Students will leave. That is the nature of the game. Mr. "Huk" Planas was correct when he said black belts are simply white belts that never quit. As far as why they quit, it is pretty much due to something on the teacher side or the student side.

Instructor's Actions

• Unfair or disrepectful treatment of students
  • Treat all students equally
  • Reconsider your attitude towards your students
  • Reconsider your attitude to teaching
  • Acknowledge that all your students are individuals
• Lack of knowledge or a lack of experience
  • Continue to study, work with other instructors, and have seminars
  • Project a professional image
  • Find out where your deficiencies are and address them
• Personality clash with a student
  • Accept individual differences
  • Understand their point of view
  • Compromise on behaviors
• Major changes in school policy
  • Make the changes gradually
  • Inform students well ahead of time
  • Ask questions to see if they have any areas where they are uncertain about the change and explain why it would benefit them. (i.e. a curriculum change, or a move.)
  • Possibly use surveys to assess their level of agreement and their needs
• Discipline
  • Reconsider the disciplinary needs of the students
  • Are the rules appropriate?

Student Actions

• Problems with other students
  • Give some joint counseling to solve differences
  • Place students in separate classes if possible
  • If the actions of the other student(s) are extreme, make them leave
• Injured while training
  • Use the recovery time to their advantage
    • Provide alternatives to training
    • Counseling if needed
  • Reconsider the intensity or content of the class
  • Learn to avoid this problem by analyzing the event that caused the injury
• Dissatisfaction
  • Find out why and analyze needs or expectations with the students. What were their expectations and where did they lose them?
  • Discuss goals
• Boredom
  • Give them a personal challenge
  • Find out what motivates them to learn and continue training. What will they need to commit?
• Frustration-- student unable to keep up
  • Move them into an easier class
  • Recommend they take private lessons to catch up
  • Ask them what problems they are having
  • If it is many students, reduce the difficulty level of the class