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Taekwondo students come and go for a variety of reasons. Some students may be helped, others are beyond our ability to help. When students are beyond our ability to change or they are disruptive to other students, we have to tell the students or the parents of the students that we can no longer teach them and that they need to find another school.

Students have different needs. All people have inherent instincts that guide their lives. These instincts manifest themselves to different degrees in each individual; one or more instincts may be expressed more than the others are expressed. The prevailing instincts determine a person's personality type. If a person has one prevailing instinct, he or she belongs to a pure type. If a few instincts are equally strong, he or she is a combined type.

As instructors we must be aware of the different types of students and tailor our curriculum and teaching methods to attract and retain as many of the types of students as possible. Students may be classified into types as to their instincts as follows:

• Egophylum (self-preservation). Students of this type are careful and sober-minded, and tend to be distrustful, suspicious, and egocentric. They avoid risk, are unadventurous, and prefer stability. They tend to worry and be hypochondriacs. They tend to afraid of height, water, and high speed. They mostly value their security and well-being. If they are able to overcome their insecurities and fears and sign up for a Taekwondo class, they constantly fight their own fears and torture themselves. They are very sensitive to insult and are very proud, so therefore, quite vulnerable to hurt.

  Instructors and other students must be careful what they say and do around this type of students, since even the smallest thing may cause them to quit. As an instructor, you cannot cater to their needs at the expense of other students, but you should be aware of their presence. If you do cater to their insecurities, you will loose other good students.

• Genophylum (reproduction). People of this type tend to think in terms of "we" instead of "I," with we meaning mainly family. Everything in their life is geared to the interests of family and children. They are super-fathers and super-mothers, the keepers of their family.

  To attract and keep this type of students, you must stress family participation in your school and have lots of family oriented activities. This type of students is not concerned with self-defense, they only want the family to participate in a common activity. They will like well-run tournaments since they may all participate and have fun. They will also enjoy camps and other group activities.

• Altuistic (compassion). Students of this type are kind, responsive, and compassionate. In their childhood, if they were attacked by a bully, they would not fight to spare the aggressor any pain, while stoically bearing their own pain. They are selfless and devote their lives to helping others, protecting the weak, and taking care of the sick and elderly.

  This type of students is always good to have in a school. They will cause few problems, make everyone feel welcome in the school, and will be extremely helpful in all aspects of the school. They may be counted on to help out whenever they can. These types of students also make good instructors since they enjoy helping others.

• Research. People of this type are creative, desirous of knowledge, inventive, seek to understand the essence of all things, and strive to find cause and effect connections. The forego the comforts of life and family in their quest for knowledge.

  This type of students needs to know the reason why something is done a certain way. They do not just want to be told to block a certain way, they want to know why they should block that way, and if they do not agree with the explanation, they will seek to find a better way to do the block. When dealing with this type of student, you had better know what you are talking about and not just be repeating something some instructor told you. This type of students keeps a martial art progressing so it will not stagnate or fall behind times. They help a art shed itself of useless methods and help it develop new methods.

• Dominance. Students of this type are born leaders. They are logical thinkers, both self-critical and critical, and they have the ability to foresee the development of events, to accept new ideas, and to pick out the essentials. They are responsible, efficient, and practical. They understand other people and are emotionally restrained and steadfast. They know what they want to achieve and how to achieve it and they are persistent and purposeful in the achievement of their goals. Students of this type are egocentric, but they allow social interests and values as things necessary to achieving their goals. They think in the interest of the group while often ignoring the interests of the individual.

  Every school needs leaders, they are what makes a school successful. Sometimes a school owner is not a leader or an initiator. This is not a fault, it just that he or she is a different type of person. Having a leader in the school who also accepts being subordinate to the owner is good for business and will help make the school successful. However, the owner must reign in his or her ego and give the leader some leeway.

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