Black Belt Banter: Martial Arts Business Podcast
Welcome to Black Belt Banter, the best martial arts business podcast for instructors, school owners, and entrepreneurs who want to increase their profits and generate substantial revenue. Whether you're running a single studio or scaling a multi-location empire, we break down the strategies, stories, and systems behind profitable martial arts businesses. From student retention and marketing hacks to leadership, curriculum, and community building, we cover it all. Tune in for weekly insights from Master Chan and Master Jimmy Hong, who’s been in the trenches and come out kicking. Email us at jimmyhong@blackbeltbanter.com
Episodes
Most school owners think a feeder program exists for one reason: pull those kids into your main location as fast as possible. Master Daniel Osorio built 28 of them and does the opposite.
In this episode, Master Jimmy Hong and Master Tony Chung sit down with Master Daniel Osorio.
Master Daniel runs four martial arts schools and 28 mobile locations across daycares, charter schools, and learning centers in the Miami area...
For the first time, real buyers are calling martial arts school owners. Ten years ago this conversation didn't exist. You built your school, you ran it until you couldn't, and that was the whole plan.
Jimmy Hong and Master Chan Lee sit down with the team behind Growth Studios: Guy Amini, Master Ali Ghafour, and Master Tony Kook. Guy spent nearly a decade helping build Dental Corp from 30 clinics to more than 600, tak...
Most schools try to fix retention after a student is already halfway out the door. Sensei Solomon Brenner does it 90 days in advance — with an in-house tournament.
Solomon runs 36 Action Karate locations and hosts two in-house tournaments a year: 1,100 to 1,400 competitors, 19 rings, start to finish in one day. But the real lesson isn't the size. It's that the event drives retention, marketing, and revenue at t...
The schools growing the fastest aren't doing anything you couldn't do. They're just surrounded by people who already figured it out.
In this episode, we get into why your network is the single biggest predictor of how fast your school grows — and why so many owners stay stuck trying to figure it out alone. We cover how to find people actually worth learning from, why the same owners show up at seminars year aft...
Staff Development: The Key to Creating the Life and Dojang You Want
Episode Summary:
Master Pamela Sroka, co-owner of World Class Taekwondo in San Jose (two locations, 1,100+ students), breaks down how she built a leadership pipeline that runs her schools without her doing everything herself. If you've ever felt like your school can't run without you, this one will change that.
Key Takeaways:
- Spo...
Master Jimmy Hong and Master Chan Lee sit down with Master Clinton Oh — founder of My Manager and the man behind a 75-school taekwondo empire — to break down why most school management software falls short and what a true all-in-one system actually looks like. This episode also marks the announcement of ASA Martial Arts' exclusive partnership with My Manager.
Key Takeaways:
- Scaling to 75 locations came...
Most martial arts school owners are leaving thousands of dollars on the table every single month — not because they're spending wrong, but because they're not getting anything back for what they're already spending.
In this episode, Jimmy Hong and Master Jay Lee sit down with Pat Morgan — entrepreneur, restaurateur, commercial real estate investor, and ASA founding member — for a deep dive into cred...
Most martial arts school owners don't have a student problem — they have a time problem. Not enough time to follow up with leads, create content, or stay consistent with marketing. That's exactly what AI can fix.
In this episode, recorded live at the ASA Martial Arts Summit in Las Vegas, we're joined by Josh Lannan — marketing strategist and AI specialist with 15 years in the industry. Josh breaks down th...
What if charging MORE actually helped your school?
In this episode, we sit down with Master Bronson Ko — second-generation martial artist, 3-location school owner, and author of The Mentor Method — to break down the exact playbook for raising tuition without losing students.
Master Ko went from $159 to $299/month (with invite-only programs at $499), and in this conversation he shares the framework that mad...
From School Owner to Wealth Builder: Turning Martial Arts Revenue into Real Wealth
On Black Belt Banter, host Jimmy Hong and co-host Master Chan Lee interview Sensei Solomon Brenner, founder of Action Karate, about why many martial arts school owners can earn revenue for years yet build no wealth. Brenner stresses financial discipline and delayed gratification, starting small with consistent saving, and argues ...
Episode Summary: Marketing veteran Nick Dougherty joins Jimmy and Master Chan Lee to break down why most martial arts schools are invisible on social media — and the shift from SEO to AEO that's changing how schools get discovered in 2026.
Key Takeaways:
- Fire any social media manager posting offers and discounts on your organic feed — it flags you as an advertiser and kills your reach
- SEO is dead, AEO i...
Episode Title: Your Class Schedule Is Costing You Money
Episode Summary: Your class schedule is one of the most overlooked drivers of profit, retention, and staff sanity in your martial arts school. In this episode, Jimmy Hong sits down with Master Tony Chung, Master Jay Lee, and Master Philip Jeung to break down how a profit-driven schedule shapes customer experience, staffing, and revenue — and why most owner...
Host Jimmy Hong sits down with Master Chan and Master Jay to break down why most schools don’t have a marketing problem—they have a retention problem.
They share how to align training with student and parent goals, keep classes engaging, and create clear milestones that keep students committed. You’ll learn practical retention strategies like mastering the first 21 days, tracking attendance, combini...
Is martial arts really better than other sports for kids? In this episode of Black Belt Banter, Master Chan, Master Tony Kook, and Master Jimmy Hong break down why martial arts provides greater long-term benefits for children compared to traditional sports like soccer, tennis, or lacrosse.
All three hosts have kids competing in other sports at a high level, giving them a unique perspective to compare the differences ...
In this episode of Black Belt Banter, we dive deep into one of the most important decisions every school owner must make: choosing the most effective introductory offer — free trials, paid trials, or no trial at all.
Industry leaders Master Chan, Master Tony Chung, and Master Jayshare their real-world strategies and experiences:
- Master Chan explains why charging a meaningful upfront fee can increase commitme...
Never Boring Kicking Drills: How to Keep Students Fired Up (with Alex Wong)
In this episode of Black Belt Banter, host Master Jimmy Hong and resident expert Master Tony Chung welcome special guest Alex Wong — a third-degree TaeKwonDo black belt, instructor, content creator, and YouTuber with over 150,000 subscribers.
Together, they dive into what really keeps students engaged on the mat: energy, creativity, and ...
In this episode of Black Belt Banter, hosts Jimmy Hong and Master Lee sit down with Sensei Solomon Brenner, founder of Action Karate, to discuss what it really takes to scale a martial arts school. With over 30 years of experience and 36 locations, Brenner shares practical insights on leadership, systems, partnerships, and maintaining core values while growing. A must-listen for school owners who want to expand with...
In this episode of Black Belt Banter, Master Jimmy Hong joins Master Lee and Master Jeung to break down the debate of monthly tuition versus paid-in-full programs. They discuss cash flow, stability, lessons from COVID, and how to balance both models for sustainable growth. A must-listen for school owners looking to align their billing strategy with long-term success.
Most martial arts school owners don’t...
In this episode of Black Belt Banter, hosts Master Jimmy Hong and Master Lee discuss effective face-to-face marketing strategies for increasing enrollment in martial arts schools. Master Chan shares insights from his experience running multiple successful locations with over 2,100 active students. He emphasizes the importance of direct interactions at community events, birthday parties, and other engagements to driv...
What if the habits that create Olympians could also build a school that runs on rhythm instead of adrenaline? We sit down with Coach Tim Thackeray—seven-time U.S. national team member, Pan Am Games gold medalist, and USA Taekwondo’s Director of Education—to map elite performance onto everyday school ownership. Coach Tim shows how to turn competitive fire into a repeatable operating system.
W...
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