was an icon in the martial arts. When I ever I saw him, he was respectful and said hello and we have had conversations in the past. He was in good shape, and seemed to be a stand up man. I know he was successful in business and had multiple schools. What I liked most about him, is he seemed to never let go of the tradition of the martial arts and always spoke of quality. Although this was my impression there we many others that saw him differently because they knew him better and on a more personal level.

Recently, when I heard that he committed suicide at first I was in shock. No this can't be, similar to when I heard Michael Jackson died. He was larger then life. Then when I heard it there were allegations of sexual abuse and molestation charges my sadness turned into anger. I thought to myself, well this person really deserves what he did to himself.

There was a part of me that thought compassionately. Maybe he was innocent and couldn't take the allegations, maybe he was devastated from the thought that all he worked so hard for could easily go up in flames. Maybe he wanted to end his own life to take away shame or sadness in the future from his family? Who knows and we will never know now that he is no longer on the planet.

The only thing that I find offensive is how we as a society live our lives like Ostriches. We bury our heads in the sand hoping that when we come up, all the world will be filled with roses. Sadly this never happens, so it is time to stand up for what is right and fight all that is wrong. I am not saying that any of these allegations are true, I am just saying how can we even hold this man on a pedestal after this happened.

I have run a martial art school for 20 years, and never have I had anyone say anything of the sort about me. After all how can they. I don't allow myself to ever even be in a questionable situation. Heck in my school, there are no locker rooms, only individual changing rooms, there is no hugging, picking up of students. We do not allow any kids to sit on instructors laps, or be alone with their instructor. I don't even allow parents to stand in the waiting room of the area where we have our individual changing rooms.

All of these fail safes are put in place for the protection of the student and the child. How does one have many allegations of molestation and they go un prosecuted for years? This is scary to me. I had a talk with my daughter about always talking to me if anything puts her in an uncomfortable situation.

I am angry, sickened and saddened all in one. Here is the article check it out.

http://mobile.sun-sentinel.com/p.p?m=b&a=rp&id=2272338&postId=2272338&postUserId=42&sessionToken&catId=6557&curAbsIndex=2&resultsUrl=DID%3D6%26DFCL%3D10

I hope you can see what I am feeling through my rant.

in spirit;
Allie Alberigo
Kyoshi

Posted by Allie Alberigo - Kyoshi at 6/14/2012 2:05 PM | Add Comment

Are you Caught up - in the day to day?

An old Zen master once said “live day by day - be in the moment.” Other profound sayings are “there is no past, there is no future, it is just the here and now.” Even though I am a martial artist, practitioner of Buddhism and Vegetarian and subscribe to the esoteric philosophy and way of life of being in the here and now, being caught up in the day to day is hugely different.

About 10 years ago I took a course that changed my life called “Franklyn Covey Time management.” What I thought was the here and now and living in the moment was changed in a day. I don’t think that Franklyn Covey even thinks about his program in that way, but I did and it changed my life forever.

Here is what I mean. Living in the moment even though a mystical and Zen – ish Style philosophy it is simple. You need to accept where you are and what you are doing at present and focus 100% on the day. You can’t ignore things that may or may not happen in the future, but you have to concentrate on the here and now, things that are going on in the immediate. Many people put off until tomorrow and the possibility of tomorrow never coming is real. The reality is why put off tasks or dreams that you want until tomorrow when you can accomplish them today or at minimum start them today and do your best to get as much done as possible.

Interestingly enough, when I do one on one consulting calls or work with my Elite Consulting Clients on a weekly basis, I find people get caught up in what are called mini tasks or fires. These tasks are usually something that needs to be taken care of right away. For example: an unhappy client that happens to stop in to talk to you, you can’t tell that person to go away and you will call them later that week. Your immediate attention is what is going to save the client. There is no way to plan for the mini fires, they come and you deal with them. The issue I find most prevalent is lack of focus, people staying on the tasks, and giving those tasks what we call “Top Priority.” Without having established what top priority is you are taking each day as if you were a lost sole wondering the earth.

This is no way to succeed, nor will it bring you any closer to your goals. Many people come to me and ask “What can I do to market?” Simply, I say do it. They ask “well I don’t know what to do, I respond by saying give me one idea.” Of course everyone knows one way to market. If you don’t here is an example. Give out flyers to whomever you see. They respond by saying, “Yeah but I need a marketing campaign.” I respond by saying “Okay here you go, give out flyers every single day to whoever you see.” They then think I am being factitious and ignore me as giving them bad advice.

