Basic Class Structure
There are many good ways to structure a martial arts class.
And there are plenty of bad ones!
One of the goals of a seasoned instructor is to continually mix things up enough that the material does not become stale. Students should never feel as though every Monday class is exactly the same as the Monday before it.
At the same time, variety should not come at the expense of structure.
Over the years, the following basic format has served me very well. I certainly do not follow it every time I teach, nor do I believe every class needs to fit neatly into six sections. Instead, I look at it as a framework.
The structure serves the class, however the class should never be forced to serve the structure.
A good instructor walks onto the floor with a plan. A better instructor is also willing to adjust that plan based on the people standing in front of him or her.
Part One: Read the Class
Five to ten minutes before class begins, get out there with the students and talk to them.
The conversation does not necessarily have to be serious. In fact, many times it should not be. Simply talking with people before class is one of the best ways to get a feel for where everyone is mentally and physically.
Have they been sitting behind a desk all day and are anxious for a hard workout?
Have they been working outside all day and would benefit from something smoother?
Did someone have a stressful day and need a little reassurance?
Is someone especially excited to train?
Is a student unusually quiet?
Obviously, everyone in the room is not going to arrive with the same attitude. The goal is not to design an entirely different class for every person. The goal is to understand the group before you begin teaching them.
There is an important distinction here.
The mood of the class may influence how you teach the material, but it does not always determine what needs to be taught.
If Kumite needs work, you may still need to teach Kumite. However, if the entire group walked in exhausted, you may change the pace, spend more time drilling the sequence, adjust the partners, or reduce the intensity.
You are gathering information.
This time before class can also become an excellent opportunity to work briefly with a student who is struggling, answer a question, or encourage everyone to begin preparing themselves by stretching, moving around, practicing a Kata, or reviewing something from the previous class.
Do not underestimate these few minutes.
The class has already started even though you have not bowed in yet.
Part Two: Prepare the Class
The warmup is essential because not everyone had the same type of day before stepping onto the dojo floor.
Some people are physically ready to go.
Others need time.
Some are mentally focused.
Others are still thinking about work, school, traffic, family, or the twenty other things that happened during their day.
A good warmup brings everyone together.
It should prepare the body, but it should also help the students make the transition from whatever they were doing before class to what they are doing now.
There are many ways to accomplish this.
A tried-and-true sequence might include Jumbi Undo, Sanchin, Hojo Undo, Kotekitae, generic exercises, and a good stretch. Obviously, not every class will have the skill level or have the right attitude to do all of that.
Generally speaking, ten to fifteen minutes is a good amount of time.
However, the warmup can also begin preparing students for the theme of the class.
If the evening is going to involve a lot of kicking, spend some additional time preparing the hips, legs, and balance.
If you are going to work Kumite, incorporate movement, distancing, or some light partner exercises.
If Kata will be the focus, use Sanchin, turns, posture, stepping, and basic movements to prepare the students for what is coming.
In other words, the warmup does not have to be completely separate from the lesson. In fact, the ideal world is that every section of the class feeds from and into the other.
A well-designed warmup can begin teaching the class theme before the students even realize the theme has started.
Part Three: Establish the Theme
Every class should have a theme, goal, or objective.
This does not have to be complicated.
Classic themes might include Kata Training, Kumite Practice, Sparring Drills, Physical Fitness, Self-Defense, or Basics.
However, as an instructor develops, I encourage making the theme more specific.
Instead of Kata, try Maintaining Sanchin posture during turns in Kata.
Instead of Kumite, try Controlling distance while moving backward.
Instead of Sparring, try Recognizing when you are close enough to attack.
That small change makes a tremendous difference.
Now you are not simply deciding what activity everyone will do. You are deciding what you want everyone to become better at.
Whenever practical, tell the students what that goal is.
It does not require a long speech.
“Tonight we are going to spend some time working on distance in Kumite.”
That one sentence gives everyone something to look for.
They are no longer merely going through Kumite.
They are studying distance through Kumite.
The first period of concentrated work on the class theme might last somewhere between seven and fifteen minutes, depending on the group and the material.
Remember that you do not have to teach everything you know about the subject.
Teach enough for the students in front of you to improve.
Part Four: Interrupt the Pattern
Humans, no matter how dedicated, naturally begin to lose focus over time.
