Did we fail by not succeeding or did we fail in order to succeed?

Many of us don’t allow failure to become an option in our lives, whilst others accept it as a possible outcome, in the pursuit of learning something new or improving on what they know.

By the very nature of training seriously in martial arts, we are used to experiencing many of life’s emotions, physical pain / exhaustion, whilst taking on every mental challenge put in front of us, with grit and determination. These are truly rewarding and privileged attributes to experience.

From this development of character, we set the bar very high for ourselves and the same goes for the students we influence. It keeps us striving to be our best, but sometimes comes at a price that may disrupt growth, in other areas. We are aware of this in our martial arts training because sometimes it’s not appropriate to meet force with force, perhaps deflecting or absorbing is better.

Many Instructors may feel that having to close their club was a failure. This is not necessarily the case as there have been powers beyond anyone’s control which have dramatically affected and in some cases, crushed businesses.

Some of you have simply come to the realisation that you actually want a change. Some might close the club for now, then focus on you’re own training and perhaps return to teaching on different terms down the track. I say enjoy the reset, break the routine and experience the new, just for you!

For those instructors still running schools and there are many doing it very well, I see a lot of them re-evaluating their business processes, improving their brand / profile / messaging and some even diversifying into other markets. For those looking for assistance, I’m always here to support with a number of free resources and to serve our industry, even if It’s just helping by listening to your stories.

At Martial Arts Australia, we continue striving to improve and it’s also been a time for reflection on direction. We now have new goals, new focus areas and new ways to serve our members / clients / friends. Many of you will know we recently moved to a NEW INSURANCE BROKERAGE last year creating a new company (MAAIS) and it wasn’t an easy transition. In fact, I know we FAILED IN SOME AREAS, but we also SUCCEED IN OBTAINING a better product, with broader cover, more security in the event of claim and now have the backing of global partners which has been a definitive win for our members.

My team and I underwent a massive learning curve with new procedures, products and a complex brokering system. This caused delays with some clients not getting their quotes / invoices out straight away, but we had to go through this process. It’s only now that I feel we have succeeded in bringing something better to the martial arts industry. I say this knowing it has proven to be a success as we are now able to provide better protection for schools and greater stability on insurance pricing for the future.

I'm asking you to consider Martial Arts Australia Insurance Services (MAAIS) when you are looking for another insurance quote. We are certainly in a very strong position to arrange ‘fit for purpose’ policies, at the right price with the appropriate back up service in the event of a claim.

For more information or to get a quote head to: maainsuranceservices.com.au

Graham Slater