Due to people being slow to return after COVID closures and limited class sizes, we have seen VERY small classes. Combined with the fact that I started teaching a new mid-day Jiu Jitsu classes, class size has been running from two to six students most of the time. This has allowed me to experiment with formats other than the traditional warm up, demonstrate/drill, roll type class.
One thing that has proven popular with students is coached roll classes. Basically, everyone rolls up by flow rolling. I walk around the room and note issues. At the end for the roll, we address what I saw, drill it briefly, then roll again, working up to harder and more intense rolls.
Another thing that we have tried is doing a lot of positional rolls rather than just free rolls. That is not a new idea for us, but we have been doing it as a greater percentage of rolling time.
Have any of your class formats changed during this time? What changes have you seen? What have you liked and what have you not liked?
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Still no indoor training for adults in Belgium, let alone contact training.
Coached rolls sound really cool. One type of training I’m looking to implement more are what Rob Biernacki calls FYJJ (fuck your jiu-jitsu) drills. You basically impose a handicap on one of the players, so the other player can drill better, but still with some resistance.
E.g. a sweeping drill would consist of the bottom player getting the grips he wants and try sweeping the top player (you could freestyle or concentrate on a particular guard). The top player only resists by not trying to get sweeper, so no passing. This enables the bottom player to try sweeping combos against a resisting partner without the fear of getting passed. After sweeping, you immediately start again. Do this for 3 minutes and then switch roles. You get lots of reps in.
I've only been rolling with a limited number of people, but I've mainly been doing position al sparring and learning new techniques. I've found I've made much more progress with this approach than a normal class structure. However I don't think it can be scaled up to larger classes and I don't think it will work with lower level students.
our private gyms are open but gyms renting space from town are closed. Our gym is open, but I will go back to train and coach in August after my second vaccination. Most of training has been with same partners and without instructor. More like rolling and positional sparring and drilling some techniques.
I've added in a 1 minute break between rounds where students are encouraged to talk to their partner about what did and did not work during their roll. This is to encourage the students to be more active problem solvers. The last roll of the night is often just to problem solve something with their partner and/or instructor
ptbeast, post: 60293, member: 852
One thing that has proven popular with students is coached roll classes. Basically, everyone rolls up by flow rolling. I walk around the room and note issues. At the end for the roll, we address what I saw, drill it briefly, then roll again, working up to harder and more intense rolls.
I really like this teaching method. I'm not a coach (only blue belt), but I am a language teacher. There is a theory in education that people learn in their Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Something is in this zone if the student is unable to do it on their own, but can do it with the help of an expert. So if you recognize that a student is struggling to escape side control and you give them the knowledge necessary to escape it then you are working within their ZPD. This is exactly where your students need to be to be learning.
One modification could be that instead of telling them 'the answer' to their problem you guide them towards it by asking leading questions. What Benny_the_jet mentioned in this thread. A person will learn and retain something at a deeper level if they come to the conclusion themselves (with the guidance of an expert). So when find themselves in the position again they are not trying to remember what the coach said, which pulls them away from the moment, but rather they remember their own insight into the problem.
I tend to learn and understand more in actual rolling, whenever I did mistakes. After rolling, I ask my coach or rolling partner what they did. Drilling ideal technique movements is fine but I always forget them on actual rolling and I find some ideal movements are not usable in actual rolling (or still suck.) I believe in the 70-20-10 model principle of learning and development.
I think that Jason’s Problem Solving method is a good tool to help students find answers. I’ll try to make a short version of it and print a poster and hang it in the gym. Idea would be that every one would start figuring out solutions systematically.
Instructor can help by giving answers or asking questions, but here the idea is that trainee can ask their own questions:-)
Almost every BJJ school I have been to follows the pattern: warm up, learn a move, go live.
I don't think this is the best approach - most successful wrestling programs rely heavily on drilling and situational live wrestling. I try to separate into three distinct styles of practice: learning, drilling and situations, live. If I run three classes a week these are the three and when I train at another academy, I try to go to their open mats so I don't get frustrated with the clinic moves their instructors teach.
Admittedly it's an idealist perspective and I can't always achieve it, but it's what I strive for.