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Journal of Marketing and Management, 4 (1), 31-44, May 2013
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Services Marketing in Mixed Martial Arts, Developing Jiu Jitsu in Seoul, Korea
Corey A. Nelson
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, South Korea
[email protected]
Abstract
Since the introduction of martial arts into the mainstream and more recently the development
of mixed martial arts, Jiu Jitsu’s popularity has grown by leaps and bounds. In Seoul, Korea,
the home of Taekwondo and Hapkido, Jiu Jitsu has been able to establish itself, yet no studies
have been performed on the demand variables in Korea. The objectives of this study were to
locate the dimensions of market demand for Jiu Jitsu academies. Study participants (N=159)
were students at six Jiu Jitsu academies located throughout Seoul who were males and
females 18 years or older. Even though the survey was conducted in South Korea, foreigners
accounted for 19.9% of the participants. The study covered areas ranging from an academy’s
environment and instructor’s qualifications to personal benefits. The results showed that
consumers participate in Jiu Jitsu to improve their physical and mental health. The academy’s
characteristics were really of no importance to Jiu Jitsu participants.
Keywords: Martial Arts, Market Research, Jiu Jitsu, South Korea
Introduction
Although they have their roots in Asian systems of combat, due to an assortment of
factors martial arts have managed to enjoy a sort of rebranding and are now used to achieve a
diversity of goals: self-defense, combat sports, physical fitness (Hallander, 1987), and mental
control training (Columbus & Rice, 1991; Daniels & Thornton, 1990; Finkenberg, 1990; Law,
2004; Richman & Rehberg, 1986; Spear, 1989; Trulson, 1986).
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32
Since its introduction to a wide audience through the Ultimate Fighting
Championship (Ultimate Fighting Championship [UFC], 2013), which began in the US in
1993, and Pride Fighting Championship (Pride FC, 2013), which began in Japan in 1997,
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (often called BJJ or simply Jiu Jitsu) has spread worldwide. In part, it was
thanks to the early successes of its practitioners that Jiu Jitsu quickly gained a reputation for
dominating other fighting systems.
The wave of interest has even managed to reach the shores of Korea, which has a
highly competitive market. For example, Taekwondo and Hapkido, both developed in Korea
hundreds of years ago, remain very popular (World Taekwondo Federation, 2013) (World
Hapkido Federation, 2013). Therefore, although many mixed martial artists train in Jiu Jitsu
to prepare for grappling and ground fighting (UFC, 2013), Jiu Jitsu faces more than one type
of challenge in Korea. Anyone wanting to train has a number of well-established martial arts
from which to choose. On top of that, martial arts’ rebranding as a sport and a way to achieve
physical fitness puts Jiu Jitsu in direct competition with all other sports organizations.
The success of Jiu Jitsu academies in a highly competitive market depends on the
academies’ willingness to adapt to the marketplace. Generally, academies are still virtually
100% reliant on membership fees for income. The revenue generated from membership fees
actually consists of two separate channels: the first is attracting new students to the academy,
and the second is retaining those students once they have joined.
Academies understand that effective marketing as well as productive management
strategies need to be employed to maintain financial stability. For them to generate a full
return on their time and effort, a good understanding of the marketplace is required.
Even with academies’ acceptance of the importance of marketing, martial arts
academies as a group are still falling behind other industries. (Ko, 2003) There have been
multiple studies focusing on the reasons to participate in martial arts (Ko & Valacich, 2004),
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33
but research focusing on Jiu Jitsu academies regarding market demand variables has not yet
been conducted. The purpose of this study is to understand the specific motivations behind
learning Jiu Jistu so the industry can continue to grow.
Literature Review
Brief Background on Jiu Jitsu
Traditionally, when people in Korea think about martial arts, they think of Eastern
martial arts such as Taekwondo, Kung Fu and Karate. From early childhood, Koreans are
exposed to martial arts. Elementary schools are full of students wearing Taekwondo kimonos
in preparation for after-school classes. During their mandatory military service, Korean men
learn Taekwondo as part of their training (Black Belt, 2013). Martial arts are also present in
mainstream entertainment. Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan are household names. From direct
training to fanciful representations in popular culture, martial arts are a part of everyday life.
In many ways, the mechanics of Jiu Jitsu are the same as those of other martial arts.
Gracie Jui Jitsu Academy explains that the originators “applied laws of physics such as
leverage, momentum, balance, center of gravity, friction, weight transmission and
manipulation of the human anatomy’s vital points in order to create a scientific art of selfdefense” (Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy, 2013). Broadly speaking, Jiu Jitsu is a combination of
Judo and submission wrestling and grappling. The goal is to use leverage and timing instead
of power and force, allowing smaller practitioners to successfully challenge much larger and
more powerful opponents.
