Almost 8 years ago, me and my business partner decided we would open up and mma gym. So obviously we had to come up with a name. We settled on the name SoCal mma and fitness.  I have been training my whole life in martial arts, sports and fitness. So I really wanted to create a one stop shop where people could come train in all the different disciplines of mma. But I also wanted to cater to people who just want to get fit.  Back then I had a descent background in fitness. But I can honestly say I was just flying by the seat of my pants when teaching. Although I still put on some good classes, I hadn’t really developed my own formula for training people. So I eventually starting developing Kettle-Jitsu. My classes started becoming more structured and it became a lot easier to teach classes. The classes also started to grow! The same goes to my assistant trainer Chris as well. He started to develop his own style. He also got certified in Training for Warriors, Martin Rooney’s training system.

Now, the fitness classes are the biggest draw at my gym.  A large reason is because great fitness classes attract a lot of women. Women do everything in groups and pairs.  Have you ever notice how women always go to the bathroom together.  They need that same support with working out. Women almost always come to the gym in pairs.  They are also the best at referrals.  If a women enjoys the class, she will tell her friends about it.  I once had a women try out my evening 6:30pm class. Then she showed up with 3 friends the following morning at 5:30am!

My whole point behind this is that if you only cater to mma folk, or only Bjj people, you really limit your demographic. If your gym says Cageside MMA, who do you think you will attract? You will definitely not attract women. So I do think it is important to name your gym accordingly.  With SoCal mma and fitness, adding the word fitness welcomes people who want to get in shape. My second point is to have a solid, proven fitness system at your gym.  By having a great fitness program, you attract women and women are great at bringing in business.  At my gym we offer 2 solid fitness systems. Kettle-Jitsu and my trainer teaches Training for Warriors mixed with his own stuff. People really appreciate the variety.

So to sum things up, my 2 ways to add value to your mma or bjj gym are, 1. Choose the name of your facility wisely. By choosing the right name, you can widen your demographic.  2. Choose one or more fitness programs.  Solid fitness programs keep people in the doors and increase referrals.  so it may be wise to find a couple of reputable certifications to do.