As instructors, we face the dilemma of making our students proficient in a way that will retain their interest. We all know that in order to be proficient at a technique the technique has to be done thousands of times. The repetitiveness of obtaining this proficiency is what causes our dilemma. How do we teach students to be proficient and still keep their interest?
For thousands of years the combative arts have been passed down through the repetition of doing a technique thousands of times. We all know that this is the only way to become proficient by doing the technique over and over until you become proficient. For many of us this is not a problem. We are so dedicated to learning and improving our techniques that the repetition of this process does not bother us. We are the few. Most people, especially today, have very low attention spans. They want everything immediately. That is why, for martial arts schools, the retention rate is at an all-time low. We have to work in a different and new way to keep our students. The best way is to disguise the repetition in a fun and effective way. Please listen to this 10 minute YouTube video to learn ways that will help you achieve this goal.