what questions do you ask a prospective new student & wh

[jaedeshi]

I would just like to know what instructors think is important to know about new students. Thanks in advance for your feed back.

[bushido_man96]

One thing you may want to ask a new student is what it is they hope to gain from Martial Arts. Then, you can let them know whether or not you can fulfill that need.

[whitematt]

I would just like to know what instructors think is important to know about new students. Thanks in advance for your feed back.

#1 thing to know - their name!

When a new student comes to class and you address them by their name, they feel that they belong and that they are important. If you want to retain your students, you need to know who they are.

Matt

[NewEnglands_KyoSa]

i usually ask their name to personalize and make sure they know they are my student first, not my customer. i'd ask what they want out of it(if its a child ask the parent as well) and theres an application they have to fill out that deals with the medical questions i need to know.i talk about our school schedule in comparison to theirs to show my sincerity in trying to be able to help them balance their schedule. basic things like that pretty much make up the process.

[Bushido-Ruach]

Another important thing to ask, that should be on your initial application, is whether or not the student has any medical issues like ADD or ADHD and then read up on these as much as possible.

My son is a victim of ADHD which is why I am putting him in my class, it helps them to learn to focus and learn to control themselves. If a student does have ADD or ADHD they may "act out" in class and it is good to know how to handle such an incident should it ever happen.

[yingampyang]

Ask them what they want from martial arts. Also what they think martial arts is all about.

[ninjanurse]

1. Experience

2. Goals

3. Physical limitations

4. Questions

[Kieran-Lilith]

Name. Sometimes age, if I'm not sure. And then I call over someone to be their partner and take over from there. As long as you talk to the kid like they're a person, not an idiot, they're generally pretty agreeable. Even the ones with ADD or ADHD are really good learners, you just have to find the right way to connect with them. My bro has it, so I've got some valuable experience.

[jaedeshi]

One thing you may want to ask a new student is what it is they hope to gain from Martial Arts. Then, you can let them know whether or not you can fulfill that need.

You hit it right on the head. I wasn't sure if anyone would state this. It was one of the questions my first sensei asked me. He also kept asking me that because at first I told him I wasn't sure. Sometimes I think too many schools are concerned with signing up students and not concerned about meeting the goals of the students. There has been a selling trend from the health club industry that has been adopted by the martial arts industry. Which is sign up as many people as you can and lock them in by way of contract.

Whatever happened to meeting the needs of the customer. Most schools out there are businesses but they don't take into account the client and their needs. Now personally I don't think that's how the martial arts should be taught. But when you set yourself up as a business and you start pulling up contracts and all that stuff. Then you now put yourself in a position where you should be looking to satisfy your clients. I don't set rates for my students and on the same token I don't accept everyone as a student.

Questions I ask are:

What is your name?

What is your age? (I only teach adults)

What type of work do you do? If your a student at what school and what's your major?

Where do you live?

Have you ever trained before in the martial arts?

What is your reason for taking martial art classes?

Do you have any injuries or other physical conditions that you need to be concerned about when doing the physical activities?

Most questions are to get to know a little about the person to see if I should accept them as a student. The rest are to determine if what I have to offer is right for them based on their goals.

[white owl]

I would just like to know what instructors think is important to know about new students. Thanks in advance for your feed back.

#1 thing to know - their name!

When a new student comes to class and you address them by their name, they feel that they belong and that they are important. If you want to retain your students, you need to know who they are.

Matt

That is funny at my old school before some of my sensei's split off did not know my name for a long time it ways always honey or dear I want say for at least 6 months.(I ways told he ways bad with names).