Curriculum Tracking

[skribs]

What I mean by the title - curriculum tracking - is a combination of three things:

1. How easy is it for someone who is a high rank in another school to transfer in and figure out your curriculum?
2. How easy is it for someone who is an instructor in your school to keep track of what each student needs?
3. To a lesser extent, how much ceremony is in the daily process that would take up bandwidth that folks need for #1 and #2?

In my experience, most TKD schools are not set up with the idea of making it easy for someone to transfer in from outside, or for instructors to have an easy time keeping track of everything. Instead, they seem to be designed around "micro-gains" in your repertoire. In my opinion, these types of curriculum are great for building up the first generation of students, but horrible for building up the next generation of instructors.

I "grew up" in my old school. I had some previous experience, but I started over at white belt. Everything I learned at that school, I learned on the path that most everyone else was on. I've spoken about the school at length, but I'll summarize it here: each belt had around 1-2 forms and around a dozen other things to memorize (such as self-defense, combinations, etc.). Because there was so much stuff, every 2-3 tests you were allowed to brain dump most of it. Everything green belts were tested on, they learned at green belt. 70% of what blue belts were tested on was learned at blue, with the other 30% coming from green. And at black belt there was one final reset, so 90% of the tests after black belt were almost strictly black belt material.

This led to a few problems. With one exception (me), nobody else remembered the colored belt curriculum, or was able to teach it. Similarly, because so much was focused on memorization, folks who came from another school or came back from a long break had a ton of trouble picking up on the curriculum. A good example is that in the black belt class, we rarely do that 10% of colored belt techniques that's on the test, so they rarely get a chance to practice it.

It was relatively easy for me to keep track, because most techniques were labeled by where they were in the curriculum. For example, I know that green belts need "Advanced Punching" because that's the "Advanced Class", and I know that green belts need "Green Belt Punch Defense" because...isn't it obvious? But it was still a lot of techniques to keep track of. Colored belt self-defense was 96 curriculum items alone.

At my new school, I'm having trouble as an outsider. This school uses tape stripes, each of which is a different color with a different meaning, sometimes a different meaning based on the belt color. Every belt (out of 10) has a new kick they need to learn. The kicks are taught in one order, and then "deputy" belts (the last before black belt) have to learn them in order. The white belt stuff is different than yellow belt and on. Yellow belt has Taegeuk Il Jang (#1), but does not have self-defense. Every belt after has self defense. Which means the first self-defense techniques are #2.1 and #2.2 learned at yellow/advanced, and then #3.1 and #3.2 at green, and so on. This has led to me being confused because I count from #1 instead of #2, which means I teach the wrong stuff to the wrong belt.

On top of all of this, the new school also has a lot of what I'd call "pomp and circumstance". The intro to class is a ceremony spoken completely in Korean, followed by a call-and-response cheer, then a rote memorized stretching routine and warmup. Class closes with another Korean ceremony, one of three student creeds, another creed, and another call-and-response cheer. I feel like I've spent most of my time here trying to learn how to start and end class more than I've been learning martial arts.

This is also something I found when trying to design my own curriculum, which I am on (what I believe to be) my final version. My original plan was very similar to my current school - each belt or intermediate rank has a new punch, a new kick, a new defense, etc. etc. What I found is that trying to keep track of all of this was a nightmare, and I'm the one writing the damn thing. It would also be a lot of work each class to separate the students out so that yellow belts can work on their kick while white belts sit down, and then have yellow belts sit out to teach purple belts their next kick, and so on.

Instead, what I've done is center on levels. There's 4 levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced, and black belt. Each level is treated a different way in class, with beginners focused on repetitions of a consistent foundation, and the more advanced the more open the curriculum gets. I've tried to focus the design of the class on making it as easy as possible for someone to come in from outside and pick up on how we do things.

It will be interesting to see how this shakes out once I do open my own school. But I feel that a system that's easy for outsiders to pick up is going to make them more likely to stay, which will most likely be a benefit to the school.

 

[Hot Lunch]

1. How easy is it for someone who is a high rank in another school to transfer in and figure out your curriculum?

The passport system. When I started with Shotokan, I wondered why all styles/associations didn't have the same thing. If I left my dojo right now and went to another Shotokan dojo (be it ISKF, ISKA, IKD, SKIF, JKA, whatever), all I have to do is hand over the passport so that the stamps and entries from the previous dojo can be reviewed.

