Ok all you instructors out there time to speak up!

How many of you take the time to plan out the day's, week's, month's, or even the year's lessons?

Those of you that do how indepth do you get? Do you just have a monthly topic "Let's Say Disarms" How do you go about it?

I'll start.

At San Mai Headquarters I'm the Hapkido Advisor for all the instructors. This month our topic was takedowns. I planned each week for instructors to cover in our special topic time some very basic aspects of takedowns.

Week one: Single Leg, Double Leg Takedown
Week two: Headlock, Over under Throw, and arm throw
Week Three: Fireman Carry, Ankle Pick, Ankle Sweep

This allowed instructors to cover a specific takedown and students to get better on them during the week.

Each month we focus on some special topic and give students extra work in those areas.

Hmm 2 days 12 views later and not one reply?

Hmmmm?

to clarify - This is in addition to the normal classroom routine.

Time is always spent on warming up, stretching, falling/rolling, striking/kicking, and rank specific curriculum. The monthly topic is just another part of classtime. I have seen schools that do monthly topics, and that comprises their entire class time. Students don't end up retaining much of what they learn like that.

I do the TKD planning at San-Mai, and the rotation is a little different than in the Hapkido realm. Not better... just different. Not to mention Rowe and I are both notorious for throwing the lesson plan completely out the window when we see something that really needs to be worked on instead.

Since I only teach a few people at a time in small group sessions, I just take a look at what each individual needs to work on and give them something to work on.

Well, it's like any other teaching, your lessons and teaching will be all the more effective with a plan or at least a running order.

This is particularly true to those have just started teaching as you don't have a bank of resources or activities to draw upon. The longer you teach for, the easier this becomes.

Obviously, your planning will be influenced by what is coming up such as competitions and gradings and this will influence what you do in class.

To be honest (during the day I'm a secondary school teacher) the basic principles of teaching in a school and teaching in a martial arts class are very similar.

In fact, during the children's class I help teach I often apply similar methods of planning and teaching methods to the children as I do in school.

I have a general plan that rolls through each month.

Week 1 stand up (kicks and strikes)
Week 2 Standing grappling (including breaks from grabs etc)
Week 3 Take downs and throws
week 4 Groundwork

included in the above is the transitional work from one to another and as LJ says it will vary considerably if we have gradings/demos/competitions coming up.

I have a set plan for students to follow. After basics are performed the higher grade students will practice self-fence moves and bunkai while the lower grades work on their basics. I have a leaflet that all students are given listing the moves they have to complete to be awarded the next grade. My system is based more an self-defence and not competition.