It was first developed by samurai for close combat against enemies wearing body
armor, and therefore relied heavily on joint manipulation and throws. Early in the twentieth
century it was brought to Brazil by Mitsuyo Maeda, who had been giving demonstrations
throughout Latin America. Carlos Gracie is the most famous of Maeda’s Brazilian students,
Journal of Marketing and Management, 4 (1), 31-44, May 2013
34
because it was the brothers of the Gracie family who later modified Jiu Jitsu to make it more
suitable for men and women of all shapes and sizes (Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy, 2013).
The Gracie family has been the face of Jiu Jitsu for many years, and their combined
success at international competitions helped push Jiu Jitsu to the forefront of the martial arts’
world. In 1993 Royce Gracie won the first UFC, finishing every match by submission in
under two and a half minutes (UFC, 2013). The Gracie family also competed in Japan’s Pride
FC, where Royce’s brother Rickson famously defeated the wrestler Nobuhiko Takada (Price
FC, 2013). These two fights introduced Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to the world and proved its
effectiveness against more traditional fighting systems.
There are a lot of people following mixed martial arts. In 2008 the UFC generated
around $250 million and the company is estimated to be worth over $1 billion (Miller, 2008).
The expansion of mixed martial arts helps generate interest in Jiu Jitsu, but there is more to it.
Yong Jae Ko (2002, 2003, & Ko, & Yang, 2008) identified multiple factors that influence the
increased interest in martial arts: (a) the alteration of the characteristics of martial arts
training, (b) the mutation of instructional curriculum to meet today’s needs, (c) a martial art’s
country of origin’s help promoting it worldwide, (d) the commercialization of martial arts
combined with expanded marketing efforts, (e) martial arts becoming globalized through
them all following the same set of standards, (f) heterogeneity of martial arts devices (e.g.,
movie and health program), and (g) development of a new era of martial arts functions (e.g.,
mixed martial arts competition)
Concept on Market Demand
The largest challenge the sports industry has is consumer retention (Sawyer & Smith,
1999). Therefore, sport marketers must understand market demand. They need to understand
what their consumers are looking for before they create marketing plans. It has been shown
that research can be conducted by sports organizations to gain an understanding of consumer
Journal of Marketing and Management, 4 (1), 31-44, May 2013
35
expectations. Sports organizations can then use this research to design appropriate marketing
plans.
In the past, most market demand studies have focused on professional sports (e.g.
Zhang, Connaughton, Ellis, Braunstein, Cianfrone, & Vaughn, 2004). There have only been a
few studies focusing on martial arts, but none could be found on Jiu Jitsu (e.g. Kim, 2009.).
The professional sports studies do not help in understanding market demand for Jiu Jitsu
academies. The differences between professional sports and martial arts academies are too
great. The study performed on Taekwondo schools in North America was used as a guideline
for developing the variables used in this study (Kim, 2009).
Economic Consideration
Eschenfelder and Li (2007) state ‘‘the expected costs and benefits decision makers in
sport face are influenced by the type of economic system used to make decisions in society’’
(p. 26). Past research has focused on aspects such as the financial situation, including ticket
prices; marketing promotion; alternate methods of entertainment; the forces of television;
salary; and opposition from of other athletic affairs (e.g., Hansen & Gauthier, 1989; Schofield,
1983; Zhang et al., 1995, 2003a, 2003b). To be more exact, Zhang et al. (2004) discovered
that the price to sporting events, whether it be by the regularly priced or discounted tickets,
played a vital role in deciding to watch an athletic event or not.
Kim, MK., 2009 found that Taekwondo academies commonly relied on three
marketing methods: sales promotion, advertising, and publicity. Advertising and publicity
have proven to be better in creating awareness among future clients (Kim, 2009). Sales
promotion has gone a different path and is more focused on growing satisfaction and
purchase (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 1992). Employing price promotion tactics is the most
often used (i.e., free month, buy one get one free, coupons, free equipment, and lost leader
pricing) (Schultz & Robinson, 1982). Academies use all these methods to try to increase the
Journal of Marketing and Management, 4 (1), 31-44, May 2013
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number of new customers.
Methodology
A survey consisting of 33 questions divided into five sections, (A) Individual
Demographics, (B) Jiu Jitsu Experience and Training, (C) Personal Benefits, (D) School
Operation, and (E) Instructor Quality. The questions from sections C, D, and E were based on
a 5-point Likert scale with 1 being “Not at all important” and 5 being “Extremely Important.”
Sections A and B were separated into a combined 12 variables based on a multiple-choice
format (i.e. gender, age, nationality, marital status, annual income, number of children in
household, occupation, education, length of training, current rank (belt), frequency of training,
and annual financial investment.)