 

[skribs]

The passport system. When I started with Shotokan, I wondered why all styles/associations didn't have the same thing. If I left my dojo right now and went to another Shotokan dojo (be it ISKF, ISKA, IKD, SKIF, JKA, whatever), all I have to do is hand over the passport so that the stamps and entries from the previous dojo can be reviewed.

That's not what I meant.

I meant how easy is it for them to learn your stuff.

 

[Dirty Dog]

The obvious answer is a textbook.

A Students Guide to Tae Kwon Do Moo Duk Kwan Ebook by Mark A. Cochran | Blurb Books

Download A Students Guide to Tae Kwon Do Moo Duk Kwan Ebook by Mark A. Cochran. A must for any serious student of Tae Kwon Do. Complete detailed instructions wit...

www.blurb.com

$3.99 for the ebook. Pretty much any phone or tablet can display it. Paper copies are available if someone wants one.

 

[Earl Weiss]

On the first day each student receives a Handbook and the last page is the 9yth Gup requirements. After each promotion they receive the requirements for the next rank. Everyone keeps these in a binder. The serve as a guide for anyone who teaches lower ranks. (As well as a home practice guide) The School requirements include the National core requirements and add some of my own. Certainly any student who transfer within the National Organization can get up to speed quickly. International transfers almost as fast. I have had people come from various parts of the World such as Russia , Argentina, Siberia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Canada etc. as well as various parts of the USA. They made an easy transition.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

What I mean by the title - curriculum tracking - is a combination of three things:

1. How easy is it for someone who is a high rank in another school to transfer in and figure out your curriculum?
2. How easy is it for someone who is an instructor in your school to keep track of what each student needs?
3. To a lesser extent, how much ceremony is in the daily process that would take up bandwidth that folks need for #1 and #2?

In my experience, most TKD schools are not set up with the idea of making it easy for someone to transfer in from outside, or for instructors to have an easy time keeping track of everything. Instead, they seem to be designed around "micro-gains" in your repertoire. In my opinion, these types of curriculum are great for building up the first generation of students, but horrible for building up the next generation of instructors.

I "grew up" in my old school. I had some previous experience, but I started over at white belt. Everything I learned at that school, I learned on the path that most everyone else was on. I've spoken about the school at length, but I'll summarize it here: each belt had around 1-2 forms and around a dozen other things to memorize (such as self-defense, combinations, etc.). Because there was so much stuff, every 2-3 tests you were allowed to brain dump most of it. Everything green belts were tested on, they learned at green belt. 70% of what blue belts were tested on was learned at blue, with the other 30% coming from green. And at black belt there was one final reset, so 90% of the tests after black belt were almost strictly black belt material.

This led to a few problems. With one exception (me), nobody else remembered the colored belt curriculum, or was able to teach it. Similarly, because so much was focused on memorization, folks who came from another school or came back from a long break had a ton of trouble picking up on the curriculum. A good example is that in the black belt class, we rarely do that 10% of colored belt techniques that's on the test, so they rarely get a chance to practice it.

It was relatively easy for me to keep track, because most techniques were labeled by where they were in the curriculum. For example, I know that green belts need "Advanced Punching" because that's the "Advanced Class", and I know that green belts need "Green Belt Punch Defense" because...isn't it obvious? But it was still a lot of techniques to keep track of. Colored belt self-defense was 96 curriculum items alone.

At my new school, I'm having trouble as an outsider. This school uses tape stripes, each of which is a different color with a different meaning, sometimes a different meaning based on the belt color. Every belt (out of 10) has a new kick they need to learn. The kicks are taught in one order, and then "deputy" belts (the last before black belt) have to learn them in order. The white belt stuff is different than yellow belt and on. Yellow belt has Taegeuk Il Jang (#1), but does not have self-defense. Every belt after has self defense. Which means the first self-defense techniques are #2.1 and #2.2 learned at yellow/advanced, and then #3.1 and #3.2 at green, and so on. This has led to me being confused because I count from #1 instead of #2, which means I teach the wrong stuff to the wrong belt.

On top of all of this, the new school also has a lot of what I'd call "pomp and circumstance". The intro to class is a ceremony spoken completely in Korean, followed by a call-and-response cheer, then a rote memorized stretching routine and warmup. Class closes with another Korean ceremony, one of three student creeds, another creed, and another call-and-response cheer. I feel like I've spent most of my time here trying to learn how to start and end class more than I've been learning martial arts.

