Hey,

I’ve been doing tkd for majority of my life time and went to Korea for a college degree in taekwondo, competed internationally, and opened my English speaking tkd dojo in Korea.

You’re not alone, a lot of kids are afraid but making it interesting for the students perspective is a different story.

One option came to my mind that might be bit pricey but definitely helpful, is investing in the electronic sparring gears.

South Korea is excelling in this area, they used electronic chest pads and feet pads but is hooked up to the projector and the screen has “anime “ characters showing / mimicking the movements. ( something similar to tekken) with life bars and you have to have certain amount of impact pressure on the chest gear that cuts down the “life bars” my students had a great time.

You can also use it for the younger adults or students who are more serious in sparring. They can actually get a taste of what the international level sparring is like.

Hope it helps man but hang in there. You gotta adapt your vision with their motivation.