We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rafael Kosche a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Rafael thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How do you think about vacations as a business owner? Do you take them and if so, how? If you don’t, why not?

I don’t know if I would categorize my travels as vacations or even business trips; maybe excursions or adventures. Our last expedition had us trekking through the humid jungles of Indonesia, meeting up with native bladesmiths who were eager to present their artisan knives to us. The quality craftsmanship on these weapons was exactly what we we searching for. We bought all the knives they had, brought them back home to our customers, and they sold out.

But our international outings are never just about hunting for weapons and training martial arts. I always make time to explore the nearby villages, savor the regional cuisine, and experience the local culture. And if I want to make it a truly amazing trip, I find someone to take me SCUBA diving in unfamiliar waters.

Make the effort to turn your work trips into vacations. It will help you keep a passion for your business. And if you have a business that sells products, I highly recommend you go visit the places where your products get made and meet the people who make them. Doing this will help you appreciate your products more, and help you educate your customers on how to value them as well.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Rafael Kosche, and I am co-owner, with my wife Joan, of Valley Martial Arts Supply in Los Angeles, California. We took over the business from Joan’s father. The store has been around since 1976. For those unfamiliar with the San Fernando Valley area of L.A. , it was the epicenter of martial arts schools in the US during the 70s. (It’s no coincidence that the film The Karate Kid was set in the Valley). Every martial arts school in the area needed uniforms and equipment, and Valley Martial Arts Supply was the place to get them.

I have to admit that, as a veteran, I was well versed in military combat, but my knowledge of Asian martial arts was lacking. As the new business owner, I was committed to educating myself about the multitude of fighting arts. I particularly enjoyed learning about metallurgy and bladesmithing. In addition to the products we already sold, I added a variety of quality knives and swords, and created a library of books about every martial art known to man.

As Joan and I kept improving the store, Valley Martial Arts Supply became an open forum for martial artists to gather. In addition to the school instructors getting their gear, we were visited daily by Hollywood propmasters, stunt coordinators, weapons makers, and high end collectors. New fighters would stop by just to talk with whichever martial art legend was hanging out in the store with us that day. In fact, Judo Gene LeBell was here so frequently, he signed his name on one of our chairs, and would proceed to choke out anyone who made the mistake of sitting in his chair: fun times.

Have you ever had to pivot?

The biggest pivot in our business had to be when consumers became completely reliant on the internet for most of their purchases. Online stores could sell products at a lower price, so brick and mortar business would either lower their prices to match them, or replace their stock with inferior products. Valley Martial Arts Supply refused to go that route. We may have lost quite a few sales, but we maintained our pride in the business we grew.

It’s about that time when my friend Nick Papadakis asked me to manage his business; ironically an online business. Kombat Instruments Ltd sells quality training supplies for Filipino Martial Arts: Kali, Arnis, Escrima. The bulk of the business is our reinforced rattan sticks that are made here in the USA by military veterans. Kombat Instruments Ltd customers had such high standards, that they refused to buy lesser quality fighting sticks at even half the cost of ours. This revitalized my faith in the idea of the well-informed consumer.

In order to give our customers what they want, we increased the variety of rattan weapons we had available. We also created a whole line of aluminum training swords and knives that we manufacture in our own shop. We also experimented with making weapons from various hard woods, such as kamagong, bahi, and South American guava. Our customers want the best, so we either need to make the best, or take more expeditions around the globe to find the best.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

I bet you can guess what I’m going to say here: Education & Quality. Educate yourself on what the customer needs. Find the best quality products. Then educate the customer on the value of the quality products. Once they understand, they will thank you for your honesty and integrity.

Kombat Instruments Limited is still an online business. If our customers email us with a question, we answer as soon as possible. And if we need to be even more precise with our communication, we actually pick up the telephone and speak with our customers. That goes a long way for brand loyalty when they know you care enough to talk with them.

Valley Martial Arts Supply still has many loyal customers walking through our doors. They either like our products, our service, or the nostalgia of walking into a store from the golden era of martial arts popularity. Valley Martial Arts Supply turns 50 years old in 2026. How will we show our customer appreciation then? Come see us in two years to find out.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ValleyMartialArts.com and www.BloodSport.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ValleyMartialArtsSupply and https://www.facebook.com/KombatInstruments/