Each episode brings you proven strategies to grow your martial arts school and amplify your impact. Backed by EFCs decades of supporting the world's most successful martial arts schools, we're sharing practical solutions you can use right away, because the rising tide lifts all boats. Let's raise the standard together.
For this month’s coaching call, we have Hanshi Dave Kovar and Grandmaster Farshad Azad of Azad’s Martial Arts Center sharing how to turn summer from your slowest season into one of your strongest.
Some takeaways: Hanshi’s Super Summer Series for keeping current students engaged, vacation tracking to cut quits and holds before they happen, and morning class slots that catch kids before they hit the pool. Farshad breaks down his half-day camp model—themed weeks like Nerf, Ninja, and Gladiator, college students on staff so your team doesn’t burn out, and a tiered pricing structure that fills the room early.
The bottom line: stop treating summer like something to survive. The schools that lean in come out of August stronger than they went in.
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10 May 2026
Spring into Action: Grassroots marketing that fills your mats
Hanshi Dave Kovar and Alexis Tearney Kuhl talk grassroots marketing—what's working right now and why the old-school stuff is back.
Alexis shares how she turned social media into her storefront during COVID by shooting her own content with her own students. Hanshi runs through five plays every school should be running: posting consistently, following up with old leads, reconnecting with inactive students, asking for referrals face-to-face, and working community booth events.
None of this is new. The schools growing right now are just the ones doing it consistently—and building the systems to make sure no lead falls through the cracks.
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9 Feb 2026
Belt Promotions Done Right: Turn Testing Day Into Your Retention Superpower
Hanshi Dave Kovar and Master Matthew Hogan reveal how belt promotions are far more than recognition ceremonies—they're strategic retention events that recommit wavering parents, re-energize burned-out students, and convert guests into paying members.
Hanshi breaks down the Rule of 3: for every student being promoted, you should have three people in the audience. He explains why most schools struggle to fill adult promotions and shares the counterintuitive solution—encouraging students to attend others' promotions as a social bonding event. The key insight: adults won't bring guests to their own promotion, but they will support their classmates.
Master Hogan walks through Master Khechen's pre-qualification system that ensures every student arrives at testing day already confident. Using tape benchmarks every six classes, they create a progression system where students, parents, and instructors all leave feeling proud and excited about what's next—not just relieved it's over.
From demo team strategy (showcase that 40-year-old parent doing self-defense, not just your elite young athletes) to new belt orientation that prevents post-promotion dropout, this episode provides the intentional systems that transform belt promotions from routine events into peak experiences that parents talk about for weeks—and that keep students enrolled for years.
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11 Jan 2026
Blueprint for January Success: Retention, Reactivation & New Year Growth
Hanshi Dave Kovar delivers his tactical blueprint for the most critical growth window of the year—the period between now and January 31st when conversion rates peak and opportunities multiply.
Hanshi focuses on two metrics that drive school success: quit rate and student value. He demonstrates how improving retention from 7% to 2.5% transforms a student's lifetime value from $3,000 to $8,800—and breaks down exactly how to achieve those numbers. He covers high-conversion strategies for January including why this season offers the best enrollment rates of the year, how to run effective paid advertising (his schools dropped cost-per-lead from $45 to $35), and the power of personal reactivation calls to inactive members setting New Year's resolutions.
Drawing from decades of experience and real data from multiple million-dollar locations, Hanshi provides the specific systems for retaining new students in their first 60 days and turning January from a slow month into your most profitable season of the year.
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17 Dec 2025
Episode Title: What to Fix Before 2026 (Hanshi's Year-End Checklist)
Hanshi Dave Kovar delivers his essential year-end checklist for martial arts school owners who want to finish 2025 strong and hit the ground running in 2026.
Hanshi breaks down the fundamentals most school owners overlook: tracking the right stats to identify weak spots, auditing your facility with fresh eyes, conducting performance reviews that build trust, and setting realistic growth goals. He shares real numbers from his own schools, including their quit rates and growth patterns, plus a powerful self-assessment technique that transforms difficult staff conversations.
Drawing from decades of experience running multiple million-dollar locations, Hanshi provides the tactical fixes and operational systems that separate thriving schools from struggling ones—and explains why most school owners avoid goal-setting in the first place.
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31 Aug 2025
The 9 R's of Back-to-School Success with Hanshi Dave Kovar
Hanshi Dave Kovar shares his proven framework for maximizing back-to-school enrollment success with his comprehensive 9 R's system - from refreshing your physical space to reactivating former students.