Evaluation
The participants for this study were all located in the metropolitan area of Seoul,
South Korea. In total there were 159 (148 males, 11 females) participants from six Jiu Jitsu
academies in Seoul. All six academies are focused completely on teaching Jiu Jitsu, none
offer other martial arts. From the six schools where the survey was handed out, there was an
overall participation rate of 30.57%. Nearly all of the participants were between the ages of
18 and 45 years old (96.77%), with 56.61% being in the 18-30 range. Even though the survey
was conducted in South Korea, foreigners accounted for 19.9% of the participants. The
majority were single (71.35%) and without children (77.96%), but 22.04% of the participants
had at least one child. The two largest annual income categories were under $9,999 (34.78%)
and $35,000-49,999 (20.11%). No single occupation was dominate among the participants,
with students and office workers being the highest two with 28.65% and 18.92% respectively.
Almost half of the participants were university graduates (46.77%)
Journal of Marketing and Management, 4 (1), 31-44, May 2013
Table 1. Participants’ demographics where N = 159.
Number
Variable
Category
Male
1
Gender
Female
17 and under
18-30
2
Age
31-45
over 45
Korean
Japanese
American
3
Nationality
Canadian
Australian
Other
Single
4
Marital Status
Married
One
Two
Three or four
Number of
5
Children
Five or six
seven or more
None
Under $9,999
$10,000-14,999
$15,000-24,999
$25,000-34,999
6
Annual Income
$35,000-49,999
$50,000-74,999
$75,000-99,999
Over $100,000
Management
Professional
Technical
Education
7
Sales
Occupation
Military
Student
Others
Unemployed
Some high school
High school graduate
Some university
University graduate
8
Education
Graduate degree
$1,000-1,499
$1,500-1,999
$2,000 and over
N
148
11
3
82
72
3
127
0
23
4
1
3
113
46
15
18
3
0
0
124
55
5
16
22
32
18
4
7
30
26
6
16
1
9
46
20
6
6
12
42
74
25
62
32
9
%
93.01%
6.99%
1.61%
51.61%
45.16%
1.61%
80.11%
0.00%
14.52%
2.69%
0.54%
2.15%
71.35%
28.65%
9.14%
11.29%
1.61%
0.00%
0.00%
77.96%
34.78%
3.26%
9.78%
13.59%
20.11%
11.41%
2.72%
4.35%
18.92%
16.22%
3.78%
10.27%
0.54%
5.41%
28.65%
12.43%
3.78%
3.76%
7.53%
26.34%
46.77%
15.59%
39.25%
20.43%
5.91%
37
Journal of Marketing and Management, 4 (1), 31-44, May 2013
38
Regarding the participants’ relationships to Jiu Jitsu, 95.13% hold belts with a rank
of purple or below. Slightly more than half of the participants trained three to four times a
week (51.09%). The length of training for survey participants was pretty spread out, the
highest being less than a year (24.32%) and the lowest being six or seven years (3.24%).
39.25% said they spent under $999 but 34.41% spent $1,000-1,499 annually.
Table 2. Participants’ relationships to Jiu Jitsu where N = 159.
Number
Variable
Category
Less than a year
One or two years
Two or three years
Three or four years
Length of training
1
Jiu Jistu
Four or five years
Five or six years
Six or seven years
Over seven
White
Blue
2
Purple
Belt Rank
Brown
Black
1-2 times a week
3
3-4 times a week
Frequency of Training
5-7 times a week
Under $999
$1,000-1,499
Annual Financial
4
Investment
$1,500-1,999
$2,000 and over
N
39
35
22
15
21
8
5
14
69
61
21
5
3
46
81
32
55
62
32
9
%
24.32%
22.16%
14.05%
9.19%
13.51%
4.86%
3.24%
8.65%
43.24%
38.38%
13.51%
3.24%
1.62%
28.80%
51.09%
20.11%
34.41%
39.25%
20.43%
5.91%
Table 3 was separated into three categories, and the first one was “What is the most
important reason you train Jiu Jitsu?” The top three results were improving health (55%),
increasing confidence (51%), and releasing stress (49%). These three benefits were
“extremely important” to Jiu Jitsu participants. It is interesting that the most frequent answers
involve improving one’s self-image.
The second section of Table 2 was based on an academy’s characteristics. The results
were quite negative and really of no importance to Jiu Jitsu participants. The results did not
show a trend of any sort nor concrete evidence around which to build a marketing plan. The
Journal of Marketing and Management, 4 (1), 31-44, May 2013
39
third and final section was the instructor’s characteristics and their importance. Two
characteristics were “extremely important” to the participants, and they were the instructor’s
qualifications (49%) and depth of knowledge (50%). Not far behind those characteristics,
friendliness had 39% saying it was “extremely important.”
