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[redcap]

I trust this is within the rules, otherwise no doubt it will be removed.

I am developing a new product for my business, WalkSafe. It is a 1 hour presentation that covers the stats surrounding violent crime here, plus attitude and awareness tips, the anatomy of a mugging and how to tell if it's going down and so on. Basically all the none physical bits. The target market for this piece is existing traditional martial arts schools. There is no criticism of their self defence curriculum, if any techniques need to be mentioned I question the audience for their training and experience and work with that. I don't contradict them. There is no attempt to poach students but rather to allow the instructor the chance to offer additional specialist training and possibly make extra revenue.

With that said, here is the draft of an email message to be sent (after getting the ok to send more info by email via a brief phone cold call). I would appreciate opinions, criticism, comments and discussion. Would you feel threatened? Would you be interested enough to discuss it further? Appreciate any and all constructive replies.
Redcap.

We Don’t Teach Kata, Kihon or Kumite!

WalkSafe - A Tool You Can Use To Add Value For Your Students And Instructors

WalkSafe helps mainstream martial arts schools to provide a well-rounded curriculum with our professional, experienced and proven advice and instruction on the aspects of personal protection that many schools can only spare the time to address superficially.

Your focus is on the traditional aspects of the martial art, the sporting side, the self defence skills and the fun and fitness. Your school can benefit from outsourcing subject matter experts, just like the big corporations do.

WalkSafe can provide interesting, educational and entertaining Personal Protection Presentations at your school, tailored to suit your style of martial art. We present the latest official data and our expert interpretation on:

•   Who Is The Most At Risk From Violent Crime? – It’s Not Little Old Ladies!
•   What Are The Four Main Types Of Threat? – Not Just Muggers And Gangs!
•   Where Are We Most At Risk Of Being Attacked? – This Will Surprise You!
•   When Are You Most Likely To Need Your Martial Arts? We’ll Tell You!
•   Why Do Situations Turn Violent? – Learn The Psychology Of An Assault!
•   How Can We Avoid 95% Of All Violent Encounters? – Anyone Can Do This!

Do you want to add more value to your student’s membership or earn additional income from value added products? WalkSafe’s Personal Protection Presentations can increase student satisfaction and retention as well as produce additional revenue for the school. Ask us how.

To confidentially discuss your school’s needs and to learn more about how you can benefit from adding WalkSafe to your business network, pick up the phone and call Perry Gamsby on (02) 8807 XXXX now or simply reply to this email.  WalkSafe guarantee a response within 12 hours, usually less.

WalkSafe was founded in 1986 by Martial Artist and former Military Policeman/Security Consultant, Perry Gamsby. Perry has a wealth of hands-on experience in managing risk and conflict in Australia and S.E.Asia. He holds ranks in Japanese and Filipino martial arts, has competed internationally as well as having trained in Chinese, Korean, Indonesian and Western styles.

WalkSafe offers training and consultancy services to business, government and martial arts industry clients.

[Hock]

This is a good business subject to discuss.

The name. It is VERY hard to come up a new. No matter how smart anyone is. And "___Safe" has been used and used hundreds of times. BarSafe, TeenSafe, ChildSafe, CrimeSafe, KidSafe, StreetSafe, SafeSafe...along with things like the "Be your own Bodyguard," and I mean...it is REALLY hard to invent a new name for citizen self defense. The "___Safe" thing has been beat to death AND since it ain't still around...there's a reason it ain't around.

Tom Patire, perpetrator of CDT - therefore one of biggest martial con men around, tried to create an entire regimen of "___Safes" all of the above Safes and more (BushingTeeth Safe) and even his snake oil skills didn't work.
Perhaps by then, society created their own "PatireSafe," though.
 
No regular martial artist wants to take a self defense course as they envision a "class for old ladies." Launching a course for martial arts schools to become certified as self defense instructors has become increasingly harder because most schools feel as though they do that already and many have non-kata, side courses. Many have been burned by add-on courses like the Los Angeles, Levine Krav Maga and are gunshy of all these types of programs.

