"Fitness Kickboxing - The Second Revolution"

by Scott Shaw

(as seen in Martial Arts Professional Magazine, 2005)

Jim Graden’s UBC From World Kickboxing Champion to Martial Arts Fitness Guru
Master martial arts and fitness instructor, Jim Graden, has developed the Ultimate Body Challenge (UBC), which combines fitness kickboxing, resistance training, flexibility, and sound nutrition into a ten-week course. Graden is a five-time member of the World Champion United States Karate team that won team world titles in London, England in 1985 and Munich, Germany in 1987. Graden also won the international Karate League World Heavyweight Kickboxing title in Palermo, Sicily in 1991.) He has taken his years of training and developed a system that can change the lives of the masses while increasing your student enrollment.

During the mid-1990s, Billy Blanks and Tae Bo scorched the airwaves with a new and revolutionary method for adults to rapidly get into shape. Blanks drew from his years of martial art training and refined a method based in the punching techniques of boxing and the kicking regime of taekwondo to frame a new system of cardiovascular exercise. Blank’s Tae Bo drew practitioners from all walks of life -- many of them had no desire to be involved in the rigors of traditional martial art training. Instead, they simply wanted a method to lose weight and get in shape -- which is exactly what they found.

Hand-in-Hand with the widely publicized Tae Bo was a new revolution brewing within the traditional martial arts community. Many of the advanced practitioners were realizing that either they, themselves, were not in top physical condition or their students were out of shape. With this realization emerged a new style of martial arts based fitnness training which incorporated the cardiovascular conditioning that had become the mainstay of gyms across the country, merged with the punches, kicks, and blocks of the traditional martial arts. Though Tae Bo was the most well known example of this new revolution, it was by far not the only method of training.

As Tae Bo infomercials faded from the airwaves, however, so too did many of the fitness kickboxing classes held in martial art studios across the country. The fitness kickboxing was not forgotten, it simply lost favor with many teachers, as it was no longer filling their classes with an ongoing array of students. Enter Jim Graden and his Ultimate Body Challenge (UBC), which not only takes fitness kickboxing to a new level of excellence but provides the instructor with a method to bring large amounts of capital into their school, as well.

Look out, the new fitness kickboxing revolution is upon us!

For more information, submit an Information Request Form

The Evolution of Jim Graden
Jim Graden began his martial arts career in much the same way as many
instructors who came to the arts. In his youth he was drawn to these ancient methods of self-defense and began taking lessons. Graden states, "When I first started martial arts as a teenager back in the 1970's and early 1980's, martial arts was very different. There were only a few kids in karate schools and it was very tough training. When I opened my first school in 1983, at the age of nineteen, my plan was to become the next Joe Lewis. My focus was on hard, intense training. I was fortunate to have opened my school in 1983, however, as this was the same year the movie, "Karate Kid" was released. My martial arts school and many others were soon flooded with a new insurgence of children training in the martial arts. This was also a fortunate opportunity for me because it was my first lesson in adapting to a changing market. I went from a blood and guts karate school to a martial art business that focused upon helping families. With this, I jumped into the family martial arts business and my school soon grew to close to five hundred active students. I had three full time employees, two part time employees, and I was generating from $30,000 to 50,000 a month in revenue -- not very big by today's standards, but not bad for the late 1980's.

Graden continues, "For over ten years I enjoyed teaching children and their parents. By being involved with so many families I felt I was really making a positive impact in my community. I really loved the family martial arts life. But, after awhile, my passion began to diminish. I wanted to get back into training adults. By this point I was thirty-three years old and after becoming a world champion kickboxer, I no longer had the passion for a full contact kickboxing career. I did not want to go back to a blood and guts martial arts school. I had grown to enjoy the friendly atmosphere that my school emulated plus there is a very limited market for hard nose adult-only martial arts. I knew it was time for a change."

With this, Graden following his passion for fitness training, based in a competitive kickboxing mindset, merged his love of the two and created a new and exciting program of martial arts fitness and named it, "Cardio Karate."

From the creation of his new system of fitness he personally certified over six thousand instructors and was the host and instructor in the highly successful, nationally distributed, fitness video, "Kickboxing for Fun and Fitness." In addition, he was the instructor for NAPMA?s Cardio Karate Video series, which was a monthly video that was distributed to over 2,000 subscribers worldwide for over five years.

