Ken Pankiewicz Graduation

The ceremony began with demonstrations by instructors and students, with stirring music playing in the background, which soon had the audience applauding enthusiastically. The Black Belt candidates, who were the true stars of the day, were then brought on stage in groups to demonstrate their tae kwon do, self-defence and kempo skills, followed by the weapons techniques they had learned. Peter Maher performed a very difficult Bo Staff routine that justifiably earned much applause.

Ken Pankiewicz

The formal presentation of the Black Belt Certificates was followed by the awarding of Black Belts to the new graduates. The graduates each held their Black Belt above their head and on a count of three they snapped it open in unison, whereupon a very loud cannon dramatically fired silver ticker tape into the air. The students then confirmed their commitment by reciting the Black Belt Oath. To conclude the formal part of the proceedings each candidate was given a “Rose of Appreciation” which they then presented to the person who had helped and supported them most in their journey to Black Belt.

Mike Allen, EFC UK General Manager

Not Just a Martial Arts Champion

Master Vince Cassar

Master Vince Cassar

Did you know that before Vince Cassar turned 16, he had represented Malta in the first World Mini Basketball Championships held in Spain and had won a gold at the National Swimming Championship for breaststroke? He was also Malta National Junior Spearfishing and Malta National Junior Judo Champion, in addition to being in the Malta National junior water polo team. He has also been a hair stylist for 30 years and still owns a salon called “Blade,” its interior is modeled on the film by the same name. Now isn’t that an interesting and varied background for a martial arts school owner?

EFC UK Meeting of Minds with Keith and Debbie Thompson

Over seventy dedicated Martial Arts School owners and their staff battled their way for up to six dark hours through torrential rain and high winds to John Lynn’s Black Belt Academy in sometime sunny Rhyl in North Wales.  Some might question why these men and women were so enthusiastically giving up their time and energy, but to these  ‘Business Black Belts’ the journey was a minor hurdle.

These outstanding entrepreneurs were travelling to attend one of EFC UK’s famous Meeting of Minds Business Seminars, featuring top USA school owners Keith and Debbie Thompson, top UK school owner John Lynn and new super star Vince Cassar.

The meeting was a fantastic experience for every one.  John and Lynne Lynn and their staff were wonderful hosts making every one feel welcomed and their school was a superb venue.  Keith and Debbie Thompson are very busy people running two terrific schools (soon to be three), as well as their extensive duties as members of the EFC Board of Directors and EFC Advisory Board respectively.  Somehow they managed to find the time to make their second visit to our shores to help their friends in the UK and Ireland.

Keith kicked off the meeting to talk to us about the essential elements of professional martial arts success, which was

very illuminating.  Following a very tasty buffet lunch the attendees were split with Debbie talking to the staff and Keith the owners.  Debbie talked to the staff about how they should best use their time when they start in the morning, how they should start thinking like an owner and how they can improve their income.  Meanwhile Keith talked to the owners about staff training and building staff to ensure that you have bench strength.  John Lynn explained the systems he uses, which not only allow him to run JLBBA, but also enable him to run his Merit Badges business, all while living in the USA for much of the year, very impressive!   The attendees then reconvened together and Debbie talked about event planning and how to run a successful Pizza party and Keith told us the keys to student retention.

It was then time to get on the floor for some Ninjutsu training with Keith before retiring to a local hotel for a very pleasant evening meal and lot’s of networking.

Sunday morning started with a bang as the ever enthusiastic John Lynn taught every one his famous chants or ‘Focus Anchors’.  This was not only useful for waking up any sleepy heads, but also taught great techniques for use in any martial arts school.  John was followed by Vince Cassar who was speaking at his first EFC seminar.  At the Summit I asked Vince how he had managed to grow by 300% in just nineteen months from £5K to over £15K.  He said ‘I just stopped getting in my own way!’ and that was the subject of his talk.  Vince detailed in a very practical commonsense way how he broke down his own objections in order to make sure that he introduced all of the EFC systems and the success followed.  Vince’s advice to every one was ‘Stop getting in your own way’, which I think could well become a popular maxim within EFC.

