Jon Bullock from 'The Institute of Krav Maga UK' talks about why he picked Nest

The Institute of Krav Maga UK has been operating for 6 years and provides tuition in the Israeli System of Self Defence and Fighting Skills, Krav Maga.

www.institute-kravmaga.co.uk

The club is owned by Joe Ambrosino, and myself Joe is the highest qualified instructor in the UK.

Our club works around our mission statement: We are a team of highly qualified instructors delivering responsible, professional and passionate Krav Maga training. We provide the optimum level of Krav Maga training through a structured approach, in safe and secure environments.By guiding our members to a fitter, more confident and safer lifestyle.

Our goal is to continue to offer quality training to anyone who would like to learn.  We are always focused on keeping the quality high even though we continue to expand.  Increases in quantity does not always mean a lack in quality, as long as you work with the ‘right people’ and have the correct systems and processes in place.

We currently operate classes in London, Essex, Kent, Hertfordshire & Cambridgeshire. We currently only provide training in adults, however, we are expanding into the juniors market next year as well as into corporate training too.

We are very much about not diluting what we teach.  We are part of Krav Maga Global (an organisation based in Israel) and follow a structured syllabus that aligns with the principles and origins of Krav Maga.

We operate with as much consistency as possible.  Our classes follow a structure, our instructors must complete 8 hours of instructor development training per month, submit lesson plans and track attendance using the NEST App on their IPAD.

We treat every member with respect and aim to meet the training goals of each and every one of them.  Remaining in contact with our members through newsletters, social media, fresh web content and asking for their feedback is a strong part of what we are about, after all, it’s not about us, it’s about them! 

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About Jon Bullock

I began in Martial Arts in my hometown of Suffolk and spent my younger years in Judo, then progressed onto Kickboxing where I gained my black belt.  I then joined the Army (Royal Military Police) and focused towards a goal of working in Close Protection, something I did for most of my Army career.  I then decided in 2003 that my time in the Military was up and ventured into the civilian world. 

By chance I was in the ‘right place at the right time’ and had the opportunity to apply for a role in private close protection working for an ultra high net worth individual.  I was successful in my application and spent 6 years travelling the world to some fantastic places.  During this time I decided to expand my martial arts experience and decided I wanted to train in a system that was reality based rather than an oriental martial art or sporting system, which is when I came across Krav Maga.

Since finding Krav Maga I have invested time and money into training and I am happy to say my hard work is reaping the rewards.  We opened the Institute of Krav Maga in 2006 and 2 years ago I left my private close protection role to focus on the club and some other business interests. I don’t teach regular classes much these days (Joe won’t let me!), I focus on building the club and teach our senior Graduate Elite Team and MasterClass events.

I am very much about following my passion.  Over the past few years there are a few things that I think have not been addressed in the Martial Arts World.  One of them is First Aid training.  As martial artists, the need to be proficient in first aid is extremely important, and in my mind, that first aid must be relevant to what we do, as most first aid courses are quite generic and are directed towards the ‘work place’.

With this in mind I have recently invested in a project called Martial Arts First Aid.Com.  Along with a partner company, we have developed a modular online course for first aid for martial artists.  We are making it accessible, affordable and more importantly relevant.

The idea is you get to learn the skills that you actually need.  We are very happy with the course and are launching this to the Martial Arts industry in the next couple of weeks. 

If anyone is interested in taking the course online (£29.99) then please do visit www.martialartsfirstaid.com and enter your details, and we’ll keep you updated for when we launch it.  The course follows the guidelines of the Resuscitation Council in the UK and Europe and we think it will be useful for everyone. I hope to make this the course that all Martial Artists recommend in the future!

Why did we pick NEST?

I was well aware of the services that NEST offered and their excellent reputation so there wasn’t really a choice to be made - I did not see the need to ‘shop around’ for alternative options.  Running a martial arts school without a structured way of billing was never an option for me. I would never operate on a cash basis as there are so many variables that you cannot control and you end up living day by day.  Working with NEST was the only option in my view to make my business as successful as it could be.