I ask people who run schools, how much time to they dedicate toward marketing every week - The normal reaction which is usually an overestimation is 5 hours, I normally will say to double that. If you double that, for 50 weeks a year, you will have marketed your school 250 more hours per year. Do you see, the here and now is all about action. Sitting around thinking about what to do, does nothing to your bottom line. Quite often if we don’t prepare ahead of time for the here and now, it never manifests.

Is living in the moment about being washed in and out with the tides, hoping eventually you will get on firm ground or is it about finding the things you can do ahead of time to insure and set in motion actions that will help you achieve what you want. I know some may be saying this is semantics, but the reality is most silly little things I teach my clients are what make monumental changes in their business. Why wait around for the perfect marketing campaign when you can get out each day and put into action a poor one. Jay Conrad Levinson the author of Guerilla Marketing is quoted as saying “Even a poor marketing campaign is better then none at all.” Quite frankly most people don’t market. They spend less then 5 hours per week on growing their schools. If you are the one that is out there saying well that is not me, actually track how much time and effort goes into the growth of your school and simply double it.

The last reason I may here from a client as to why they don’t do what they are supposed to is, I don’t have the time. This catch 22 is fixed quite easily. Find others that are willing to help you double your time and effort into marketing. Most of the time it is simply a matter of asking. So living in the moment is not about getting caught up in the day to day and letting the day dictate your activities, the newest email, the surprise visit from a friend or old student, the unsolicited sales person, or the employee that just wants to shoot the breeze. Living in the here and now is about preparing ahead of time the tasks needed to allow you to focus on the here and now and achieve greatness. This is my bridge to age-old philosophy and modern business concepts. I hope you double your efforts and I can almost guarantee if you do, you will receive results.

In closing, I want to remind you, no one cares more about your business and your financial well being then you. If you chose to let the tides determine how much success you experience then you will continually be wishing for better times. If you chose to make your life what you believe it can be, then you will eventually see your dreams manifest into reality. The here and now is about good decisions, strategically thought out plans, and then taking action in the moment toward achieving them.

Allie Alberigo is a father, martial art instructor, business coach and entrepreneur. For more information just email Allie at kyoshi@lininja.com. Or simply call 631 321-5432..

Posted by Allie Alberigo - Kyoshi at 6/1/2012 11:58 AM | Add Comment

20 Ways to Generate New Students in your professional Martial Art School!

Leave school information in local businesses you frequent. – It’s easy to carry around business cards and ask to leave them on the counters of businesses. More often than not you’ll get their support.
FREE seminars / parties – Let your students know that you’re willing to teach a FREE seminar if they can round up 10 people (or more).
Sibling Activities – Students may have a family member who plays little league, dances, plays soccer, etc. Ask them to give out passes.
Girl Scouts / Boy Scouts – Contact your local troop leaders and let them know their members can earn a badge at your school. Set up a free scout seminar.
Cross Promoting with Local Businesses – Make a deal with local businesses to hand out your school information. In turn, you’ll add their information to your welcome packets given to all new members.
Join your local Chamber of Commerce – This is a great opportunity to network with other local businesses.
Family Members – Ask students to recommend your school to family members. This includes sibling, aunts, uncles, cousins. Remind them not to limit themselves to immediate family members.
Friends – Have students ask their friends to come down to your school. Have the friends invite their family along.
Acquaintances – Anyone you come in contact with on a regular basis. This can include the mailman you greet to the deli counterperson you get your coffee from.
PTA – The Parent/Teacher Association is a wonderful group to get involved with. Once you have their support, you may be able to get into the school and teach a few seminars.
Create a reward system for referrals – Say thank you by giving away prizes for referrals. Set up a tier system creating a larger prize for each referral that joins up.
Website – Generate leads from your school website. Create a contest to win a month of free lessons just by entering their contact information.
Workplace – Suggest to parents and adult students to ask the boss for permission to post an advertisement on the bulletin board or hand out 2 week passes to all employees.
Business Appreciation – Give back to the community by giving business owners and managers 1 month of lessons, and give all their employees two weeks free passes.
Strangers – When you’re out shopping strike up a conversation with the person in line. Give out a business card worth 1 week of free lessons.
Schoolmates – Have students hand out two weeks free passes to everyone in their class. You can even offer to come in for special person day and give a speech.
Community Events – Check your local newspapers for events. Gather a small group of students to hand out flyers for your school.
Host a fundraiser – Get your students involved and invite the community to attend a fundraiser event such as a kick-a-thon or Chinese auction. Give out passes to all non members.
Door hangers / Flyers - Ask students to get together on a weekend to deliver door hangers or flyers to the neighborhood homes. Reward their efforts with lunch at the school.

