Free Karate School Advertising. Time was mid-80s, place was Sumter SC. I took over and transitioned an American Kenpo Karate School to an Okinawan Isshinryu School. No small feat, but as I did this I continuing putting an advertisement in the Shaw Air Force Base (AFB) newspaper at the cost of $50 a week, as my Kenpo friend and predecessor had done. Analyzing whether this was a good investment or not, one Friday after the base newspaper arrived, I went around and asked if anyone had seen our Dojo/school advertisement. No one had, but I thought they probably really had, but they just didn’t pay attention because
it was just another advertisement in the
newspaper that their brains had not registered. Thus, a couple weeks later I
went and talked to the Sports reporter for the base newspaper. He told me he
was always looking for things for his section of the paper but that it had to
be sports and Shaw AFB personnel or their families related. I then bought a
cheap 35 MM camera, and every time I promoted someone, or someone placed/won in
a tournament I would take an action shot of them and submit picture and
narrative to my young Sergeant friend.
Often times I would get a half page or even
larger advertising for our school – and all free. I ended up getting a lot of
new students from that Free Karate School advertising. This picture of me
breaking a cinder cap with my head is just one of those advertisements. The
side hook kick picture is in our command post during a counter drug deployment
to the Caymen Islands. My First Sergeant was a good sport with that one.
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