Does your school have a unit plans?

**Kali11324** · Posted On: 6/28/2012 4:18pm

I'd really like to hear from anyone who might be an actual instructor at their school.
I am a high school teacher and when it comes to the classes I teach I am, of course, well organized. I have the semester broken down into units and then those units are broken down into individual lesson plans that I have typed up on my work computer. All of this is directed by the state standards.

I have also studied martial arts for most of my life but I have never really seen this type of organization at the schools I have studied at. I just started training again and I was really impressed that at this school they do seem to have a well organized curriculum. We are starting a striking/ boxing unit. First we reviewed proper form for jabs, crosses and hooks. We drilled combinations and proper footwork. Then we moved to defending: blocking, slipping and counter-punching. What really shocked the **** out of me was went someone asked a question about feints, the instructor picked up his notes and was like, "Yeah we will be covering that next Monday night. Make sure you are here if you want to learn about it".

I really like this level of organization, although I can see how some might look at it as too "canned". I have had really awesome teachers in the past but I did feel like, for the most part, they were winging it, they did not have a long-term and short-term instruction plans.

Just interested in everyone's thoughts on this.

**Permalost** · Posted On: 6/28/2012 5:15pm

When I did CLF, there was a curriculum laid out into different sashes, the way you see it in systems with belts. In the FMA I study, its actually laid out into units, like college. I think I'm on 18-24, but we don't really break it down into "okay, you've finished X unit and now its time for Y", or "okay, today we're working on unit Z". It is pretty well organized though, and I think its a good thing for systems that don't base promotion on competition. I suspect that this organization system is because of Cacoy Canete, who was a school teacher and organized his martial arts system fairly academically.

I see you're in San Diego and have Kali in your name. Do you practice FMA in San Diego? Which group? I've seen a few kempo places that have FMA as a side thing. The MMA part made me think maybe the Harris Academy?

**Kali11324** · Posted On: 6/28/2012 6:09pm

That sounds like a really good system. I have been thinking about the teaching aspect a lot lately because I was shopping for a school for my kids, 10 and 7. Since it was for my kids I was looking for a family oriented place and I don't care about how badass the instructors might be. Now I am taking adult classes there as well. My long term goal is to be able to work in the classes my sons are taking.
I have studied FMA but my name refers to a nickname I got in college unrelated to MA. It is a shortening of my last name that just stuck.

**goodlun** · Posted On: 6/28/2012 6:20pm

If your interested in BJJ for your Kids http://thestrongholdsd.com/ has a really good program.
They have 2 location one in Point Loma one in East Lake very family orientated.
If your into Judo
I would suggest either
http://www.judoamerica.com/ (in Mira Mesa)
or
http://www.migoto-judo.org/ (in East Lake)

**Permalost** · Posted On: 6/28/2012 6:25pm

Originally Posted by goodlun

If your interested in BJJ for your Kids http://thestrongholdsd.com/ has a really good program.
They have 2 location one in Point Loma one in East Lake very family orientated.
If your into Judo
I would suggest either
http://www.judoamerica.com/ (in Mira Mesa)
or
http://www.migoto-judo.org/ (in East Lake)

I had a brief amount of time with Judo America, and thought they had a really great program going. Coach Lafon is a very well qualified coach, and they are about good judo rather than making money. I believe they also share their mat space with a kempo class but it goes on at a different time and I've never seen it.

**Kali11324** · Posted On: 6/28/2012 6:53pm

I have found a really good place. It is called West Coast Martial Arts in an area called 4s Ranch. It is about a mile from my house which makes it super convienent. It is maybe a little bit of a McDojo but it meets our needs. They let my one son take classes 3 times a week for a month before we had to pay. They are atarting BJJ for the adults, I don't know if they are going to ever intergrate it into the kid classes since it is anoutside coming to teach it. Actually he is one of the other parents so who knows.

**goodlun** · Posted On: 6/28/2012 7:12pm

Just out of morbid curiosity is this a link to West Coast's site
http://wcmaasd.com/

**Kali11324** · Posted On: 6/28/2012 8:16pm

Yes it is.

**Kali11324** · Posted On: 6/28/2012 9:36pm

Originally Posted by goodlun

Just out of morbid curiosity is this a link to West Coast's site
http://wcmaasd.com/

I kinda feel like your going to start ripping on the school . . . which is fine. My when it comes to training, my priorities now, at 39 with two kids, are totally different from when I was in my twenties.

**SBG-ape** · Posted On: 6/28/2012 10:10pm

Going back to the original post & the idea of curriculumprogressions or cycles…

I train & coach BJJ at 2 gyms. One gym has a 20 week positional cycle that covers all the major positions in Jiu-jitsu. I think that’s great, but a little long for most people starting out & trying to get a handle on the big picture of the art. I coach kids & beginners, so my class structure is a little simpler. For my kids’ classes there’s a 3 week cycle so that the kids can wrap their brains around it, but within each week’s curriculum there’s variety; so it’s really a 9 week curriculum. The basic cycle is:Takedowns, guard, pins & escapes. Within that I cycle through Greco basics, Judo basics, Shot & sprawl for week 1. Week 2 is either butterfly,closed guard, or sweeps vs. standing passes. Week 3 is cross sides, mount, back mount. It helps me keep track of what I need to coach & keeps the material balanced. It also keeps things simple enough that the kids get a clear sense ofthe art’s big picture pretty early on. For my adult classes I do something similar, but in an 8 week cycle,going into more depth on the ground material & less on the takedowns.