Ladies and Gentleman I give you the future of MMA [Pro-Star MMA]

[Miguksaram]

Not sure if this has been posted already. I did a search and didn't find anything so I proudly present a Christian for the Lions: http://www.pro-starpreview.com/

This is what the write up was on this exciting new way of MMA.

"Bigger Than The Kung Fu Boom?

by John Graden

Ever since I started training February 12, 1974, I've dreamed that
martial arts would one day be as big a sport as boxing, and
competitive with baseball, basketball or hockey. That day has
arrived. Need evidence? Here it is:

There is more MMA and Sport Martial Arts on television than ever.
Spike TV officials say their show, The Ultimate Fighter, is the
highest-rated original telecast in the cable network's history.

One episode last season outdrew more men ages 18 to 34 than competing
NBA and NHL playoff games and a regular-season Major League Baseball
game combined. COMBINED!

While watching a World Combat League show on Tivo today, I caught a
commercial for BodogFight.com's upcoming fight card in Russia. I
visited the site and was blown away by the production quality. They
have fights on Tuesday and Saturday nights on ION TV. I never heard
of them before, but I will add that to the Tivo list.

Clearly, there is money to be made in MMA. The UFC just bought Pride
for $70 million. During the The Ultimate Fighter, their ratings
system is the Burger King MMA Ratings. Burger King?

The ultimate indicator of the huge rise in popularity of MMA and
their stars might well be one straight out of the gossip columns. In
the famed Swimsuit Issue of Sports Illustrated , Guess model Tori
Praver said the athlete she would most like to meet is BJ Penn.
However, due to an editing error, the quote implied that Penn was her
boyfriend.

But, the fact that athletes like BJ Penn are getting that kind of
recognition in the gossip circuit is a classic pop culture "buy
signal."

The only thing that can compare to the MMA effect in this industry is
the Bruce Lee kung fu boom in the mid-seventies. Frankly, I think
this is bigger. The Kung Fu boom was based on myth and super hero
like films. MMA is based upon athletes climbing into the arena and
laying it on the line.

Here is the reality. There is a huge market of 18 - 34 year olds
interested in mixed martial arts. However, they don't need or want
the hard core kill or be killed training most MMA schools offer. They
want Pro-Star. Pro-Star is specifically designed to provide students
with "Instant Value." From the moment they take their first class in
Pro-Star, students know they are learning something they can use that
night.

There is no "This is a front stance downward block. You'd never
really use this, but this is the traditional way. In a few years
you'll understand this better..." Instead, Pro-Star teaches the
basics of kickboxing and grappling but with a goal of motivation and
enthusiasm in the student instead of winning the UFC.

We've taken everything we've learned over the past 20-years about
retention and applied it to create an MMA curriculum. Teaching it is
super easy because each class segment is presented to you via
streaming video. You spend ten minutes watching the clips to see what
and how to teach that night and then print out the lesson plan for
reference. It doesn't get any easier. Plus, we provide seminars year
round to make sure you understand the fundamentals and learn how to
teach in a way that inspires the desire to earn a Pro-Star black
belt.

Our next seminar will be in Dallas, May19th. That seminar is for
Pro-Star member schools and their staff only. You can learn more
about Pro-Star Mixed Martial Arts at www.pro-starpreview.com. "


Have fun.:pancakebu

[kwoww]

Hmmm. Unless I misunderstood this, the article said that they're basically offering MMA classes on the internet, and in a manner that is geared toward instant gratification rather than serious training. Sounds exactly like a mcdojo to me. I don't have time to actually check out the website, so I could be wrong.

Am I wrong?

[BackFistMonkey]

Hmmm. Unless I misunderstood this, the article said that they're basically offering MMA classes on the internet, and in a manner that is geared toward instant gratification rather than serious training. Sounds exactly like a mcdojo to me. I don't have time to actually check out the website, so I could be wrong.

Am I wrong?

I got sucked into the black heart of the site for about 45 minutes earlier .


I was offended and cried a little on the inside as I read the site . For a large sum of money I can apparently get very detailed instructions on how to act like a Martial Arts instructor and even what I should be teaching and how to teach it so that I can build wealth for my family .


....


:(

[Wolf]

Hmmm. Unless I misunderstood this, the article said that they're basically offering MMA classes on the internet, and in a manner that is geared toward instant gratification rather than serious training. Sounds exactly like a mcdojo to me. I don't have time to actually check out the website, so I could be wrong.

