This is Why Your Jiu Jitsu School isn’t Growing

Most martial arts schools fail within the first year.

Half survive five years–and that’s being generous. 

Here’s the thing:

If your jiu jitsu program isn’t growing, then it’s failing, even if it’s too gradual to notice yet.

And you know what? I have an embarrassing admission to make…

I was one of those school owners who failed. I opened a martial arts school after the one I taught at closed down. I took two dozen students with me and made cash on opening, and I still failed.

After many years of dissecting what I did wrong (or didn’t do that I should have), I can be candid about why my little martial arts club failed…

And probably why your jiu jitsu school is failing, too.

Take a deep breath and prepare yourself for a hard look. 

Now, let’s begin.

Slow Response to Calls, Emails, and Texts

According to research conducted by industry leader CallDrip, responding to all inquiries within minutes can boost conversion rates by up to 391%. Companies that reply quickly stand to capture up to 50% of sales from leads.

But here’s a dirty secret…

I moved recently, so I sent out a couple emails to local places to figure out where to train. Guess what I heard back?

Crickets.

I know martial arts schools are this way–and I’ll stop training when hell freezes over–but most people don’t. They’ll think you don’t care to have their business.

And guess what. The first person to answer the phone or email will get that person’s membership, because somebody else will. Not you.

You have 1 minute to guarantee you get that person’s attention back and about 5 minutes total to have the highest chance of re-contact. After that, you’re lucky to get ahold of them again, and luckier still to get their business.

If you work another day job besides your jiu jitsu coaching, or you’re just too busy, get somebody else to man your contact channels during work hours. Speed counts for everything with this.

No Business Systems

A business system is a collection of processes, procedures, and often technology that works together to achieve a specific business goal.

For your jiu jitsu business to work, and to keep your sanity, you need to document and repeat good processes for running the academy.

If your sales are inconsistent, staff all have different information, marketing has low return on investment, students are leaking every month…then you probably lack business systems.

Examples of business systems include but are not limited to:

• Marketing Systems. Mailers, SEO, advertising, email newsletters, flyers, referral agreements with local businesses, organic social posts, event booths, and public events hosted at your academy are all examples of marketing.
• Sales Systems. Do you have your memberships mapped out? Special offers? Questions? Scripts? Procedures for handling certain objections? Follow-up expectations? If not, get to it. And get technology to help you make and track those sales.
• Retention Systems. It doesn’t matter how many students you acquire every month if you’re losing the same number of current members. These include rank tracking, referral programs, skill tracking, special events throughout the year, and others. More on this below.
• Staff Training. Staff need to know how to work these systems–and they need continuing education on their jiu jitsu and martial arts knowledge. Invest into regular training for your staff.

Of course, most of these systems–especially marketing–require a consistent and regular budget. It’s your job as a business owner to free up budget for critical acquisition and retention systems. The long term health of your business depends on it.

If you must know, not marketing enough was one of the reasons my martial arts club failed. And on top of that, I didn’t know anything about marketing to begin with. Don’t be me. Invest in an education. Work with an agency. Do anything to fill this gap.

Gymdesk makes your life easier implementing and automating business systems. We have marketing automations ready to go out-of-the-box, and staff management, document management, and sales features besides.

Too Much Attrition

90% of all people who start jiu jitsu quit before ever earning their blue belts, per Jiujitsu Haus’s research.

Jiu jitsu schools start leaking from the very beginning–people move, they get injured, they fall on hard times, any number of legitimate reasons to cancel a membership…

These aren’t as common as you might assume, though. It’s the other kinds of canceled memberships that are really hurting your jiu jitsu school growth.

The trick is to keep water pouring into the bucket at a higher volume than escaping from the holes. To do that, you have to do more than just marketing and sell better: you need to plug some of those holes with member retention systems.

Create a welcoming environment

Preventing jiu jitsu attrition begins with creating a welcoming environment. Instructors improve student retention by fostering an inviting atmosphere where students feel they belong. If students feel disconnected, they’ll quit.

Social gatherings and special events

Social gatherings enhance student engagement which always improves retention. 

Regular events strengthen relationships among students. These gatherings offer opportunities for informal learning and experience sharing.

Informal during social events foster a sense of belonging and community among students in the early days. Barbecues, movie nights, holiday parties, and even the occasional team outings break down barriers and build strong, supportive networks inside your jiu jitsu school.

I didn’t understand it at the time, but a gym I used to train at would gather jiu jitsu students and go participate in tough mudder and Spartan events. Unsurprisingly, those students trained there for many, many years.

Overall, feeling part of both a lifestyle and community increases the likelihood of students staying committed to their training, even during life challenges.

Reach out when students miss classes

Sending quick messages to students who’ve missed several classes is one of the most effective and simple tactics for preventing membership cancels. 

The longer students are away from the mat, the more likely they quit. And connecting with them on a human level easily stops this process in its tracks.

In Gymdesk, you can set automatic emails and text messages to trigger when a student misses a set number of classes. This takes much of the manual work and monitoring out of the process. When students reply, they effectively raise their hand to you for one on one attention.

And if students do cancel, you can send them reactivation emails a few months down the line.

No Operating Cash

If all you have is a languishing roster of monthly membership fees coming into your business, you’re going to get stuck in a cycle of being unable to afford the resources to put into proper marketing, staffing, and school maintenance.

To get beyond this, you have to find low cost but consistent ways to generate more cash for your jiu jitsu gym on demand.

The list of tried and true methods of generating more upfront cash to fuel your business upgrades are nearly endless…

• Charge more for memberships
• Have a pro shop
• Do paid events–community events, seminars, and special courses
• Put together trial packages and charge for them
• Take private lessons
• Sell corporate trainings
• Add a new class or membership type

These are all standard and very effective ways to get more cash flowing through your billing system on a consistent basis. Give people more reasons and opportunities to pay you money.

WIth that said, don’t make the mistake of looking at all this money and paying yourself more or buying expensive equipment. Maybe you do need that equipment, but more than likely, you need to invest it back into the business in the form of marketing, sales, or retention first.

Conclusion

I admit it:

I am among the many martial arts school owners who fail. But here’s the good news:

If you understand why these failures are so common, you can finally begin to grow your jiu jitsu academy and prevent yourself from being a statistic like me. You can learn from my mistakes and the mistakes of many others.

So why do so many jiu jitsu gyms struggle to grow…or just shut down forever? Here’s my diagnosis.

• Slow response time. Research shows that prospects vanish if inquiries aren’t answered almost immediately; speed more than skill wins new students. 
• Absence of business systems. We’re talking marketing, sales, retention, and staff training. These turn a chaotic dojo into a sustainable enterprise. Passion and skill will eventually collapse without documented, repeatable processes. 
• Attrition. Most students quit within two years. Students drift away unless a culture of belonging keeps them tied to the mat. Community events, outreach, and genuine connection are vital. 
• Operating cash. Lack of operating cash traps owners in stagnation. The solution: generate consistent income through strategic offerings and reinvest every dollar into growth, not indulgence. 

Now you know. These insights are hard-won. If your school isn’t growing, or it’s even in danger of shutting its doors, audit your business for these weaknesses and attack them immediately. Do not be sluggish.

Good luck!