The sales pitch goes to school owners and this one here has no pitch for the regular citizen/human. Instructor development for citizens creates a grass-roots movement from the bottom-up. This is only for instructors/school owners and therefore top-down.

It is very all common-sense, but very difficult in a very crowded and confused field. By chance, do you know anything about GOLF?

Hock

[redcap]

Hock, I agree with you about there being too many 'Safes' around however I have used WalkSafe since 1986 when it was the only '---Safe' here in the Antipodes. The pitch is just to school owners, not to their students. The product is an instructional presentation covering non-physical aspects of self defence. The psychology, awareness, avoidance skills and so on. The whole aim is to not try and replicate or contradict the school's curriculum, just add depth.

Back in the early 90s I did run a successful WalkSafe Instructor Course program that attracted mostly TKD black belts. The course clearly stated it was not an 'instant black belt' certification, merely a set system of limited techniques designed to achieve a certain standard of proficiency. Very much like all military training modules which was the model I used for the program. I ended up with 23 instructors around the country and in New Zealand who now had a system to teach and some admin and business support.

I look around now at what is available and what the public wants. When it comes to the martial arts side, most of them want MMA, Kickboxing, traditional eastern martial arts. There is a market for more strictly self defence type instruction but that doesn't lend itself to regular classes and ongoing training over many months or years except for a few dedicated individuals. So I  looked at what the market lacked and needed and came up with the programs I am pushing now.

90%+ of Australians will not experience any form of violence this year (Aust Bureau of Stats) and crime is actually on the decrease or stable depending on area and type of crime. Yet so many self defence schools plug the 'rising crime' and usual fear factors. I think a better approach is to target schools and corporate clients with a personal protection program rather than self defence classes for the general public who usually aren't motivated enough to bother coming. Time will no doubt tell.
Redcap

[Hock]

Of course you have to understand that I am extremely negative.
I have seen it all come and go and come again and go again.
This is not a good thing for peopel to hear because a tiny percentage of things do..."break out" and you hate to disaude and disullision.

I think in the 90s there was a better market for these SD ideas. And things like Krav Maga, in particular Levine's "LA" Krav kind of raped and pilaged it all dry. Now the MA world has another perspective on all this SD stuff. They have sadly learned it is NOT the gold mine they were pitched. Also as a result, thes schools have all gotten somewhat smarter in the subject. The internet has added to that.

The once "niche" is no longer a niche because it has all been co-opted. Everyone that wa first, or was a pioneer has this problem. So often no one remembers who the pioneer is and young people say, "here's another ____Safe."

But ya' gotta try! Gotta' try something.

Hock
 

[whitewolf]

Im trying- im trying--WW

[redcap]

I have no real appreciation of Levine's L.A. Krav Maga debacle. KM hit here a few years ago and was the fad for a while but my program is very much a different beast. I'm not an admirer of the IDF at the best of times. I was doing that 'street effective' stuff back when you were doing it, maybe a year or two after you and before I had ever heard of anyone in overseas martial arts outside Dan Inosanto. We were something of a backwater back in the mid 80's, down under. Anyway, enough of the reminiscences.

My product is a presentation, like an after dinner speaker, full of good stuff you would know and take as a given but a lot of others don't. I have targeted MA schools with this communication simply because they are a ready source of clientele where I can feel comfortable while I hone the material before hitting the corporate market in a (hopefully) big way.

I am hoping some might comment on the message rather than the product. I believe in test marketing things and getting opinions from those I respect and feel I can rely on to call a spade a spade. Of all the groups and forums I find this the least political and the most open and akin to my own philosophies.

As for the name game, I read your blog on the anagram carry on. I agree, it seems nowadays you need a snappy set of initials and material smack full of these mnemonics to gain any 'street cred' with the Wal-poloi. That and having fought for every special forces unit in the western world (unless you are former Spetsnaz... but let's not go there).
Redcap (just a former peace time MP)

[Canuk]

Redcap, I teach a theory course called Understanding Threat, the premise is pretty much what you have outlined including the pschology of the confrontation. No hands on, just facts on crime (related to the group/area etc) and how the arverage person sets themselves up as a target. The course has been a big seller. Go for it 

[redcap]

Thank you for the encouragement. It is appreciated. I believe there is a good market for the material, just wondering whether the marketing communication I posted is ok.
Redcap

[Hock]

"...just wondering whether the marketing communication I posted is ok."

