Some guys at my gym want to have a formal "drilling class" setup at our academy. Just wondering what is a good structure for a 60 minute drill class.
We want to keep it structured (and on time!!) as it's going to be an early morning class (before most guys have to go to their day jobs) or we will try to squeeze it in before our schedule standard classes if we can).
What has worked for you guys out there?
Do we do 'basic' moves like shrimping/ bull fight passes/etc..??? Or is it worth our while to do advanced stuff? Or maybe some of each?
Is a 'warm up' even necessary?? would doing the aforementioned 'basic' moves suffice?
We sometimes do Tabata style micro-drills for class warm up.. those seem to work... or are the long combo/submission chain drills more worth the time?
How much time/ reps do you suggest per sequence/drill?
Honestly I don't know where to start... any input would be much appreciated!
In my opinion drilling should be really personalized. It doesn't make sense to have the whole class drill hip escapes because while that might be great for a white belt it's probably pretty bad for everyone else.
At my gym we don't have drilling classes per se, instead people just get together and drill for an hour or 2 by themselves. Usually these sessions are just one person doing the technique of their choice for 5 minutes followed by their partner doing 5 minutes of whatever they're working on.
You could make it more structured by that by telling people what type of thing they should be drilling(i.e everyone drills passing for 2 rounds then sweeps for 2 rounds then submissions for 2 rounds and 2 rounds of takedowns or something along those lines).
I think it's better to organize rounds by time rather than by reps because it keeps the class running more smoothly and doesn't penalize people for having a partner that moves slower or is still learning the technique.
If possible, do it the way Dokomoy suggests.
Come in, partner up. Partner 1 does 5 minutes of the technique they want to do, switch. Partner 2 does 5 minutes and so on.
It's the best way to get value out of the session. The more time thats spent discussing or teaching techniques, the less time there is to drill.
^yup. work what you want for timed rounds. switch partners as much as you can.
I find that way works best if everyone is self-motivated and has a specific plan. That is, in my experience, rare.
I set up an hour drilling session at my school. Everyone warmed up on their own and bullshitted for about 5-10 mins then we drilled 3 minute rounds usually very high tempo. If it was a slower or more complex technique we increased to 5 mins.
95% of the people who came wanted to be told what to do, so we worked through my main passes, guard attacks, escapes, submissions and counters systematically, then started over. I was always encouraging people to drill their own technique or show the group something if it interested them, but most people wanted someone else to provide structure. It ended up being more of a "class."
I was uncomfortable with that and there was some hard feelings with the head instructor since now people weren't really attending his classes so he asked us to stop. I still drill an hour a day, but usually just with one or two people.
I like to drill an attack, then the escape/defense, then do situational sparring at increasing intensity. I feel like whatever I drill is best when I include context; like drill a couple triangle setups, then drill a couple triangle escapes, then do some sparring at light then medium intensity where one guy goes for the sub and the other defends.
If one person is way better than the other, just have them ratchet down their intensity some so each person gets lots of reps. 
I run the drill sessions at my academy. They are 45 mins long. We alternate between a pass drill and a guard drill. Usually 3 mins each round of the guy hitting the move and then we switch. We just do that for 45 mins twice a week. Same drill both days of that week. I come up with the drills on my own. They are all competition based. Basically I study high level competition footage look at common things top guys are doing. I break down the details and the reason guys use the technique and we drill it.
Starting in 2014 I will be constructing a 6 week program of what I think are the most beneficial drills that I've seen working for guys from our current drilling. Basically 3 top drills and 3 bottom drills and my goal is to complete the cycle 3 times before coming up with a new program.
Would you mind sharing some of your drills? Myself and another student have been drilling outside of regular classes but sometimes just spend half our time trying to figure out what we want to work on.
I like to do drilling in a compartmentalized fashion, starting with the ultimate success of a technique and working backward.
Let's use the example of a double-leg takedown. I can break the basic double leg down into four major parts - penetration step, penetration drive, turning the corner, finishing. Once they've drilled the technique from beginning to end without resistance, I'll start the drilling. In the first drill, they do the first three parts without resisting. Once they've gotten to the point where they've got grips behind the knees and they've turned the corner, they freeze. This is where the drill begins. I say go, they finish the takedown with the person trying their best to resist. As you can imagine, it's pretty easy so they get lots of reps in. After they've both done a round of that, we go one step back. They do the first two parts, but then when the drill starts they have to turn the corner and finish the takedown against resistance. Then they take the penetration step, the drill starts and they have to drive, turn the corner and finish against resistance. Finally, in the last round they're doing the whole thing.
20 minutes - Technical Review on Double Leg
Drilling:
3 Mins each partner - Finishing
3 Mins each partner - Turning corner and finishing
3 Mins each partner - Driving, turning corner and finishing
3 Mins each partner - Whole takedown
With no messing around this would be pretty much exactly 45 minutes of drilling. Realistically about an hour.
Thanks for the tips... Keep then coming :)
I am a really big fan of this as well.