From John Graden:

You, like me, know the huge influential power the martial arts can have on a teenager. Teens are at an impressionable age and the martial arts has proven to help teens develop self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-worth in ways no other activity can.

When I started karate in 1974, I was an overweight 13 year old. Karate changed everything for me and I want to do the same for other teens. 

In 2009 I partnered with the Teen Fitness Connection (www.TeenFItnessConnection.org). TFC has been working with IHRSA (the largest health club association in the world) to provide teens with a free 30-day membership at health clubs over the summer.

The goal was to help teens learn about fitness and nutrition. It was also a way of keeping teens occupied over the summer. A bored teenager can be a dangerous teenager.

Last summer, they had over 1,200 health clubs offer this membership. I want us to exceed that number with martial arts, but I need your help.

The Perfect Storm

Like a perfect storm, there are three forces coming together right now that make this the ideal program at the ideal time. 

1. Thanks to the mma explosion, the martial arts has never been more popular to teens than it is right now. 

2. With the economic meltdown, Bernie Madoff and other assorted scams, the public and the media are more skeptical of corporations (including your school) than ever before. By aligning with a hot "cause" we will earn media and community attention and trust that no marketing campaign could ever generate.

3. The First Lady Michelle Obama is heading up the childhood obesity campaign which instantly makes it the hottest cause in the nation. Her involvement moves any obesity project to the top of the media radar. 

We have what teens want. We have the hottest cause in the country. We have a perfect alignment with the cause. 

How You Can Get Involved

We want your school to offer a FREE 30-day membership to teens in your area. The focus of this program is to help teens get control of their health and their decision making. We want them to develop the self-confidence that will help them through the often difficult times teenagers face, especially in our fast food society.

What's In It For You?

Why would you want to do this? Beyond the obvious answer of helping teens, from a business perspective, this will give you leverage that you would never have otherwise. 

In the health clubs that have been participating, many of them have received tremendous local media attention. In some cases, the media has actually followed the teens over the summer and reported on their progress.

How the Media Perceives This

Imagine your school on the local news every week with an update on one or more of your teens. Would that help your school? Imagine embedding the video from those reports onto your website for every visitor to see for as long as you want. 

This kind of media attention can ONLY happen with "Cause Marketing." Cause marketing is attaching or aligning your school with a good cause. The hottest cause in the country right now is childhood obesity because of the First Lady's involvement.  This program allows you to piggyback the power of the White-house in your own community.

There is a Danger

HOWEVER, you must NOT make any attempt to enroll these kids as part of the program. If they approach you, great. But if you go into this thinking this is a good way to get new students, you are missing the real opportunity.

Since the economic meltdown people are more skeptical than ever about so-called free offers. The media is trained to "sniff out" fraud. If you promote a "free program" but it's really just a ploy to enroll students, the exposure will blow up in your face. If the media senses in any way that you are scheming to get new students under the banner of this cause, you will at best be ignored and at worst, called out on the local news.

Why This Is Good For Your School

By inviting these kids into your school now, you will make an early impact on their life that they will never forget. Even if they don't join now, they will have a relationship with your school that may last a life time.

The goodwill your school will generate by promoting this program altruistically will position your school as a community leader in a way that was not possible even a few years ago.

Official MATA Curriculum

http://www.MATAMartialArts.com