Over the last two years we have covered a lot of ground in our club, from the variety of material to the class times, to class formats, and even the occasional in house seminars.  We have done some things right and others wrong.  The key is keep evaluating, keep testing, and keep improving.  In that effort, I have decided to make some changes in how we operate our training sessions.  These changes are the accumulation of what I have seen work in our club and some important lessons learned from watching successful coaches run their gyms. 

Positional Focus

Every SBGi location has a focus on fundamentals that is driven from the top down.  We have been the same since our beginning, and will continue as such, but with renewed vigor.  It is easy to get lost in working attacks and I want to be sure that we all spend more time in the coming months on solid, fundamental escapes.  This means that you can expect a higher percentage of drilling and a much stronger emphasis on positional work than submission work.  A strong ability to hold a position and to escape that same position is something I want us all to feel very comfortable with from everywhere (mount, side control, head and arm, etc).    I was reminded of how important positional escapes and positional dominance was in watching how Matt tested Collin for his blue.  Matt was clearly looking at those skills (as opposed to say,  subs).  A good emphasis for everyone at every level, but especially for us given our stage in development.

Only Two or Three Moves Per Class
Looking back on all of the classes we have held over the past several years, sometimes I have found the content (ex. number of techniques) to be too much for the group.  Conversely, I have rarely found too little content.  When our group was new I tended to show more information than was probably best.  This made sure I filled the class time with information.  Upon reflection, I probably did this out of my own personal fear of not having enough to cover or some insecurity about my depth in technical knowledge.  Through the course of experience, it has become very clear that more than 2 or 3 techniques in a single class is just too much for anyone to remember, or learn effectively in an hour class.  I made this adjustment a while back now, but I wanted to call it out as a clear and conscious decision.  I should also note that no one has ever come up and asked for more information, but people have said that less was better for their retention.  More evidence that the change is right.

Two Week Cycles
In my experience, covering a single topic, say side control, each week is just too abrupt.  It really only gives two classes in our current format to cover the topic (ex. escaping side control).  Jumping around each class or even each week just seemed a little cursory, resulting in people becoming lost in techniques without being able to really put the position together.  On the flip side, I find that three weeks is too long and people become anxious, wanting to move onto other areas.  This is why we will go with a two week lesson plan.   Each two weeks we'll cover a new area like guard passing, mount escapes, etc.  I already have a list of topics that I have pulled together from various sources (principally Matt T) that represents a solid curriculum, and we'll work through that material two weeks at a time.

The beauty of this is also that people can know what they missed should they skip a class.  Personally speaking, it allows me to go deeper into a position and find where my knowledge gaps really are.  By finding that edge, it will help push me to learn and force me to reach out to my coaches for answers to continue to evolve our understanding of the game.

Postures First, Techniques Second
One of the challenges with BJJ is the sheer volume of positions and material to understand.  This is overwhelming for everyone, but especially for people new to the art.  In order to address this, we are going to spend most of our time on postures and pressures.  Only once these are understood mentally and physically, then will we move to "moves".  I have seen some of my favorite teachers like Matt Thornton and Dave Camarillo move in this direction more and more over the years. 

For example, rather than show 3 techniques for passing half guard, we will spend a lot of time on the proper posture in that position from top and bottom.  Making sure we drill it so it becomes automatic.  Of course once we have the postures down, we will move to techniques, but without a base of posture, techniques become meaningless and difficult to connect.  I find that when I roll with high level belts, it is their posture that beats me, not a specific technique.  We want the same emphasis in our club.

Focus of the Month (optional)
Each month we will pick one thing to focus on for 30 days.   This can be a single submission like the triangle or kimura or it could be a theoretical concept like relaxation (sagging your body) or controlling your breathing.  The idea is that each month we will have something to focus on for our rolls.  This is completely optional, but I have heard from several black belts that this type of focus helps their game.  If you want to pay attention to the monthly focus it's pretty simple.  Every time you roll that month, just remind yourself quietly of the focus.  If it is breathing, really try to pay attention to your breath throughout the roll.  It's that simple.

I am confident these changes will improve the quality of our training sessions and increase the pace of learning for everyone. 

What do you think.  Are these good changes?  Are there other changes you'd like to see?