Going Out On a Limb

I've had a notion for awhile that new people starting at our school jump right into the fire. We don't have a curriculum or a basics/fundamentals class, which can lead to new people learning complex techniques before the basics. I have an idea of what constitutes the basics, but it's certainly up for debate (even in my own head).

In any case, we've had an influx of new people over the past several months. The class sizes are growing, and it has struck me repeatedly that our new folks can be adept at N/S chokes, but have no clue how to escape mount. Escapes definitely aren't sexy, and as such not many people want to focus on them. James rarely covers basic escapes, and I think he's relying on upper belts to help lower belts with the fundamental escapes during rolls. I feel a deep empathy with folks who are relatively new, as the first school I attended was run in a similar manner. I don't think there's a right or wrong way to teach jiu jitsu. They guys who came to James with little to no prior experience in jiu jitsu and have been with him several years are very good. However, having dedicated time to cover fundamentals can't be anything but a benefit. I was thinking not just basic movements, but even a discourse on the various positions (mount, guard, etc) and transitions (sweep vs. pass vs. escape).

I messaged James about this last night, and volunteered to do an hour-long basics class once a week. I indicated that this was dependent on whether he saw the same need/benefit, if there enough people to merit a class and if he thought I would be competent to instruct. He responded that he was very interested, and we'll chat about it in person. He already teaches upwards of 12 classes week. When he introduced the Sunday advanced class earlier this month, someone had to step up to teach the Fri night no gi class b/c he was maxed out.

So....we'll see what happens.