3 Reasons Why Students Might Quit

The following is an excerpt from our FREE ebook, “7 Reasons Why Students Quit.” The full seven reasons are available for free to download by clicking here.

As Martial Arts instructors, we’ve all lost students for a variety of reasons. While we might like to think that these reasons are beyond our control, of course that’s not really the truth. There are many reasons why students quit, and many of those reasons are avoidable. Having students leave can be frustrating, but it’s also an opportunity. When you can figure out why your students are leaving, you can take the steps needed to prevent it. The following are 3 of 7 common (and avoidable) reasons why students leave. Take a look at your school and see if these are areas for improvement for you and your team.

1. Lack of Retention Systems and Procedures. One of the most obvious reasons students leave is that there are no checks and balances within the school to keep track of each student’s progress, attitude and attendance. Without clear-cut procedures in place, students may end up falling through the cracks. To fix this, consider implementing regular check points with staff to discuss student progress, calling or texting students who have not shown up to class recently, and having a tracking system for students who are in their first 100 days of training (one of the most common periods when a student quits).
   
   
2. Missing Life Skills Curriculum. Personal development has always been a benefit of Martial Arts, but if your school does not take the time to teach character skills directly, students may have a difficult time understanding the value they are receiving from your program. Today’s top-notch schools teach more than just self-defense and fitness, they are teaching life skills like conflict avoidance techniques, stress management, self-control and positive communication, to name a few. Consider rounding out your curriculum to include: A Student Creed, A Black Belt Oath, and A Message of the Week.
   
   
3. Students Don’t Feel Safe.  A quick way to lose students is to have them injure themselves in class. In the modern Martial Arts school, strong safety policies must be adhered to. Teaching class in a safety-conscious way not only decreases potential liability, but it increases retention. The successful schools are interested in the long-term progression and improvement of their students. They are current on the healthiest (bio-mechanically correct) warm up and stretching procedures. They are wise in how sparring is introduced and practiced. They require the use of safety equipment and are careful in paring off students appropriately for sparring and while doing bag work.

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