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Introduction

This can be quite a nerve-wracking event for a local club instructor. You are hosting a senior grade, specialist instructor or some other form of martial arts VIP. They are going to have to travel quite a distance to visit and teach at your dojo. All of your students are very excited, looking forward to training with this person (s) and you find yourself getting a bit worried about doing the very best job you possibly can so as not to let anyone, either the VIP or your students, down in any way at all.

Sometimes, you will have also invited some of the other local instructors, and asked them to bring as many of their own students as they can, so as to have a fair amount of people on the mat on the day, and to help cover some of the extra cost that such an event inevitably incurs (You will normally have to pay a hefty fee to the VIP, as well as cover any and all of their expenses (travel, accommodation, food, drink, site-seeing, etc) as well as having to organise at least one large meal/banquet. And all of this is on top of probably having to hire a special venue large enough to accommodate such a large venture!) So your reputation is really "on the line" as it were! Here are some helpful tips to try and make the event a lot less stressful and a lot more of a success.

The "Main Event":

You will need to market this event like mad: Contact the martial arts magazines, local press and radio, even television stations (you never know!) to get as much coverage and publicity for the occasion as you possibly can.

This will help raise your own profile and also reassure the visiting dignitary that you do consider it to be a very special event and take your responsibilities seriously.

Again, you might need to enlist some help with fulfilling all of these arrangements, so don't be shy in asking for it!

A good leader knows the value of sharing tasks and responsibilities, so you must delegate and deputise accordingly.

If you do the job properly then the visiting VIP will feel comfortable and looked after from the moment they arrive to the moment they take their leave, which should ensure that they have only good memories of working with you, and that they wont hesitate the next time you ask them (or any of the other senior grades they might talk to and tell about their positive experience, for that matter!) over to do a seminar/course/competition/grading, ect.

But, off course, the main thing is for you and your club to try and capitalise upon this visit as much as you possibly can. You need to get the following from the event:

- Publicity (get it in the local/national press, martial arts publications, get it on the local radio/television stations, get it on the internet, post flyers and deliver leaflets, use "word of mouth" by telling everyone you know, and make sure you spread the news far and wide by even telling people in other areas/countries, etc)

- Recognition (You need to highlight your club and yourself, this is an easy thing to forget but, in reality, it should actually the be all and end all of everything you are doing! Remember: You deserve to get something out of it as well. After all it's your "baby", you have been the person who has put the time and effort in to make it all happen.) And...,

- (Big "IF" this one) Make some sort of financial gain (or at least break even, rather than running at a loss, which is what can happen, nine times out of ten!) You will need to plan the financial aspects of this type of venture extremely carefully if you don't want to end up losing money. Work out the projected cost of all possible expenses (including some money for yourself!) and then add on a further 5-10% as insurance (a type of "slush fund" if you will) as there will almost always be some form of unforeseen or emergency expenses that come up, and it would prove very embarrassing for everyone involved if you found were unable to cover them!

It might help if you thought of the seminar or course as being similar to putting on a theatre performance, as quite a lot of the knowledge, skills and abilities concerned are the same as those that any producer on Broadway or the West End might use. The trouble is: As well as being the producer you must also be the director, actor and stuntman!

So, you have confirmed that the VIP(s) are able to fit you in to their busy schedule, have organised their mode of transport, booked the venue, hotel and restaurants, informed all of the other instructors and media. The next step is to plan the day(s). You will need to organise an itinerary for the events/lessons that will be taking place, making sure that the spotlight is ALWAYS situated on the VIP(s), and that it stays on them securely throughout the days proceedings. Always remembering that it is the VIP(s) who are the stars of this particular show, and NOT YOU! It is of absolutely vital importance that you keep this in the forefront of your mind, as I have seen otherwise quite competent instructors go to pieces at this type of event, and end up highlighting themselves as a sort of "defence mechanism!" Remembering that THEY are the real STAR will enable you to plan the day around them (which is just as it should be, after all!). Don't forget to include plenty of time for regular comfort breaks and a decent lunch, as these help in bringing people closer together, also enabling them to keep their energy levels up by taking in regular amounts of food and fluid. Bear in mind also that It is something of a tradition for the Host-Club(s) to be asked to "strut their stuff" in some form or other, usually at or near the end of such events, almost as a way of saying "thank you". So you will need to ensure that some of your students are prepared for this. But, try not to over-do it: It is easy to get carried away and start calling up one person after another to do some "showing-off" as regards their technical ability.

You need to bear in mind what has already been stated above: This normally takes place at, or very near, the END OF THE EVENT! That means that everyone will have had a good, hard days training, and will be feeling quite tired by now (this, of course, includes the VIP(s) themselves, who will also probably be facing a long return journey after everything is wrapped up. Keep these displays short and sharp, leaving plenty of time for the presentations and closing speeches.

ALWAYS have some form of gift for the visiting dignitary, even if it is just something simple (but always tasteful!) And ALWAYS send an official letter of gratitude to express the thanks of your students and yourself (This is simple good manners, but is normally completely overlooked!) Get as much feedback from your students and the other instructors who attended in order to evaluate and assess exactly how successful and beneficial it this seminar or course has been, and to identify any way in which it might have been made even better. Remember: "you must get feedback to feed forward"

Conclusion

Hosting an event like this will always demand a lot of extra time, trouble and worry from the local instructor who is responsible for organising it. But, they are worth all of these, as it gives your students the opportunity of training with very senior grades, so inspiring them in their own training
Therefore, though it will still entail a lot of time and effort, if the guidelines listed above are followed and implemented correctly, they can help turn the whole thing into a worthwhile and enjoyable experience for everyone concerned!

Prof. J R Lee-Barron PhD FIMAS
President, Institute of Martial Arts and Sciences
http://www.institute-of-martialarts-and-sciences.com

Professor Lee-Barron is the Director of the Institute of Martial Arts and Sciences, UK, and Dean of the Faculty of Martial Arts, Knightsbridge University. These bodies are dedicated to affording martial arts instructors with the opportunity of gaining recognised university degrees in martial arts. He is an experienced educator, researcher and academic, as well as being a senior black belt instructor in several martial arts. He can be contacted at: martialcollege@yahoo.co.uk