RULES OF ZERO DOWN TIME
Posted on | January 1, 2010 | 1 Comment
One way American Martial Arts has changed over the last twenty years is the length of class. A two-hour class used to be commonplace, and a 1½-hour class was short. By in large, with the exception of special clinics, most successful schools now run forty-five minute to one-hour classes.
When properly run, there are major advantages to shorter classes. First off, long classes have the potential to become boring. Secondly, it is easy for students to ‘over train’, become too fatigued or injured. Thirdly, if students know the class is going to be long they tend to hold back and not put out as much energy or effort. Lastly, in our modern fast paced society it’s much easier for people to schedule an hour versus two hours.
Additionally, when teaching two-hour classes, sometimes you have to stretch things out. Now, with an hour, you have to work hard to get everything covered. This is the way it should be because it forces us to plan our classes more thoroughly and then stay on our plan. This brings us to this month’s topic:
ZERO DOWN TIME
Zero down time refers to having a well scripted, educational, and entertaining class with no lag time or slow parts. No one in the industry runs a better classroom than Steve LaVallee, in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Every part of Mr. LaVallee’s classes is scripted, from start to finish, and there is never a dull moment in any of his classes. It’s amazing to see the number of high quality students he has developed using his “Zero Down Time” formats.
There is probably a veteran teacher reading this right now thinking to them self, “I don’t need to script my class. I know what I am doing.” This may well be true. There are many excellent instructors who have a natural sense as to how to keep the flow of a class going from start to finish. However, as my classes grow in size and several people are assisting, then a clear “map” is a must. Here are some guidelines:
1. Dividing a one-hour class into four or five sections makes it fast paced and keeps it fresh for everyone (including the instructors). These are examples of several sub-sections:
- Warm-up, stretch, message of the week
- Curriculum
- Skills – Topic of the week; such as bag work, sparring, self-defense, etc.
- Drills – fun, high energy things like; group basics, group forms, games that emphasize Martial Arts attributes like speed, timing, power, focus, etc.
2. When dividing your class into groups, make sure you do it in your head while the students are stretching or doing something. This keeps the class moving versus having them stand around while an instructor decides how to break them up.
3. Race Against the Clock. For Example, after free sparring, you might say, “You have forty five seconds to get your gear off and line up. If you’re done sooner, please help someone else with their gear… ready, set, GO!” This is better than “Try to be the first one done” because that does not promote the sense of team.
4. Keep People Present-Focused. Do this by frequently varying the drill just a little, changing partners, or changing the direction they are facing. This is often referred to as “Disguising Repetition”
Remember, you want your students bowing out of class thinking, “Is it over already… Wow, that was fast – I can’t wait for the next class!!!”
One final note – Zero down time doesn’t mean everyone is cheering and clapping from start to finish. There should be time for quiet contemplation, a thorough stretch, or a motivational story. Just try to include it in the class outline and stay on schedule.
Rules of Three
1. Plan your class thoroughly
2. Always be one step ahead
3. Have clear communication between team members
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About Dave Kovar
Mr. Kovar has been teaching Martial Arts professionally since 1978. Dave is a multi-style Black Belt who has been committed to ever-improving his Martial Arts skills. He updates this blog to provide tips and insights to martial arts instructors around the country. To learn more, click here.
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March 26th, 2010 @ 4:54 am
Zero downtime is a great way of doing things. I had let that slide a few years ago but now you brought this back to light, I will be implementing it again. Thanks