The Buzzword Trap: Why Martial Arts School Owners Get Stuck on Jargon

Aug 31

Corporate Buzz Words have become the everyday vocabulary of business. Ugh. They’re everywhere. Splashed across book covers, posted in inspirational Instagram quotes, tossed around in podcasts like confetti on New Year’s Eve.

But here’s the problem: many school owners either don’t know exactly what these words mean, or worse, they think they do. And when they think they do, that’s when the trouble starts. They’ll hyper-focus on one word, repeat it over and over, and overuse it as if it’s the golden ticket….instead of stopping to ask how that single word actually fits into the bigger picture of their business.

Let’s take a look at The List. The tired, overused buzz words List.

Metrics
KPIs
Engagement
Conversions
Scaling
Branding
ROI
Customer Journey
10x
Level Up
Mindset

Why Words Don’t Mean Much on Their Own

Let’s take one of the most common ones: METRIC. At its core, a metric is just a measuring tool. But on its own, it doesn’t mean much.

Here’s an example. When I wake up in the morning and look in the mirror, I can decide if I look rested, fit, or exhausted. Those are metrics.

But here’s the problem: unless I define what I mean by rested, fit, or exhausted, those morning metrics are basically useless. I need to know what to compare my “look” to. For example:

What does rested look like?
Who decides what fit looks like?
How do I know the difference between exhausted and just tired?

Until I have clear definitions, all I’ve got is a feeling — not an actual measurement.

That’s exactly how school owners sometimes use business terms. They’ll say, “I need to focus on my metrics” or “I’m working on my mindset.” Okay… but what does that really mean? Which metrics? Defined how? Measured against what? What part of your mindset are you focusing on - and how is that applied to your business.

Without context, the words aren’t effective.

The Trap of Hyper-Focus

This is where so many school owners get stuck. They pick up a word at a seminar, in a book, or from some “guru” online and suddenly that word becomes the thing. The answer. The single focus of their entire effort.

But business doesn’t work like that.

Buzzwords like metrics, KPIs, engagement, conversions, scaling, branding, ROI, mindset? Well, they are all just piece of a puzzle. And a single piece on its own doesn’t solve anything.

What matters is how they connect to your actual systems and goals. Without that connection, without the bigger picture of what the entire puzzle should look like, the word is just noise.

Why This Matters in Martial Arts Schools

No martial art school has ever succeeded because the owner figured out how to use the term “10x” in a sentence. Schools succeed because they do the fundamentals well:

They understand ALL aspects of marketing. Where, How and When to use it.
They run an excellent operational system - which, in turn, retains the majority of students they already have.
They keep excellent financial records - including monthly reports, P&L’s, Cash Statements, Balance Sheets, and Forecasts.
They understand that finance and HR are as vital to the health of their training center as the physical training is.

That’s it.

The jargon only helps if it’s tied directly to one, or all, of those fundamentals.

Think about it this way: nobody earns a black belt because they mastered one kick. You earn a black belt because you put together kihon, kata, kumite, conditioning, and mindset — and you learned how it all fits together. Each piece matters, but only in relation to the bigger whole.

Business is no different.

If you obsess over “engagement” but don’t have systems for retention, you’ll struggle. If you talk about “scaling” but your daily operations are sloppy, you’ll collapse under your own growth. If you focus on “mindset” but ignore your finances, you’ll eventually run out of cash, no matter how positive your thinking.

A Better Question to Ask

So the next time you hear a shiny business word; metrics, mindset, level up, whatever the word of the week seems to be…don’t just ask yourself: Am I doing this?

Instead, ask:

Where does this actually fit into the bigger picture of my business?
Does it connect directly to student growth, retention, or profitability?
Am I using it as a tool, or am I using it as a distraction?

The Bottom Line

At the end of the day, martial arts school owners don’t win by knowing the right buzzwords. They win by understanding the fundamentals of their business and how all the moving parts connect.

The words, the jargon, are just labels. Real success comes from clarity, strategy, and consistent action.

The bigger picture is where the real growth happens.

And that’s exactly what we focus on at Martial Art MBA. We don’t just zero in on one flashy concept or buzzword. The entire objective is to approach business from A to Z. We look at the whole puzzle, not just a single piece, so school owners can stop chasing words and start building real, lasting growth.