Communication is Key! An Interview With Teri Lee

Tell us a little bit about your martial arts style and curriculum.

We have an incredible curriculum here at Ernie Reyes’ West Coast Martial Arts. Our
foundation is Tae Kwon Do. However over the years our curriculum has evolved to
include many mixed martial arts techniques. Master Ernie Reyes constantly  strives to include the best of all martial arts styles into our curriculum. I  believe it is the main reason students stay for so many years.

Who is the biggest martial arts influence in your life?

My instructor Master Ernie Reyes is definitely the biggest influence in my martial arts life. I began training in martial arts in 1980 when it was offered in  college my freshman year. I then moved and trained in a Japanese style for six years,  in which I achieved my first-degree black belt. I competed in the nationals,  which were hosted by Ernie Reyes’ West Coast Martial Arts in 1985. I moved back  to California in 1986 and became a student of Master Reyes. For over 25 years  he has continued to strive to make our organization as well as the students and  instructors who belong to West Coast Martial Arts stronger. He is a great role  model. He keeps all of us focused on getting better every day. I know that no matter how busy he is he will always make time for me and all the instructors. I  am very grateful for his leadership and instruction everyday. I am who I am  today because of the leadership, love and commitment he has given me.

Master Tony Thompson is also my instructor and an incredible role model. He is always  watching every single student and instructor. I believe he knows if you are  having a bad day even before you know it! When he looks at you, I think he not only sees your eyes, but your soul as well. I feel very blessed to be in the  presence of these two master instructors. They both consistently show love and  passion to their students on a daily basis.

What is your thinking regarding loyalty?

I believe it is very important to have loyalty. Loyalty comes from complete trust in  something or someone. When you have trust, it means you believe your core  values and beliefs are aligned with a person or an organization. I also believe  loyalty is earned on a daily basis. As a person or organization grows or  changes, so do their values. Loyalty can be sustained when people continue to
honor, trust and communicate with each other. Everyone wants to live an honest  life. They want to have internal integrity and loyalty for the groups and  organizations they belong to. The most incredible feeling is to be surrounded  by people and organizations you are faithful to, because it means you are  living an honest life.

Can you give us a background about your school?

I own and operate an Ernie Reyes’ West Coast Martial Arts school. We opened in 1988. We  currently have close to 700 students. We have about 10,000 square feet. We run  four classes at a time. We have an incredible staff. I believe a school can only be as good as its instructors. I am thankful for the staff I have. KJN Riz  Angel, SBN Patrick Dawson, SBN Jennifer Chou are my three full-time  instructors. BSBN Stefanie will be coming on full-time next year. I have had a  variety of staff members over the past 25 years. I feel like the team I have  now is the best team I have ever had. They work well together and that is very, very important. I also look forward to my oldest son, Jian, joining the team  when he graduates from college. He too is an awesome instructor.

What is your philosophy on teaching martial arts?

My philosophy on teaching is to not only teach students to become black belts in martial  arts but to become black belts in life! Prior to opening my school, I taught  elementary school. I have always had a passion for teaching. Originally, my  goal was to teach school and coach girls’ basketball. I played basketball from sixth  grade through college. When I graduated I taught second grade for two years. I  taught third grade one year. I taught P.E. one year and had 600 kids per week. During  that time I coached fifth and sixth grade girls’ basketball. I never dreamed  that my love for martial arts and my love for teaching would one day come together. Now instead of teaching someone for nine months during a school year,  I get to teach them for five, ten and even fifteen years. I get to do what I  love and I absolutely love what I do!

By what means do you follow up with new members during the  first hundred days?

We have used most of the EFC principles for following up with our new students. The most  important thing is to consistently communicate with new students and their  parents. Communication means they know and understand what to do before they have to ask. It means you have policies and procedures in place to guide them  from their first class to their first test and on to their next program. That  communication could be via your program director, website, signs, phone calls,  emails, Twitter, Facebook, or whatever means of communication you have in place  for your students and parents. They must feel they are part of the community. They  must know you care about them. They must also feel successful.

What programs do you internally offer to new students?

