Curriculum for Art? Curriculum for Science.
A long running issue with Martial Arts is lack of or over emphasis of curriculum.
If you walk into many academies you may notice the instructor will teach a specific set of moves selected from a predetermined curriculum they have developed.
Simultaneously you may find different academies where the instructor decides he/she wants to teach a certain technique that day that is completely unrelated to the day before, or the day upcoming.
So the question is who is right?
The instructor who caters to his students by well considered curriculum.
Is it the Instructor that teaches what he/she thinks they need to work on that day?
The answer I believe would be seen in the gray area between these two schools of thought.
A downside to following a specific curriculum is that it limits a student to a specific set of moves, that while sharpened become predictable and limiting. Also may not apply to both body and personality types which are an important factor in grappling.
On the flip side the negative effects of teaching different moves every day that don’t interconnect prevent a student from creating the necessary transitions it takes to understand the entirety of a grappling altercation. Additionally the brain is constantly scrambling to find patterns in the curriculum that will allow more efficient absorption of the techniques.
They Gray area we can find, is following a rotating general principle curriculum in which the teacher can focus on specific moves while simultaneously instilling principles that build transitional understanding of Jiu-Jitsu.
We have several curriculums we follow here.
Principle
Beginner application
Advanced application
Systematic competition application and awareness.
The Answer to most problems can be found in a common denominator.
What curriculum could be taught in both an art class and a science class? Principles.
Principles create general guidelines that allow flexibility for the many variables that grappling may present.