Keith then spoke about marketing to attract more children and the purpose and value of networking followed by a lively and enjoyable Q&A session.  After a great deal of networking over another excellent buffet lunch the attendees said their goodbyes to their host, the presenters and their new EFC friends.   Loaded with notes and action plans they made their way home on a warm and pleasant afternoon all now clearly knowing exactly where they are going!

The feed back from the meeting has been very positive and we are all grateful to our hosts John and Lynne Lynn, Vince Cassar and of course to the wonderful team of Keith and Debbie Thompson.

Mike Allen
EFC UK General Manager

Ten-Mile Marathon

Todd Huddleston

Todd Huddleston

Todd Huddleston celebrated the 10th anniversary of his school, the Yonsei Martial Arts Academy, on August 8, 2009.

Not only did Todd commemorate this occasion with an event at his school, but he also did something more personal: he ran 10 miles a day for 10 days in a row. His motivation for doing this was to symbolize the fact that running a martial arts school is more like a marathon than a sprint, which is something his CPA told him when he began his business a decade ago. Just like a marathon, while running a martial arts school is exciting initially and the owner is full of enthusiasm, invariably challenges creep up.

For him, one of the biggest challenges was Hurricane Katrina, which flooded his school in 2009. At this point, he was tempted to give up. However two things helped with staying on track: first, keeping the end goal in mind; second, having help along the way. In the case of his current running challenge, knowing where the finish line is as well as having his wife bike along toward the end of each daily run and pass him water and energy drinks made finishing without giving up possible. In the case of his school, having concrete goals as well as having help from peers, EFC, and staff have helped him achieve success.

Summer Holidays – Get involved with Schools

Government guidelines encourage schools to establish links with local sports and leisure facilities for schoolchildren to attend during the summer holidays.

ASDA have a “Sporting Chance” service whereby people register their sports club on the site, and when local people search for free activities your club will appear in the results. You can then provide a free course of lessons for the summer holidays to get potential new students interested.

“ASDA Sporting Chance is the community sports initiative that gives children access to free sports sessions during the school holidays. In today’s tough economic climate this is the perfect solution to help keep your kids active and it won’t cost you a thing.”

This is also a good time to remind you all that you should try and establish links with local schools regardless of this particular arrangement. Ask schools to hand out flyers for a free course of lessons for you, ask to perform a free lesson in the school e.t.c

If you need any more information or assistance, please contact your Account Executive.

Find out more information on the ASDA Sporting Chance website

Time to think about this year’s Summit in Miami

Summit2009s

You get to network with a lot of different people. Often the informal parts of the Summit, after classes are over, or during the banquet, etc., are really valuable.
—Jim Clapp
American Karate Studios

You should go to the Summit so that you can grow your school and get the highest multiplied results by doing the very least. You’ll meet other likeminded people, and their success will rub off on you. If people are thinking, they cannot afford it, they can! The first time I came to the Summit, I had $200 in my pocket and I stayed in Bill Taylor’s room.
—Vincent Holmes
Wado Karate Center

I’m going to the Summit for the networking, and for the amount of knowledge that is there to learn from, from people who have been in my place before me. Mr. C. says you should learn from experience, but it shouldn’t always be from your own painful experience! As Garland Johnson would say, “By hanging out with smart people, you can learn from their mistakes.” The best business minds in the martial arts industry in the world will be there in Nashville, TN. When EFC says they will double your growth, they truly mean that they will double your growth and double your knowledge. All of the great leaders are there to network with and the level of energy and enthusiasm must be experienced in person; it cannot be captured at the same level by recordings. It is always an amazing experience to meet Steve LaVallee, John Godwin, Dave Kovar and the EFC team.
—Mary Treacy
Eagle Academy of Martial Arts

