The Attendance Challenge in Martial Arts

Martial arts attendance patterns differ fundamentally from most children's activity classes. In swimming or gymnastics, students typically attend the same session at the same time each week. In martial arts, it is common for students to attend two or three times per week on varying days, skip weeks due to minor injuries or fatigue, increase attendance before a grading, and reduce attendance after one. Adult students are particularly variable, fitting training around work commitments that change week to week.

This irregularity creates two interconnected problems: how to charge fairly for attendance that varies significantly from month to month, and how to track whether a student has attended enough sessions to be eligible for their next grading. Schools that get this wrong either lose revenue (by undercharging irregular attenders) or lose students (by charging regular monthly fees when attendance drops for legitimate reasons).

This guide covers the payment models and tracking systems that allow you to manage irregular attendance effectively while maintaining a healthy revenue flow.

Payment Models: Choosing the Right Approach

There is no single correct payment model for martial arts. The right choice depends on your student demographics, class frequency, and business goals.

Monthly Membership (Direct Debit)

The monthly membership model charges a fixed fee regardless of attendance. This is the gold standard for cash flow predictability. Typical UK pricing for martial arts memberships ranges from £40 to £80 per month for two to three sessions per week, with premium pricing of £80 to £120 for unlimited access.

The advantage is stable, predictable revenue. The disadvantage is that students who attend irregularly may feel they are not getting value, leading to cancellations. To mitigate this, some schools offer a reduced-rate membership for students who commit to attending once per week, with the option to upgrade to a full membership that covers more sessions.

Pay-Per-Session

Pay-per-session charges students each time they attend. Typical rates in the UK are £8 to £15 per session for group classes. This model is attractive to irregular attenders because they only pay for what they use. However, it creates unpredictable revenue, makes cash handling more complex if payments are taken at the door, and provides no financial incentive for regular attendance.

If you offer pay-per-session, set the price high enough that a regular attender would save money on a membership. This creates natural price pressure to upgrade.

Class Packs (Bulk Credits)

Class packs offer a middle ground. Students purchase a block of sessions in advance, typically 10, 20, or 30 sessions, at a discounted rate compared to pay-per-session. A 10-class pack might cost £70 to £100 (compared to £10 to £12 per drop-in session). Sessions are deducted as the student attends, and packs typically expire after 3 to 6 months to prevent indefinite usage.

Class packs work well for adult students with variable schedules. They provide upfront revenue, encourage attendance (the student has already paid), and offer flexibility. The administrative challenge is tracking remaining credits per student, which requires a management system that deducts credits at check-in automatically.

Offering all three models simultaneously is common and sensible. Monthly membership for regular attenders, class packs for moderately regular students, and pay-per-session for casual or trial students. A platform like AMES can manage all three payment types for a single class.

Attendance Tracking and Grading Eligibility

In martial arts, attendance is not just a business metric. It directly affects student progression. Most grading systems require a minimum number of training sessions between grades, and verifying this requires accurate, automated attendance tracking.

Minimum Attendance Requirements

Typical requirements vary by discipline and grade level:

Karate kyu grades: 20 to 30 sessions between gradings for junior kyu grades, increasing to 40 or more for senior kyu grades approaching brown belt.
Judo mon grades: 12 to 16 sessions between gradings for children on the mon grade pathway.
BJJ: No universal attendance requirement, but most academies expect 3 to 6 months of regular training between stripes and 1 to 2 years between belt promotions.
Taekwondo gup grades: Typically 2 to 3 months and 24 to 36 sessions between promotions for colour belt grades.

Automated Eligibility Checking

Your attendance tracking system should automatically calculate each student's session count since their last grading. When combined with your grading eligibility rules (minimum sessions, minimum time, instructor approval), the system can generate a list of eligible students for each grading event. This removes the guesswork from grading administration and prevents students from being put forward before they have met the requirements.

Payment Reconciliation and Freeze Policies

Reconciling Irregular Attendance with Fixed Payments

When students on monthly memberships attend irregularly, questions inevitably arise about fairness. A student who attends twice a week is getting excellent value from a £60 monthly membership, while a student who attends once a fortnight may feel short-changed. Clear terms and conditions at the point of enrolment are your best defence. State explicitly that the membership covers access to specified sessions, not a guaranteed number of attendances, and that the fee is the same regardless of how many sessions the member uses in a given month.

Membership Freezes

Offering a freeze option is good practice for martial arts schools, where injuries are a normal part of training. A typical freeze policy allows members to suspend their membership for up to 4 to 8 weeks per year at a reduced rate (commonly £10 to £15 per month to hold their place) or free for medically certified injuries. Freezes should be requested in writing (or through your management portal) and should not be applied retrospectively.

Handling Lapsed Members

Students who stop attending without cancelling their membership create a grey area. Some schools are content to continue collecting fees, but this leads to chargebacks, complaints, and reputational damage. Best practice is to flag members who have not attended for 4 to 6 weeks and reach out proactively. A friendly message asking if everything is alright often reveals a temporary issue (injury, work commitments, family situation) that can be resolved with a freeze or temporary schedule change, retaining the student rather than losing them permanently.

Key Takeaways

Offer multiple payment models (monthly membership, class packs, and pay-per-session) to accommodate different attendance patterns and maximise your addressable market.
Price pay-per-session higher than the per-session cost of a membership to create a natural incentive for regular attenders to commit to a membership.
Automate attendance tracking and link it to grading eligibility so you can generate accurate lists of eligible students for each grading event.
Offer a membership freeze policy for injuries and extended absences, with clear terms communicated at enrolment.
Proactively contact lapsed members after 4 to 6 weeks of non-attendance to retain them before they cancel or request a chargeback.
Set clear terms and conditions at enrolment explaining that monthly fees cover access, not a guaranteed number of sessions.