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How to Build a Martial Arts Class Schedule That Enrolls: Where Beginner Classes and Intros Belong

Updated

Short answer: Put your beginner classes where both parents can attend, usually around 6:15 to 7:00 p.m. on weeknights rather than 5:20 or 5:40. Never run a class that can contain introductory students directly into another class that can contain them; follow a beginner class with an intermediate or advanced class, so the staff who handle new families are free. If you teach intros in a separate room, schedule them only while intermediate or advanced classes are running. The room needs sound control more than privacy.

Why the beginner class times matter most

Every school’s schedule has one set of classes that matters far more than the rest: the beginner classes. That is where families decide whether to enroll and whether to renew. Two of the most common reasons a family does not enroll trace directly back to the schedule:

  • The family cannot make the beginner class twice a week.
  • Only one parent is ever present, so you cannot hold an enrollment or renewal conference with both parents.

I have always considered 5:30 a little early for beginner classes. Many working parents cannot be there. In my experience, 6:15 to 7:00, or 6:30 to 7:15, is close to ideal, especially for younger children whose parents are coming from work. If all of your beginner classes are clustered at 5:20 and 5:40, you have no flexibility for the families who need a later time, and you will rarely see both parents.

The sequencing rule: never run intro classes back to back

Any class that can contain introductory students needs extra staff attention at the start: greeting new families, getting them changed and on the floor, introducing them to the instructor. After class, it needs time for conversations with parents. If that class runs straight into another class that also brings in new families, your staff cannot do both. Someone ends up greeting first-time visitors when they should be holding an enrollment or renewal conference.

So sequence the schedule:

  • Beginner class, then intermediate or advanced class. The new families from the beginner class can be talked to while the senior class runs.
  • First intro into a basic class is the easier direction. After a first lesson, you mostly need to get the family rescheduled for their second lesson, which takes little time.
  • Avoid basic class into first intro. Your staff will be welcoming new families when they should be enrolling and renewing the families who just finished class.

When to use a separate intro room

A school with a full-time program director, a full-time instructor and a dedicated intro room can teach introductory lessons in parallel with classes. That takes pressure off the schedule. Even then, I schedule intro lessons in the separate room only while intermediate or advanced classes are running, never while a beginner class is on the floor, because I want all hands on deck for the beginner class.

Many schools have more space than they think. A 3,300-square-foot school has plenty of room for an intro area and two places to hold conferences. Ideally you want:

  • One room where you can teach an intro lesson while a class runs on the main floor.
  • Two places where conferences can happen at the same time, so an enrollment and a renewal never compete for one office.

The intro room needs sound control, not privacy

When owners build an intro room, they often ask whether it needs a ceiling for privacy. Privacy matters less than you would expect. Noise matters a great deal. A class of children yelling on the main floor makes it hard for the instructor in the intro room to be heard, and hard for a parent in a conference to hear what you are saying. Whatever you build, build it to keep the sound out.

Private intros versus group intros

The other way to avoid scheduling conflicts is to enroll families through private lessons: a private first lesson, or a private first and second lesson. It solves the scheduling problem, and it works better for adults than for children. You lose some of the energy of the family seeing a real class and taking part in it. I trained for a while at a school that required one private lesson and one group class a week. I was 16, a brown belt, and I hated the private lessons. The group classes were fun. It is very hard to make a private lesson as exciting as a good class, even if that is what people think they want.

Change the schedule at the New Year

If your schedule needs a significant change, the start of the year is the cleanest time to make it. Families expect changes then, and you can present it as a fresh start. Draft the new schedule in November, review it with your staff, and announce it in December with the January start date.

A schedule checklist

Question What you want
When are beginner classes? Times both parents can attend, around 6:15 to 7:15 p.m.
Can a family attend a beginner class twice a week? Yes, with at least two time options
What follows each beginner class? An intermediate or advanced class, not another class with intros
When do parallel intros run? Only during intermediate or advanced classes
How many conferences can happen at once? At least two
Is the intro room quiet enough to teach and talk in? Yes

Frequently asked questions

What is the best time for a beginner martial arts class?

For children’s beginner classes, around 6:15 to 7:00 p.m. on weeknights works well because both parents can usually attend, which matters for enrollment and renewal conversations.

Should intro lessons be scheduled back to back with beginner classes?

Avoid running one class that can contain introductory students directly into another. Follow beginner classes with intermediate or advanced classes so staff have time for new families and conferences.

Does a martial arts school need a separate intro room?

It helps if you have the staff to run intros in parallel with classes. Schedule those intros only during intermediate or advanced classes, and build the room to block noise.

Are private intro lessons better than group intros?

Private intros solve scheduling conflicts and work well for adults, but children usually respond better to the energy of a real group class.

Grand Master Stephen Oliver is a 10th Degree Black Belt and the Founder and CEO of Mile High Karate and Martial Arts Wealth Mastery.

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