Every time you are in the presence of a great name in the martial arts industry, there is always something to gain from and learn. What a great opportunity when the best in the industry are willing to share with you the secrets behind their success! You can implement these in your own school—and jeopardizing that opportunity is not wise.
—Mike Vacca
East West Karate

Beating the Recession

The news is full of the latest increase in the number of unemployed people in this country,  which will no doubt generate another burst of  “doom and gloom”.   Thankfully the news to report from the EFC office is incredibly positive! We are still seeing growth from our members and it’s a real credit to the hard work and determination of the schools and their staff.

Nevertheless,  we feel it is still prudent to reaffirm the importance of  “closing the back door”  and identifying your  “C Students”.  It is especially important to make sure you keep the students you already have.  Teach every lesson as if it’s the best you will ever teach,  treat every student as if they’re the best student you’ve ever taught,  make them passionate about Martial Arts and above all make sure you keep reminding parents and students alike of the benefits of Martial Arts.

If you would like any more help or information on this subject,  please contact your Account Executive.

Vince Cassar – Superb New Website

The Cassar Academy Website

The Cassar Academy Website

Vince has just spoken to one of our account executives, Matt, and asked us to look at his newly completed website. We’re all really blown away by it, I’m sure you’ll agree it’s excellently presented with just the right information!

I’ve linked to the website, pay particular attention to the wording, describing the benefits of Martial Arts and how it can improve the lives of all ages and genders.

Great job Vince!

KickFit Black Belt Graduation 6 June 2009

Thirty-six students were promoted to the rank of Black Belt and higher. This was the most
candidates in one cycle. KickFit has been promoting students to Black Belt since 1991 and in
that time over 250 have reached this rank. The candidates were led by 4 students being
promoted to 2nd Dan and 14 students to 1st Dan.
With another 62 students due to start preparation class this September, KickFit Martial Arts
Schools is on track to achieve its highest ever number of Black Belt promotions in a year.
In his Graduation speech, Chief Instructor, Ken Pankiewicz said “your memory of this
achievement will last a lifetime. Each one of you has dedicated themselves to achieving this
ultimate symbol of physical improvement, self-defence skill and high moral code. Now is the
time to make your commitment to be a Black Belt for Life dedicated to continued physical
and mental improvement.”
Each candidate is required to have completed a minimum of 4 years of training. The test
takes place over three days and consists of martial arts technical skill, spirit and energy and
finally physical fitness including a three mile run.
The Graduation show featured displays by each of the candidate groups, 70 Black Belts and
the KickFit Instructor Team. On average 600 students train each week spread over 4
locations. The instructor team specialises in professional martial arts tuition and consists of
five full-time members headed up by Chief Instructor, Ken Pankiewicz. Master Pankiewicz
has been training for 25 years and holds Black Belts in Kovar –Satori Blend and Tae Kwon-
Do, he also currently studying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

UK Spring Fling 2009 Winners

The famous EFC Spring Fling is a fun competition held each year where the four clients with the best growth between February and May each receive a prize of £1,000.00. This year the EFC Spring Fling winners are as follows:

Group Winner School Growth
Apollo Donald MacKenzie Edinburgh Kuk Sool Won 18.26%
Mars David Pawson Bujinkan Kokoro Dojo MA Academy 64.55%
Vulcan Matt McLachlan & John McKean The Paisley Academy of Martial Arts 23.77%
Zeus Christopher Edghill North Wales MA Centre

