Written by Danielle Peebles, Daily Transcript

Ex-Navy pilot Sal Convento continues to keep his military experience in the front of his mind. After serving in Afghanistan and Iraq during Operation Enduring Freedom, Convento decided to settle in San Diego, opening the United States Karate Academy at Liberty Station, previously the Naval Training Center, in June 2007.

"It's the law of attraction," said Convento, who had eyed the corner studio since he was stationed in San Diego in 2002.

Within the Tang Soo Do community, Convento has gained accolades for his personal achievements in the art form. He has reached the highest level in martial arts, a third-degree black belt, and is a two-time Tang Soo Do World Champion.

With 22 years of Tang Soo Do experience -- a Korean classical martial art originating from the T'ang dynasty -- Convento has found marked success in San Diego. So much success, in fact, that he was recently honored by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce with a Micro Business Award for Outstanding Emerging Business of the Year.

The micro award, designed for businesses with five employees or less, was decided by a group of 20 San Diego Regional Chamber volunteers.

Convento is proud of the accomplishment, which he received after less than a year in business, as well as the academy's recent press coverage, but he says that it will take time for the public to take notice.

"We thought we would be getting more response than we did, but it's a process. The number one thing that we are doing right now is going out and self-promoting."

As Convento says, it's all about taking the initiative.

As a civilian, Convento still recognizes that the lessons he learned and the training he received at the United States Naval Academy and in the service are complementary to his love of martial arts. This realization led Convento to incorporate military techniques and more technology into his teaching rubric.

"A lot of the lessons I learned were about how to lead people, especially people of the same rank," Convento said. "You learn a lot about leadership by leading by example. The military is all about looking the part and acting the part."

For Convento, the same goes for teaching martial arts and running a business. "You can tell another instructor to do a side-kick or I can do it," said Convento. "Martial arts as a business is a personality business -- whoever is the lead instructor is mimicked and mirrored" by his students.

In making the choice between a military career and karate, Convento's desire to impact the community took precedence. As a Navy Surface Warfare Officer, Convento was in charge of up to 100 men onboard his ship; as a Navy pilot, he was in charge of a handful; as chief instructor of the karate academy, he teaches 164 students.

"My position is much like a Command Officer on a ship, but the risk factor is much lower," said Convento. He values his ability to not only affect his students' lives, but also their parents or significant others.

As stated on the academy's Web site, Convento's mission goes beyond teaching karate; he wants the lessons that both children and adults learn to make them "productive citizens for our great society." Both karate and military training take exceptional discipline, leadership and accountability to be successful. Convento stressed that these lessons carry beyond martial arts into real world situations.

Convento's business philosophy follows much of the same pattern as his instructing. "Martial arts applies to business because you don't get the gold by training one month before the event," said Convento. "It's the same with business. There's a lot of planning, blood, sweat and tears."

This karate academy is not Convento's first taste of success. While stationed in Omaha, Neb., Convento opened his first karate academy, Sal Convento's United States Karate Academy, but was forced to close the school after a year and a half when he relocated to San Diego.

In Nebraska, Convento's job orders only required him to work about four hours a day, giving him ample time to open a karate studio. "Instead of doing nothing, I opened the studio. I could read all about it (starting a business), but the best way I know is to actually do it."

The studio was a trial-and-error project, teaching Convento the fundamentals of running a business -- bill collecting agencies, insurance, logos, schedules, classes and, most importantly, customer service. Convento did not go into his endeavor blind, however. He attended numerous seminars and researched the industry before beginning.

Convento quickly learned that his hard work paid off. In the eight months he ran the studio in Nebraska, the academy's students numbered 100 -- a huge feat, as he explained the average established studio had about 110 students.

Convento also teaches a Boot Camp fitness class, free self-defense classes for women and water workouts. Gym-Kata, a specially designed mix of gymnastics and martial arts, is also being developed by Convento and San Diego Gymnastics.

His secret? Persistence and initiative. Convento aims to get students into the academy for a lesson and to retain them. He does this by going out into the public with his instructors and personally promoting his business with fliers and trial lessons. Prospective students are encouraged to come for a free trial lesson to evaluate the instructors and the facility.

"Your persistence is your belief in yourself and in your product," said Convento, and follow-up is essential. Convento commented that the instructors conclude every trial lesson with a phone call, thank you note, sales letter and personal email focusing on the student's specific talents.

The karate academy has more than 50 adults in attendance. With such a large group of business professionals, it seemed natural to Convento and others to form the SoCal Business Alliance. The networking group, which meets twice a month primarily consists of Convento's students and their friends.

But Convento's interest in business doesn't stop with his students. He also initiated an NTC owners' group at Liberty Station in effort to improve the immediate business community surrounding the academy. The group meets once a month, alternating business sites to discuss issues relevant to business at NTC.

When a student comes to the academy, it's not just about learning how to kick and punch, Convento said. It's so much more.

Convento's staffing came naturally. His top instructor, Thomas Yahner, just showed up at the academy's door wanting to train before being hired as an instructor. Yahner, who has a similar background in Tang Soo Do, seemed a natural fit for the studio. By looking for staff members that are home-grown, or "inside the circle" as Convento says, it makes the transition easier because they already know Convento's training style.

His team consists of Thomas Yahner, a third degree black belt with more than 20 years of experience, Stephanie Spears, a first degree black belt with more than eight years experience, and Greg Cerezo, a first degree black belt with six years experience.

At the Tang Soo Do World Championship July 11-12, Convento and 22 students reaped the fruits of their competive training, winning fifteen gold medals, nine silver and nine bronze. Convento won two golds.

"(Like the championship) one person wins, but he trains with lots of other people," said Convento. "It takes a lot of effort to be number one (in karate), and to be the best in your business."

Try 2 weeks for free at 2590 Truxtun Road, NTC, Point Loma, www.uskasandiego.com