planning a KRAV MAGA seminar
BY MOSHE KATZ
CEO
ISRAELI KRAV INTERNATIONAL

Krav Maga Seminars, let's get started!

Some students want to host me and arrange a seminar but are terrified; it just seems too daunting a task; too many details, too much of a risk. And yet others just do it; set a date and start organizing a seminar

Some people are paralyzed by fear and others just jump in with confidence.

I would like to offer some ideas, thoughts, that I have heard over the years, and then open this up to discussion by our members. Just send me an e mail with your ideas and observations. Let us help each other become more successful.

More on hosting an IKI Krav Maga seminar.

GermanyMay2022

Königsbach, Germany, hosted by Jurgen Kohler.

Seminar, Johannesburg, South Africa, July 2013. Third annual seminar!

Goals of the seminar - why host a seminar?

Why host a seminar? What do you gain from hosting a seminar? What do you get out of it?

Direct Training - Bring in the head of the style so that the host instructor and his/her staff and students can learn directly from the Head of the System. 

Personal Connection - Bring in the head of the style so that the students feel a personal connection to the system and to the other branches worldwide, they can feel that they are a part of something bigger. They are not just an isolated local school; they are part of an international brotherhood.

To Demonstrate real and Active Affiliation: This is important both for the current students and for prospective students and even for the competition which you face. Let us be honest, in this day and age many competitors will try to "De-legitimize" a school, make claims  that your credentials are false or that you have never even met the Head Instructor. Having an open and well advertised seminar puts to rest all these claims. Even in the "old days" in Japan and China it was deemed important to have the traditional photo of "Master and successor" prominently displayed. 

Revitalize Interest - Sometimes lessons fall into a pattern, both instructors and students can become bored. Hosting a seminar with the head of the system can act as a catalyst, a stimulus, to wake up both instructors and students and inject some energy into the program. 

Stay up to Date - With our style of Krav Maga, there are always innovations taking place, the best way not to fall behind on the program is to bring in the head instructor at least once a year for updates. Most serious organizations and unions require this of their members. To stay at the cutting edge of your industry you must stay on top of the latest developments. Can you imagine someone in the airline industry refusing to attend a refresher course? Can you imagine someone in the medical profession refusing to attend an annual conference, and preferring to rely on old information learned years ago? They would lose their license.

Present New Situations - One of the amazing benefits of my travels is being able to meet with people from all over the world and learn from their experiences and questions. This is best done in person and it has led to many new developments in IKI Krav Maga, keeping us all on the cutting edge. 

The Nuances - Many times I am told that now that they see the technique in person, they pick up on little nuances that they missed in the on-line video program. Seeing it in person, being able to ask questions, helps the students and instructors see the details that may have been missed earlier. This is invaluable. 

 financial goals

Most, if not all, hosts do not view this as a business venture. Their goal is not to turn a profit on the seminar itself but to improve their training and program. In the long term of course this will help your business/Financial goals. The money and effort invested in hosting a seminar will reap rewards in the  long run as your school grows and you improve as an instructor. If you are cut off from your roots you cannot grow properly. 

The hosts do not view the seminar as a way to turn a short-term profit, but as a way to grow in Krav Maga, build a school and achieve long-term successes and credibility.  

 covering expenses

Hosting a seminar costs money, no doubt about it. And these expenses must be borne and covered by someone. 

Host has Deep Pockets - In rare cases the host or school are successful enough that they can cover a great deal of the costs on their own. i.e. they do not expect the seminar to "pay for itself" (entrance fees from participants).

I have had cases where I wondered how the host could cover his expenses when there were so few participants, or when the participation fee was too low. The host responded with, "I wanted my students to have the experience and I wanted you here for my own benefit. I can afford to cover this out of my own pocket."

The Gate - Another option is to advertise the seminar and hope that people show up. Of course, you may be quite nervous if you have no idea how many students will show up. By this point you will have already incurred the expenses of my flight, my hotel, and soon you will have to pay the seminar fee. To lay out all that money without having any commitment as to how many participants you have is...tricky. Therefore I would like to offer some ideas that have worked very well in the past. 

Prepay - The first is rather simple. Do not ever rely on such things as Facebook "registration" where people write "Will Attend". That is USELESS and involves no commitment whatsoever on the part of those "registering'. I had some a seminar years ago where I showed up and found only 8 participants and the hosts says, "But 25 people committed on Facebook?!"

He was hoping to break even on 25 participants. I was never fully paid. This is not acceptable.

There must be at least a registration fee. And this must be non-refundable. Otherwise it is too easy to cancel at the last minute, or simply not show up. IKI Instructor Craig Gray in Michigan operates this way. He has never had a bad seminar. Allow me to make a point: we are talking about an area (Michigan) which for years has been severely economically depressed and yet we have about 70 participants at every seminar. Last year we had a 3-day seminar and we still had that number. Each year the event has been "Sold Out." 

