How to Select The Right Kind of Shoes For Martial Arts

Every sport has its own demand from a human body. Whether it is the hands that are involved or the feet, it is a requirement that one should use the right kind of accessories while practicing their favorite sport. Thus shoes to play soccer or basketball are different from shoes for martial arts. Since the sports are starkly different, the demands on limbs are also different. Therefore, it is not only recommended but compulsory that proper shoes for martial arts should be used while practicing the same.

The main feature of using shoes for martial arts is that they come without laces and so do not impair movement and thus are prone to fewer accidents caused by entanglement. Also, shoes specially created for martial arts are padded at the right places so that you can use the optimum force in your kicks and thus enhance your art rather than impair it. The soles are also specially designed so that you get a good grip on your feet and enable you to spin on your feet efficiently. Spinning is a part and parcel of martial arts unlike any other sport and thus using shoes for martial arts is an advantage to martial art enthusiasts. Let us check the kinds of shoes available for such enthusiasts:

The Ninjitsu Tabi Boot: This is a very special boot made for the art of practicing the Ninjitsu Tabi and does not even look like footwear. It looks more like a bedroom slipper and is a deceit in itself. It comes with tow-grips inside the boot. This boot is also used to practice Ninjitsu and its allied martial arts. This boot is improvised to enable better and efficient kicking and will give you an edge over other martial art sportsmen.

The KungFu Slipper: Another fine example of shoes for martial arts is the KungFu Slipper. This is a very special form of footwear and helps the practitioner to maintain body temperature during KungFu practice. These shoes also help one to remove excess calories, very useful when one is using martial arts as a fitness regimen. The KungFu Slippers are easy to clean - you could wash them with hand or just toss them into the washer. Made with simple yet strong fabric, these shoes are very comfortable and you could find many people using them as casual wear without understanding their functionality entirely, especially in Asian countries.

Shoes are specially designed so that they take the shape of your foot during practice. Many martial arts enthusiasts are also seen practicing bare foot, but this practice could be dangerous and may result in injuries. While bare foot practice benefits better due to strength training and the natural feel, it is only advised after you reach a particular skill level. Shoes for martial arts are highly recommended for beginners and are designed to give better ergonomic comfort and safety to the ones wearing them. Wearing shoes for martial arts is highly recommended for the new and budding martial arts enthusiasts.

To learn more about shoes for martial arts and other martial arts equipments visit http://www.mixedmartialartsequipments.com.

Choosing The Right Location For Your Martial Arts School

Setting up your first school can be a hard task, and deciding on the perfect location is absolutely vital. MA Instructor sent Lesley Jackson out to discover the facts on how to discover the best location for you, your business and your students.

From the local park to a misty mountainside, from the Shaolin temple to a student's garage, there is no definitive location for a martial arts business. But in this modern age of marketing and presentation, finding the perfect location for your school can mean the difference between your enterprise succeeding or folding. If you want to make a decent living from your martial art, you need to think very carefully about where you are going to have to locate your school and avoid the pitfalls that could make your business go under within its first year.

Starting Up

One of the first decisions you are going to have to make is for what purpose are you going to run your classes? Are you interested in a non-profit making community project, whereby you are able to make your living elsewhere, or do you want to make money from your martial art and run it like a profitable business? For those seeking non-profit social businesses, there is funding available in the form of grants from associations like the National Lottery and the Sport England/Scotland/Wales projects. Contact the local county council's sport development officer for advice and consultancy, as they offer funds, investment and work space for this type of scheme.

However, for the majority of school owners, your location is going to be your biggest expenditure as you will need a place to train as well as run your school. Book some time with your small business adviser at your local bank and present him with a viable business plan, and investigate the potential for further financial aid through government schemes tailored for new aspiring social business enterprises. There are hundreds of grants available and the Department for Trade and Industry's website is a good place to start as well as Business Link, which has information regarding financial awards both on a national and regional level. Contact details can be found at the end of the article.

Established Locations

If you are starting your school from scratch and looking for your first location, you may want to use a space that is shared throughout the community as it will be considerably cheaper than finding your own exclusive training hall. One of the best options is a local leisure center due to its already active clientèle and prime location. Most recreational centers in this country are run by local councils and they will usually have a space big enough to practice and teach martial arts which will not be expensive to hire. They also have the advantage of very good changing and parking facilities and you will have to spend less on advertising as you will already have a ready made market of physically active people who will be interested in your martial activity. If your martial art contains sparring of some kind, you may find that you will have to take out additional insurance to cover this, but this cost is easily comparable against renting your own space. The only drawback may be the time factor, as you will have to arrange your classes in agreement to the leisure center's schedule of events.

