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Post by howler on Dec 14, 2021 23:40:01 GMT
You can blame firearms right off the bat for part of the reduction in interest.
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Post by howler on Dec 15, 2021 0:37:56 GMT
You can blame firearms right off the bat for part of the reduction in interest. Oh, for sure. But modern firearms are only about a century and a half old. That's just a few generations in the face of thousands before it. Sure, modern guns make long-distance, lethal encounters with others a lot easier. But swordsmanship as a lifestyle still has value today. To every human being. We just need to connect with that in order to be successful. I'm currently studying multimedia arts at a community college to learn how to create successful marketing campaigns. I don't know much about swords, but I'm also learning more about them every day. I have a good friend who used to be the Japanese equivalent of a knight who is ready and willing to help me with understanding swordsmanship. I'm just hoping to build something to help all of us spread our love for swords, the process of making them, the process of taking care of them, and the lessons we can learn about ourselves and life in general from the dedicated study and practise of their use. Blades will always be with man, as it's just a handy tool, but more like machete, edc folder/small fixed blade, kitchen/camp knife, utility knife (though can still be used in hand to hand fighting) in the military. That over century and a half was a WHALE of a change though, huh.  I'll always have defense blades in my home (larger short sword type) and on my person (various edc type), along with rifles (home) and handguns (home/carry). So the answer is always BOTH guns and blades. You have come to the right place for the hobby/lifestyle/way of life aspects. |
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Post by Sir Thorfinn on Dec 15, 2021 1:12:32 GMT
So...to pay a craftsman...is not cheap.
Many want cheap swords.
I don't think the market is there.
But I'd love to see Sig Sauer come out with a companion Messer...
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Howdy Ho!
Dec 15, 2021 12:59:04 GMT
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Post by bjorngylfason on Dec 15, 2021 12:59:04 GMT
Well I would love to focus solely on making swords but for various reasons there are simply a lot more people willing to justify buying a 1000+$ kitchen knives than swords.
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tera
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Dec 15, 2021 18:43:09 GMT
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Post by tera on Dec 15, 2021 18:43:09 GMT
I've been enjoying your contributions to the forums and enthusiasm, so please take what follows as intended to be constructive criticism to help your ideation process. I certainly don't mean to be overly negative.
In this case, we seem to be starting in the middle. There is a desire to market something, but nothing specific. That is, it is like we agree cars are functional but enthusiasm for travel and working on your own vehicle can be a lifestyle, then we decide we need to start making cars ourselves and sell people on the idea of personally maintaining them and traveling more on the open road just to drive. This is a high up front cost, high risk proposition.
I do not have a degree in marketing, but used to work closely with marketing firms as a Web Dev/PM. A lower risk approach is to sell the idea of swordsmanship as a lifestyle and partner with some suppliers who have the bandwidth to meet your expected demand, can offer you wholesale pricing, and at least initially drop ship product to your customers.
So, this turns into one of two things. Either we have a Tae Bo situation where you provide a foam padded stick a la chanbara and DVDs to follow along with for the sake of exercise OR you convince a legitimate teacher of some ryuha or HEMA to collaborate with you on trying to authentically transmit swordsmanship via DVD or video on demand. The latter is being tried by a variety of folks with varying degrees of sincerity, so let's look at the former.
The Tae Bo approach gets you production costs for the original video, some padded swords to have on-hand, but physical product you can start selling as an Amazon Seller in a matter of weeks. You can also market a Swordsmanship as Service Premium option on your DVD/Website. This would be a subscription service to live, instructor led workouts using the fake swords along with slower, technical videos about how to draw/sheath, safety concerns with live blades, dietitian recommendations ("Inside the skin of a dog, outside the hide of a tiger." -Hagakure), videos on mindfulness meditation and how to treat slow sword practice as moving meditation, offer registration for 1-on-1 or local group virtual lessons with live feedback, etc. Award points, not rank, and keep a leaderboard running that rewards participation and private lesson purchases. Allow people to form social groups/add friends for more personalized leaderboard challenges. Basically, gamify it and offer different swag as unlockable purchases at certain point levels.
Then, if you're feeling extra evil, launch some pilot programs with local schools. Claim your program offers safe, no-contact physical exercise combined with lessons on discipline, good manners, self-respect, respect for elders, and that by understanding the hatefulness of violence they learn to avoid it. Also, emphasize the required Quiet Mind time as cooldown. Teach kids to meditate so they are not constantly seeking stimuli from TV/computers/phones. With the resurgence of interest in Karate Kid and Cobra Kai, you have a bunch of parents who grew up with martial arts mania to market to. Imagine how much a parent would appreciate seeing their kid sit quietly for even just 5 minutes, and the kids would feel like real Samurai/warriors.