Quite simply, NEST makes life easy!  We do not have to worry about the contractual issues that can surround payments for services.  The staff are always friendly and you quickly gain a personal rapport with each of them.  The recent introduction of the NEST APP (which enables you to track attendance on the move via your mobile) has completely changed our way of operating and has reduced our admin workload by at least 50%. This has also allowed us to introduce more ‘attrition busting’ methods to help keep students in the club as well as attracting new ones to join.

NEST offers a complete service, providing so much more than fee collection. Gerard is extremely knowledgeable in business and more specifically, business for Martial Arts, so whenever I have a decision to make regarding price changes, adding further value to our club or taking on new projects, I always consult NEST. 

There is not a situation that they haven’t experienced before so you can be guaranteed structured opinions that will help you make the most informed decision for the future of your school.  As an example, we wanted to go to one standard price across our school.  I had some concerns about this and Gerard gave me some great advice about how to carry out some market research to allow me to make the best decision, which I did. Another fantastic opportunity

NEST offers is the Network meetings.  I truly hope that all NEST members appreciate the hard work that goes into these meetings and the huge value that you get from them. 

 If you don’t attend them, you are missing out on some great advice!

Ask the Expert

“I’m keen to encourage more teens to take part in classes but find that recruiting this age group difficult. I also find that students often drop out on going up to secondary school at the age of 12. Do you have any suggestions as to how I can recruit young people aged 12–16, through schools?

Mike Bennett
MSD Evolution, Cheltenham

Chantelle Bell, Marketing Consultant for NEST Management says,

“This is a common problem most clubs experience across the UK and an issue that’s not unique to martial arts.

The Sport England Active People Survey consistently shows that many young people drop out of sport altogether as they move into Secondary Education, as they become increasingly independent and acquire responsibility for making decisions about the extra-curricular activities they like to be involved in.

Girls are a key target segment of young people that the Government is keen to get more involved with sport. Recent research conducted by both Girl Guiding UK and The Top Foundation identified that girls are often deterred from taking part in sports because of negative perceptions that ‘sport is unfeminine’ and makes girls feel self conscious at an age when most girls have concerns about their body image. Highly active female celebrity role models such as Jessica Ennis are often perceived by teens as having skills which are ‘out of their reach’ whilst more ‘down to earth’ female celebrity role models such as Cheryl Cole or Jessie J are perceived as not being active, even though one could argue that celebrities don’t get a good figure without being active!

Poor changing facilities and unflattering training kit are quoted as key factors that deter many girls from taking part in sport, as well as mixed sex training sessions.

So, how do we make ‘Active, Attractive’ to girls in particular? Well, here are a few suggestions you may want to consider if you’re keen to recruit more girls into your academy:

1.      Consider running single sex training sessions. Research confirms that both sexes, although girls in particular often feel uncomfortable attending mixed sex training sessions. Single sex classes remove potential barriers to feeling self conscious about body image and encourage groups of students to take part too.

2.      Target groups of girls, not just individuals. The least active girls want to do what their friends do and so if you can encourage groups of friends to come along to your academy, you’re onto a potentially winning formula. Take a look at your referral programme to see if you’re encouraging more than one student to attend at a time. Groups of students bring in more revenue and typically have lower attrition rates too, which is better for business.

3.      Focus on the benefits of training, rather than the features of your class. Research tells us that Competition is often a deterrent for girls. Encourage inclusivity by telling people about the benefits of taking part. Is the class fun? Are friends encouraged to come along? Does taking part help maintain a healthy weight, increase confidence or shape up your body for summer?

4.      And finally, take a look at your training kit. Does it make young people feel good? Teens are very body conscious and many dislike the feeling that their bodies are in effect, ‘on show’ in classes or at the gym. If students don’t feel good in their training kit, they’re more likely to feel self conscious and consequently feel less inclined to train. If students feel confident in their kit, they’ll be more likely to attend class, get fit, feel more attractive and consequently gain confidence as a result.

Full details of the NEST promotions can be found at the NEST promotional portal at

 

www.nestpromotionalportal.com

www.nestmanagement.co.uk

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NEST Summer Promotion Update

Whilst the weather has been less than warm for the time of year, NEST has launched a range of hot promotional offers to support clients in growing their schools this season.