This is especially true when the work is repetitive, highly technical, or physically demanding.
A good pattern interruption helps everyone mentally reset. It may also give tired muscles a short break or allow students to stop thinking about a difficult skill long enough for some of the lesson to settle in.
The key is that a pattern interruption should change the immediate activity.
If the class has spent a significant amount of time practicing Kata, a few minutes on the bags may work extremely well.
If the class has been heavily focused on Kumite or Sparring Drills, running through a Kata may give everyone exactly the change of pace they need.
If the class has been very physical, Sanchin may slow everyone down and bring the focus back to posture, breathing, and control.
There is another point worth considering.
A pattern interruption does not necessarily need to be a purpose interruption.
If your class theme involves a particular strike from Kata, perhaps the students practice that strike on the bag.
If you are teaching balance in Kumite, perhaps the interruption involves a short exercise that challenges balance in a completely different way.
The students get a mental break from the original activity while the instructor quietly continues reinforcing the lesson.
Five minutes is often plenty.
The goal is not to start an entirely different class.
The goal is to refresh everyone's attention before returning to the original one.
Part Five: Return to the Theme
After the pattern interruption, return to the class theme.
This is where the instructor needs to make another decision.
Do the students need to repeat the material?
Do they understand it well enough that you can refine it?
Or are they ready for the next step?
The answer should be based on what you observed during the first round.
For example, if you are introducing a new Kata, you might teach the first section before the pattern interruption.
When everyone returns, quickly review what they already learned.
If they are struggling, spend more time there.
If they are comfortable, clean it up.
If they are ready, move forward.
The important point is that the instructor should not become so attached to the original lesson plan that he or she ignores what is happening in the room.
Students do not need to reach a predetermined stopping point simply because that is what you wrote down before class.
Sometimes the best class is one where you planned to cover ten things and discovered that everyone needed to spend the entire evening working on number three.
Other nights, the students will understand something almost immediately and allow you to move much farther than expected.
Teach the students you have.
Not the imaginary class you planned earlier in the day.
Part Six: Finish on a Win
I used to call this section the “Fun Ending.” Don’t get me wrong, I still believe there is a lot of value in ending class with something people enjoy.
But I think the larger goal is more important.
Finish on a win.
The students should leave the floor feeling successful.
That does not mean everything needs to be easy.
It does not mean every class has to end with a game.
And it certainly does not mean an instructor's job is to entertain everyone.
It means that after challenging people, give them an opportunity to recognize that they accomplished something.
If the class theme was difficult, finish with something they are comfortable doing well.
If the evening was extremely physical, allow everyone to finish feeling strong rather than completely destroyed.
If they spent the night learning something new, give them a chance to demonstrate to themselves that they actually learned it.
With adults, a short physical challenge, bag drill, Kata, or strong round of basics may be a great ending.
With children, a game might be exactly what is needed.
For another group, the best ending may simply be everyone performing the material they struggled with earlier—and performing it considerably better.
Before bowing out, take a few seconds to remind everyone what they accomplished.
“Tonight we worked on controlling our distance in Kumite. You were much better at it at the end of class than you were at the beginning. Next time, we are going to work on doing the same thing with a little more speed.”
That takes thirty seconds.
But it gives students three things.
It tells them what they learned.
It lets them know that you noticed their improvement.
And it gives them an idea of what comes next.
The Structure Is a Tool
There will be classes where this six-part structure works almost perfectly.
There will be other nights where you throw half of it out five minutes after bowing in.
That is perfectly fine.
A newer instructor may initially look at a class format like this and think:
Warm up for ten minutes.
Teach the theme for ten minutes.
Interrupt the pattern for five minutes.
Go back to the theme.
Finish with something enjoyable.
Bow out.
There is nothing necessarily wrong with that.
Having a structure is infinitely better than wandering onto the floor without any idea what you are going to teach.
But as instructors gain experience, the structure should become less of a schedule and more of a guide.
Read the class.
Prepare them.
Give them a clear objective.
Challenge them.
Change the pattern before they become stale.
Return to the lesson.
Finish with success.
And throughout all of it, keep watching the people in front of you.
The goal is not to successfully complete your lesson plan.
The goal is to successfully teach your students.