Am I wrong?

Even worse they're offering classes on how to TEACH MMA on the internet. So, in essence, they're trying to rapid prototype the MMA McDojo instead of just become one themselves.

[GCL1]

Hmmm. Unless I misunderstood this, the article said that they're basically offering MMA classes on the internet, and in a manner that is geared toward instant gratification rather than serious training. Sounds exactly like a mcdojo to me. I don't have time to actually check out the website, so I could be wrong.

Am I wrong?

No, this is how to SELL the idea of MMA to folks and recruit them for classes in that direction.

NAPMA and John Graden basically take popular, successful business models and apply them to martial arts.

Just because you're a great street fighter, a really technical BJJ practicioner, hold multiple black belts, or are a national champion from Asia doesn't mean that you know how to teach, recruit new students, or keep the ones you have. I know that from personal experience. Especially in a city with alot of choices for training, even a small increase in rent (passed on to your students' monthly rate) can 'kill' your school. So can catastrophic events, like Hurricane Katrina or 9/11. Or if your city decides to close the street in front of your school to build a light-rail project that will take 10-15 years to complete.

NAPMA teaches the psychology and methodology of how to be a successful school operator. You have to know about insurance, paying business and occupations taxes quarterly, finding deductions at the end of the year, keeping your business license current, how market yourself effectively, dealing with over-bearing parents, dealing with your neighbors, etc. Don't think that the Gracies, Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do 'family', Kyokushin-Kai, etc, etc didn't seek out folks who know about business and marketing to help them get started. The UFC was initially a just marketing scheme to promote Gracie Jujitsu: the Gracie Challenge, a successful marketing scheme they used for years in Brazil, presented in front of a larger audience. :eusa_snoo

Nationally, only 5% of the schools that open each year, regardless of style or training focus, stay open for a year or more. :suicide:

Give the mc dojo's in your town credit for going against this trend, even if they are selling snake oil and stupidity. :icon_bigs :laughing6

[Don Gwinn]

This is entirely separate from marketing or business. Marketing and business are not excuses to have an unqualified instructor getting people hurt by trying to teach them to fight based on his TEN MINUTES OF STREAMING VIDEO.

[Hidama]

This will generate a whole new crop of idiots for bullshido to take apart.

[GCL1]

This is entirely separate from marketing or business. Marketing and business are not excuses to have an unqualified instructor getting people hurt by trying to teach them to fight based on his TEN MINUTES OF STREAMING VIDEO.

You're right. But you're also wrong.

You're right, because as a consumer you're not getting what you think you paid for: quality instruction. But you're also wrong, because the underlying essence of all business is opportunism or "seizing the moment" to maximize profit by any means necessary. Sad, but true. This is the problem, as applied to martial arts, that gave birth to this site, right?

It is rare that the words "business" and "ethics" appear in the same sentence, since the majority of the most successful business models are based upon deception to some degree. I learned this as a personal trainer working in a big, corporate-owned health club. We were given a script to memorize and recite to potential clients (under pain of being fired), plus a set of answers for if they weren't going for it; not much different than selling Amway, used cars, or real estate.

Yeah, it's messed up; but if we left potential clients to their own devices, they would realize that losing weight or learning something new requires major changes in mentality and lifestyle, and they would leave,...and we would starve. "Too much work! I want results NOW!", they would exclaim. Fitness (or martial arts) isn't like sitting in a chair and getting your haircut, getting your nails done, or getting a tattoo, despite what some folks may tell you.

What's even worse is that the scripts ("overcoming objections", and "closing techniques") actually work 60% of the time, if you can keep a straight face and present yourself as 'believable'!

I no longer work in a health club chain, since I can't help but tell the public (and management) the truth: "fitness requires work, and if you want me to help you know that only the serious need apply", "I do not work for free, my people did for over 400 years, and I refuse to repeat that history", "most of the supplements on the market do nothing but drain your bank account (and may even make you sick)", and "I'm still paying off student loans, a good education costs money, so pay...or stay away!"

[PirateJon]

The videos on that site. Wow.

The ironic thing is that despite the terrible instruction - the students will almost certialy be doing hard contact sparring so they'll be better prepared for a real fight than most.

[Sam Browning]

John G. trained with Joe Lewis down in Florida full contact at one time. I doubt he would have developed any competence had he just watched a streaming video for 10 minutes at a time.

Yes, this will produce sucky psuedo MMA teachers.