Zebra Blog

By Elisabeth Clay  Note: the opinions shared within this pieces are those of Elisabeth Clay and do not necessarily reflect those of Zebra Athletics.  As we deal with all of the craziness around us during the last month, it seems that we are daily having to re-evaluate...

By Kaitlin Young When I first sat down to write this, it was about the joys and struggles of opening our new gym. I had to start over. Maybe I’ll return to that piece later.  We opened the Striking Institute on March 2nd, 2020. Our first week went great! We hadn’t...

By Kyle Fisher As the President of Zebra Athletics, one of the best parts of my job is working with my team. I can openly admit that throughout my management career I have struggled to adequately show my appreciation for my staff, but as we take time out this month to...

Social media can feel overwhelming (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and on and on). In 2020, however, social media is a necessity for any business, including martial arts gyms. Social media not only helps you gain new members, but it can help increase...

When it comes to designing your MMA or martial arts facility, the fun part is realizing that you get to decide where everything goes, and how it all looks. The space you make for your martial arts mats is a key part of the design of your entire facility. Each gym...

By Elisabeth Clay So, today’s thoughts… while I have always fought the idea of someday opening a school, and still have no real plans to, I am beginning to have an opinion on what is important for opening a school. I am sure that as time goes on, I will change some...

Eight years ago, professional MMA star Casey Halstead began the dauting process of opening his own gym. On top of everything else he had to do to get his facility up and running, he also had to choose reliable martial arts mats that would take the punishment of daily...

Martial arts gyms are often considered the home of tough, unstoppable, hardcore athletes. And they absolutely are, but all too often, especially in gyms that may have a lot of MMA fighters or competitive jiu jitsu athletes, it may be difficult for the gym owner to...

By Kaitlin Young In the not so distant past, I split my time between training for fights and working as a personal trainer. It’s a profession that goes hand in hand with fighting very well. Sessions can be scheduled around practices easily.  We’re usually accustomed...

Gym owners have repeatedly heard the benefits of adding fitness programs and fitness space to their martial arts facilities. For those that have decided to move forward and have dedicated a portion of their mat space to fitness, deciding on what fitness equipment to...