I was talking to Jason the other day about class attendance. It seems that there are certain predictable ebbs and flows throughout the year. One of which is the predictable lull of attendance is the last week of school and/or first week of summer vacation.
During the last week of school students are busy cramming for finals. Parents are busy making sure their kids are studying for their finals. All of which makes all aforementioned parties far too busy to make it to Jiu Jitsu class.
After finals are over, families want to take vacations. Singles want to get out and about, blow off some steam, and... well... mingle with other singles. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know what I mean?
This usually lasts for a couple of weeks. Then once everyone's gotten everything out of their systems, they come back to Jiu Jitsu class.
But during this time of cramming and post exam revelry Jiu Jitsu classes are pretty bare. Not too many studs around.
There is an upside however. If you're one of the dedicated few to make it to class during this lull, sometimes you'll be the only one in class. Usually when that happens, your instructor will ask you if there's anything particular you're having trouble with or want to work on. It's basically like getting a private lesson for free!
Other times it's just you and one or two other students. Same deal here. Your instructor asks if there's anything you guys have questions about or want to work on. If you come prepared with an answer, it's the next best thing to getting a private lesson... and you get it for no extra charge.
I've had some of my best training sessions during these lulls in attendance. They've been a huge source of those aha moments. You know, the ones where you come away saying to yourself, "Ooohhh, so THAT'S how it works!" There's nothing better than a little one-on-one, individual attention from your instructor to get you through those sticking points.
So my advice for you during these times of low class attendance is this. Go out. Have fun. Blow off some steam by all means. But do yourself a favor and make it to one or two classes when nobody else wants to attend. Come prepared with some questions in mind. I think you'll be glad you did.
Happy training!
- Big Mike
