These are the standards Martial Arts Wealth Mastery teaches member schools about enrolling students, renewing them and writing agreements. They come from Grand Master Stephen Oliver’s books and coaching, and from the Mile High Karate schools he founded in 1983.

The standards

  1. Trial first. Every new family starts on a Trial Enrollment, roughly a quarter of the way to black belt. Members do not sell a Black Belt or Leadership program on a family’s first night. See Why You Don’t Sell the Black Belt Program on Day One.
  2. A renewal is a goal. A longer program is a goal the family chooses after it has experience: Black Belt and beyond. Renewal prices are never presented to a family that is not ready, and a family is never forced to choose between renewing and quitting.
  3. Qualification, not pressure. Every stage is a qualification the student earns. Members use only real deadlines. A new-student rate, where a school offers one, is a published standing policy, never a same-day deadline.
  4. Every decision-maker present. Members invite both parents, or every adult affected by the time or financial commitment, to the enrollment conversation.
  5. Every term, together, in writing. Each option is stated with the monthly figure, term length, total and cancellation terms together. The family receives a copy. If a family cannot repeat back the total, it has not agreed to it.
  6. No lawsuits, no collection agencies. Agreements are goal-setting instruments, not legal weapons. When a family stops attending, the school calls to get the student back to class. Genuine hardship is handled individually with a freeze, a restart date or an adjusted plan.
  7. Follow the law. Members follow their state’s rules on contracts, cooling-off periods, cancellation and automatic renewal. See the Martial Arts Legal and Regulatory Center.
  8. Rank is never tied to payment. Every rank has a written requirement. Students pre-test before belt tests, and rank is never connected to a renewal or an upgrade.
  9. One tuition. What a student needs is included in one professional tuition. Members do not charge a stream of add-on fees for tests, belts and gear on the training floor.

Answers to common criticisms

Critics have described school-business coaching as a blueprint for the “McDojo.” These nine articles answer the three main criticisms in full.

Frequently asked questions

Does Martial Arts Wealth Mastery teach high-pressure sales?

No. Members are taught to evaluate before quoting a price, to bring every decision-maker into the conversation, to use only real deadlines and to state every term in writing. Stephen Oliver has written that sales without customer service leads to “mediocrity or self-destruction in the long run.”

Does the coaching teach schools to lock families into long contracts?

No. New families start on a Trial Enrollment, roughly a quarter of the way to black belt. Longer Black Belt and Leadership programs are goals a family chooses later, after it has experience and the student qualifies.

Should a member school ever sue a family or use a collection agency?

No. The trial enrollment is a goal-setting instrument, not a legal one. Members are taught to focus on getting the student back to class, to handle hardship individually and to follow state cancellation rules.

Does high retention mean lower standards?

No. Members are taught to keep a written standard for every rank, to pre-test before every belt test and to keep rank completely separate from payment.

Last reviewed October 11, 2026.