The third deadly belief that will kill your dojo is one that a lot of martial arts instructors just don't get.

However, people outside the industry will recognize this deadly belief, long before most martial arts instructors are even aware they've adopted it.

And that belief is...

"MY STUDENTS EXIST FOR MY BENEFIT!"

Wow, this one is a doozie. I'm just going to shoot straight with you and tell you that a lot of martial artists have ego issues.

Yeah, I know... what a shocker. :)

Unfortunately, many of us (and I am including myself in that group) develop ego issues and never even realize it.

It can happen to anyone, really. You start running a martial art school, and all of a sudden people start looking up to you like you're the second coming of Bruce Lee or something.

And pretty soon, it starts to go to your head. Then you start believing that you're really something special. Add some rank and a whole lot of pomp and circumstance to that mix, and before long you have a recipe for disaster.

I'm sure you've seen this play out before at dojos and in martial arts organizations where the head honcho gets what I call "the master syndrome."

Which is basically nothing more than a severe case of the big head.

What starts out as a bunch of people giving someone respect for their position and knowledge ends up looking like Colonel Walter E. Kurtz's military outpost in Apocalypse Now.

Once the instructor's ego starts to rear its ugly head, it isn't long before the master syndrome takes over. And then the whole thing will either devolve into a cult*, or the students with half a brain will get wise and jump ship... or both.

Either way, it ends up being the ruination of what was once a very good thing... namely, an instructor with a group of dedicated and earnest students who are motivated to learn what that instructor has to offer.

And this is why you have to remember that your students are people.

Let me say that again...

YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT YOUR STUDENTS ARE PEOPLE.

Independent, thinking, rational people. And they deserve to be treated as such. The last thing you want is for your school to devolve into an environment where the students are never allowed to question you, and where you rule with an iron fist.

And I know this next point is going to be a tough pill to swallow for some, but it needs to be said:

THE BUSINESS OF TEACHING MARTIAL ARTS IS A SERVICE INDUSTRY.

Now, that doesn't mean you have to "serve" anyone. There's nothing worse than a school where the students run the show. 

That's madness.

But on the other hand, you don't want to set yourself up as the little dictator of your own banana republic dojo, either.

I think the healthiest way to look at the dynamic between student and instructor is to quote something that one of the Tracy brothers said many years ago:

"We offer a service, but we don't serve anyone."

That makes a lot of sense to me. You have to remember that you're offering a service to the public. And as a service provider, YOU ARE OBLIGATED TO PROVIDE GOOD SERVICE.

"Good service" does not include using your students for free labor. It does not include using your influence over your students to manipulate them into serving at your beck and call. 

And it surely doesn't include expecting your students to treat you like their lord and "master", either. (By the way, you do know that whole "master" thing is a load of cock and bull that was created by the movie and television industry, right?)

Your role is that of a teacher and a leader. A good teacher is able to teach while building up the confidence of his or her students. And, a good leader looks first to the welfare of the people they lead - always.

So, if you want to have a successful school instead of a dysfunctional dojo, get all this "master" nonsense out of your head. Treat your students like people, not like they're your servants or subordinates.

Trust me, you'll find that you have much stronger and longer lasting relationships with your students this way... and your school will be much more successful for it as well.