Presenting the equipment package

After a student enrolls we present the necessary equipment package the student will need to be successful in the program. This can be an easy presentation and sale. However I recently talked to a mother who felt she was taken advantage of. She was approached by the instructor after six weeks of trail lessons which she really enjoyed concerning upgrading to the Black Belt Course. The instructor recommended the program and asked for $295 down and $300 for the equipment. The equipment was for the complete sparring gear, including head, face shield, hands, feet, cup, mouth piece, and chest protector. I asked the mom why she felt this way. She said, “He loves learning the basics and kicking the pads. But he is just getting started.” Heck she said, "He is so shy. In fact today he brought his stuffed animal to watch him in class. Now the instructor thinks he needs to start fighting and wearing a cup and chest gear!! Hey kid put down the stuffed animal its your turn to fight :)”

My first advice is to know your students and what is right for them. My grandson is 7 and he really doesn’t need full gear to begin learning sparring basics. Hand gear is plenty. Of course other gear is recommended. When you do recommend gear also talk about the benefits. “Mrs. Smith, David will be starting training with other kids pretty soon. I ask all the kids to have their own foam hand gear. Kids are often nervous they might hurt another child so to build their confidence they wear these gloves.” In other words, don’t say "kids wear these glove just in case they get hit in the face.” We don’t want either the student or parent to worry about safety. Think benefits for them.

If your school is located in a tougher area you may need to make adjustments. I remembering visiting Kenn Firestone in Hawaii. In his town kids are just plain tough. They come in knowing how to fight and his job is to teach some control. Again that’s all about knowing your students and presenting the benefits accordingly. If you sell the benefits and not the stuff your parents and students will never think that you are in if for the money or you are taking advantage of them.
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Greg Silva