Rotating Curriculum?

[trevor]

Hi all

I'm trying to wrap my head around the idea of a rotating curriculum, and hoping for some clarification - bear with me as I think aloud. Also apologies if this is beyond the scope of this particular forum.

As I understand it, everyone in a class learns the same material, regardless of their level. And this makes sense to me if I look at it from the idea of performance-based martial arts, "advanced techniques" are simply the basics applied well, so all levels learn the same thing in a particular class.

It would also stand to reason that in a rotating curriculum of 24 classes for example, each class needs to be able to stand-alone in order for absolute beginners to come into the 24th class in the cycle and successfully learn/train the exact same things as the person who started at the beginning of the cycle.

But this is also where it gets unclear to me because there also must be a logical progression of techniques... for arguments sake, you wouldn't learn C before you learned A & B. So in the 24th lesson when the majority of the class is up to X, a beginner would come in having to learn X without having learnt A-W. Clearly it also wouldn't do to focus exclusively on a particular range, for example, Kickboxing in 1 week, then Clinch the 2nd week, and so on. Each class, I think, should have elements from all the ranges, which gradually build over the cycle.

Techniques obviously need to be reviewed from time to time, so the only way I can fathom the idea of a rotating curriculum working is through the idea of alive drilling with progressive resistance (???). In that way, in drilling a specific position for example, it won't matter that a beginning student does not know as many techniques as their training partner -  they do the alive drill, and the coach might suggest a technique in order to improve performance in the particular position. Focus shifts from technique to performance, and what gets rotated maybe are specific drills/performance games??

Sorry for the kind of long post - but would appreciate your input.

Trevor

[inirie1]

Thats a great question! Never though of that. I do notice that when someone new comes along I tend to go back to the same basics..which I guess would be covered in A...Though this isnt usually an issue since everyone usually knows the importance of the basics and the more senior students usually cant wait to show how much more they know....also I let them show newer students the techniques because I know how important teaching is to learning it yourself. 

Cant wait for the responses.

[trevor]

Have been scouring the web searching for information on this - not that I can find much for free - but one thing I did find was connected to the idea of many of these martial arts marketing programs advocate offering a private trial lesson prior to a new student joining general classes. This would be the time to lay foundational skills that will help a new student fit into any stage of a curriculum cycle. This idea, in my mind, seems to resonate with the rationale for Sifu Burton's "Quick Start" curriculum.

[John Robinson]

I do a rotating curriculum with my students.  I basically choose a few techniques from each range to work each month, in addition to the monthly DVD's from Burton. 

I offer a one-on-one for each student coming in, but the majority of students opt not to take it, they just jump in class.  Usually because they already know someone that trains here and have watched a few classes already.  If they seriously don't even know how to punch, I'll have a senior student partner up with them and go over some basics. 

So everybody is doing the same techniques, regardless of level.  But the nature of the rotating curriculum is that they may not have worked those techniques in a while.  So for example, last night we worked slips/changing levels, bob and weave to start class .... probably haven't done those drills in 2-3 months.  So it was new for some, review for others.  Then we worked the underhooks from half guard and side control from the monthly DVD.  New for everyone.  Then we did Performance Games with it, so the newer guys now have something to work, and the older guys just have one more thing to add to their game.

[Jarlo Ilano]

Remember too, that Burton suggests a checklist for each student for the JKDU curriculum.  So that every time they work the techniques it is checked off on their sheet.  That way you know who has learned the particular move and how many times they've worked on it in class.

[James McRae]

Since my JKD/Jiu-Jitsu school is a college club, I get to "start fresh" every fall when we have new students join us.  Thus, I'm used to teaching a curriculum that circles back on itself once a year.  

Burton's curriculum emphasizes the Performance Games over everything else, and this makes it easy to teach a class that contains multiple levels of students.  I will usually start by explaining a concept that applies to fighting and then teach a couple of techniques that illustrate that concept.  Then, we will play a Performance Game that allows the students to work this new lesson into their games.  The more experienced students are taught the same concept, though I will typically give them a different technique and their Performance Game will be less restrictive.  

