Back in the days gone by in the martial arts world belt testing was a grueling and often humiliating affair. The instructor had the attitude that only the strong will survive and he was correct, only the strong did!

Today I am hoping that you are out of that business. Belt graduation is a celebration of student achievement, not a torture zone. For those of us who have been in the arts a long time, we know the benefits that come. The longer you practice, the greater the benefit. If we run our belt promotions like a boot camp, we will lose students, and they will miss the benefits of training.

No, I am not saying that you should be promoting students who do not know their materials. Your expectations need to be based on their level of experience, which should increase with time. You should never have a coloured belt student failing tests! If you do, something is very wrong and it is not the student! Remember there are never bad students, only bad teachers.

Also remember, each student tests every 3 months. Adjust your belt system if need be to make this happen. Also, give the student a new belt with each promotion. I used the old 5 colour belt / tape stripe system for 20+ years. When I changed it to a 14 belt system my retention went through the roof!

Remember too, 4 years to Black Belt (probationary or whatever you want to call it). Don't promote to Black Belt early, this will kill student moral.

Finally, are you still charging for testing? Stop! Don't charge for testing. If you can't afford to do testing for free increase your monthly rate, but eliminate test fees! In these economic times you will be very popular with the parents when you do this!