Movin’ On
Instead of locking into one highly successful program, however, Graden continued his evolution of refined martial arts fitness and designed a new program that would not only bring heath and fitness to the masses but be a great income provider for the instructor, as well. He named this program the Ultimate Body Challenge. Created in 2000, the UBC is a centrally based organization where the instructors are trained and then provided with an ongoing support network from the UBC central headquarters. Graden based the fundamentals for this new program in the flaws he witnessed with his Cardio Karate.

The UBC - The Future of Fitness
When Graden initially taught his Cardio Karate, in the 1990’s, he began to discover some limitation with his initial method of instruction. "When I was teaching Cardio Karate I would give a seminar, tell the instructors what was working, what wasn’t, and allowed them to go out, use my techniques and call it whatever they wanted. The UBC is a little different, however. This is a licensed program – you’re licensing the name, you’re licensing the logo, we have an interactive website, www.theultimatebodychallenge.com, promotional programs, an office people can call. With this comes a whole new level of involvement on our part. Not only are we there to help you and guide your business, but we have a UBC Advisory Board online that includes physicians and experts in fitness and nutrition to help you and your students with any aspect of the program. There is a contest twice a year where a Caribbean cruise is given away to students enrolled in the UBC and the studio owners that sponsor the program. So, we are very-very active in overseeing the UBC and guiding the school owners to becoming the best that they can be at the same time maintaining the integrity of the program," exclaims Graden. To date, Graden has licensed his UBC program to over five hundred schools.

Graden’s success with the UBC is based upon the ease of which this program may be learned and integrated into an school owner’s training program. Graden details, "When we launched this program in 2000 at the NAPMA convention in Clearwater, Florida, we initially licensed over two hundred schools. At that time, "The Business in a Box Kit," as we called it, cost $500 with no ongoing support. We have changed the program a little bit, however. Now, we offer a low enrollment cost and a monthly licensing fee." Graden feels the schools need the ongoing support that a fully licensed program provides. We are consistently coming up with new programs and marketing ideas to add to your bottom line. Like the UBC for Kids program. Graden feels the UBC for Kids is filling the hole in the market for kid’s fitness programming. There’s very little out there that offers classes for the kids AND teaches them about the importance of exercising and eating healthy. It’s what people want, a program where the entire family can learn and focus on fitness.

What’s In It for Me?
Many martial art school owners may question, "What would be the reason for me to become a UBC center or for my students to take the UBC if I were to add the course to my teaching schedule?" Graden states, “You will not find a more effective way to increase your bottom line and attract the fitness market into your school.? "If you ask the average adult what they’d prefer to do; learn the martial arts, practice kickboxing, or lose weight and get in shape? Ninety percent of those people are going to say, "lose weight and get is shape." Graden understands that this is because most adults do not feel that they have the time to learn traditional martial arts. What they do want, however, is a fun, safe and effective way to shed pounds.

It’s fitness training for the new millennium," exclaims Graden. “There is a vast, untapped market out there for fitness programming that falls between the low cost gym membership and the over priced personal trainer. What we have been very good at doing is marketing this program to the masses who seek to get in shape fast!"

No Rhythm
Graden believes that many people who followed the game plan laid down by Billy Blanks and Tae Bo, for their martial art fitness training, really made a mistake by focusing their classes only around rhythmic music and dance. Graden elaborates, "The mistake was made that too many people were trying to teach rhythmic martial arts classes. That is the hardest class to teach. First of all, if you focus classes on rhythmic martial arts, whom are you attracting? Women between the ages of 18 and 35! You need to have classes that anyone can take and get a workout for their level of conditioning. That is why I like the non-rhythmic heavy bag workouts. A student can hit the bag five times in a minute or fifty time a minute. It’s up to them. Plus guys like it too. If you get away from the rhythmic training classes and put in a program that everybody can participate in, then you will attract a larger clientele."

UBC 'How-to'
As detailed, the UBC is a licensed fitness-training program that allows
a certified instructor to teach the UBC. The UBC program is designed to be a ten-week course that combines fitness kickboxing, resistance training,
flexibility training, and nutritional counseling. Three days a week the program trains the students in a fitness kickboxing regimen and the other three days of the week the students work on strength and conditioning.

