People start martial arts for many different reasons and usually when they continue, it’s for reasons different than the ones they started for. We, as instructors, usually take the viewpoint that a student quitting is beyond our control. The fact is, however, student retention is driven by the everyday practices instructors implement on the mat. You can immediately apply the following retention practices to your instruction routine.
1. Create a well-trained team of instructors. Having a motivated and enthusiastic instructor might not always be enough. The instructor must also be well trained in teaching methodologies with a large arsenal of teaching tools in their toolbox. Some of the most important teaching skills are:
- Mat Vision – being aware of everything happening on the floor. If the class is too large, make sure there are multiple instructors distributed across the mat.
- Always choosing “influence” over “authority” as a teaching style.
- 3 x 3 Rule – using the students name, making eye contact, and appropriate body contact with each student three times during class (high-fives are always a favorite).
2. Develop a well-executed class plan. Having a well-executed class plan is vital to retaining students at any belt rank. The class plan refers to the method and timing of which the curriculum is taught. Some important steps to a well-executed class plan are:
- Punctuality – class should always start and end on time.
- Prep Zone – a 3 - 5 minute pre-class prep zone gets students on the same page prior to class starting.
- Disguised Repetition – the only way to become better at Martial Arts is to practice consistently, with effort, and over time. Disguising repetition, through various well thought out drills and skills, keeps this process fresh and fun.
3. Give clear feedback. Students want to know how you think their training is advancing. To communicate their progress more clearly try the following tips:
- Have structured progress checks to review progress and set new goals.
- Give out report cards and feedback forms.
- Give frequent, impromptu feedback (especially positive) to students and parents.
Good student retention starts with the moment your student enters your parking lot until the moment they leave the school; and every moment in between is your chance to keep them training and coming back to class.
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Your student retention is important! By spending just a few minutes to keep students, you could be saving time and money that would otherwise be spent trying to get a new student. Since it's important, we have an entire section of our blog dedicated to “Student Retention” and keeping students training longer. Click here to check it out.
We also have our ebook “7 Reasons Why Students Quit” that discusses how student quits are actually preventable. This ebook is available for free download by clicking here.
