Delivering the curriculum
Students should happily stay, pay and refer because the outcomes of staying are good for them. The challenge for the instructor is to have a process that delivers such outcomes to a group of people, consistently over time. Central to this is to have a map. Something that outlines basic learning goals for someone to progress towards and have a destination for their improvement.
Curriculum Overview: Beginner vs intermediate vs advanced
Let’s take sometime to discuss what exactly a beginner, intermediate and advanced student is. As previously discussed, they are not the difference between an unserious and competitive student. Because recreation means to refresh ones spirit,then everyone is recreational. It’s just that some are refreshed through basic exercise, and others are refreshed through athletic achievement.
Let’s work ourselves backwards:
I) An advanced Nak Muay is one who can demonstrate all offensive and defensive maneuvers under extreme (Fighting) to moderate duress (Sparring);
ii) An intermediate student is one who is learning the relationship between offense and defense and how to transition to and from;
iii) A beginner student is therefore learning offensive and defensive maneuvres and not necessarily how to transition between the two in a hand to hand setting.
Beginner student checklist:
Punch
Straight
Bent arm punch
Kick
Teep
Swing kick (L, M, H)
Knee
Straight
Side
Modifiers:
Non Grab
Arm grab
Arm and head
Head
Elbow
Horizontal
Vertical
Diagonal
Defense
Vs. Punch: Block, Parry, Avoid
Vs Straight Arm punch
Vs Bent Arm Punch
Vs. Kick:
Vs Teep: Parry, Catch, Avoid
Vs Kick: Block, Avoid, Reduce, Catch
Vs. Knee:
Straight: Catch, Reduce, Pivot
Side: Catch, Reduce, Pivot
Prerequisite: Introduce basic positions: I) Full inside; ii) 50/50 inside; iii) 50/50 Outside iv) Full plam inside v) Full plam outside
Vs. Elbow:
Long Guard Defense
Arm clinch defense
Competencies: Students should be able to display the following individual modalities competently:
Shadow Box
Bag Work
Intermediate Checklist: Teach process not choreography
Offensive and defensive transitions
Attack and defend
Long attack to Long defense
Long attack to Short defense
Short attack to Short defense
Short attack to Long defense
Combinations: 2 hit, and 3 hit orientations
Long to Long
Short to Short
Long to Short
Short to Long
Countering: a means to transition from defense to offense
Long defense to long offense
Long defense to short offense
Short defense to short offense
Short defense to long offense
Transition Combos: 2 hit and three hit, beginning with defense:
Defend Long weapon, counter with long combination
Defend Short weapon, counter with short combination
Any Combination into defense (long or short)
Additional Concepts:
Interception
Student Competencies
Play Spar: Students should be able to display their ability to transition from offense and defense smoothly
Bag work: Should display good rhythm in combination
Shadow Box: Express smooth stance, footwork and delivery of weapons dynamically.
Form, timing and attitude
It is very easy to fall into the trap of administering a lesson plan and confusing that for teaching. What often happens is that an instructor will tell a class what is to be done, but stop short as to how it is to be done. Essentially, it is the difference between teaching deeply vs widely. The following is a simple formula that helps shape good fundamentals: A knowledge of the movement, applied at the right speed, that breeds good learning culture. This is meant to help you with the process that’s allows you to teach the nuisance of a technique to avoid the trap of making a class busy just to fill time and to actually teach something worth knowing.
Teach Form: What are the mechanics involved in order to produce said movement? Break down a technique into as to how it traverses from its starting point to its end point. Producing the movement required to transition from said points is what it means to teach form. Have a basic knowledge of planes of motion and how each region (Lower, mid, and upper body) works together to produce the required outcome.
Teach Timing: When do I accelerate and decelerate to express power of movement and desired outcome? Teach your students when to express their power, and most importantly how to wind it down. It is easy to teach how relaxation helps one to accelerate, but the reverse is equally important: to relax after acceleration and to decelerate.
Teach Attitude: What are appropriate mentalities to have in acquisition and expression of movement? Students equally need knowledge about how to be a good student and identify impediments to learning
How do I know they are improving?
Watch your students. Periodically give them ample individual time and watch how they express their movements. What you are looking for is ‘unconscious competence’ as described here:
Next session: Modalities and class layouts