This is also something I found when trying to design my own curriculum, which I am on (what I believe to be) my final version. My original plan was very similar to my current school - each belt or intermediate rank has a new punch, a new kick, a new defense, etc. etc. What I found is that trying to keep track of all of this was a nightmare, and I'm the one writing the damn thing. It would also be a lot of work each class to separate the students out so that yellow belts can work on their kick while white belts sit down, and then have yellow belts sit out to teach purple belts their next kick, and so on.

Instead, what I've done is center on levels. There's 4 levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced, and black belt. Each level is treated a different way in class, with beginners focused on repetitions of a consistent foundation, and the more advanced the more open the curriculum gets. I've tried to focus the design of the class on making it as easy as possible for someone to come in from outside and pick up on how we do things.

It will be interesting to see how this shakes out once I do open my own school. But I feel that a system that's easy for outsiders to pick up is going to make them more likely to stay, which will most likely be a benefit to the school.

I can't speak to TKD curricula, but I'll share some of my thoughts on tracking (and probably some on designing) a curriculum, since mine was also highly structured (as opposed to, say, most BJJ schools, where what's taught likely fluctuates more around a core of fundamentals).

Firstly, I like paperwork for this. All of my instrutors used forms to track students' progress through the curriculum, and it helped a lot when another instructor was working with the student (filling in, student attending another class, new instructor, etc.). I could just go pull a student's file and see what their most recent techniques/drills were (within the structured curriculum - the parts everyone passed through). I picked up this habit and continued it when I had my own program. I simplified the paperwork to allow me to track more in less space (so it was easier to see overall progress), but kept it in a form that would work if I had another instructor helping (I never did, but always planned for it, anyway). The basic idea was to have a single page that was the current material a student would be working on, with a little room for notes of specific stuff I wanted them to focus on that wasn't on that page (like if they needed to work on a technique from a previous rank).

This paperwork, in addition to helping me keep track of where students were in the curriculum, also kept me on track. It's easy for me to find something I want the group to work on, and stay on it several classes in a row. At some point, I need to get back to the core material, and seeing those empty check boxes on the forms reminded me I wasn't giving students a chance to progress in other areas.

Secondly, if folks don't remember the colored belt material, they shouldn't be tasked with teaching it. When/if you have senior students of your own you want to get started as instructors in your program, part of that prep should be them re-testing on each level of material before they teach it. If green is the lowest belt, a senior student could be re-tested for green (having to complete the exact test, plus any additional material you think necessary for them to teach, but at a higher requirement of skill) before you let them start teaching that material. Once they are teaching it, remembering it becomes much easier. You can progress them to each next level of teaching/assisting as they are ready.

Now let's talk about the ceremony and other stuff. Firstly, a memorized warm-up and stretch is actually a good thing. This lets all students learn the routine and be focused on doing them correctly (both exercises and stretches), rather than trying to figure out what they're supposed to be doing, or what's coming next. I tended to vary mine more than was probably ideal, but I was also trying to teach students a range of exercises for them to choose from when exercising outside class, and to have alternatives when they were injured (a precaution built on my own experiences). As for the ceremonial parts, decide what value those have to you. I personally prefer a bit of ceremony - it helps me set aside the thoughts of the rest of the day and get more focused on my training. It's like a tiny bit of meditation, for me. But I don't like long complicated things that take a lot of focus and effort to learn (or a lot of time from class). I'd say figure out the value to you and your students. If you can't find the value, it might be time to put something else in that space.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

The passport system. When I started with Shotokan, I wondered why all styles/associations didn't have the same thing. If I left my dojo right now and went to another Shotokan dojo (be it ISKF, ISKA, IKD, SKIF, JKA, whatever), all I have to do is hand over the passport so that the stamps and entries from the previous dojo can be reviewed.

I've never been a big fan of this, where advancement is curriculum-based (as opposed to systems like BJJ). I've had people from other schools come to my classes (all when I was teaching at my instructor's school). Most didn't meet our criteria, which we didn't feel was especially stringent. As a brown belt (student instructor rank in that system), I was tasked with giving private lessons to incoming transfers to get them up to speed. The arrangement within the association was that you could move to another school and test for your current rank (the school had the option of not testing), or you could step down one rank. There was an unspoken general rule that instructor-rank folks (in that system, any black belt rank) weren't asked to retest. That would hold true unless they were obviously not demonstrating an appropriate skill level.

 

[skribs]

The obvious answer is a textbook.

A Students Guide to Tae Kwon Do Moo Duk Kwan Ebook by Mark A. Cochran | Blurb Books

Download A Students Guide to Tae Kwon Do Moo Duk Kwan Ebook by Mark A. Cochran. A must for any serious student of Tae Kwon Do. Complete detailed instructions wit...

www.blurb.com

$3.99 for the ebook. Pretty much any phone or tablet can display it. Paper copies are available if someone wants one.

