Kaju Lesson Plan

[Ron Baker]

I always find Lesson Plans interesting.  They're all different, and they're all good.  Some instructors type it all out, and some play it by ear (I'm guilty of that from time to time.)  I'm pretty open about what I teach, while some keep it pretty private.  All good.  If you're inclined, care to share your typical Lesson Plan?

An example of ours:

I.    Static Stretches
      - Calf Stretches
      - Hamstring Stretches
      - Hip Stretches
      - Chest and Shoulder Stretches
     
II.   Short Run or Jump Rope

III.  Dynamic Stretches
      - High Knees
      - Frankensteins (high leg swing)
      - Side Skips
      - Grapevines
      - Walking Lunge w/ Twist
      - Bear Crawls

IV.  Speed/Agility Training
      - Agility Ladder or Hurdles

V.   Kajukenbo Curriculum
      - This varies between boxing, old-school stuff, new material, jujitsu, etc.
      - Some students have extensive backgrounds in other arts (Wrestling, Aikido) so they are asked to contribute on occasion

VI.   Cool down.

VII.  Bow out

VIII. Visit/Talk Story

[Dave Jones]

Presuming I am not handing out a written pop-quiz when they walk in, it is usually as follows:

Students start with some static stretches when they arrive, or after they finish the pop-quiz.
I might have someone lead the stretches or they do it on their own.

Then we do either [1] yoga & pilates, [2] calisthenics & shadow boxing (aka "tactical aerobics") or [3] kettlebells depending on my mood.
I often verbally quiz them about terminology, history, concepts etc while this is going on.

Then we work out
Bull rings, drills, techniques, countering/throwing lines, principles/concepts, grappling, randori, boxing, kickboxing, whatever
I might pick anyone to teach or demonstrate something, even a purple belt

Then we pay respects and talk story

Occasionally, students arrive late (which is fine by me - "Come when you can, leave when you need to.") so they warm up and stretch on their own and jump in when they are ready.
We are very informal; we only wear uniforms when we are going somewhere or when I suspect people have forgotten how to tie their belts...
Sweatpants and t-shirts with tennis or wrestling shoes most of the time.

I almost always "wing it" because I am never sure who will show up until everyone arrives.
We do not have split classes; there is no "beginner" or "advanced" class, everyone trains with everyone else.
I try to "average out" the material I cover to give everyone something to work on, regardless of rank, experience or relative skill.
It gives the seniors a chance to help teach and coach the under-belts as well - which is a good way for me to gauge their real understanding of the material, IMO.

My standing roster is only about 12 students so "averaging" is not too tough.

[CorderMMA]

This is not regarding a lesson plan, but more about the material taught on a particular day:

We do a rotating schedule based on the week of the month and then A and B day (A is beginning of week and B is end of week),

So, for example Week 1 is:

A Day (Mon-Tue)
Kajukenbo (Adult & Jr): Strikes, Blocks and Basic Footwork
MMA: Boxing Hands & Shuffle Drills
Kaju Dragons: Front Falls, Back Falls and Rolls

B Day (Wed-Thur)
Kajukenbo (Adult & Jr): Falls, Rolls and Front Grabs
MMA: Punch and Jab Counters
Kaju Dragons: Front Grab and Back Grabs

Our BJJ classes use a different teaching schedule but have an organized plan.

Our goal is to make sure the teaching topic for the day is taught then the instructor may teach anything else that might be important for the particular class.  This schedule makes sure that we have gone through most of the material at least once in a month.

When I didn't use the schedule, I would teach whatever I wanted, but sometimes I would ignore certain material I wasn't so fond of.

-Kelly