Stop Running a Practice Group. Start Building an Academy.

In 2004, I started teaching sword fighting to a small club in an outdoor skating rink.

No proper space. No gear budget. Training through rain, cold, and the occasional confused onlooker. I didn't have a business plan. I had a collection of historical fencing manuals and a stubborn belief that these arts deserved a real home.

The next year, I signed a lease on a space I couldn't quite afford. Twenty years later, Academie Duello is a 7,500 sq ft centre in downtown Vancouver with a full staff, an in-house cafe, and more than 70,000 people through the door. Along the way, I've helped over 300 instructors in niche martial arts build their own schools.

I've made most of the mistakes you're probably making right now. This blueprint is the short version of how I fixed them.

- Devon Boorman, Founder of Academie Duello

You Already Know the Problems

A promising new student walks in, trains hard for three weeks, then disappears. They couldn't see what they were supposed to learn next.
Your entire recruitment strategy is the "hope" method: hoping someone finds your Facebook page, or stumbles across your outdated website, or happens to walk past your park practice.
The "I-do-everything" trap: you're the head instructor, the equipment manager, the bookkeeper, the social media person, and the only one who knows where the spare masks are.
That question at 2am: can this ever be more than a hobby, or are you just playing pretend?

The problems are predictable. Which means the solutions are, too.

What the Blueprint Covers

Five areas that matter most when you're moving from informal club to professional school.

Choose Your Stakes

Side-hustle, non-profit, or full-time career? The answer changes every decision that follows: space, pricing, scheduling, everything. The blueprint walks you through the trade-offs so you choose with your eyes open.

Find Your Tribe

A "historical fencer" is not a "BJJ athlete." They find you differently, they stay for different reasons, and they need to hear different things. Learn to identify who actually wants what you teach, and how to talk to them in a way that lands.

Build the Syllabus

Give your students a reason to stay for three years, not three weeks. A visible path from first class to advanced practitioner changes everything about retention. It's the single biggest thing most niche schools are missing.

The First Contact

How to turn a curious email or a walk-in into a student on the mat. This isn't about ad budgets. It's about being findable, removing friction, and giving people a low-risk way to try.

Keep Your Promises

Retention isn't a hack. It's what happens when you make the right promises and consistently deliver on them. The blueprint covers the specific promises that matter most for niche martial arts schools.

From a Park to a Professional School

"Through Devon's guidance and mentorship I was able to take my small club of 5 people meeting in a park to becoming a professional school with our own space and more than 60 members in just over a year."

Andy Plymate Bridge City Blades, Portland OR

Before

5 in a park

After

60+ members

Timeline

~1 year

Get the Blueprint

18 pages. No fluff. The specific decisions and steps that matter when you're building a niche martial arts school.

What you'll get:

The 3 school models and how to choose yours
How to identify and speak to your actual audience
A 3-stage program structure you can implement this month
First-contact tactics that don't require an ad budget
The retention approach that keeps students for years
Worksheets to build your own plan as you read