Episodes

464 | The Emotional Toll of Running a Martial Arts School: When You Care More Than They Do Podcast Description Running a martial arts school can be one of the most rewarding jobs in the world. At the same time, it can quietly wear you down—especially when you pour years into a student and they disappear overnight. In this episode, Duane and Allie talk honestly about the emotional toll of teaching: the frustration of “instant gratification” culture, the tension between keeping standards and keepi...

463| Martial Arts: The Anti-Chaos Program Podcast Description Life feels louder than it used to. Families are stretched thin. Kids are overstimulated, distracted, and riding an emotional roller coaster that a lot of school owners don’t remember seeing at this level years ago. In this episode, Duane and Allie make the case that martial arts schools shouldn’t position themselves as “just another after-school activity.” Instead, they should lead with what parents actually want: outcomes. Because wh...

Episode 462: If You Disappeared Tomorrow, Would Your School Still Run? Podcast Description What happens to your martial arts school if you’re suddenly not there? Not “I’m taking a planned vacation” not there. Not “I’ll still answer texts between classes” not there. We mean: you’re out. Unexpected. Surgery. Family emergency. Injury. Something you didn’t schedule. In this episode, Duane and Allie dig into a real-life gut check (literally): Duane ended up in the hospital for eight days after an eme...

Episode 461: The Q4 Reset — 4 Moves That Save Your Year Podcast Description We’re already in September, which means the year is closer to the finish line than most school owners want to admit. And if you run a martial arts school, you know the truth: the last couple of weeks of December don’t feel like “real business weeks.” Between holidays, travel, schedule changes, and families being pulled in every direction, momentum can disappear fast. So in this episode, Duane and Allie lay out a simple, ...

Episode 460 | High Tech, High Touch Podcast Description AI is everywhere right now. It’s faster, smarter, and showing up in more places than most of us expected. In Episode 460 of School Owner Talk, Duane and Allie dig into the real tension school owners are feeling: yes, tech can make your school more efficient — but it can’t replace the core of what makes a martial arts school work. That core is the relationship triangle: instructor → student → parent. This episode is all about using “high tec...

Episode 459: When the Dream Becomes the Routine: How to Keep Your Passion Alive (Even After Decades) Podcast Description Some days you love running a martial arts school. Other days you’re tired, you’re carrying too much, and you catch yourself going through the motions. In Episode 459 of School Owner Talk, Duane and Allie say the “quiet part” out loud: when you’ve been doing this for years (or decades), the dream can start to feel like routine. They break down why that happens—decision fatigue,...

Episode 458 | Is It the Market… or Your Process? (How to Diagnose a Slowdown + Create Momentum for September) Podcast Description If your school feels a little more sparse right now—fewer leads, more no-shows, more “we need to think about it,” more tire-kickers—you’re not crazy, and you’re definitely not alone. In Episode 458 of School Owner Talk, Duane and Allie dig into a question a lot of owners are quietly asking: Is this slowdown the market… or is it our process? Instead of panic-changing e...

Episode 456 | Interview with Solomon Brenner Podcast Description Solomon Brenner (founder of Action Karate) joins Duane Brumitt and Shihan Allie Alberigo for a real-talk conversation about what it actually takes to build a team, grow leaders, and keep your school moving forward when the “business owner rollercoaster” hits. They dig into the stages most owners go through (from early excitement to hard lessons to true interdependence), how to develop instructors faster without watering down your c...

Episode 455 | Martial Arts Appreciation Month: How to Drive Referrals, Reviews, and Retention Podcast Description National Martial Arts Appreciation Month (September) isn’t just a “fun theme” — it’s a full marketing and retention campaign you can run every year. In this episode, Duane Brumitt and Allie Alberigo break down how they built Martial Arts Appreciation Month into a repeatable playbook that drives referrals, strengthens culture, and gives families a real reason to talk about what martia...

Episode 454 |Real Talk: When Teaching Is the Easy Part Podcast Description Some episodes are planned. This one is real life. In Episode 454, Duane and Allie jump on the mic without a neat, tidy agenda and talk through what’s actually happening in their schools right now. The theme that keeps showing up? Teaching martial arts isn’t the hardest part anymore. The hard part is everything wrapped around it: keeping students (and parents) connected, navigating the emotional whiplash when people quit, ...

Episode 453: Interview with Stephen Oliver Podcast Description This episode is a wide-ranging, real-talk interview with Grandmaster Stephen Oliver — one of the most experienced voices in the martial arts business world. Duane and Allie dig into what’s actually happening in the industry right now: the post-COVID landscape, the explosion of BJJ and adult programs, why marketing feels both easier and harder at the same time, and how AI can help you move faster—without turning your school into a gen...

Episode 452: Managing Staff With Clear Expectations Podcast Description Running a martial arts school can feel calm and professional… or like you’re putting out fires all day. A lot of the time, that difference comes down to staff. In this episode, Duane and Allie break down a simple truth: most school owners don’t actually have a staff problem — they have an expectations problem. If your instructors show up late, teach “their version” of the curriculum, forget follow-ups, or leave you as the de...