Oh, its fine.
And, you have to define your term of "success."
What and how do you, or Canuk's, define success.
Once that is defined, then you can set your parameters.

is it just local, bigger? Country-wide? International?

I have a two school owner friends who are very successful and happy working in their communities. They love it, love the kids they teach and the positive effect they instill. This is their definition of success, which is quite a wonderful thing.

Hock

[Canuk]

Recently (December 15, 2009) my province passed new "workplace violence" laws which are HARSH on the employer. They require by law that the employer take reasonable precautions to protect all workers, they also require that a threat assesment be performed on the site specific to the, the best part is that the employer must investigate all workplace violence incidents in case the ministry (labour) investigates! so my new focus is workplace violence and how to investigate it

[redcap]

Thanks Canuk, you might have just made me some money! I think we are also getting to that point. There are incidents of employers being hammered by WorkCover and the Unions  because an employee assaulted another and they say the recruitment process should have picked up their tendency to be violent etc. It is probably just another sop to the litigation lovers and a way for WorkCover and the government to deny any responsibility/liability just in case some lawyer thinks they might get away with trying something on.

Hock, define success? I have a plan for the martial arts promotional program to cover all schools in the three LGAs (local government areas) in my immediate vicinity. We have a third of the city's population (about 1.5million out of 4.2million) and the highest density of schools and it isn't far for me to travel. Getting a gig at 30% of these schools would keep me busy for some months.

Taking Canuk's lead and always 'Doing a Dillinger' (Q:Why do you rob banks Mr Dillinger? A: Because that's where the money is) I will chase the numerous job support agencies that get government funding to help people find work. Perhaps a presentation on workplace violence might be able to be included in their re-training program and offer some liability mitigation.
Thanks, Redcap

[Hock]

Good luck you guys.
That kind of steady work in America is next to nearly, absolutely impossible.

Hock

[Canuk]

Goes back to your definition of success I think. In the private sector I charge like the Light brigade, I make a lot of money in a very short amount of time and from different streams. EG

Review of use of force policy
development and implimnetation of use of force policy
use of force training
investigation of use of force incidents (civil and criminal)

online programs

Now, with online programs you need to be smart. I use a vendor, this vendor will take your programs and "stream" them through to thier client base and take a fee from the charge of the course. In this way my online programs are seen nation wide by thousands and thousands of potential customers. Piggy back that with the current frenzy of activity around workplace violence and you have a recipe for making money while still putting out a credible product to those that need it.

[redcap]

Canuk that online concept has me thinking, thanks for the tip. Of course if I make it work I deny it was ever anything but my own brilliant mind etc 

We do have existing VETAB and AQF accredited use of force programs. I am certified to train and assess but I need to hold the qualification I am training and assessing in. They cost big dollars. The alternative is to offer courses that are not accredited by the government, which is a harder sell. Still, while we have limited market of LEO bodies we do have a lot of corporate and govt departments where I can work some magic and like you, charge like the Heavy Brigade (next valley across and successful compared to the Light Brigade's fracas).
Redcap

[Canuk]

Canuk that online concept has me thinking, thanks for the tip. Of course if I make it work I deny it was ever anything but my own brilliant mind etc 

We do have existing VETAB and AQF accredited use of force programs. I am certified to train and assess but I need to hold the qualification I am training and assessing in. They cost big dollars. The alternative is to offer courses that are not accredited by the government, which is a harder sell. Still, while we have limited market of LEO bodies we do have a lot of corporate and govt departments where I can work some magic and like you, charge like the Heavy Brigade (next valley across and successful compared to the Light Brigade's fracas).
Redcap

Take all the credit you wan't, after all, I'm just a figment of your imagaination and only exsist as a counter point on this forum!

As for the so called "Heavy Brigade" word on the street is that your position was over run by three girlguides armed with a spud gun