The practice of martial arts in the United States started small and was mostly limited to World War II veterans, who introduced it to the public after they returned from the Pacific. “Karate” became the all-encompassing buzzword for martial arts, which is why legendary kenpo master Ed Parker is generally acknowledged as the first person to open a commercial karate school in 1956.
By the early 1960s, former servicemen such as Mike Stone, Chuck Norris, and Joe Lewis had started to establish reputations as teachers and students of the Asian arts. The popularity of karate tournaments allowed them to share and mix skills from the various fighting arts of Japan, Okinawa, Korea, and China.
Despite the heightened popularity, karate schools remained few and far between. Making a living as a martial arts teacher almost always meant limited compensation.
In the late ’60s, taekwondo spread to many major U.S. cities. The South Korean government sponsored numerous masters and helped them open dojang. Korean instructors worked many hours to build and promote their schools. Popular TV shows like Kung Fu and movies like Billy Jack brought new interest to martial arts programs. By 1973, the stage was set for the first national proliferation of martial arts schools.
In 1973, Five Fingers of Death and other popular Chinese films — many of which were referred to as “chopsocky” flicks — introduced more Americans to the Asian arts. The most notable movie was Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon. Lee’s untimely and unfortunate death in July of that year added to the attention that was being directed toward the arts. In the summer of ’73, self-defense schools began to open in every major city and suburb in the United States.
The boom lasted a year. The oil embargo meant that many people couldn’t afford recreational pursuits like martial arts training. The boom of ’73 quickly turned into the bust of ’74, catching many instructors off guard. With the death of Lee, the cancellation of the Kung Fu TV show, and the general recession in economic growth, the martial arts school industry took a nosedive.
By the late ’70s, interest in the arts had reignited. Norris starred in a series of successful movies. Cable sports channel ESPN began promoting full-contact karate matches. Champions like Bill “Superfoot” Wallace became mainstream sports personalities. Meanwhile, martial arts school owners noticed the renewed interest. It wasn’t long before a few enterprising instructors discovered that they could make big money from karate and taekwondo.
The 1980s were excellent years for karate schools. Hollywood favored the industry with The Karate Kid and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film series. The seminar circuit became a lucrative business for promoters and performers like Wallace, Lewis, Dan Inosanto, and Stephen K. Hayes. Toward the end of the decade, training camps sprang up. Successful entrepreneur Andrew Wood published a now-famous instructional manual on how to make a six-figure salary by teaching karate. Implementing his methods for earning $100,000, however, would not seriously take place until the 1990s.
The arrival of business organizations in the ’90s was extremely important to the development of martial arts schools in America. Leading the way was the Martial Arts Industry Association, which still helps instructors develop effective strategies for teaching, marketing, and management.
One of the challenges facing martial arts instructors in the past was they didn’t know how to effectively profit through teaching. The individual charged with the task of running the school had to assume the role of compassionate, trusting, and humble master and the role of strong-minded, fast-talking, and hard-toothed entrepreneur. Often, those roles conflicted. As a result, the instructor who couldn’t strike a happy medium became either a poor-but-well-thought-of master or a well-to-do-but-not-so-respected entrepreneur.
After many years of business evolution, martial arts teachers now know that profiting from professional practices is not contrary to the act of shaping good students. Making more money means the teachers can afford larger facilities and accept even more students. By using proven business practices, qualified instructors can work full time to maintain and pass on their art’s traditions through well-structured programs, and that’s a great thing for society in general.