Episode 451| The Summer Slide Podcast Description Summer doesn’t “cause” cancellations—lost routines do. When school ends, schedules get weird fast: families travel, sports calendars explode, bedtimes drift, and parents get overwhelmed. Then attendance slips… and most of the time, students don’t quit in a dramatic way. They just miss a week, miss another week, and quietly drift out. In Episode 451, Duane Brumitt and Shihan Allie Alberigo break down the Summer Slide and share a simple, repeatable...

Episode 450 | Interview with Grandmaster Park (GMP) Podcast Description Episode 450 is a sit-down conversation with Grandmaster Park (GMP) — a longtime friend of the show and someone who’s helped shape the modern martial arts school industry. We go back to the “old days” when billing companies took a painful cut just to collect tuition, and we talk about how the industry has changed — not just in technology, but in parent expectations, communication, staff culture, and what it takes to build som...

Episode 449 | How to Wake Up Fired Up Again (Even If You’re Burnt Out) Podcast Description Some mornings you wake up tired before the day even starts. Not because you’re lazy. As Duane puts it, you’re loaded — staff stuff, parent stuff, money stuff, marketing stuff, and a thousand open loops all living in your head at the same time. In Episode 449, Duane and Allie talk about how to get your energy and excitement back without pretending you have a perfect life or a Pinterest-perfect routine. Inst...

Episode 448| Attention Is the New Advantage: How Martial Arts Schools Can Stand Out Right Now Podcast Description In this episode, Duane and Allie unpack a problem that’s quietly showing up in almost every school owner conversation: kids are getting trained to scroll, click, and drift—and it’s crushing attention. Duane opens with a detail from a Wall Street Journal article that stopped him cold: a parent found their child had watched roughly 13,000 YouTube videos during school hours over a three...

Episode 447 | School Owner Master Class Series (4): Mike Bogdanski Podcast Description Episode 447 is the fourth installment in our School Owner Masterclass Series, and we brought on someone who’s lived the full arc of martial arts school ownership. Allie interviews his longtime friend Mike Bogdanski, a highly successful school owner who ran a full-time school for about 40 years, then sold the business and transitioned into retirement (without losing his identity, his energy, or his impact). If ...

Podcast Description Episode 446 of School Owner Talk is Master Class Series Part 3, featuring Sifu Rik Kellerman of 10 Tigers Kung Fu Academy (traditional Hung Gar Kung Fu, in business for nearly 50 years, with a unique satellite presence in NYC’s Chinatown). This conversation isn’t a “run more ads” or “change your pricing” episode. Instead, Duane and Allie dig into the deeper stuff that actually drives retention and referrals long-term: how you communicate your brand, how your school culture pr...

Episode 445 | School Owner Master Class Series (2): Gus Lopez Interview Podcast Description In this Master Class Series Part 2, Duane Brumitt and Allie Alberigo sit down with Gus Lopez from Lead Hunter Media to talk about the part of business most school owners don’t see on Instagram: the messy middle. Gus shares his real origin story—quitting a sales job, losing his car, starting over with nothing—and how he built Lead Hunter Media into a company that helps martial arts schools generate leads a...

Episode 444 — School Owner Master Class Series (1): John Busto Podcast Description In the first episode of the School Owner Master Class Series, Duane and Allie sit down with Shihan John Busto of Long Island Ninjutsu Center—a “quiet master” who’s built a thriving, community-rooted martial arts school for more than three decades. John breaks down what actually makes a school “branded” in the real world: visible standards, a leadership pipeline, and a culture where students (and parents) feel know...

Episode 443 | “You’re Not Just Teaching Kicks” (How to Teach the Invisible Curriculum) Podcast Description Episode 443 of School Owner Talk is a reminder a lot of school owners need: families may say they’re buying kicks, punches, belts, and self-defense… but what they’re really paying for is who their child becomes. Duane and Allie break down the “invisible curriculum” (the character and life skills that happen in the quiet moments of class) and give a simple, teachable framework you can use to...

Episode 442 | The First 10 Minutes (How Martial Arts Schools Win or Lose New Families) Podcast Description In this episode of School Owner Talk, Duane Brumitt and Shihan Allie Alberigo break down a growth lever that most school owners underestimate: the intro experience. A lot of schools assume they have a marketing problem. However, Duane and Allie argue that in many cases it’s not marketing — it’s what happens after someone clicks, fills out a form, and schedules their first class. Because you...

Episode 441 | The “Fun Instructor” Problem: How to Keep Culture Consistent Across Staff Podcast Description In Episode 441 of School Owner Talk, Duane Brumitt and Shihan Allie Alberigo dig into a problem that quietly wrecks culture in a lot of schools: when expectations change depending on who’s teaching. You’ve seen it. One instructor has kids lined up, focused, and respectful. Another instructor has kids talking over them, climbing on them, and pushing boundaries. Then the owner walks in, corr...

440 | What’s Your School Known For? (And Why That Matters More Than Your Ads) Podcast Description In Episode 440 of School Owner Talk, Duane Brumitt and Shihan Allie Alberigo tackle a question that sounds simple—but quietly determines how easy (or hard) it is to grow your school: What is your school known for in your town? Because here’s the truth: better ads don’t fix a fuzzy identity. Ads amplify what already exists. So if your message is unclear, your marketing just spreads that lack of clari...