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 a basic attack from half guard, but it has so many layers of complexity. My goal was to demonstrate that by focusing on the entries and the execution.
I even took some time to write out a conceptual blueprint for the class, and I’ll share that with you.
Class Structure
- Warmup – 10 minutes
- Technical Instruction and Practice – 45 minutes
- Situational Rolling – 35 Minutes
Conceptual Blueprints
I’m going to share two blueprints with you. One I wrote real quick shortly before class, and the other I wrote afterward for a future class down the road. Let’s see if you can tell the which one was written first.
Who is listening?
- Advanced Students at Crazy 88 (Mostly blue belts)
Step I – Outcome: By the end of this class, they will….
- Understand that basic attacks can be made more effective by improving entries and developing set reactions for your opponent’s counters.
In order to achieve this they need to know:
- How it can be done by seeing a clear example of entries, initiation, and execution
In order to achieve this they need to feel:
- Excited about looking at their own skill set in the same framework.
Step II – Relevance: Why should they care?
- Because if you make your basic attacks more effective, it will create more opportunities to use more advanced techniques as well.
- Because thinking about your technique in this way may inspire innovation.
- Because figuring out how to make basic attacks work will increase your conceptual understanding of why they work.
Step III – Point: What’s your message in one sentence?
- Even the most basic of attacks can have layers of complexity.
Who is listening?
- Advanced Students at Crazy 88 (Mostly blue belts)
Step I – Outcome: By the end of this class, they will….
- Use underhook half guard because it’s effective.
In order to achieve this they need to know:
- Entries into the positions from bad situations
- The concepts and movements that define the technique
- Common reactions and how to counter them.
In order to achieve this they need to feel:
- Excited about trying out the technique during rolling.
Step II – Relevance: Why should they care?
- Because half guard is the bridge between many positions
- Because focusing on the entries and execution will give them a far more effective technique
- Because the technique I’m teaching has been battle tested.
Step III – Point: What’s your message in one sentence?
- Even the most basic of attacks can have layers of complexity.
Technical Instruction and Practice
The first thing I taught was the technique itself. After drilling that, I started adding entries from similar situations. Kept it simple though and only showed three.
After that, we moved on to dealing with common reactions. Again, I kept it to only three, but I included a bonus trick.
Now the advantage to using this format is that they got many reps in on the basic technique. So even if they only pick up one or two of the entries or tricks, the basic form is still being reinforced.
Situational Rolling
The rest of the class was all situational.
The position was set to a neutral half guard position. The goal on top was to pass or submit, while the person on bottom had to focus on sweep or submit. There was no time limit, and they went until a person “won.”
After that another person would come in, and it was back to it.
Overview
It’s simple. I like this class structure, and I’m going to improve on it.