Owner-instructor centrality

Definition

How much of the school's draw is the head instructor personally, often the seller.

Why It Matters

Martial arts is taught under a lineage, and many schools are one respected instructor's following wearing a storefront, the same walkout structure as a salon's star chair with a deeper loyalty attached. Read who teaches which classes, whose rank and reputation the marketing sells, and whether senior students or paid staff already run mats without the owner. A school that survives the founder's vacation is transferable; one that is the founder's practice prices like a following, not a business.