Another option is hiring a school hall. You will have a large space that is cheap and well maintained and usually available all year round. Due to these reasons, this will probably make it one of the most popular options but you do need to consider a few points before you march into your local infant school. Choose and research your demographic area carefully. Pay careful attention to the people living in the immediate surrounding areas as this is where you will be drawing the majority of your student base. You need to target families with a disposable income level high enough to pay for lessons, gradings and tournaments, and charge accordingly in order to see your students return and remain for the long term. Unfortunately, it is a truth to assume that an area that looks run down may not be the best place to start your first business as the surrounding population will not have the disposable income to spend on what can be an expensive hobby. However, this could be a good place to start for a non-profit community project which would help to build up your reputation as a martial arts teacher. Once your reputation as a good instructor spreads, you won't have to work so hard to find your students. Sensei Gavin Mulholland, who is a Chief Instructor of Go-ju Ryu Karate, comments that "it is up to the students to find you, not the other way round."

Other considerations to think about when using a school hall compared to a leisure center is that you will not have the same level of footfall by being located away from the town center. Therefore, more money will have to be dedicated to marketing costs to attract your clients. This needn't take up a large chunk of your start-up revenue but it may take up your time, so you will have to advertise in local newspaper and take the time to do a leaflet drop around a two or three mile radius of the school. Until you have an established chain of schools, people are unlikely to travel far for their first lessons and so the surrounding catchment area of your first school will dictate whether your potential business will succeed or fail.

Getting Your Own Space

Another option, or the next stage in your business plan, should be to acquire your own premises from which to run your school. Sensei Mulholland has his own dedicated space because "there is something about a genuine dojo that absorbs all the energy and feeds it back to those who train there." Much like choosing where to live, you will have the option to either rent or buy your own space and the adage of finding a suitable location is as important for your martial arts business as it is for your house. There will be advantages and disadvantages for both and it will depend on what stage your business is at. Where you are located could spell the difference between your business making a profit or failing.

When choosing a space to rent for your martial arts school, unless you already have a loyal and supportive student base who you can rely on to travel to your school, you will need to choose somewhere in a densely populated area that is easily accessible. Although the cheapest commercial space could be a business unit on an industrial estate, unless you master a very good advertising campaign, you will not attract any footfall customers as they simply won't find you. The luxury of having your own space will come at a price, (namely your rent, utility bills and council tax) so you must have a sufficient number of students to cover your overheads. One idea could be to lease one of the cheaper shop units in a shopping center. The rent would be less than the prime locations that the chain stores will inhabit, and you will be able to take advantage of the large amount of footfall custom that will form your customer base. Karen Vactor and Susan Peterson, co-authors of the book Starting and Running Your Own Martial Arts School, confirm that, "a good walk-by traffic will bring people into your school. It may pay for itself and then some." You need to acknowledge that your martial arts business is as much a commercial enterprise as selling TVs or shoes and that you are encouraging your customers to be spending their disposable income as such.

To Buy or Not to Buy

Buying your own space, could you and should you? To convince a mortgage lender to give you the money, you would really need to be an established martial arts business that has a proven track record of making a profit. This will be the most expensive option, as not only will you have the mortgage repayments and the rising interest rates to consider, but you will also have to cover the cost of the building's insurance and maintenance. However, you will have the comfort of being able to customize your own space specifically to your own needs, such as installing a sprung floor, attaching screwing kick bags to the ceiling and having the mirrors and pictures of your own choice on the wall. Sensei Mulholland speaks about the atmosphere of a purpose built training hall: "I love the power that you can feel in a genuine dojo - the sights, sounds, smells and the feel of the place." It will, of course, be a good investment but there are risks involved and you need to be brutally honest with yourself before you make that type of financial commitment.

The only other consideration to take into account when finding your own space for your martial arts business is size, as not only will you need to accommodate a class but you may need to run a grading or even a tournament. However, this needn't be a problem, as hiring a bigger temporary space for the day in the shape of a sports hall is quite easy. If you are affiliated to a particular martial arts association then you could collaborate with other local schools to put on a joint event and halve the costs and organization.

So think carefully when writing your business plan and take into account what will be your biggest expenditure, as your location could be the difference between making a loss and not surviving the first year to performing as a successful and profitable chain of martial arts schools.

Lee Mainprize is a martial arts business and marketing expert visit http://www.MAinstructor.com for martial arts instructors and teachers resources.

Is Your Martial Arts Or Self-Defense Program Really Teaching You the Right Lessons For Self-Defense?

Countless adults enroll in martial arts and self-defense programs every year. Likewise, it seems that there is a never-ending line of parents enrolling their children into martial arts schools. And, while many of these people - adult students and parents alike - are looking for a sport or activity, most would say they are looking for self-defense.

Why then, do most adults who have dropped out of a martial arts program within the first hundred days say they did so due to a lack of real-world self-defense training early on? Who do parents convey a sense of doubt that "Johnny" will be able to defend himself, despite the fact that he's earned his Black Belt?

Why do most women, and many men, still voice their own doubt to be able to actually use what they've learned under pressure should they ever be attacked by a real attacker in the real world.

While there are many factors that play a part in whether or not you learn any subject well enough, there are 7 areas that you can take control, or be aware of when researching, choosing, and participating in a martial arts or self-defense program; especially if your goal is the development of real-world self-defense skills.

7 Ways To Know If Your Martial Arts Or Self-Defense Class Is Worth Anything

Many people ask the question, "If I have no experience and don't know what a real street attack is like, how can I even begin to know if the program I'm in is teaching me what I need to survive?"

