This is a little sample from 1 of the chapters in my book ‘How To Build A Highly Profitable Martial Arts School’ – if you haven’t invested in a copy yet then get 1 ordered TODAY;
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It’s All in the Conditioning (aka Framing)
If you have pre-framed your students from day one and carried out the renewal process properly, then the number of students staying past years one, two, and three will dramatically improve. Remember that renewing students is a huge key to retention.
I remember in 2008 when I held my first-ever Dan grading—I had just five students attend (this was still when I was doing so many things wrong). One of our biggest Dan gradings had over 30 students. Although this was a lot better and looked like a scene from Enter the Dragon, I could still see so many holes in my operation that needed to be plugged.
Keeping Hold of Black Belts
For the first 8–10 years of running Dan gradings, I tried so many things to keep students around once they had earned their grade. The problem was that I was listening to people who didn’t run successful schools. NEVER listen to people who are less successful than you are.
They told me to do things like:
- Hold special Black Belt-only classes
- Give them a special Black Belt patch
- Have them wear a new suit
- Plus much more
Now, the point to remember here is that all these are okay suggestions. They’re not terrible, and some of them will contribute to retention. However, what these instructors were missing was that whatever got students to Black Belt will keep them going as Black Belts.
When I passed my 1st Dan in 2000, I had to wait a minimum of two years before attempting 2nd Dan (2002), then a minimum of three years before going for 3rd Dan (2005), and so on. It may be the same in your style. The long and short of it is that we need to keep our students progressing. They need to feel that they are still moving forward.
I want to be clear—I am not saying you should lower your standards. Not at all. But you do need to keep students motivated and progressing.
We still had students test every two months, meaning that from 1st to 2nd Dan, there were 12 tests over the 24-month period. After each test, students earned something for their belt. To avoid having them do small 1.5–2-hour gradings every two months and then suddenly face a long 5–6-hour grading for their significant Dan grade, we still held Dan gradings every six months. This meant students completed two smaller gradings before a larger, longer, and more intense grading twice a year.
I have graduated over 250 Black Belts, but probably only 40 went on to achieve 2nd Dan. However, once we implemented the new grading system, the retention from 1st to 2nd Dan went through the roof. Students could no longer sit back, get bored, and drop out.
Don’t get me wrong—the students were not being ‘beasted’ in every grading. But at the same time, they weren’t coasting along for 22 months and then training hard for the last two months before their major Dan grading. Have you had students do that before?
In summary – if you learn how to retain your Black Belts you will start to build a strong school with ample future instructors. You will also have predictable, reliable monthly cash flow. If you want to learn how to do things properly then get in touch.
Here is the link again to my book which will REALLY help your Martial Arts School grow;
https://amzn.eu/d/hjxpusK