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For the first time, real buyers are calling martial arts school owners. Ten years ago this conversation didn't exist. You built your school, you ran it until you couldn't, and that was the whole plan.

Jimmy Hong and Master Chan Lee sit down with the team behind Growth Studios: Guy Amini, Master Ali Ghafour, and Master Tony Kook. Guy spent nearly a decade helping build Dental Corp from 30 clinics to more than 600, taking it public. Now he's applying that same consolidation playbook to martial arts, alongside two operators who have been on the floor for decades.

This one gets specific about what your school is actually worth, why profitable doesn't automatically mean sellable, and what a real succession plan looks like when your kids don't want the school and your head instructor can't afford to buy it.

What we cover:

• Why private equity is suddenly interested in martial arts, and what it actually wants (growth, not just profit)
• How a partnership deal is structured: upfront capital, retained profit share, and a staged exit instead of handing over the keys
• The uncomfortable truth about most schools: they're a job that ends when you stop showing up, not a business someone can buy
• What buyers take over (bookkeeping, payroll, digital marketing) and what stays yours (name, curriculum, staff, local community work)
• Why martial arts schools grow 2 to 3 times faster than dental clinics, and why that makes the industry attractive despite lower multiples
• The fair criticism of private equity, and the questions to ask before you sign with anyone
• How to prepare now, even if you're years away from selling

Guest Bio:

Guy Amini is CEO of Growth Studios and former president of Dental Corp, Canada's largest dental network. Master Tony Kook teaches taekwondo and jujitsu across Vancouver and Toronto with over 2,100 active students and serves as president of the BC Taekwondo Federation. Master Ali Ghafour is a strategic advisor at Growth Studios, a school owner, former Canadian national team member, and founder of 2020 Armor.

Contact Growth Studios:

Website: https://www.growthstudiosgroup.com/
Guy Amini: guy@growthstudiosgroup.com
Master Tony Kook: tony@growthstudiosgroup.com
Master Ali Ghafour: ali@growthstudiosgroup.com

Growth Studios will be at ASA Summit 2026 in person. If you want to have this conversation face to face, that's the place.

Resources Mentioned:

ASA Live — asamartialarts.com/live
ASA Summit 2026 — October 1–3, Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas — asamartialarts.com/summit

You don't have to sell. But you should know what your school is worth.

If you got value from this episode, subscribe, leave a review, and share it with another school owner who's never asked the question.

Most martial arts school owners don’t have a marketing problem.

They have an execution problem.

You listen to podcasts. You get inspired. You hear great ideas…
Then Monday hits… you’re back teaching classes, answering messages… and nothing actually changes.

That’s why most schools stay stuck.

Black Belt Banter gives you the thinking.
How to see your school like a real business.
How to identify what’s actually holding you back.
How to stop operating in survival mode.

But thinking alone doesn’t grow your school.

You need the how.

That’s where ASA Live comes in.

ASA Live gives you the exact playbook—
What to say.
What to run.
What numbers to track.
And how to execute step-by-step so you actually get more students and increase revenue.

Black Belt Banter shows you the direction.
ASA Live shows you the path.

And the school owners who use both?

They’re the ones finally breaking through.

Just $97/month to finally execute and grow.

Register at https://asamartialarts.com/live/