Similarly, in Voerendaal, Limburg (Netherlands) I had been hosted for several years. It was a small school where they rented space, the town of Voerendaal has a population of about 12,500. If you walk 5 minutes in any direction you will be in farmland, only cows, and yet every year we are sold out.

Students must prepay!

Book Flight early - With many of our groups the hosts are able to pay for my ticket months in advance, as such we save money on airfare. With El Al (and most airlines) the longer you wait - the more you pay. 

Put Some Aside - Another idea I have heard, from Tony in South Africa, and from Morten in Norway, is to create a special membership fee; a monthly fee that includes a small portion for the upcoming seminar.

Monthly Dues Plus Seminar Fee - It works like this: Say for example your monthly tuition is $100, so you pay $108 (i.e. adding $8 per month, less than 2 cups of Starbucks coffee) and you have $96 for the annual Krav Maga seminar. This way the host has some money to pay for the flight and you have your seminar fees paid in advance and do not need to come up with $100 on the spot. (of course, the host must put this money aside in a special seminar fund, and not waste it before hand).

Put Some Aside Part Two: Another idea is that the host instructor put some aside each month from the membership dues. This way he has something in the "Seminar Fund" and can cover at least the preliminary costs, such as the flight.

Putting the Profits Back in: In some cases there are nice profits from the seminar. And then when it comes time to book the flight for the next seminar I find that the host does not have the cash for the flight and thus cannot book the flight and we must wait, (while the cost of the ticket increases).

My suggestion is: If you made some profit on the seminar, as tempting as it is to spend it all right now, wait. Put at least some of it aside for the next seminar's expenses. This way you never run short. In the long run your profits will increase.

It is like potato farming. Do not eat all your potatoes, you must save a few to use as way of replanting for the next season. Bottom line - Think ahead. Do not live from hand to mouth. 

 drawing students

How to Draw Students

I believe there are an unlimited number of answers to this question.

1. Your own student base -  You should try to get as many of your own students as possible to join the seminar. If they are already training in Krav Maga with you, well, they would certainly benefit from a seminar with the head instructor. So what must we do to make this possible? Give them enough advanced notice so that they will not have a schedule conflict, and give them enough notice so they can save up the necessary funds.

Long before the seminar you must start creating a "buzz", make this an "event not to be missed". Get people to talk about it, build it up. Be excited about it and they will be excited about it.

2. New, Outside Students - You can try drawing potential Krav Maga students, or students from other styles who might be interested in "something different". Each year our students who host seminars draw new students from the general public and from Kung Fu and Karate schools via my seminars. These new students appreciate the chance to try something different and see how it compares to their own style. Some of these students eventually take up the study of Krav Maga or incorporate some elements of our style into their own training.  Some of these first-time participants have eventually become IKI instructors themselves.

3. Network - Many of our instructors make a point of attending seminars of other organizations, they develop relationships of mutual help and respect. Those instructors, in turn, attend our seminars and help make them a success. 

4. Internet, and social media, in several Languages - Some of our students live in small European villages and yet each year they draw participants from several countries. If you do not register in advance you will not be able to participate. How do they do it? First, they start early!!  They prepare a flyer in several languages to be understood by people in Germany, France, Holland, Belgium, and Italy. They have also drawn participants from Denmark and England. The message is - Even if you live in a small town, you can go international, think Big and reach out to the world. 

 some things to know before a seminar

I fly El Al, Israel airlines.

For flights leaving and arriving in Israel I fly El Al Israel Airlines. Please click on the link above to read my full article about El Al if you need an explanation. This is one point I cannot compromise on, even if El Al is more expensive.  This is my life and my personal safety and on this point, there can be no argument.

Of course there are places that El Al does not fly to, so if I am flying to Kazakhstan, Albania or Argentina I fly El Al to the first stop, and then connect to another airline.

I.e. fly El Al to France, fly Air France to Argentina. Fly Air France back to France and then continue with El Al home to Israel.

Simply put, a flight from France to Argentina is unlikely to be chosen as a target by anti Israel elements but a flight from France to Israel is much more likely. El Al is my airline, I trust it...with my life.

Hotels - Best Western quality or better. Of course, staying at the Hilton or the Radisson is great and much appreciated but I cannot expect that of everyone. But please no "Days Inn", "Red Roof", "Motel 8", or Super 8". I have had some pretty bad experiences over the years. 

Hotels should have a decent breakfast, not just coffee and a pastry.

Coffee - Yes, I need coffee during the seminar. This is a must. If there is a Starbucks nearby, that is my first choice. Mugg and Bean is great too.  

More to Read...

