JKA Vic Article - Karate and Management

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Karate and Management

By Mangala Nawamini, Marketing Major @ La Trobe University and JKA Yudansha

What does a good Karateka (an instructor, competitor or Karate beginner) and good manager (top or grass roots level) have in common? This is the question I would like to raise. Think about a Karateka as a business manager, a person may even fall into both categories. Which is applicable to you?

There are lots of similarities between people in JKA Karate and a commercial organisation. For any organisation there are 3 basic elements which will ensure it's sustainability. They are; the organization where the product/service is generated, the internal customers, and external customers. The JKA organisation generates and provides the service of Karate, instructors play the role of internal customers, and the members of JKA are the external customers who receive the knowledge of Karate (the product or service). I will focus on 2 main elements which I believe can be found in both JKA and a business organisation.

Members
As my background is marketing I see Karate in terms of marketing. My understanding of this is very simple. There are only two functions of marketing 1. how to gain customers, and 2. how to retain customers. JKA as organisation consciously or unconsciously follows these two functions. JKA Keeps it's members by offering the service of Karate and by using various kinds of promotional tools to increase membership. Admittedly, JKA is a not-for-profit organisation, but it still needs to meet some financial requirements in order to run. The members and their subscriptions are the key factors. Without members the organisation can't be sustained - exactly what happens in a business situation where, if the customers won’t purchase the product/service, there won’t be any sales. It follows that the business cannot make a profit.

When the survival of a particular organisation is in danger, the modern day marketing adage that the customer is "king" must apply above all else. Some people go beyond that and state that their customer is "God" a concept which is common in the Japanese belief system. In business, the organisation which is catering to the exact needs of the customer is the winner, because, at the end of the day, there will be sales for the company. This is where the power shifts from the company to the customer. The customer decides what is needed, not the company.

Since there are so many people offering a huge range of products, if the customer is not happy he can shift to another provider where the business does not hold the power to control customers. In this way JKA is slightly different from a commercial marketing organisation.

JKA follows a vision that is unique to itself. The same traditions and values system is followed by its members. JKA expects it's members to follow the Dojo Kun both inside and outside the dojo. The Niju kun (the 20 steps set by grand Master Gichin Funakoshi) are there for the development of technical skills as well as one’s character. This is where members choose to be bound. If the person cannot follow the values set, he or she will probably drop out. Some argue that the system should change and demand more flexibility however, this way has proven to be correct, because JKA is the oldest and the biggest organisation in the world still running very strongly and actively. In other words, JKA has an attraction for members that a common business would like, but does not have.

The reason for this is found in the experience of individuals (service providers). The development of a good Karateka does not happen overnight, it happens over a period of time where people seek to deliberately change themselves in order to gain the desired technical and spiritual outcomes. There are only a handfull of people who are born Karatekas or born managers. If you look closely at a successful manager or complete Karateka, the high level of development is usually due to years of hard work. It will take your entire life to learn all the skills of Karate or management. It is a continuous process and a successful person in either field also has the ability to apply the same skills outside the dojo or office.

Instructors
In my experience, an instructor/coach is a person equivalent to a supervisor in an organisation - a fundamental level in the hierarchy of an organisation. As a supervisor, the person should be capable of guiding, motivating and supervising a team to perform particular tasks and if necessary have the ability to demonstrate how to perform the task. The functions of a JKA instructor are exactly the same. A good instructor should be capable of doing all of these functions. He does not necessarily need to be 100% perfect in every aspect of technique. As long as he or she knows the techniques and is able to explain and deliver them effectively, that is enough for an instructor.

In my opinion lack of any of the above functions means the instructor or supervisor is not a success. Only with these qualities, will that person make a good instructor and leader among the members. A good leader needs only one key factor to be successful, that is leadership, the ability to create a following. If there is no leadership the members will lose faith in the leader and he/she will fail to guide the team to achieve the desired mission. Another key success characteristics of a quality instructor or supervisor is the willingness to learn and to adapt accordingly. As the world changes, the emergence of new technology makes life easier than ever. Therefore acquiring new knowledge is essential for JKA instructors (as well as supervisors) for the sake of team members.

Getting back to the question raised at the beginning - what does a good Karateka and good manager have in common? To be a good manager/instructor a person primarily needs two things, punctuality and discipline, other factors come after these. A person who is practicing Karate or involved in management, should aim to cultivate these. If he lacks one or the other, he could stifle his career and restrict the development of his members. Managers or instructors are expected to set themselves up as an example and show the correct path for members to follow. You can imagine the alternative if they show a bad example.

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