BJJ Class Format

Underground BJJ Ground
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Heres an article I wrote about how I structure classes, thought it might be useful for other instructors who are in the early stages of teaching and planning classes

http://deniskellymmacoaching.blogspot.com.au/2018/01/my-bjj-class-format.html

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Nice

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Your design is comparable to what is done at my gym. As a student, I appreciate the take down approach you have. We do something similar in my gym, but not always, and so before comps students are always drilling take downs like it is something they're not confident in. I think it's because take down drilling leads to more injuries, but it's where the fight starts, and the biggest advantge is gained in my opinion.

I like that my school has a currculum such as your's and not just a hodge podge of whatever the instructor feels like training that day. It looks like your curriculum has some scaffolding in it, and, as a teacher, I like that too. 

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Yeah theres definitley more fear of injury once takedowns are involved especailly if students are used to them. We drill them in every class but usually students only spar from standing during specific takedwon sessions which we have twice a week

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https://deniskellymmacoaching.blogspot.com.au/2018/01/bjj-beginner-class-format.html?m=1

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Excellent articles.

I do think it is important for instructors, coaches, and athletes to understand the differences between:

  1. a class

  2. a practice

  3. sparring session

The goal of each is different. The format of each should be different based on the goals. The use drills, exercises, etc in each should also be different based on the goals.

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i hate to say it but more and more i’m feeling like takedowns should be left out of BJJ class. i understand that they are important to learn but unless they are trained properly i think that they end up being a waste of time and increase the risk of injuries.

if you are going to teach takedowns i think that you really have to commit to teaching them. you need to spend a good deal of time drilling and sparring from the feet. treat them like all the ground techniques and train them against a resisting opponent. you would pretty much need a separate class just for takedowns. you can’t just spend 10 minutes drilling here and there and expect to become proficient. there is a reason that people have to spend a certain amount of time on the mats before they are proficient in judo or wrestling.

the problem i’ve seen is that most BJJ students, for whatever reason, won’t attend the takedown class. they might be more interested in working on their ground game. or they might be afraid of injuries. or maybe their bodies can’t handle the intensity of something like a wrestling practice. all i know is that i’ve been at a few gyms that decided to offer takedown classes and they usually end up having to get rid of the class.

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m.g - Excellent articles.

I do think it is important for instructors, coaches, and athletes to understand the differences between:

  1. a class

  2. a practice

  3. sparring session

The goal of each is different. The format of each should be different based on the goals. The use drills, exercises, etc in each should also be different based on the goals.

Thanks MG. yeah I try to think of as Classes is where you teach students techniques and Practice is where they drill and perfect the techniques without having to be taught. In my experience Classes work best from a commercial gym point of view because most recreational bjj students just won’t be disciplined enough to turn up to ‘practice’ sessions regularly. 

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tapnaporsnapbro - i hate to say it but more and more i'm feeling like takedowns should be left out of BJJ class. i understand that they are important to learn but unless they are trained properly i think that they end up being a waste of time and increase the risk of injuries.

if you are going to teach takedowns i think that you really have to commit to teaching them. you need to spend a good deal of time drilling and sparring from the feet. treat them like all the ground techniques and train them against a resisting opponent. you would pretty much need a separate class just for takedowns. you can’t just spend 10 minutes drilling here and there and expect to become proficient. there is a reason that people have to spend a certain amount of time on the mats before they are proficient in judo or wrestling.

the problem i’ve seen is that most BJJ students, for whatever reason, won’t attend the takedown class. they might be more interested in working on their ground game. or they might be afraid of injuries. or maybe their bodies can’t handle the intensity of something like a wrestling practice. all i know is that i’ve been at a few gyms that decided to offer takedown classes and they usually end up having to get rid of the class.

Yeah I get your point. Ten minutes per class isn't really enough to gain good Takedown skills but as you said people just don't turn up for Takedown classes. My usual class numbers can be around 30 people for beginner bjj , 20 for intermediate bjj and usually 4 or 5 people for my two Takedown classes of the week.