46.21%

Dave Pawson: UK Spring Fling 2009 Winner of Group Mars

Dave Pawson

Dave Pawson

The spring fling has been a motivator to do what we should always be doing by making us more proactive in getting new students and then looking at how we retain them. We are now more focussed on asking for referrals from our existing students and also asking for referrals when any prospective student comes in to ask about lessons.
After last year’s Spring Fling we decided to keep doing the same type of promotions and gradually refine what it is we are doing on a daily basis, and to implement ideas that we have picked up from attending Meeting of Minds, X-Factor and more importantly the EFC convention.
Retention has been an area we have focussed on by giving more exciting lessons, ensuring stats are kept on a daily basis and enquiries are chased up if they fail to show and reschedule the appointments. Text messaging is one area we have really focussed on to give confirmation of appointments made, and then the day before we text a quick confirmation that we are looking forward to seeing them the following day. We have also completely redone the reception area, highlighting the EFC awards we have won on thAward - Spring Fling 2009e wall facing the entrance and giving the whole area a wow factor when new prospects come in. This has as a result given us new students, our existing students are now referring people to come down and experience what they are doing in a family run environment, where they can forget about the credit crunch, and get a good workout and mix with positive individuals.
We are now actively continuing with the same level of intent to increase our numbers and are looking forward to the Meeting of Minds and the EFC Conference in Miami.

Chris Edgehill: UK Spring Fling 2009 Winner of Group Zeus

Sifu Chris Edghill

Sifu Chris Edghill

Just a letter of thanks to the EFC and especially to my Accounts Manager Liz Jones.

Liz contacted me and asked if I wanted to join the Spring Fling, I said it’s not really worth it for me as I don’t really advertise and not done so for about fifteen years. Liz said go on give it a go, after a little more Award - Spring Fling 2009persuasion I decided to. I sent out letters to all of my students for bring a friend. I gave out posters and gradually new students started to join. The EFC gave me a lot of backing and also much pushing basically making me walk the extra mile. Not only have I increased my student numbers the kick off is great. The more students I have the more I seem to be getting. Some times you can become complacent with what you have, it’s always worth taking a step back get out of that whole and give yourself a good kick up the backside.

Message from the EFC UK Office

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We hope a great many of you are enjoying the new information-packed website. Remember to keep checking back regularly as there is new material being added all the time. We’re happy to provide ideas and material to members and non-members alike, remember “The Rising Tide Lifts all Boats!”

You might want to subscribe to our RSS Feed to make sure you never miss an update.

If you are yet to join the EFC and you’re finding the information valuable,  just send us an e-mail with a postal address and we’ll send out some of the magazines and CD’s from our Gold Package for a couple of months to give you something else to get stuck into!

June Promotion

If you enquire before the end of June 2009, you’ll receive the fantastic EFC Gold Package for three months absolutely free, with no obligation. Head over to the contact page here to make the most of this offer!

EFC Gold Package is a valuable online and printed library of materials, such as videos from EFC seminars and meetings. Learn from some of the worlds largest and most successful school owners and share their success.

Don’t delay, do it today!

Brave Caernarfon widow battles grief to win karate award

A Wife who battled on following the death of her husband last Christmas Day, is one of just four people around the world to receive a prestigious award.

Jenny Martland received an EFC Black Belt Schools Martial Arts Spirit Award, for her determination to carry on with life following the death of her husband, Dave.

Last Christmas, Dave, 47, had just finished laying the table when he suffered a heart attack.

Jenny and Dave had been married for 22 years, and have two children Sarah, 17, and Andrew, 13. Continue reading →

EFC UK Spring Fling 2008

For the first time in the UK we ran the famous EFC Spring Fling. This is a ‘serious fun’ competition with schools competing in Groups against each other and the school in each group with the highest growth in monthly gross collections in the period March to June each won £1,000.00.

The Happy Winners were:

EFC Spring Fling 2008: Winners Group: Apollo
Darren Brown – Kuk Sool Won of Kings Lynn



EFC Spring Fling 2008: Winners Group: Mars
Matthew Hobden – The Choi Foundation

EFC Spring Fling 2008: Winners Group: Vulcan
Vince Cassar – Cassar Academy of Choi Kwang Do

EFC Spring Fling 2008: Winners Group: Zeus
Donald MacKenzie – Edinburgh Kuk Sool Won