The numbers are shocking and indicate that the odds ARE AGAINST YOU in most schools, regarding your chances of achieving your self-defense and/or martial arts dreams. Many schools drag-out your training, by focusing the second you walk-in the door, on teaching skills that take years to become effective at. I'm convinced many schools intentionally do that, along with leaving out certain exercises and techniques that will speed up your progress, just so you'll hand them a check EVERY month for as long as possible! I believe most students quit within their first 6 months because they either recognize all this, or because they simply wanted to learn how to effectively defend themself in a much shorter amount of time. In my school there are (2) types of training. The first focuses on teaching students certain techniques that will allow them to quickly become effective in defending themselves in the street. It primarily focuses on techniques anyone can do! The second type of training is more long-term and for those who want to take their skills to an even higher level. The reason for this type of approach? There are skills anyone can become great at quickly, then there are skills that typically take a couple of years to become great at. Most schools focus on the latter, thus putting a students well-being at risk, should they run into a street situation before long-term proficiency is achieved!