I have thought of this, although I would simply send a free copy of the pdf.

I do wonder if my old Master had done this, and expected folks to retain everything, if it would have been possible for a larger number (than 1) to memorize the entire curriculum.

On the first day each student receives a Handbook and the last page is the 9yth Gup requirements. After each promotion they receive the requirements for the next rank. Everyone keeps these in a binder. The serve as a guide for anyone who teaches lower ranks. (As well as a home practice guide) The School requirements include the National core requirements and add some of my own. Certainly any student who transfer within the National Organization can get up to speed quickly. International transfers almost as fast. I have had people come from various parts of the World such as Russia , Argentina, Siberia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Canada etc. as well as various parts of the USA. They made an easy transition.

This also sounds like something I'm planning on doing. Although I can't help but wonder how many students lose their binders...

 

[Dirty Dog]

I have thought of this, although I would simply send a free copy of the pdf.

I make DVD and Flash drive copies available as well. They're free. But options are good. And there are some people who really really really want a paper copy. There are even a dozen or so who have paid for hardback copies.

 

[skribs]

I make DVD and Flash drive copies available as well. They're free. But options are good. And there are some people who really really really want a paper copy. There are even a dozen or so who have paid for hardback copies.

My current Master has youtube videos with some of the curriculum on it. However, it's not the whole curriculum, and it doesn't go over what's needed for upper belts. He started these videos in late March 2020, so I think they were more a response to school closure than anything else.

My old Master wanted to do this, but he was paranoid of anyone stealing his curriculum that he wanted to manage permissions on a per-video basis, and never got around to doing that.

 

[MadMartigan]

1. How easy is it for someone who is a high rank in another school to transfer in and figure out your curriculum?
2. How easy is it for someone who is an instructor in your school to keep track of what each student needs?
3. To a lesser extent, how much ceremony is in the daily process that would take up bandwidth that folks need for #1 and #2?

I am a big fan of the curriculum that was passed down to me. If an experienced martial artist were to try to learn it, it's quite straightforward. I find it makes my job of keeping track of who needs to work on what fairly easy.

As for your 3rd question, very little. We do some rote warmups, but not necessarily all the time. I like to shake things up to keep the students from getting bored. The warm up last around 5 minutes, quickly segueing into heavier calisthenics and skill building drills (kick/punch reps, etc). I've mentioned this before, but I have little (truthfully, no) use for memorized mantras or the like. I just feel like there are better things we could be working on.

The core curriculum is a 3 legged table.
1 - Floorwork (fundamental blocks, strikes, kicks, and combos moving up and down the training floor)
2 - Patterns (old style Chang-Hon)
3 - Sparring
There are lots of other things we work on, and many different drills, but those 3 comprises the grading syllabus.

The floorwork is structured progressively for each belt level (White belt, single moves and stances with the colored belts moving into increasingly advanced combos and kicks). The new moves introduced in floorwork often have a parallel in the pattern for that level. For example, at Yellow belt-Green stripe the pattern Do-San contains a spear finger thrust in a forward stance. Our Yellow belt floorwork first introduces the movement in isolation, allowing for the student to focus on understanding and performing the mechanics of the technique.

Each belt has approximately 4-6 new floorwork techniques or combinations to learn and perform... but it's easy for the students know what to do as the name of the combo is what they're doing (ie: jumping front snap kick with front leg, double punch). I have home practice pages for each level available to all, but most do not need it.

It's really not much for an instructor to memorize, the trick for teaching it comes in being able to run all belts simultaneously in a sequence up and down the floor, each working on their own material. Maybe it's how my brain works, but I didn't find it hard to memorize at all when I learned it... it's just the less than focused who seemed to struggle retaining the sequence.

Setting it all out would take far too much space here, and likely wouldn't be of interest to many, so I'll spare you (but if anyone want the full details, I'm happy to share by DM).

 

[HighKick]

What I mean by the title - curriculum tracking - is a combination of three things:

1. How easy is it for someone who is a high rank in another school to transfer in and figure out your curriculum?
2. How easy is it for someone who is an instructor in your school to keep track of what each student needs?
3. To a lesser extent, how much ceremony is in the daily process that would take up bandwidth that folks need for #1 and #2?