Good article to read: How to have a successful Krav Seminar by Janet Longton, IKI Navarre, Florida, USA.

Planning A Successful Krav Maga Seminar

Samples of Amazing and Successful Seminars
 iki around the world!

Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA, 2014, IKI Instructor Todd Bradley

Rincon, Puerto Rico, Hosts: IKI instructors Jorge Castillo and William Sanchez

HalleGermany2024

Halle,(Westfallen), Germany, 2024, hosted by Michael Flohr

Navarre, Florida, USA. IKI Instructor Calvin Longton

South Africa, 2013. IKI Instructor Alan Mann, Crista and Barry Bu Plessis, Anthony Milner, Mike Fat

Texas, USA. IKI Instructor Bryce Ligetti

near Vermont, USA

Frogner, Norway, 2013. IKI Instructor Morten Wang

Tyler, Texas, USA. IKI Instructor Drew Arthur

Morelia, Mexico

Moscow, Russia, 2013. IKI Instructor Azat Fatihov, and Yvgeny Romanov

San Destin Beach, Florida, USA. IKI Instructor John Liptak and Gary Brielmayer

Kernersville, North Carolina, USA. IKI Instructor Jon Phipps

Tucuman, Argentina, 2012. IKI Instructor Jose Nacul

Arizona, USA 2013. IKI Instructor Tim Hillis

Indiana, USA,  IKI Instructor Robert Amos

Ukraine

US Infantry unit, Long Beach, California, USA. With Nick Israel, Michael Villa and Mario Schiopu.

Rome, Italy, 2012

Louisiana, USA.  IKI Instructor Adam Meier, Host: Albert Bossier

South Carolina, USA. IKI Instructors Chris Cromer, Kaleb Young.

Mexico, 2012. Dr. Alberto Labra

Voerendaal, Limburg, Netherlands, 2013. IKI Instructors Serve and Armanda Honee

Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012. IKI Instructor Craig Gray

Paris, 2014. host: Roberta Grossi

Kiev, Ukraine.

Kreuzlingen, Switzerland, Host: JC Ntetman.

Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. Ferrai gym.

Dayton, Ohio, USA. IKI Instructor Timothy Tharp

Stadthagen, Germany,

Genova, Italy

Cornelia, Georgia, USA. IKI Instructor Hal Herndon, Rob Wallace

Dunajská Streda, Slovakia. Host: IKI Instructor Tibor Sklut.

San Lois Obispo, California, USA. Eric Stahl and Geri.

Almaty, Kazakhstan. IKI Instructor Igor Kudashkin

Edmonton, Canada

Durban, South Africa, 2013. IKI Instructor Tony Hardy

Veldhoven, Netherlands.

Mexico City, Mexico, 2013, IKI Instructor Alberto Labra

Moline, Illinois, USA

Vancouver, Canada. Seminar for Vancouver Police Department: Combatives Instructors, Vancouver Police Department. Canada

Bayamon, Puerto Rico. 2010. IKI Instructor Maurice Cohen (with Maurice Jr.)

Botswana2024Group

Botswana, 2024, hosted by Philip Moalafi

Silverback Academy, Fairfax, VA, USA. Host: IKI Instructor Sean Stoopman

Effingham, Illinois, USA.  Sheriff John Monet and staff, and Border Police, With host Rachel Finley.

Norway, with IKI Instructor Morten Wang who has hosted seven seminars.

Springfield, Illinois, USA

Traverse City, Michigan, with IKI Instructor Colby Taylor.

Budo Ryu, San Lois Obispo, California, Host Geri Ooi

Konigsbach, Germany, December 2013. Hosted by IKI Instructor Jürgen Köhler

Manchester, Tenn, USA, 2013. With IKI Instructor Tim Garrett

Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA, IKI Instructor Todd Bradley

Wirral, England, United Kingdom, December 2013 with IKI Instructor Tony Preston

Sardinia, Italy, January 2014 with IKI Instructor Roberto Zicca

Rome, Italy, 2018

Silverback Academy, Fairfax, Va, 2013

Mexico City, 2014, IKI Instructor Alberto Labra, Filimon Almaraz Morales

Grand Rapids, Michigan, IKI Instructor Craig Gray, January 2014 

Traverse City, Michigan

Perth, Australia

IDFGroup2024

Israel Defense Forces, 2024

Comments

I look at it as a great opportunity to continue learning.  In my profession (architecture), like many others, continuing education is required in order to keep my licenses.  As you always say, to be a good instructor you must always be learning.

Hal Herndon, Chief Instructor, Georgia Mountain Krav Maga

As an Instructor I also like to see the techniques in person. The videos are great but there is just no substitute for live training. The subtle details make all the difference. Thanks

Chris Cromer, IKI Instructor, Absolute Martial Arts, South Carolina, USA

Israel, Tour and Train.

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