 All beginning students sign up for a six-month program. Our program is $160 per month. There  is a $100 registration fee. The registration fee covers some of the things we  give to them, such as a membership card, their uniform top and patches. If a student comes in on a one-month free program and they sign up immediately  without taking the free month first, we waive the registration fee. All  programs include a cancellation policy. A student may cancel at any time for  any reason. It requires a 60-day written notice and a cancellation fee of $100.  We ask for a 60-day notice because we want to change their minds. We want to re-motivate them to continue taking classes. One goal is to get them to their  next belt level before they leave. Sometimes this is motivation enough to stay.  If they still want to quit they just need to pay the quit fee of $100. If they  do not attend classes during those 60 days, we will mail them a gift  certificate so they can return any time in the future. The goal is to do  everything possible to encourage them to stay and at the same time give them an  easy entry if they ever choose to return to our school in the future.

What is your process for renewing students and to what  programs?

 All students renew to a Black Belt program after the first six months. It is the only  program we offer. We want to include every student on the appropriate program  for their rank and give them all the recognition and benefits of that program. It does not cost more; it just has more benefits, which makes them very happy. It  is a longer commitment. However, the quit policy is the same. It means our  instructors must do a great job every day. Our students do have a choice on  whether they want to continue to train with us or go somewhere else. We never  take our students for granted. We must earn their loyalty every day. It keeps  us honest in our teaching on a daily basis.

What do you do to make sure you have a high student  retention percentage?

I believe we have a high student retention percentage because we care about our students. We  teach exciting motivating classes. Our curriculum continues to evolve and  change and get better every year. We have a Black Belt test twice a year. Every six months we have 50 or 60 students testing for first, second or third degree  black belt. Over half of our student body consists of black belts. We offer  several black belt classes every day. We even offer classes for second- and third-degree  black belts so we can make sure we teach them the material they need to test to  the next level. With so many instructors in our organization training and  testing for fifth-, sixth-, or seventh-degree, our students never think about  quitting at first. They think everyone should continue to train, because that  is what they see. I believe there will be a day when we will need to offer  classes for fourth-degree and above only because that group is growing.

What are the primary marketing strategies that attract new  members to your school?

I am not very good at marketing. I have not run any ads in the past few years. Most of our  new students come from referrals. Having been in the community for the past 25  years, people know we are here. We donate to all the schools for their events.
We attend school events as much as possible. I also use Master Dave Kovar’s  Accelerator Program. Many of our new students have signed up on our website as  a result of his videos. I absolutely love his program! He is a leader in the martial  arts community and he knows exactly how to market martial arts to the  community. He is also an incredible instructor and leader on how to teach martial arts. When you combine his skills in marketing and martial arts  instruction, it is a recipe for success.

Please share your thoughts on EFC.

In the ’80s my instructor, Master Ernie Reyes, joined EFC and hosted a seminar at his  school. I remember learning so much. I was a new runner and Commander Ned would  take me out for an early morning run around 5:30. He would always ask me questions about my school as we ran through the city. Not only was I out of  breath, I just did not know the answers. Did I know the 80% Rule? If I had a  certain number of info calls, and a certain percentage went on to do the intro,  then how many should sign up? What percentage of my gross was going to payroll,  rent, etc.?

As I held my side and took a deep breath he would answer the question before I  could even exhale. I knew I had so much to learn. He has been there to teach me  for the past 25 years and I honor our friendship. Mr. John Cokinos has also  been an incredible role model. I had always admired his leadership qualities in  seminars over the past 25 years. For the past five years, I have been invited  to sit on the Advisory Board. John continues to impress everyone with his  leadership and professional qualities as he leads our meetings. I am honored to  have him as a mentor and friend. As part of the Advisory Board I am able to  learn from the most incredible leaders in the martial arts world. To be able to  sit at the table and listen to Mr. Nicholas Cokinos advise and mentor the Board  of Directors and the Advisory Board is an incredible experience. I am inspired  every day by the leaders in our industry. You can see the integrity, gratitude,  honesty and loyalty in each individual on the board. The core values are in line with the organization and its leaders. I am forever grateful to Mr. Nicholas  Cokinos and his entire team for having the faith and confidence in me to allow  me to be part of this elite group. My goal is to continue to share all I have  learned from EFC and Ernie Reyes’ West Coast Martial Arts and help other  martial arts leaders continue to grow their schools.

Thank you for allowing me to do what I love and love what I do! Ahsah!

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