Ah… Sounds familiar in many dojos. Hahaha. And I also tend to feel as though I barely pass gradings.

It’d be great if someone could survey students who drop out for honest responses though. That would help rule out other possible reasons.

All tests so far have been challenging in at least one aspect. Honestly, though, this last test (4th kyu) was more challenging than “usual.” My basics were pretty abysmal, my sparring wasn’t exactly stellar, but my forms were “all there” – at least as good as can be expected from a student at my level. So I feel like I barely passed this last test. The tests from here on out (3rd kyu and beyond) are going to be a lot more demanding – there will be some format changes and the expectations of performance are way up. But before tests get that hard is when most people drop out. We start to see dropouts around 6th and 5th kyu when advanced forms are introduced.

Ah… I see. Thanks for clarifying. Your dojo’s grading scheme seems well thought-out; balancing motivation and progression. 🙂

There really isn’t much that can be done about the dropout rate though… unless standards are lowered (terrible idea).

By the way, at which kyu grade did it get challenging for you, Joelle?

We don’t have an online component. The class only meets for 1 hour on Monday and 1 hour on Wednesday, so if people want a belt they either have to be naturally talented or practice on their own. The philosophy behind the way we test is the first several ranks are designed to be an encouragement to beginners, especially children. The first rank is ridiculously easy to earn, the second not quite so ridiculously easy but still pretty easy, especially if you practice outside of class. The belts do get progressively harder to earn, but really – the first several ranks are “easy.” What I’m facing to earn my next belt and beyond will really kick my butt. What’s really interesting is we have a pretty high dropout rate starting at the point where we expect students to learn their first advanced kata, so relatively few people reach the “kick your butt” tests.

You mean online black belt programs? I’m not a fan of those either.

People need to train against a partner and have a competent instructor judge your techniques for mistakes, as part of the learning process. I think this is what we both agree on. 🙂

As Jesse Enkamp mentioned – kata is for self-practice; bunkai is for application. Application is most important in self-defense.

Anyway, thanks for adding your observations at your class. Useful information to consolidate.