Under Pressure

I keep getting pressured by the better half to get some advertising on the side of our vehicles for the Karate dojo.  

“Everybody else is doing it.  Why can’t you?"

“Maybe because I don’t want to be everybody else” is my standard reply, which usually puts me in the freeze zone.

I guess I don’t want to be ‘that guy’.  You know him. We all see him at tournaments, or at the Safeway parking lot.   He’s driving that 2006 Dodge Caravan with the “Little Dragon’s” advert plastered down the side.  Guess what?  That guy is super successful, and probably has a dojo packed with little screamers.  The parents love him, even though his pony tail does look a bit dated, and the red pants on his Gi are getting a bit tight.  His school is adorned with trophies from every competition between here and Broken Plow, Saskatchewan.

I am not that guy.  All my karate-ka friends, across multiple disciplines, are not that guy either.  Does that make us better than van-driving, partially balding, pony tail guy?  No.  We just aren’t wired to be self promoters.  We tend to let our actions, or better yet, word of mouth get our message out there.  Some of us have web sites, and a couple even print up flyers now and again, but nobody is making a fortune teaching Karate.  Sometimes I think it would be nice to have a packed Dojo with dozens of adoring fans looking at me for my Mr. Miyagi guidance.  Instead, I have my core fanatics, looking to see if today is the day they can hit me at will.

But I can park at Walmart without anybody noticing.