And that's a really good question.

Here are 7 things that you can look for that will help you to gauge the value of any martial arts or self-defense program that's promising to teach you real self-protection skills and ability against a real-world attacker throwing real-world attacks at YOU!

1. The attacks that you're practicing against are modern, street-fighter, attacks. You've seen what real, modern attacks look like. All you have to do is to watch an action (non-martial arts) movie, a boxing match on ESPN, or remember the fights you saw in school, the bar, or wherever.

Make sure that you're not defending against robotic, 16th century-type attacks that you'll NEVER see in today's world.

2. Techniques EASILY work on bigger, stronger attackers. Not because you have to be the bigger, stronger fighter, or because your partner fell down for you.

Many things will challenge you in the beginning, like where to put your foot, or which hand-does-what. But...

...in the world of self-defense training, remember K.I.S.S - "Keep It Simple Stupid!"

3. You don't have to be a super-fit athlete to do well. Again, self-defense situations are very different from the sport and competitive world. In sports, you are always matched up with someone who matches your size, skill level, experience, etc. However, in a real-world attack scenario, you are almost always the underdog.

As I always tell my students, no attacker is going to look at you from across the street and think, "They can kick my butt. I'll attack them!"

You should never have to be the bigger, faster, stronger combatant to win. Because, in a self-defense situation, unlike a sport-oriented tournament... You WON'T be!

4. You're lessons are based on principles and concepts, not preset, stylized moves that always conform to the "style" being taught at that school. It's true that there will probably be "techniques" that you'll be learning. But these should be "models," or examples of an idea that is flexible and adaptable to the situation.

An example of a principle or concept would be, "remember that the thumb is the weakest joint in the hand." So, when you learn the technique for escaping a wrist grab, you know "what" you're doing to cause the escape to happen. Not just that "pulling your hand out 'this' way."

5. Your teacher has real-world experience. Contrary to popular belief, a black belt around someone's waist, or a certification in a particular training program, has NOTHING to do with whether or not the person has ever had to use what they're teaching in a real-world self-defense situation against a violent attacker.

Is it possible that a person with no actual fight experience can still teach viable, effective self-defense?

The answer to that is, of course, "yes."

But, and this is a BIG but (n pun intended!), he or she will have to:

Have done a ton of research on what it's like INSIDE a self-defense situation


Know the body's responses to, and limitations when under the fight-flight-freeze response, or...


Have a teacher who has the experience and made sure they passed on the right lessons in the first place

6. You're seeing progress immediately and often. It's one thing to learn something. It's something altogether different to KNOW that thing. And, it's something different still to be able to USE what you know, under-pressure, when you need it most.

I've seen programs where beginning students are stuck at either of two extremes. While some are forced to endure classes where they do nothing but bow, block, stretch and exercise for weeks or months until they can move onto the "next lesson," others are at the other end of the spectrum where they are given so many different techniques that they can't get good at any one thing.

In a solid program teaching effective skill development and understanding of self-defense principles, students have the time to develop the skills they're learning, while being given a few options that will allow them to produce results in a short amount of time.

7. No part of your training is there, "just 'cause." So many programs being offered are lacking in substance, either because the person teaching doesn't have enough knowledge, or the program itself consists of little more than a few "tricks" that are guaranteed to work against every attack.

Many martial arts programs, in an attempt to maintain connection with the foundations of the lineage and remain "traditional," overload students with information that has absolutely nothing to do with being able to defend yourself. This is in no way meant to take away from the importance of a student understanding the roots of the program they're learning. But, such information should be used to valid and add value to what you're learning, not add "fluff" and substance where little exists in the first place.

It is up to you, and you alone to insure that you are getting what you need from a program that's supposed to be teaching you how to keep yourself and loved-ones safe. No amount of blind-faith, discipleship, or blaming after-the-fact will substitute for learning good, solid, and effective techniques, tactics and strategies that will allow you to be effective against a brutal assailant looking to beat, break, or kill you.

I know how easy it is to choose a school, program, or teacher because it or they are...

close to home


a friend


inexpensive, or...


they're wearing a black belt

But, none of these things has anything to do with effective self-defense. Choose wisely, and above all, look for value and the key points that I outlined above. And, in the end, if you ever have to go through the hell of a raging assault, you'll be glad you did what you needed to - not what was easy.

Jeffrey M. Miller is the founder and master instructor of Warrior Concepts International. A senior teacher in the Japanese warrior art of Ninjutsu, and a former federal police officer, undercover agent, private investigator, and bodyguard, he specializes in teaching the ancient ways of self-protection and personal development lessons in a way that is easily understood and put to use by modern Western students and corporate clients. Through his powerful programs, you will learn proven, time-tested lessons designed to help you create the life you've always dreamed of living, and the skills necessary for protecting that life from anything that might threaten it.

To learn more about real-world self-defense training and other subjects related to the martial arts, self-defense, personal development & self-improvement, visit his website at http://www.warrior-concepts-online.com - For more free tips, strategies, and lessons for making yourself more safe in this often unsafe world, don't forget to subscribe to his powerful and informative online newsletter.