Dave explains why this season is "prime time" for martial arts schools and reveals why 64% of enrollments still come from grassroots marketing, his approach to achieving high monthly retention, and specific scripts for reactivating former students.
Drawing from over 47 years of martial arts business experience, Dave provides actionable strategies that school owners can implement immediately to capitalize on back-to-school momentum.
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3 Aug 2025
Survive to Scale: Real Strategies from 3 Martial Arts Business Leaders
In this high-powered episode of Raising the Standard, three of the martial arts industry’s top minds—Mr. Jason, Professor Bruce Hoyer, and Rick Herbster—come together to deliver a no-fluff blueprint for school owners ready to go from surviving to scaling.
Whether you’re stuck at a plateau or just want to sharpen your systems, this episode is packed with hard-earned insights, proven growth strategies, and real answers to the challenges you face every day.
You’ll learn:
- The mindset shift required to scale without burnout
- Tactical marketing and retention systems that actually work
- How top schools are growing in today’s market
If you’re ready to build momentum and take your martial arts business to the next level, this conversation is your next step.
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20 Jul 2025
Think Bigger: Jim Bundy’s 4-Part Blueprint for Building a World-Class School
In this episode of "Raising the Standard," we’re joined by industry leader Jim Bundy, who shares his powerful roadmap for transforming a martial arts school from good to world-class. Drawing from years of experience coaching top-performing schools, Jim reveals the four essential components every owner needs to scale with clarity, purpose, and long-term success.
You’ll learn how to develop a vision that fuels growth, align your team behind a powerful mission, and implement systems that elevate your student experience and retention. Jim also shares insights on leadership mindset and decision-making that separate high-level schools from the rest.
If you’re ready to raise your standards, lead with intention, and think like a high-performance operator, this episode delivers the strategic blueprint to help you get there.
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6 Jul 2025
Speak Like a Leader: Kirsty Dickson’s Communication Secrets for Powerful Teaching
Kirsty Dickson shares communication secrets for powerful teaching, discussing verbal and nonverbal strategies to transform how educators lead and connect with students in this interview.
8 Jun 2025
Building Your Martial Arts Tribe: Retention Mastery with Pete McHugh
Professor Pete McHugh discusses his systematic approach to student retention at McHugh Jiu-Jitsu, including assimilation tactics and engagement metrics, in an interview on building a thriving martial arts community.
25 May 2025
The Secret to Student Retention with Steve Sohn
Martial arts school owner Steve Sohn reveals his student retention strategies, emphasizing community and communication to cultivate loyalty and prevent unnecessary departures in this interview.
11 May 2025
Turning on the Recruitment Faucet with Alexis Tearney-Kuhl
In this episode of "Raising the Standard," we're joined by Alexis Tearney-Kuhl, second-generation owner of Tearney's Martial Arts in Syracuse, New York. Alexis shares her remarkable journey of rebuilding her family's martial arts school from scratch during the COVID-19 pandemic while facing her father's cancer diagnosis. Learn how she transformed her social media presence into a powerful recruitment engine that allowed her to grow from teaching in her parents' basement via Zoom to owning a thriving 1200-square-foot facility. Alexis reveals her strategies for creating authentic content that stands out from competitors, how she uses paid Facebook advertising to quickly replace lost students, and her approach to efficiently managing recruitment efforts while balancing life as a business owner and mother of two. Discover practical insights on tracking social media trends, learning to use advertising platforms, and how to strategically "turn on the faucet" of new students whenever your school needs them. This episode offers valuable guidance for any martial arts school owner looking to build an efficient, effective recruitment system.
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15 Apr 2025
The Art of Student Retention with Martial Arts Legend Buzz Durkin
Listen as martial arts legend Buzz Durkin shares the proven principles that have helped his students stay for decades - not just years. With students who have trained with him for 30, 40, and even 50 years, Buzz reveals his "people first, martial arts second" approach and how focusing on personal transformation creates lasting relationships. Learn practical strategies for building a school culture that turns students into raving fans, the power of the "my pleasure" philosophy, and how thinking long-term brings sustainable success. Whether you're a new school owner or a seasoned veteran, this episode delivers actionable insights to enhance your retention and build a martial arts legacy.
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Who has been a guest on Raising the Standard: An EFC Podcast
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Kirsty Dickson
Pete McHugh
Steve Sohn
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