Black Belt Syndrome. What is the Psychology of student retention?
Black Belt Syndrome. What is the Psychology of student retention? What is Black Belt Syndrome? Is this a real thing. Now while I am the person who coined the phrase, it is very real. And there are many different things that can cause this to occur in a student, ultimately causing a quit.
The first time I encounter this was with a girlfriend I had who wished to learn Hapkido. And she was an excellent student.
However her world was that of a beginner, in a house full of Black Belts, and long time Black Belts at that.
She had some natural ability, but became very hard on herself because what was easy for us, was difficult for her. She made Blue Belt before the relationship ended. And I believe Black Belt Syndrome was part of the reason for the end of the relationship. But this is not the only time I have seen this.
Black Belt Syndrome
Regular students can develop Black Belt Syndrome. How does this happen? Some students are in life "high achievers." They can expect more from themselves than is realistic. And I have lots many students over the year because of this.
How does this happen? Most often because the instructor see potential they show/teach the student too much to soon and this causes frustration. I have also witnessed cases where instructors and especially assistant instructors let their ego get out of control and show off to the students. This is always a bad idea and will often lead to students leaving without notice.
Bad Goal Setting
I have been guilty of this! Many years go I had a student who had very little to no natural ability. But he possessed drive, dedication and perseverance. And because of this he became an outstanding student, and developed some excellent skills. And he had his goal set firmly on Black Belt.
But after many years when he reached this goal, he walked out the door. At Black Belt he realized he knew very little yet, and was not prepared for this. Bad goal setting.
Black Belt Syndrome in Conclusion
I have been so fortunately when it came to Dojo operations to have some great mentors and coaches. But I do not teach martial arts business. That is for me not worth my time.
However I though this article might help some people save students by seeing some of the things that can go wrong retaining members.
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Thank you for your time and have a wonderful day! Keep Learning!
Vă mulțumesc pentru timpul acordat și o zi minunată! Continua sa inveti!
Al vostru în arte,
Mare Maestru Art Mason
