MT: retaining female students?

[Knowledge Bot]

retaining female students? By RachelK - Mon, 17 Sep 2007 20:28:12 GMT

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I am still the only female in my class *sigh* Our problem is not attracting women, but keeping them. Granted, we've never attracted huge numbers of women; they are generally outnumbered 3:1. But we manage to reel a few in. They try the class, sign up for a month, some even stick around for a few months. But they just don't last. I can't figure out why. Learning a martial art is a lot of work. But since when has that stopped women from learning a new skill? BTW I'm not writing about busy working mothers or women who may be too hard-pressed for time to dedicate themselves to martial arts. These are women who are largely in their 20s, do not have children, and many of them are already inclined towards athletics, sports, and fitness. So why don't they enjoy martial arts?

Part of it could also be the style I practice - Systema - is very close contact. That could be a turnoff for a woman in a class of mostly men, not because people behave inappropriately, but just because getting that close to strangers can be daunting. So I wanted to throw this out there to see if I can get some perspectives from people who practice other styles. I know we've discussed attracting female students, in many different threads. Has the topic of retaining female students ever come up for discussion? Does your class attract women, but have difficulty retaining them? I am curious if retention of female students is an issue in other schools, or is the retention rate about the same for men and women in your class?

-Rachel


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