Table 3. Benefits of Jiu Jitsu
There are many possible benefits to training Jiu Jitsu. Rank each benefits importance to you.
Not at all Slightly
Moderately Very
Extremely
Variable
important important important
important important
Building character
9% (15)
19% (31)
26% (42)
25% (41) 18% (30)
Learning patience
9% (14)
15% (24)
22% (36)
33% (54) 19% (31)
Improving health
1% (2)
1% (2)
13% (22)
26% (43) 55% (90)
Developing self discipline 4% (6)
10% (16)
20% (33)
26% (43) 38% (61)
Maintaining a positive
4% (7)
8% (12)
22% (37)
31% (51) 32% (52)
attitude
Increasing self confidence 3% (5)
6% (9)
12% (20)
25% (41) 51% (84)
Learning humility
6% (10)
4% (6)
26% (42)
26% (43) 36% (58)
Creating a strong work
13% (21) 15% (25)
33% (54)
22% (35) 15% (24)
ethic
Releasing stress
1% (2)
6% (9)
14% (24)
27% (44) 49% (80)
Rank each characteristic’s importance when you chose your current instructor.
Qualifications
2% (3)
4% (7)
14% (23)
28% (46) 49% (80)
Friendliness
0% (0)
4% (6)
20% (32)
35% (58) 39% (63)
Depth of knowledge
0% (1)
2% (3)
11% (18)
34% (56) 50% (81)
Reputation
17% (28) 20% (33)
25% (42)
22% (36) 12% (20)
Table 4. Academy’s Characteristics
Rank each characteristics importance when you chose your current Jiu Jitsu academy.
Not at all
Slightly
Moderately
Very
Extremely
Variable
important important important important important
Flexible payment
36% (59)
23% (37)
25% (40)
8% (13)
6% (10)
School appearance
39% (63)
25% (40)
25% (40)
9% (14)
1% (2)
Reasonable membership
18% (29)
19% (31)
28% (46)
18% (30)
14% (23)
fees
Adequate space
16% (26)
18% (29)
26% (42)
29% (47)
9% (15)
Cleanliness
10% (16)
15% (24)
25% (41)
30% (49)
18% (29)
Advanced and Beginner
18% (29)
19% (31)
28% (47)
18% (29)
14% (23)
classes
Reasonable refund
43% (70)
23% (38)
20% (32)
5% (8)
7% (11)
policy
Self defense classes
19% (31)
19% (30)
25% (41)
16% (26)
19% (31)
Discussion
The results of the survey of Jiu Jitsu players follow closely with other surveys of
Journal of Marketing and Management, 4 (1), 31-44, May 2013
40
other participants in other martial arts. For example, the results highlight the importance of
higher self-esteem (e.g., Finkenberg, 1990, Richman, & Rehberg, 1986, & Trulson, 1986).
Other studies also show similarities, including self confidence (Duthie, Hope, & Barker, 1978)
and physical ability (Fuller, 1998) and (Konzak, & Boudreau, 1984). The purpose of this
study was to get a better understanding of who learns Jiu Jitsu and why in order to develop
better marketing plans to increase both customer base as well as customer retention.
It was unexpected that Jiu Jitsu students have such little interest in an academy’s
environment. My opinion is that students assume all academies are basically the same in
terms of their interiors but different in terms of instructors and lesson plans. For this reason,
the instructor’s qualifications and depth of knowledge are extremely important to students
when choosing which academy to attend.
Implications
The research that was conducted focused on a very limited geographical area. We
were fortunate that almost 20% of our participants were foreigners, but all of the results were
combined and accounted for as one single group. We are unable to see if there is a difference
between Korean and non-Korean students of Jiu Jitsu in Korea. The longevity of a student
could also affect a participant’s answers. There is a good chance that someone training for
multiple years has altered their mindset for learning Jiu Jitsu compared to a student who has
been training for only a few months. Another important line of research would be discovering
the relationship between students with higher belts and their motivations to train versus
students at the start of their training, for example with less than one year of training.
Conclusion
An academy’s marketing plan should be developed on the physical and emotional
benefits of Jiu Jitsu and not the environment of the academy itself. Future customers are not
Journal of Marketing and Management, 4 (1), 31-44, May 2013
41
going to join a Jiu Jitsu academy based on the environment; they will join based on the
quality of instruction and what they see as the personal benefits of training. It is important
that an academy remembers why students join in the first place and build lesson plans
accordingly. If an academy is to successfully compete against not only other martial arts
schools but also other sports, it needs to create marketing plans and retention programs that
highlight the characteristics future and current students actually consider important.
About the Author
I am an Assistant Professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in the International
Business Department. I have been living in Korea for over ten years. I have been actively
participating in the martial art Jiu Jitsu since 2005.
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