For adults who get into it, you could have iaito and/or live blades in your store. Outsource to Musashi brand to keep them inexpensive but "real". See if you can get them to use different color ito and saya for branded "Premium" swords available only to SAAS members with a total point score above X value, to give them a motivator and something to show off. They may feel like real Samurai/warriors
Of course, they wouldn't be. This is where I must say that while this idea might sell, I don't regard it as ethical. At least be very up front about this NOT being an authentic sword system, NOT awarding any rank, and NOT for use in any kind of sparring or contact practice. Sell it for what it is: Stylized exercise and wellness.
It would, at least, be an easier mode of entry into the world of sword collection and enthusiasm. You could offer different courses based on different swords and styles as you grow the company. People could earn badges for completing all "Foundation" material in each sword school. Look up the NRA's Distinguished Marksmanship Program.
I hope that was at least some food for thought. The intent was to point out the high initial risk of your idea and suggest thinking on lower risk entries into that space. Of course, I am not a fan of my own suggestions and am now going to shower, brush my teeth, and maybe shower again as a result of providing them.
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tera
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Dec 15, 2021 20:17:59 GMT
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Post by tera on Dec 15, 2021 20:17:59 GMT
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I am actually deeply relieved you are opposed to my suggestions. I'm not a supporter of McDojo business ventures, but I have to observe they persevere where authentic schools struggle. Developing true proficiency takes time and effort, which is not an easy sell.
Interestingly, I have done the most selling by trying to not sell things. That is, someone may want a flashy website with A-Z features. I honestly point out the costs and problems with non-essential features and explain it's not that I don't wan to take their money, but I don't want to take their money for the wrong reasons. Money not spent on the full package up front can be used for SEO, maintenance, iterative updates based on analytics driven feature design, etc.
The same when I was selling firearms. I helped people find the models that fit their anatomy, that they could operate without adjusting proper shooting grip, that had the features that fit their lifestyle, and concluded with free walkthrough of basic safe handling, operation, cleaning, and storage. Sometimes that would mean selling a $300 firearm instead of a $2000 one. What mattered is what fit the client, both physically and in terms of needs. Likewise, I would explain that it wasn't that I wouldn't sell them what they decided on, but the less expensive route often meant more money for ammo, training, accessories (holster/sling), etc. I spent about 1.5 hours with one customer once. We even got into discussing interior/exterior/terminal ballistics and the differences between firearm operating systems. I showed him my recommendations based on our conversation. He didn't buy a thing that day. He came back on a day I was off work and bought $8,000 of hardware (including optics, mounts, cases) and a $10,000 gun safe. His favorite purchases turned out to be my recommended items.
So my sales style is "Sell by not selling". Instead of trying to convince someone they need something they don't, I try to help them identify their needs and sell them that. Strangely enough, that has always served me well. I've never been good at convincing people to buy something they don't need. I know that is a proven, successful approach, but I admit I'm not wired that way. So, in that regard I have to defer to your wisdom.
I would love to see greater access to swordsmanship where I live, and a sense of community grow up around it. You have some grand ideas and I look forward to seeing what you can bring about. Your energy is revitalizing and I encourage you to hold on to that spirit in all that you do.
And if I haven't said it formally yet, a very warm welcome to our forums!
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Post by howler on Dec 15, 2021 20:54:33 GMT
Well I would love to focus solely on making swords but for various reasons there are simply a lot more people willing to justify buying a 1000+$ kitchen knives than swords. To say nothing of $ pricey guns, though I must say that ammo cost is a real downer on the firearm front.  |
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Post by durinnmcfurren on Dec 27, 2021 3:22:17 GMT
Well I would love to focus solely on making swords but for various reasons there are simply a lot more people willing to justify buying a 1000+$ kitchen knives than swords. Which is just bizarre to me. I can cut my food with any old hunk of metal! But for raiding Lindisfarne, only the best will do! |
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I'll always have defense blades in my home (larger short sword type) and on my person (various edc type), along with rifles (home) and handguns (home/carry). So the answer is always BOTH guns and blades. You have come to the right place for the hobby/lifestyle/way of life aspects.
Things have changed!