When you build something — a business, a club, an association, etc — it's only natural that you would want your community to stay with you, forever, if possible. But that's not possible. People move on.

The reason people quit judo are as varied as the reasons people take up judo. Some people become too busy, some get injured, some develop new hobbies, some move to another city, some lose their jobs.

Whatever the case, you will see a natural churn in membership. But as long as the club is growing and you continue to have active and keen members, you should not lament the fact that some old members have dropped off.

Yes, it would be nice if they could have stayed on but hey, that's life. It's important to realize that a judo club is not a static thing. It's constantly evolving. The culture or ethos of the club can remain the same but its members will change over time.

That's not a bad thing. The people who are with you now are the ones who want to be there. And the ones that have left are the ones who don't (for whatever reasons). So no point lamenting those who have left but instead, appreciate those who are with you now.

As the club membership evolves over time, the personality of the club could change. For example if you have a bunch of more mature players, the club might be more serious. If a bunch of younger players were to join, the club might become more boisterous. But what's important is that the core culture and values of the club remain the same.

If you have a critical mass of members who are already ingrained with the culture of the club, whenever new members join, they will absorb that culture through osmosis. That ensures the club culture endures even if its personality changes.

I'm happy that right now, we have a really good mix of members at our club. We've been around for more than five years now and I dare say this is the best version of the club that we've ever hand. I wouldn't want to change a thing.  But I do realize that as the months and years go by, some members will leave. We'll miss them but we also look forward to the new ones who will be joining and helping our club grow from strength to strength.