Promoting Aikido

barrychandler wrote:

Does anyone have any ideas for promoting Aikido. I teach at a small club and have found it hard to encourage new students as Aikido seems to be 'relatively' unheard of by the masses. As a result it seems that only those looking specifically for aikido find out about us.

Promoting by flyers and local papers is fine but theres only so much information you can put in and it only targets a select few. I was thinking more about ideas for promoting it nationally.

Hi Barry

Seems to me you have 2 separate goals. Growth of your club and general promotion of Aikido.

With respect to the 1st, you say you are only found by those looking specifically for Aikido. Congratulations !! that is your audience that will give you most success, if they are looking for cage fighting then you are unlikely to satisfy this need and your recruitement efforts will be wasted.

Think of YOUR aikido as a product...what are the characteristics of your Aikido? ...looking just at this weekends BAB course there were 5 totally different types of Aikido on display...Paul Bonnetts Shodokan giving the fun of competition and the vigorous work out that comes with it, Terry Ezras flowing Aikido with its base in connection, centering and adherance to yin & yang, Chris Mooneys very traditional and quite serious approach, Paul Barkers devastating nishio marriage of serious striking with crip technique and Frank Burlinghams modest,self-depracating fun approach.

All very different. So a general promotion of Aikido might not help overly if you get students looking for the style of Sensei X from Sensei Y.

So for me start by defining what your Aikido represents? When you do this then you know that this is what you are selling.

We for instance, are very organised, we have a good structure, effective promotion strategy for students, our Aikido can be practical but we aren't 'hard'...we can work with Ki to a degree but not to the level of say the local Ki Aikido clubs.

But we know what our strenghts are - and these are what we portray whan new students arrive. If what we can do matches their requirements - then they stay.

Having defined what you have - make a commitment to excellence. We can't all be the best - but you can aim to be the best that you can. If you as an instructor have genuine enthusiasm and the desire to make improvements. ......Others will follow.

Where the improvements come from is up to you. Do you have a technical leader? do you cross train? do you follow Aikiweb & Aikijournal to stay abreast of wider activities in the world of Aikido.?

Any of these can augment what you have and energise your Aikido classes. You can get a new approach, new material, anything really...which keeps your classes constantly interesting.

Die hards will train no matter what you do..but newbies...and new Dan grades...need targets, changes and suchlike to keep them interested.

On a local level - how is your Aikido perceived ? fluffy bunny softy stuff...or do you have some respect from local martial arts community. I like to think we have a good rep - we may not hold the crown as the toughest guys in town , the boxers/mma guys can wear that ...but we are seen as very professional, very committed to the art and our students and as a result there is good interchange of students between us and local clubs. If they have someone that clearly wants to do Aikido ...we are recommended because our approach is honest and respectable. Likewise if we get someone that wants to compete or cagefight and its a good option for them we'll send them on their way.

All good for enabling our Aikido to 'compete' in the marketplace of those that are thinking of training in Martial Arts.

We've gained this rep through demo's, cross training and multi art seminars. As a result our students can hold their heads up in any martial arts community meetings locally.

With respect to advertising - our people are our best advert. We don't tolerate negative behaviour and the resulting enthusiasm from all members continues to pull people in. With enthusiatic people anything can generate interest.

* we lost our dojo and moved to a temporary home - result - a banding together & team spirit to make the new home a success = More members.

* we had an instructor leave and take some students with him - result - more bonding of the remainder into a stronger, more effective team = which in time has resulted in more members

* We did a demo last year (its on BAB website)...we involved lots of members and the morale of the dojo went through the roof !

* We got involved with BAB coaching courses - Result = energised teachers following best practice and falling over themselves with their keeness to deliver Aikido ...more student retention !!

So everything should be considered a marketing opportunity.

If you have honest, enthusiastic, hardworking teachers and students...you will succeed. If you aren't yet the best, but aspire to be the best you can succeed . People will come with you if you show a desire to progress

This isn't me viewing things with rose tinted glasses ...this is what I'm seeing week in week out.

Not down to any leaflets, videos or newspaper adverts. Its down to a team of people who love Aikido and simply say lets be the best that we can be.

If all clubs take this approach, National marketing will take care of itself.

Good luck with your growth.

Daren