So it's my kid's first day of school today.

Well, not really--he's moving up from kindergarten to elementary school, so I guess it's his first day in the big leagues. :)

Anyway, he wanted to ride the bus in today, but mom and I insisted on driving him in and walking him to his first day of class.

I know, I know--helicopter parenting and all that. But the reality is, we'll only get to do this so many times before he starts being embarrassed by his parents. So, we're taking advantage of his naivety now while he's still hormone-free.

But also, we remembered how nervous he was on his first day last year. The poor kid was a bit of a wreck, actually. He'd been through two years of preschool, but moving from the familiar comforts of his Pre-K to the great wide world of kindergarten was a big step for our little guy. 

I was worried sick about how he'd adapt. I mean, staying up at night kind of worrying.

Here's the funny thing though... by the third day, he was okay. Well, better than okay. More like, "You don't need to walk me to my classroom today, Dad--I got this" okay.

Didn't hurt my feelings at all. 

But what made the difference there? How'd this kid go from scared of school to loving it and not wanting the school day to end in just two days?

Well, you can chalk some of it up to him--the kid loves learning new things, just like his dad. And he's a lot like me in other ways as well, a natural introvert who compensates by trying to make friends wherever he goes.

But mostly, it was because of his teacher. He got a good one for his first year of school, that's for sure. This lady had kids of her own, plus a new baby at home. So, she was all about the mothering instincts and took extra care with our kid on his first day.

The reason I bring all this up is not just so I can drone on about my kid. Believe me, I remember what it was like to be childless, and have to put up with hearing parents yammer on about their kids--in a word, BORING.

No, the real reason I bring it up is because we martial arts instructors often forget what it was like the first day we walked into a martial arts class. 

I remember my first class. I was nervous as heck, and that was after spending a few months getting backyard karate lessons from my friend's dad. I wasn't sure what to expect. 

Oh, I was excited, don't get me wrong. But I was also terrified that I'd make a fool of myself.

See, a lot of the people who come to us for lessons are slightly damaged. I don't mean mentally defective, but rather emotionally scarred up. Maybe they've been picked on a lot, or they lack confidence for some other reason.

Or maybe they are doing martial arts because they aren't naturally athletic and other sports have been a bust for them (that was me... plus I wanted to develop the ability to do the Vulcan nerve pinch on the school bully).

Or maybe they've been through a traumatic event, like a mugging or a sexual assault. You just never know why people are starting martial arts and self-defense classes.

It's easy--really easy--to lose people at that delicate first stage in their training. Everything is new, more than a little strange, and they might not be sure yet that this martial arts thing is for them.

Which is why the intro lesson is so important to your school's success. I'm going to be talking about the intro lesson over the next week or two, going into detail about why you need to do them and how to do them right.

So, stick around because I think you're going to get a lot from this next email series... especially if you have conversion or retention issues.*