There’s a variety of licensing levels within the UBC. For example, a martial arts school, which is already in operation, may license the UBC. This would be a "school license" and the instructor would then be able to teach the UBC and the UBC for Kids course, tap into the publicity that other UBC schools have accumulated, and have access to the vast amount of UBC resources. The next level is the "Territorial Licensing." Here, the already established fitness center or martial arts school owner will be guided through all levels of operation, from instruction to camera ready ads. At this level, the business is given a five, seven or ten mile territorial radius for the UBC program and no other UBC school may operate within that region. For the entrepreneur who is ready to start a new business from scratch, there is the “Stand Alone UBC Center” where Graden and his staff actually go out and set up a location with all of the necessary equipment, plus provide all of the essential know-how and staff training to get the business fully operational.

Marketing
As every martial art entrepreneur has discovered, marketing their school
is one of the most essential elements in developing ongoing success. “This is where the UBC really excels”, says Jim Graden. “We provide all the marketing tools needed to get your phone ringing. Like our National Bodyshaping Contest where we give cruises away to your students. You receive posters and all the material needed to promote the contest in your studio.” He has found that some of the best marketing dollars can be spent in local newspapers. "The free newspapers are a great source of getting the word out there about your program. Not only do people pick up and read these papers, but this type of newspaper will often times do articles about you and your business -- which is obviously a great benefit. Not only are the local newspapers much easier to deal with than the larger newspapers, but they are going to be distributed in your area. So, local people are going to see the ads. Also, women read these newspapers and, women are a large percentage of UBC business. In fact, about 80% of my UBC classes are made up women. So, it is a great source for attracting new clientele."

Graden also finds that radio advertising can be a useful tool for getting the word out about your business. The downside he finds is that in an area, like his central Florida area, many people several hundreds miles away will be listening and though they may want to take the class, it will just not be practical. Therefore he feels that radio is a good tool if you have several locations around a specific geographic region if you hope to use the radio as a viable Public Relations tool. "We have a member in Des Moines, Iowa," details Graden, "who has three locations and does great business by advertising on the radio."

As the UBC is about the ongoing personal development of the individual
school owner, Graden always uses before and after photos, in association with testimonials, in all of his media campaigns. "We downplay the actual activity that it takes to achieve these results," explains Graden. "Because what people want is to look better and lose weight. We don’t want to scare them off with an overly aggressive ad."

The UBC is designed to not only bring an entirely new clientele into
your martial arts school, but it will also make your school the one place
people can go and get the results they are looking for. The UBC is the New, Next Generation of martial arts orientated fitness training. This exciting program is available and is only a phone call away.

For more information about the UBC, call 1-800-319-6134 or submit an Information Request Form

Some of the Benefits to Owning a UBC Studio

1. Ongoing support and marketing.
2. Access to all programming including:
UBC, UBC for Kids and the New Elite Fitness Training.
3. Becoming a fitness leader in your community.
4. Bodyshaping contest with Caribbean cruises up for grabs.
5. Improve the fitness level of your school and get paid for it.
6. Having the only UBC studio within a five, seven or ten mile radius.
7. Being on the cutting edge of fitness.
8. A new way to attract students into your school.
9. Small investment - large return.

Why the UBC Works So Well
The Ultimate Body Challenge delivers the goods. It combines fitness
kickboxing, resistance training, flexibility, and a sound nutritional program to get you in the best shape of your life. It is also doable. The course is only ten weeks. Practically anybody can stay focused on fitness for at least ten weeks.

But, the real reason the Ultimate Body Challenge is so successful is the people involved. When you start the UBC you are not doing it alone. You start with up to fifty other participants that are going on the same fitness journey. You are assigned coaches and divided into teams. These coaches are people who have finished the course, had great results, and are volunteering to help you achieve the same goals. This is only one of the many unique aspects of the UBC. These coaches help guide you through your fully illustrated manual/workbook, which includes three complete fitness evaluations. Your coaches also help you set goals and they motivate you throughout the course.

Plus, you have awesome certified instructors who lead you in boxing,
kickboxing, and strength & conditioning classes. The creator of the UBC, Jim Graden, a former World Kickboxing Champion, designed the classes in a way that anybody can participate. Young, old, fat or thin, anybody can work out in the UBC.

Scott Shaw of Palos Verdes Peninsula, California is a prolific author
and journalist on the martial arts.