[dodsCooggipsedebt]

I think everyone's suggestions have been great. Another big hurdle to overcome that hasn't really been mentioned is trying to remember that these students are also just students. They have to balance college classes with their extracurricular activities. I always find a drop in participation of beginners during mid-terms and usually after they stop coming for a while to study, they can't get back into the groove of coming back to practice. Many freshman students are still adjusting and learning how to balance school work, fun, and everything else. Sometimes things like that are hard to avoid. The best thing I've done to try and keep beginners coming in a situation like this is to tell them to try to come as often as possible and if they've missed a few classes, then we'll catch them up. I try to also emphasize the stress-relief that exercise and a good kendo practice can be. There are the very dedicated students who can balance both their schoolwork with kendo practices, but even they sometimes have to miss a few practices to study for mid-terms and finals. Afterall, an education is important.