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

I was impressed when I heard Mr. Cokinos speaking about our purpose in promoting black belts. Students entrust us with their time and their bodies in order to promote themselves to black belt. I think it is important that we all work harder to get our students to the place they need to be.

It is important to put time into our students. Also, we have to have a plan. If students have a game plan, their chances of performing well are higher, provided they put in time and effort.

If you were a student of mine, I would grade you in five different areas when it comes to black belt promotions: attendance and commitment, spirit and energy (it is our job as coaches to pull it out of them), knowledge and skills, fitness (flexibility, strength and stamina) and lastly, martial arts protocol. These have to be explained to students so they know how to achieve them, and this is done right from the beginning, when they go in for their first round of testing.

We were thrilled to welcome EFC USA Board Member Ivan Kravitz to the UK as the guest speaker at one of our famous Meeting of Minds Seminars.

The meeting was held at Ken Robson’s beautiful Dojo in Nottingham and the attendees enjoyed two days of intense informative information from Ivan, ably supported by UK Board Members John Lynn, Ken Pankiewicz and Ken Robson.  We even squeezed in some on the mat training with Ivan and every one remarked on what a great instructor he is.

Ivan was a joy from start to finish and everyone loved his easy, respectful and very humorous presentation of his Ultimate Retention

Systems.  John Lynn gave 101 ways to grow your school plus one extra idea, ‘always under promise and over achieve.  Ken Robson talked about ways of making the phone ring and Ken Pankiewicz spoke about class room management for children.  All of the presentations were very well received.

Mike Allen

Good morning everyone.

The fabulous EFC International Summit this year is being held in the superb Ritz Carlton Hotel in Key Biscayne Florida on the 1,2 &3 October 2009.

Where on this planet can you go for 2 days and be trained by the best of the best?   The speakers are the greatest in the martial arts field, not only in terms of training, but also in terms of business.  Their expertise is truly unmatched and the best thing is, they will readily share their ideas with you.  If you are truly serious about improving your operation so that you can teach more students the benefits of training in the Martial Arts, then you just owe it to yourself and your school to be there.
The EFC fee is £185.00, which covers Summit entry:

* 24 workshops to choose from
* Handouts and study material to take home
* Banquet Dinner
* EFC Passport/Workbook

The Summit Hotel costs $318 per night which includes all taxes so there are no additional costs.  The  Hotel  also provide two free lunches per day and a packed lunch when you leave.  The rooms usually have two double beds, so they will sleep four people.  We stayed at this Hotel in 2007 and it is superb, right by the sea, super pool etc.  ‘Live the life of your dreams ‘.

To book your flights you might like to try the following web site:

http://www.travelsupermarket.com/flights/results.aspx?masterquery=true&aggregationid=1574000000000075533&available=40&BnBOption=1

Contact your Account Executive by phone or email today to book your place at the Summit.

I hope you can make it this year ‘As it will  change your life’.

Mike Allen

Keith & Debbie Thompson

Keith and Debbie Thompson will be making a welcome return to the UK this November, as they will be hosting the November Meeting of Minds in Rhyll, Wales.

Make sure you make a note in your calendar now, you won’t want to miss this!

Hosts: Keith and Debbie Thompson

Venue: John Lynn’s BBA, Rhyll, Wales

Ivan Kravitz

EFC USA Board Member, Master Ivan Kravitz will host the upcoming Meeting of Minds, in Nottingham. If you’re serious about growing your business, you must attend this meeting!

Date: 20th – 21st June 2009

Venue: Shudokan BBA, Nottingham, England