For example, let's say the key concept for the evening is "explosiveness in bridging the gap."  I will start by explaining how it is important when performing the crash cover (aka, "full side cover") to explode into your opponent as if the cover were an attack.  I will then have the students practice this by crashing into the kicking shields and trying to drive their lead elbows in deep enough to knock the holder back.  I will then have them put on headgear and elbow pads and practice it against a striking opponent (with less force, of course).  Finally, we will play a Performance Game: the beginners will practice against an opponent who throws only overhand rights, while the more experienced students will fight against a guy who can throw any strike he likes.  Both groups have the same goal: don't get hit with any clean strikes, explode into your opponent to strike and off-balance him, and secure a dominant clinch position.  Essentially, the beginners and intermediate students are learning the same principle, technique, and Performance Game; I just alter the rules of the game to match the skills of the student.

[paulism1101]

Hey Everyone,

At my school we recommend an intro lesson to all new students. We charge $20 for a 45-60 min one on one lesson, that focuses on the basics and we give them the first academy t-shirt for free (the tshirt is required for class and we normally charge $20 for anyway). We've found this is a great way to have the student hit the ground running... When they arrive at their first group class, they already know their fighting stance, basic punching, and kicking... And 5 angles of attack for Kali.

Two things I'll throw out before I leave you.

First, We have a very strong close rate with our intro, I'd say 75-85% of intro's turn into a contract. I highly recommend that you charge for your intro, even if it's at your cost (we make 6 dollars off our intro, since our shirts cost us $14)... The first six months we didn't charge and our close rate was like 40%. It seemed that people who were only slightly interested would come in, since it was free and something fun to do. By placing a same fee on the lesson, we can weed out people who really aren't serious.. Another school by us charges $75, and I think that is too much.

Secondly, for people that aren't intersted in the intro we offer a one week pass. I've found this to be bad for the student and often I notice that they seem overwhelmed. They come into "lesson B or C" and feel like they aren't good enough. Where students that have taken the intro come into "lesson B-F" and feel confident that they know a bit.

I hope that helps a bit.

-Paul     

[Burton]

I am currently testing our rotating curriculum. Each range is covered each class (as usual), but the positions change each week. That means that a beginner in the clinch section may be working the neck clinch with knees, while someone a little farther along will work the neck clinch to snap down, and someone more advanced will work the neck clinch and transition to another position or takedown. There are also weeks in the schedule for review, and weeks for test-specific review when the exams are coming up. It is a huge task to formulate such a rotating curriculum, and JKDU Instructor David Giomi got it all started, spending weeks working out the first draft. But it is very valuable, as everyone progresses.
  And, as Jim mentioned, the Performance Games are primary, which helps in the organization of the material. I will let everyone know when the rotating curriculum has been tested sufficiently and is ready for distribution.

[James McRae]

I do something similar to what Paul is describing, though since I run a college club, we don't charge for the intro lesson (if I were running a commercial school, I would follow Paul's advice).  We have an hour of open training followed by an hour and a half of structured class, so I ask new students to show up at the beginning of the open training class so that I (or one of my assistant instructors) can teach them the basics.  This way, they will have what they need to know for class and I won't have to slow down what I teach the rest of the class.

[trevor]

thanks all - this clarifies a lot in my mind and gives me something to work with.

[trevor]

I realize this thread is old now, but I just signed up for Gracie University out of curiosity and the Blue Belt Qualification Handbook for Gracie Combatives completely and clearly outlines to me how a rotating curriculum would work. A very good read.

[James McRae]

The Gracies have a very clear and concise curriculum.  If you don't have a copy of Gracie Combatives (teh DVD set or teh online version), I'd recommend picking it up.  There is a lot of overlap with Burton's BJJ for the Street curriculum and you get a huge amount of material for the money. 

[peregrine]

Gracie Barra and SBGI has rotating curriculums that I am aware of.

From my myopic view if you break down bjj into positions you can approach the rotating curricumlum that way and students can immediately begin applying techniques in limited sparring aor live roll. In simplest terms you can do it by position. Teach each position for a week. By having the curriculum posted students can review and recall material. Roughly I would do it with 2-4 go to techniques per position. Early in the week you could focus on key concepts and 1or2 techniques then later in the week you could show more details aor more techniques. You may also want to sequence it so that the attacking techniques are done before the defensive positions so that students can work the finishes, then a week to 2 weeks later show the defense and counters.