I've known and worked with Stephen Oliver for many years. I've done it as a martial arts school owner, a business educator, a consultant and a member of the Martial Arts Wealth Mastery coaching team.
When a serious martial arts school owner asks me where to go for comprehensive business coaching, rather than advertising or lead generation, Martial Arts Wealth Mastery is one of the first organizations I recommend.
Grand Master Stephen Oliver holds a 10th Degree Black Belt, promoted in April 2026 (Martial Arts Wealth Mastery, n.d.-b). He started Tae Kwon Do at nine, at a YMCA in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in a program tied to Jhoon Rhee's organization. He earned his Black Belt directly from Grand Master Jhoon Rhee in 1978 (Go2 Karate, 2024).
He moved to Washington, D.C., finished an economics degree at Georgetown University while working for the Jhoon Rhee Institute, and became the youngest Branch Manager in an organization with 13 locations and well over 3,000 active students (Go2 Karate, 2024).
In 1983 he moved to Denver with $10,000 and opened Mile High Karate. Six locations in 36 months. 3,500 active students and about $1.7 million in revenue...
He was 26 (Go2 Karate, 2024).
| Year | What he did |
|---|---|
| 1985 | Founding member of Educational Funding Company's Board of Directors – later inducted into its Hall of Fame (2000) |
| 1989 | Launched the Mile High Karate Classic, a NASKA World Tour event for 10 years, and served on the NASKA board through 2000 |
| 1992 | Executive MBA, Daniels College of Business, University of Denver |
| 1999 | Wrote what Go2 Karate calls the first book on internet marketing for martial arts schools |
| 2005 | Began franchising Mile High Karate with Grand Master Jeff Smith |
| 2007 | Bought NAPMA and Martial Arts Professional magazine, becoming CEO and Publisher |
He co-authored No B.S. Wealth Attraction for Entrepreneurs with Dan Kennedy. Y.K. Kim and Martial Arts World Magazine called him "the most influential business leader in the United States", and Martial Arts Professional named him "The Mile High Maverick" (Go2 Karate, 2024).
In December 2023, Go2 Karate gave him its Lifetime Achievement & Recognition Award. I wrote about why he earned it here.
Stephen's perspective is unusual because it wasn't developed just by consulting with martial arts schools. He built and operated successful schools himself, grew Mile High Karate into a major multi-school organization, and has spent decades studying and refining the marketing, enrollment, retention, staff development and financial systems it takes to run a highly profitable school.
That matters to me. A lot of the advice in our industry comes from people who have never had to make payroll at a school (or chase a parent who missed a payment).
I said this a while back, and it's still on the Martial Arts Wealth Mastery site: "Stephen Oliver knows the martial arts profession as well as anyone. He brings with him an amazing intellect and a unique perspective honed from years in the trenches" (Martial Arts Wealth Mastery, n.d.-a).
I'd go further now. I've worked with Stephen closely enough to see both his strategic thinking and the results of the systems he teaches. He has an unusual combination of martial arts experience, successful school ownership, direct response marketing expertise and decades of coaching school owners. He understands the economics of a martial arts school at a level very few people in the industry do.
Rev Marketing is marketing execution and services: websites, ads, lead generation and the systems that get a school found.
Martial Arts Wealth Mastery is comprehensive business coaching: strategy, profit, enrollment, retention, pricing, staff, leadership and operational development.
Both matter, and they do different jobs for a school. A lot of owners mix these two up...
DON'T say: "I just need more leads."
SAY: "What's happening to the leads I already have, and how long are my students staying?"
If you've been buying more leads to fix a retention problem, you're not alone. The school stays about the same size, and you pay more for every student you keep!
I do senior consulting work with MAWM, focused on the business side of running martial arts schools: revenue models, ownership mindset, and the organizational structure most school owners never build.
You'll find me in the member meetings and trainings with Stephen. The oldest one on this page is from 2016, a private briefing for ATA school owners with Thomas Wright, who took his school from 35 students to 224.
Another person you'll hear from at MAWM:
Grand Master Jeff Smith earned his Black Belt alongside Stephen under Jhoon Rhee in 1978, and the two of them have franchised Mile High Karate together since 2005 (Go2 Karate, 2024). Grand Master Jeff Smith brings decades of managing and ownership of high performing martial arts schools to members
I met Grand Master Oliver back in 2008 at one of his live events. I knew then he was an innovator not just in marketing but also very down to earth and practical - what he said worked! I have appreciated his friendship and advice ever since.
These are recordings of trainings, member meetings and briefings with Stephen and the MAWM team. I'm in all five.
| Video | Year | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| How to Build a Million-Dollar Martial Arts School | 2023 | Pricing, lead generation, appointment setting, intro conversion and enrollment as one system, with Stephen Oliver, Grand Master Jeff Smith and Bob Dunne |
| How to Train Martial Arts Staff So Your School Can Grow Without You Doing Everything | 2026 | Why staff development is the way out of being the bottleneck at your own school |
| Facebook Lead Follow-Up for Martial Arts Schools | 2020 | Calls, texts, emails, voicemail drops and reminders that turn leads into appointments |
| From $13K to $100K Months: Member Breakthroughs | 2024 | Member schools reporting summer results, including one school going from about $13,000 a month to $100,000 a month |
| ATA School Growth Case Study: From 35 Students to 224 | 2016 | How Thomas Wright rebuilt an ATA school that was close to closing |
Which one first? If staff is your bottleneck, start with the 2026 staff training. It's under ten minutes. More videos are on the way.
Grand Master Stephen Oliver, MBA, is a 10th Degree Black Belt, the founder of Mile High Karate and Martial Arts Wealth Mastery, CEO of NAPMA and Publisher of Martial Arts Professional magazine.
A business coaching and mastermind program for martial arts school owners, founded by Stephen Oliver. It covers strategy, profit, enrollment, retention, pricing, staff, leadership and operations.
I'm a member of the MAWM coaching team and do senior consulting work with Stephen Oliver on revenue models, ownership mindset and organizational structure for school owners.
No. It is business coaching. Marketing is one part of what members work on, along with pricing, retention, staff and operations.
Start here: look at your last 90 days of new members, then your average monthly revenue per student, then how many students you kept. Then talk to the Martial Arts Wealth Mastery team about the number that surprised you. You can always reach out to me, too.
Go2 Karate. (2024). Interview with Grand Master Stephen Oliver. Go2 Karate Magazine, 2(1), 5–13. Rev Publish.
Martial Arts Wealth Mastery. (n.d.-a). Dr. Greg Moody in the media. https://martialartswealth.com/go/media/greg-moody/
Martial Arts Wealth Mastery. (n.d.-b). Stephen Oliver, MBA: Martial arts business coach. https://martialartswealth.com/go/stephen-oliver/
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