Are You In A Bucket of Crabs?

There’s an old story about crabs in a bucket.

Drop a single crab in and it’ll crawl out. Drop in a few more, and the second one starts climbing—the rest pull it back down. Not to help, not to warn—just to stop it from leaving.

Sound familiar?

If you’re running a martial arts studio, there’s a good chance you’ve felt it. That pull. That resistance. That voice whispering from inside the industry bucket:

“That won’t work in my town.”

“You’re charging how much for classes?”

“Why would you spend money on coaching?”

I heard all of those on my way to the top. And I ignored every one of them!

The Bucket Isn’t the Problem—It’s the Crabs Inside It

Too many studio owners live in a comfort-zone bubble. They hang around others doing just enough to survive, and anytime someone dares to do more—raise prices, rebrand, hire a coach—they get the same treatment as the crab reaching for the top: they get pulled down.

This kind of environment isn’t just frustrating. It’s dangerous. It kills momentum. It kills confidence. And worst of all—it kills potential.

You Need to Be in a Different Bucket (Or Better Yet, Out of One Entirely)

The fastest way to change your outcomes is to change your environment.

If you’re surrounded by people who:

• Celebrate mediocrity

• Discourage investing in growth

• Believe “parents in my area won’t pay for quality”

...then guess what you start to believe too?

Now imagine being in a room full of studio owners who:

• Earn more and work less

• Have 6-figure summer & fall programs

• Charge premium prices and get them

• Send their staff to leadership trainings while they vacation with family

That’s not a dream. That’s a different bucket.

1. Audit Your Circle – Are the people around you pulling you up... or dragging you back?

2. Get Around Growth-Minded Owners – Join masterminds. Go to events. Network outside your zip code.

3. Be the Outlier – Just because others don’t want more doesn’t mean you shouldn’t reach for it.

You weren’t born to stay in the bucket. You were meant to lead.

So next time someone says “Why would you spend money on coaching?”—smile, nod, and keep climbing.

Because on the other side of the bucket is the business (and life) you’ve been working for.

And we’ll be here waiting to help pull you up.

Stay tuned. The next ladder is closer than you think.