Premier Martial Arts Off to Great Start, Hoping to Continue Growth

By Joe LaRue
joe@thetimes24-7.com

Erica Vevang has not been running her martial arts studio at Premier Martial Arts (PMA) for long, but she has already solidified her business and built confidence for the future.

Vevang, a Carmel High School graduate, has not spent her life surrounded by martial arts. She previously worked in the restaurant industry, beginning as a, “little old cashier,” as she puts it, before working her way up to Training General Manager for several corporate chains, including Steak ‘n’ Shake, Pizza Hut and Qdoba. She left that world to find a better work-life balance and spending time with her husband Danny and two children.

Vevang opened her studio in early June of 2022, after a nearly-year-long process working with consultants and government officials at the state and local level to get the business established and secure the appropriate licensing.

She also did not come back from a martial arts background. When she and her husband sat down to start their own business, they were presented with five possible franchise opportunities, including Premier Martial Arts. At the time, they ranked Premier fifth out of the five options.

But she was turned around on their discovery day, with Vevang saying, “One of the reasons I loved about this company is that they have a ‘why’ behind everything they do.” She explained this further: “That is huge in training. When you have a why behind everything you do, that is really empowering and you can tell somebody to do something and when they ask ‘why am I supposed to do this?’, well I’ll tell you why you have to do it. That was a huge thing for me when we were looking into a franchise.”

Even without a background in martial arts, she is able to take her business acumen and apply it to running the studio. She said, “I pretty much do all of the business side of things, the taxes, insurance, payroll, all that kind of stuff, and then I train them as well. I have to know what we’re selling to an extent, I just don’t have to know the specific moves, what they’re doing in the classroom.”

So what does PMA offer? Vevang explained that they don’t specialize in a specific style of martial arts. “PMA actually takes a little bit of every style. We have what’s called a mixed-martial arts style.” She went on to say, “We actually focus on the child’s development the most, and we do that through the martial arts.”

“They [PMA] found that a lot of these skill sets that you have in martial arts also pertain to mentally beneficial development as well. Confidence comes with something they learn on the mat. We do what we call mat chats and that really helps with their personal development outside of the classroom. We talk about how you are supposed to respect people and we show that through bowing,” she said.”

“Everything we do links to mental development.”

PMA offers classes for a range of age-groups. The youngest group is 3-4 years old, followed by classes for 5-7 year-olds, 8-12 years old, teen groups and then finally adult classes. The youngest age group have shorter classes, usually about 30 minutes, with the adult classes lasting the longest at 45 minutes to 1.5 hours.

They offer class sessions as well as community events, including birthday parties and parent nights out. As they continue to expand and grow, they hope to expand from their current staff of three (including Vevang) and build on the programs they already offer.