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Old 10-16-2002, 09:55 PM   #14
Bronson
 
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Dojo: Seiwa Dojo and Southside Dojo
Location: Battle Creek & Kalamazoo, MI
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,677
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Hey Rachel,

We offer the local police dept. the family rate. The department can send as many people as it wants and it pays the maximum family rate.

Are there any other martial arts in the area? Is it possible to maybe get them to hang one of your flyers on their bulleting board in exchange for you doing the same? We've got flyers from most of the local schools that we'd recommend.

If you do a demo you could take some flyers that have a special stamp or something on them. If someone signs up for class with one of those flyers they could get a special deal. Maybe two for one for a month or something.

Rec centers, boys & girls club, big brothers/big sisters, boy/girl scouts, colleges, high schools, womens groups, etc. Send them all something to let them know you're around. One of the guys in my class does work with Big Brothers/Sisters and he says they keep a list of possible activities for them to do. Type up something specific for each organization. Let them know what aikido can do for their people that fits with what they are trying to do.

Like everyone else already said, be patient. I went through the same thing. When I first took over where I'm teaching now I often got "skunked". Eventually I got two students who really got into it. Eventually others came. Some stayed some went but now I've got a solid core group of about 12-13 people.

That's all I got right now. It'll all end up good. Hopefully one day I can make it over and see how you "hard" stylists do it

Good luck,

Bronson

"A pacifist is not really a pacifist if he is unable to make a choice between violence and non-violence. A true pacifist is able to kill or maim in the blink of an eye, but at the moment of impending destruction of the enemy he chooses non-violence."
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