Black Belt Banter: Martial Arts Business Podcast
Welcome to Black Belt Banter, the best martial arts business podcast for instructors, school owners, and entrepreneurs who want to increase their profits and generate substantial revenue. Whether you're running a single studio or scaling a multi-location empire, we break down the strategies, stories, and systems behind profitable martial arts businesses. From student retention and marketing hacks to leadership, curriculum, and community building, we cover it all. Tune in for weekly insights from Master Chan and Master Jimmy Hong, who’s been in the trenches and come out kicking.
Email us at jimmyhong@blackbeltbanter.com
Black Belt Banter: Martial Arts Business Podcast
#31 | Raise Tuition Without Losing Students
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What if charging MORE actually helped your school?
In this episode, we sit down with Master Bronson Ko — second-generation martial artist, 3-location school owner, and author of The Mentor Method — to break down the exact playbook for raising tuition without losing students.
Master Ko went from $159 to $299/month (with invite-only programs at $499), and in this conversation he shares the framework that made it possible — and the costly mistakes he made along the way.
Here's what you'll learn:
The 3-Condition Checklist — Master Ko's non-negotiables before raising rates. Miss any one of these, and you risk losing students AND looking like you only care about money.
The 30% Rule — How much you can raise tuition before parents start pushing back (and why Netflix has figured this out better than most school owners).
New vs. Existing Students — Should you grandfather in loyal students, or raise rates across the board? Master Ko made this mistake, regretted it, and tells you exactly what he'd do differently.
Why "results" is the only sales pitch that works — If you've seen a shy, defiant kid transform into a confident leader, you already have the most powerful closing argument in the room.
The data behind who actually stays — After 15 years of tracking student retention by parent occupation, Master Ko reveals which parents stay the longest — and how to attract more of them.
The commodity trap — Why calling yourself a "Taekwondo school" or "karate studio" is quietly killing your enrollment.
If you're stuck under $150/month — or you're scared to raise prices — this episode will change how you think about your business.
📖 Grab Master Bronson Ko's book, The Mentor Method: How to Teach with Calm Authority and Transform Every Student, on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/MENTOR-Method-Authority-Transform-Student/dp/B0G6THWJF4/
🎙️ Black Belt Banter — Real talk for martial arts school owners who are done just surviving and ready to actually grow.
Most martial arts school owners don’t have a marketing problem.
They have an execution problem.
You listen to podcasts. You get inspired. You hear great ideas…
Then Monday hits… you’re back teaching classes, answering messages… and nothing actually changes.
That’s why most schools stay stuck.
Black Belt Banter gives you the thinking.
How to see your school like a real business.
How to identify what’s actually holding you back.
How to stop operating in survival mode.
But thinking alone doesn’t grow your school.
You need the how.
That’s where ASA Live comes in.
ASA Live gives you the exact playbook—
What to say.
What to run.
What numbers to track.
And how to execute step-by-step so you actually get more students and increase revenue.
Black Belt Banter shows you the direction.
ASA Live shows you the path.
And the school owners who use both?
They’re the ones finally breaking through.
Just $97/month to finally execute and grow.
Register at https://asamartialarts.com/live/