{"id":4604,"date":"2019-06-04T22:44:54","date_gmt":"2019-06-05T05:44:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/?p=4604"},"modified":"2023-05-28T19:19:41","modified_gmt":"2023-05-29T02:19:41","slug":"how-to-keep-students-interested","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/how-to-keep-students-interested\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Keep Students Interested"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a recent survey I asked instructors what their biggest challenge is when it comes to teaching and running a dojo. I received a wide variety of responses from needing new drills and exercises<\/a>, to keeping helicopter parents from interfering, to managing student data.
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But one of the more common challenges relates to student retention, so I thought I\u2019d take a few minutes to address that issue. Wouldn\u2019t we all like to hold on to more of our students?
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One of my subscribers, Monty, wrote, \u201c[We] struggle most with keeping new black belts and\/or senior students in their teen years.\u201d<\/em>
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Ah, yes. Teenagers.
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To us the Generation Z <\/em>teenager can be a peculiar animal: constantly on their phones, lackluster attitude, and poor communicators. To us they are completely different than what we were at that age, right?
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Not really.
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Sure things are faster thanks to the internet. And there is evidence for increased distraction and reduced attention spans thanks to the \u201cinstant gratification\u201d age, but guess what? That\u2019s affecting adults too.
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At their core, teenagers today are still teenagers like we were: just figuring out this thing called LIFE. They\u2019re growing physically, mentally, and emotionally. And they\u2019re dealing with the associated perceived stresses. They\u2019re making the shift from the parent \/ family circle to their peer group, looking for recognition, support, camaraderie, and significance. Teenagers don\u2019t want to be lectured. They want to be understood.
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And that, my friend, is where the challenge lies.
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If your dojo doesn\u2019t provide the opportunity for continued growth and recognition, fails to challenge students, or doesn\u2019t provide a culture based on camaraderie and significance within the peer group, then you\u2019re dead in the water.
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Teenagers will look for these things elsewhere and come up with excuses as to why they\u2019re quitting karate. When you ask them “why”, they most often can\u2019t make the distinction of what\u2019s lacking. It will often be expressed with such things as \u201cit\u2019s boring\u201d, \u201cit\u2019s not fun anymore\u201d, \u201cI don\u2019t have time\u201d, \u201cI want to try something else\u201d. <\/em>
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These are all surface level excuses to a deeper issue.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

So how do you go about creating this environment at your dojo?
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Let\u2019s break it down into simple pieces. Here\u2019s a quick if\/then table to get you pointed in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
If…<\/strong><\/td>\nThen…<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Your classes fail to challenge…<\/td>\n\n

Change up the routine so that it\u2019s not always the same format every class. Involve other instructors so your students aren\u2019t always hearing the same point of view.<\/p>\n

Teach classes in a more fun, relaxed way so students can approach instructors with questions or concerns.<\/p>\n

Create fun in-house competitions during “down” months – the most classes attended over the summer, most kicks in a certain month (tallied per class), etc.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Your dojo doesn\u2019t offer a \u201ccareer path\u201d after black belt\u2026<\/td>\nCreate a leadership program for increased learning and growth. Help deepen their knowledge and understanding.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Your dojo doesn\u2019t have an atmosphere of camaraderie and friendship\u2026<\/td>\n\n

Create extra social events outside of the dojo and regular training, eg. beach training days, leadership reward days, dojo BBQ, etc.Or create a competition team.<\/p>\n

Create something that binds students together. Develop that culture.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Your dojo doesn\u2019t provide recognition for long-time students and black belts\u2026<\/td>\n\n

Provide that recognition. Get them involved and feeling significant. Put their photos and names on the wall, or on a plaque.<\/p>\n

Give recognition and display your gratitude for their contribution. Ask for their input on dojo events, improvements, etc.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n

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All of these things help with student retention. And they\u2019re all geared towards the positive. Remember, retention is a reflection.<\/em> It\u2019s a measurement of the success of your dojo, your teaching skills, and your ability to continue to grow and develop your students. Focus on that and the retention will take care of itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like this article? You\u2019ll love my Tiny Teaching Course for Instructors. Check it out here…<\/a>
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In a recent survey I asked instructors what their biggest challenge is when it comes to teaching and running a dojo. I received a wide variety of responses from needing new drills and exercises, to keeping helicopter parents from interfering, to managing student data. But one of the more common challenges relates to student retention, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[123],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4604"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4604"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4738,"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4604\/revisions\/4738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karateteaching.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}