100%

I have just played around with some data relating to our Jiu-Jitsu school.

It has produced a total of 24 Blue Belt students since it started in 2009.

Of the 13 who received their rank in the years 2009 through 2011, only 2 still train regularly, and 1 other who does so irregularly.

About half of the of 10 old timers who have quit did so by choice, not circumstance.

In comparison, out of the 11 who earned their Blue Belts from 2012 until now, only 2 have stopped training. Even the 2 who quit didn't want to.

What does this all mean? It may seem pretty random, but there is actually a pattern.

Every one of the 24 Blue Belts listed enjoyed the activity enough to go through considerable training, and to have gone through a difficult process of examination to earn their Belts.

There were 13 of them from 2009 to 2011. Of these, only 15% are still training, and half of those who quit did so without any apparant significant cause.

There are 11 from 2012 to 2015. Of these 82% are still training, and both of those who stopped would far have preferred to continue on the mat.

Something changed between these two groups.

For the original group, there was absolutely no structure for progress beyond Blue Belt.

This started changing early in 2012. That's when the first Gracie University exam was released, making it possible to progress farther. It was possible, but very daunting.

Early in 2014, this was significantly overhauled, making regular process something that all students could expect. The exam process is still available, and was even expanded in 2015, but it is no longer mandatory.

The difference for these two groups is what turned a 15% retention rate into one of 82%.

Of course, we still lose people. We did lose one when her family moved to Alberta, and another to health concerns. This type of thing will continue. For example; we will be losing another in the fall as he heads off to University.

That's a fantastic retention rate for any activity. Every single Blue Belt we've produced recently is either still training, or wishes they were. I call that 100%. I seriously doubt even the HQ Gracie school in Los Angeles can make that claim.

I wonder if we can improve on 100%.