Keeping students engaged during winter

June, July, and August are usually the most difficult months for a martial arts school to operate, but paradoxically, they are also often the best.

Classes tend to be smaller as more people are ill with Winter ailments. Some drop out of class for a while to pursue Winter sports, and it can also be hard to attract new members.

Winter is also a great time, as while your class numbers may be lower than normal, those who come are your more motivated students, and you get to spend more time with them. But you still want to get as many people trained as you can, so here are a few tips that may help. 

Develop a “Buddy System”

Encouraging your students to support their training partners helps to bring some accountability into their training. If someone is going through a rough patch or has the “Winter Blues” there will always be another person there to help motivate them to get along to training.

You can build on this by encouraging your students to form a “grade cohort”. This can take the form of a private Facebook (or similar) chat group or an informal social group that meets up from time to time. The advantage of this is that there are more people looking out for each other than just a few training buddies.

This will also help your students get to know one another and build a community at your school.

Schedule an “End of Winter” Grading

Depending on when and how often you grade your students, you might be able to schedule a grading around the end of Winter (late August).

This helps motivate people to keep practising during cold, wet nights, knowing that a grading opportunity is coming. It will also help motivate the less enthusiastic students, as the “fear of missing out” or seeing their regular training partners jump ahead of them should give them the kicker to get along to your Winter classes.

Give Your Training Facility a Facelift

If your facility is starting to look stagnant or messy, you can give it a fresh new look by investing in new equipment.

This does not have to be an expensive project. A few new handheld bags or focus mits is all you really need to add, as any new equipment always creates excitement.