Learn From the Past, Before You Repeat It

I have been asked recently what I thought of MMA Fitness workouts. First I am thrilled to see martial art fitness getting a needed shot in the arm and I will always support any martial arts fitness program that is a well structured, quality program. But, I do have my concerns when it comes to martial arts school owners jumping on the MMA fitness bandwagon.

We must learn from the past. Realize I was right in the middle of the whole Tae Bo explosion with our own version of the rhythmic martial arts class, Cardio Karate. We of course had great success in the short term, just like many school owners who jumped on the Tae Bo bandwagon. But, why did Tae Bo-styled rhythmic martial arts classes lose their popularity? Before I answer that question, let’s first take a look at the differences and similarities between what is happening now with MMA Fitness and what happened with the Tae Bo era.

Between the two, there are two primary differences I see. The first is that MMA Fitness does not have a dynamic personality like Billy Blanks leading the charge. This is a huge difference. Billy Blanks mainstreamed martial arts fitness. Everyone was aware of Tae Bo, not just martial artists. The second main difference is that MMA Fitness will attract primarily young men, which is the worst market in fitness. Other than those two differences, I mostly see similarities between Tae Bo and the MMA Fitness boom.

Let’s list the similarities:

• Both are classes that are very physically demanding, designed to attract the fitness crowd.
• Neither one has any nutritional support to go along with the intense workouts.
• Neither one has any team support.
• Neither one has an end goal in mind.
• Nobody is guaranteeing any results from the training.
• Both tend to attract a younger crowd. Tae Bo was more for the ladies where MMA Fitness might be seen as a more male dominated workout. Both are still going to attract students primarily between the ages of 18 – 35.
• I think the main similarity is that neither one will last the test of time.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying mixed martial arts won’t be around long, but the popularity of people using mixed martial arts as a form of fitness training will be short-lived. To understand what I am saying, you must look at the trends in the fitness market. I am very aware of the trends since the Tae Bo era and I developed my UBC program based on what I learned. There will always be the ‘latest and the greatest’ thing. I remember after Tae Bo, Pilates became popular and everyone was doing Pilates. Before Tae Bo it was aerobics, then step-aerobics and now boot camps are starting to fade whereas they were hugely popular just a couple of years ago. Not that these activities do not still have a following, but just like Tae Bo, any program that is just a workout and focuses only on the fitness-oriented market, it’s popularity will be short lived. Why?

Getting back to the previous question of why Tae Bo and Cardio Karate ultimately failed. It’s the same reason I feel Mixed Martial Arts Fitness classes will ultimately fail; because there aren’t that many 18 to 35 year old, fitness-oriented people (male or female) who will do these workouts and stick with it for a long period of time. By limiting your market to this demographic, you tend to get a big spike while the activity is hot, but then when everyone has tried it and has moved on to the next big thing, you see a large drop off in enrollments.

I learned this from the Cardio Karate days and this is the reason I created a program that has core fitness elements that never go out of style. An aerobic work out (not rhythmic) that hits the target heart rate, resistance training, sound nutrition and flexibly training., plus measurable results, goal setting, guidance and team support. By using basic boxing and kickboxing techniques that anyone can perform at their own pace (primarily on a heavy bag), I am able to attract anyone who wants to look and feel better, not just the fitness crowd.

Someone starting a MMA Fitness program recently approached me and said he wanted to license his program to martial arts schools. He had run my UBC program and had success with it and wanted to try his own thing. One of the things he said to me was that he thought the UBC was more for the weight loss market and his MMA Fitness program was more for the fitness market. Well, first I will say, I took that as a compliment because the weight loss market is far bigger than the fitness market. But I also have to disagree because my UBC program gets people fit, not just lean. The only difference is we market and teach it in a way that we are able to attract both markets; people looking to get fit and those trying to lose weight.

We also promote and run the program in way that anyone can participate. As we like to say, “Young, old, fat and skinny, anyone can do the UBC.” I can also guarantee results because we stick to the four elements of fitness that are required to gets results. By doing all this we are able to attract the 45 year old mother of three who has not worked out in three years, as well as the 22 year old fitness fanatic.

Realize there will always be the ‘latest and the greatest’ when it comes to fitness and I hope that MMA Fitness has great stamina and a long run because it will good for everyone, but if you are looking to add a structured martial arts fitness program to your martial arts school, you might want to look at a program like the UBC that has lasted the test of time (10 years and still going strong). We are able to capitalize on the current popularity of Mixed Martial Arts, I have the marketing campaign to prove it, and we will still be a money maker for years to come, long after the MMA Fitness boom has faded.

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