Posted by Allie Alberigo - Kyoshi at 5/22/2012 4:18 PM | Add Comment

“Spreading The Word- Asking For And Utilizing Community Involvement”

While I write this it is the almost summer. But no matter when you read this, you will be saying the same thing. The year has flown by, and we’re all gearing up for a successful New Year just around the corner! During this time of year it’s important to focus on the spirit of giving. As we all know, the reason that all of us teach the Martial Arts is to share knowledge, strength and all of the many values and benefits that we can provide to our students.

I was recently asked a few questions by an client whose sole focus is giving back to the community year round. As a Non-Profit organization, their ultimate goal is to better the people that participate at their school, in turn giving back to the community around them. These questions pose a very important message to all of us in the Martial Arts community. For those of us who strive to find ways to give back, or for schools who would like to find a way to be successful while still dedicating themselves to the betterment of the community around them, these questions are fundamental in finding the balance between success and giving back to those around you!

Q: “What are the best ways to gain more community involvement?”
A: “Community involvement is often a hard-won effort. Ramping up to consistent and abundant community involvement often means a few years of constantly beating the streets. Here are some tips about getting your message out there clearly. It is important that you clearly define to your audience why you strive to give back to the community. What are your goals, who do you aim to benefit, and what is the driving force behind your inentions?”

Here are some steps:
1) Continually, and LOUDLY ask for volunteer involvement
2) Explain how volunteer involvement, whether it’s financial or otherwise, is going to help you to provide the community with an even greater benefit!
3) Find a central core of people who are involved in community and charity work that will be dedicated to assisting you in your vision.

Sometimes you will find yourself constantly looking for a group of good people to assist your school; many times you will find that people consider themselves to be too busy, and don’t want to be bothered. But don’t let this slow you down! Don’t give up until you have the team of community individuals that you need!

Q: “Our school works with National Youth Action Day and Project Action Day every year. What is the best way to go about getting media attention, and then utilizing that media attention for future enrollment?”
A: The best way to get media attention is to beat the streets and contact all of your local news agencies: Papers, T.V. and Radio. Many of these agencies will help you advertise your event for free, as the event you are hosting is an altruistic activity, and a great lead in for a story about community involvement. Once you’ve gotten these agencies’ attention, you need to write up your own press releases to be published after the event has been held. These short blurbs highlight the event, it’s attendees and it’s purpose. It’s also a good way to highlight your school’s name and contact information.

Q: What is the best way to set up a Scholarship Fund so that underprivileged individuals can take advantage of the Martial Arts?
A: Scholarship funds can be tricky for many schools. This is an area where you will want to get your accountant involved, since for school’s that are not set up as Non-Profit locations will have to claim these funds as income and then pay taxes on that income. If you are a Non-Profit location, raising money can be done through community events, and again through a lot of leg-work. The key is to ask for contributions through flyers, conversations, advertisements and relationships with local businesses and officials. Once you begin to receive contributions it is crucial that you have a system in place to accurately track all funds given, and by whom.

Sometimes people consider this more effort than is worth the funds charitably given. However, done correctly, scholarship funds are immensely rewarding.

That being said, finding the right candidate to receive these funds requires you to be discerning and very straightforward in clearly defining the recipient’s responsibilities to your school. It can be very disheartening to elect a candidate and then have them not commit to consistent training and school involvement. Look for potential scholarship students who need the Martial Arts in their lives, will have a significant benefit through training, but who truly cannot afford tuition.

Q: How can a school use, but not “prostitute” these activities in order to increase overall enrollment?”
A: It is a common misconception that to give back to the community is to take on a life of poverty, or a life of smaller means. When you boil it down, a Martial Arts School at it’s very core is benefiting those students who are training there. The owner of any school is running a business, and deserves to be successful in doing so! A school that is a non-profit and has the clear intention of helping the community, it’s important to remember that the larger your school gets- the more you will be able to give back.

Focus on selling memberships to those that can afford the Martial Arts and then enlist them to help you spread the word throughout your community. These students will all know someone who needs your help, or an organization that can provide you with the help that you need! Your students are your most powerful promotion tool! The more students you have- the larger number of bodies to tell the world what a powerful tool your school has been in bettering their lives!

Remember: The Martial Arts is a gift to be given. We have all been blessed with the opportunity to be teachers, and to instill the values of the Martial Arts into our students. This Holiday Season is a time to reflect on how important it is to share the wealth which the Martial Arts has provided us!

These articles are all owned by Allie Alberigo - taking it to the next level and takingittothenextlevel.com. No part of this can be reproduced in any form, any piece or anyway. Copyright 2012.

Posted by Allie Alberigo - Kyoshi at 5/12/2012 1:12 PM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment

Are you Caught up - in the day to day?