After I finished that last post on training acceleration, I couldn’t wait to apply the idea. The first opportunity I had to do so was a No-Gi Advanced class I taught at Crazy 88. Beforehand, I decided that I was going to give them one of the most developed tools in my arsenal. It was …
Category Archive: Teaching
This is where I think out loud about how to improve the process of conveying information to diverse groups and individuals.
Dec 14
The Problem with Most BJJ Instructionals
You look around and you will see many BJJ instructionals put out by renowned Brazilian Jiu-jitsu practitioners. Often, they have high production values and they’re filled with content. Most of the content is even great. However, there’s generally a focus on quantity over depth and enjoyment. This has led to hours and hours of content, …
Dec 02
A Conceptual Blueprint for Preparing to Teach
If you teach or you want to teach, you have to do more than just regurgitate information. The best instructors create experiences that are rarely forgotten. You might’ve even had such experiences yourself, especially if you’ve been training for a good amount of time. It’s in those moments when you pay absolute attention because you …
Nov 28
Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Teaching Experiment II
Recently, I taught a class at Evolve Academy. I had a simple vision. I wanted to create a focused lesson that reinforced the technique in different ways. What we’re going to do here is go back and try to highlight what was good and bad about that approach. Class Structure Free Form Drilling – 10 …
Nov 11
Teaching Self-Defense in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu
Take a moment and think about how Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is taught. There is generally a logical progression. You start off with drilling technique with no resistance then you drill it with varying amounts of resistance. One of the best examples of that last step is rolling. When you roll, you go against people with different …
Oct 20
Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Teaching Experiment I
Let’s set the stage. I taught a class at Crazy 88 some time ago, and in that class, I implemented the thought process I’ve had on isolating movements in instruction. Today, we’re going to retrace the steps and clearly highlight the structure of that class. Warmup The warmup was split into two phases. The first …
Aug 17
The Fine Line between Teaching and Learning
To be an effective teacher requires more than just the simple regurgitation of knowledge. You have to take what you’ve learned, process it, and then articulate it in a form that can be easily understood by your audience. The challenge lies in the fact that the skill levels of your audience can vary significantly from …
Mar 23
Thought Process on Teaching Private Lessons
The goal is simple. It involves two primary parts. The first is to clearly establish with the student what they want to accomplish in the session, and then help them achieve that goal to the best degree possible in the time frame available. Now of those two parts, the second tends to be one that …
Oct 20
Thinking about the Importance of Isolating Movements
I experiment a lot, and lately I’ve been thinking about how to teach technique better. I’ve tried various ideas, but I keep coming back to one in particular. It stems from the understanding that technique is formed from the fusion of concept and movement. Of those two components though, one is harder to teach to …
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