Changes in school sports funding and the introduction of new advertising regulations surrounding the London 2012 Olympic Games have provided new challenges for martial arts schools this year but NEST’s campaigns with Carphone Warehouse, ASDA, toothpaste brand Aquafresh and official Olympic Sponsor, Coca Cola are poised to support student recruitment, throughout the ‘Summer of Sport’.

Carphone Warehouse contract customers were the first to enjoy free martial arts taster sessions with the launch of their ‘Phoniversary’ reward scheme back in April to over 20,000 contract customers across the UK. Performance of this offer to date is currently tracking at a 0.5% response rate for NEST’s martial arts schools, which is over 15 times the typical response rate of many traditional forms of advertising.

After re-positioning its Community Life strategy back in Spring, ASDA launched a new community event scheme called ASDA Active, designed to use protected Fields in Trust sites for community and youth related projects. ASDA Active, in collaboration with the Fitness Industry Association have now conducted a series of events across the UK, featuring demonstrations and free taster sessions to encourage families to try a new sport for the first time. NEST martial arts schools have been represented at all of these events to date, alongside demonstrations by a range of different activities from football and Kwik Cricket to Zumba for mums.

All of these events delivered or exceeded their target number of attendees, in spite of the generally poor weather but everyone taking part agrees it’s been a positive experience for generating new students and publicity.

Ibby Adem of East Finchley Combat Academy took part in The Southgate Circus event in London with a demonstration team of existing students. He said of the event,

“The day was truly amazing from start to finish. It was superbly organised and well structured and the ASDA staff were very hands on and helpful. We had a constant ‘conveyer belt of children’ who were really enthusiastic and keen to learn. They were put through their paces with some demanding drills and had fun working as a team, whilst we as a club relished the opportunity to showcase to the younger generation all of the fabulous benefits e.g. fitness, confidence, self awareness... that martial arts has to offer. The event was a great networking opportunity and we have already had great feedback following the event with kids attending their free trial lessons and us gaining a new business contact who we are now working with. 

Thanks NEST for getting me involved in the Scheme!”

Schools using the exclusive ASDA Active promotional items have achieved the greatest success in converting prospects into new students. NEST schools yet to take part in an ASDA Active event can now download a range of free promotional material artwork from the NEST Marketing Toolkit.

 

Full details of the NEST promotions can be found at the NEST promotional portal at

 

www.nestpromotionalportal.com
www.nestmanagement.co.uk
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Message from Gerard

The first half of this year has seen astonishing success in the Martial Arts Industry. Demand for tuition has remained high although the weather and holidays seem to have slowed demand in June. We remain optimistic for the second half of the year but much will depend on school owners having a firm commitment to planning and implementing all the strategies we have talked about in Pulse over the past few months.

The end of the academic year is now upon us with both Primary and Secondary Schools breaking for the summer holidays and there are two key areas which our industry has to make sure are under way: the arrangements for promotions for the return to school period and the urgent implementation of summer camp activities for potential students that have not tried Martial Arts before – the later should already be finalised and bookings taken but if you have not done this, it is absolutely in your interest to do it now.

Summer is also a time to ensure that you retain your students, and while I am delighted to report that the current year has seen higher levels of retention than ever before, all academies must deploy strategies to keep students engaged during the summer holiday period.

There will be great interest in the Olympics in the coming weeks and many reminders in the media and from the Government about the benefits of sporting activity. These will be beneficial for both retention and acquisition of new students as will our link with the Coca Cola promotion and the other NEST promotions which are all designed to help you during this period.

The development of tools to help you to achieve your objectives is also continuing at NEST. We are seeing constant increases in the use of the new Attendance App and additional functions for this are planned for release in the second half of the year. We will also be testing new systems that have been developed to assist with all of the sales outside tuition such as membership, grading, seminars and pro shop. More news on these developments will be released as the year progresses.

I wish you every success for a great summer and as always, if you need any help or guidance do not hesitate to contact our team of specialists.


Very best wishes

Full details of the NEST promotions can be found at the NEST promotional portal at www.nestpromotionalportal.com

www.nestmanagement.co.uk

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