In my experience, most TKD schools are not set up with the idea of making it easy for someone to transfer in from outside, or for instructors to have an easy time keeping track of everything. Instead, they seem to be designed around "micro-gains" in your repertoire. In my opinion, these types of curriculum are great for building up the first generation of students, but horrible for building up the next generation of instructors.

I "grew up" in my old school. I had some previous experience, but I started over at white belt. Everything I learned at that school, I learned on the path that most everyone else was on. I've spoken about the school at length, but I'll summarize it here: each belt had around 1-2 forms and around a dozen other things to memorize (such as self-defense, combinations, etc.). Because there was so much stuff, every 2-3 tests you were allowed to brain dump most of it. Everything green belts were tested on, they learned at green belt. 70% of what blue belts were tested on was learned at blue, with the other 30% coming from green. And at black belt there was one final reset, so 90% of the tests after black belt were almost strictly black belt material.

This led to a few problems. With one exception (me), nobody else remembered the colored belt curriculum, or was able to teach it. Similarly, because so much was focused on memorization, folks who came from another school or came back from a long break had a ton of trouble picking up on the curriculum. A good example is that in the black belt class, we rarely do that 10% of colored belt techniques that's on the test, so they rarely get a chance to practice it.

It was relatively easy for me to keep track, because most techniques were labeled by where they were in the curriculum. For example, I know that green belts need "Advanced Punching" because that's the "Advanced Class", and I know that green belts need "Green Belt Punch Defense" because...isn't it obvious? But it was still a lot of techniques to keep track of. Colored belt self-defense was 96 curriculum items alone.

At my new school, I'm having trouble as an outsider. This school uses tape stripes, each of which is a different color with a different meaning, sometimes a different meaning based on the belt color. Every belt (out of 10) has a new kick they need to learn. The kicks are taught in one order, and then "deputy" belts (the last before black belt) have to learn them in order. The white belt stuff is different than yellow belt and on. Yellow belt has Taegeuk Il Jang (#1), but does not have self-defense. Every belt after has self defense. Which means the first self-defense techniques are #2.1 and #2.2 learned at yellow/advanced, and then #3.1 and #3.2 at green, and so on. This has led to me being confused because I count from #1 instead of #2, which means I teach the wrong stuff to the wrong belt.

On top of all of this, the new school also has a lot of what I'd call "pomp and circumstance". The intro to class is a ceremony spoken completely in Korean, followed by a call-and-response cheer, then a rote memorized stretching routine and warmup. Class closes with another Korean ceremony, one of three student creeds, another creed, and another call-and-response cheer. I feel like I've spent most of my time here trying to learn how to start and end class more than I've been learning martial arts.

This is also something I found when trying to design my own curriculum, which I am on (what I believe to be) my final version. My original plan was very similar to my current school - each belt or intermediate rank has a new punch, a new kick, a new defense, etc. etc. What I found is that trying to keep track of all of this was a nightmare, and I'm the one writing the damn thing. It would also be a lot of work each class to separate the students out so that yellow belts can work on their kick while white belts sit down, and then have yellow belts sit out to teach purple belts their next kick, and so on.

Instead, what I've done is center on levels. There's 4 levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced, and black belt. Each level is treated a different way in class, with beginners focused on repetitions of a consistent foundation, and the more advanced the more open the curriculum gets. I've tried to focus the design of the class on making it as easy as possible for someone to come in from outside and pick up on how we do things.

It will be interesting to see how this shakes out once I do open my own school. But I feel that a system that's easy for outsiders to pick up is going to make them more likely to stay, which will most likely be a benefit to the school.

Focusing on the theme of the OP, I suggest looking at the many different program managements apps on the market. They all have a bit of overlap, but at the same time some of them are very innovative with how they track progress. All are customizable and fields can be named and modified as needed. One way I use them is when defining the go/no-go criteria of a specific part of a process, for example a belt level or sub level. And they are very, very good at tracking dependencies, which is the foundation of how almost all martial arts are built. For example, stances must be learned before learning a block or strike.
In terms of data input, this is the largest, most critical part since it will self-evolve once the data is setup up correctly. The trying part here is establishing a rock solid pass/fail criteria. While there can be one definable way to describe a down block, it looks and works different for everyone. This is near impossible to input into a program. A pass/fail range scale usually works but there will still be outliers that do not fall within the program parameters (special needs kids for example). But this falls outside the OP. The coalesced program should result in an easy to read set of parameters to hand to a new student.
So, while it should be relatively easy to set down and write the requirements for each progression, identifying all the what-ifs is a never ending process.

 

[skribs]

Focusing on the theme of the OP, I suggest looking at the many different program managements apps on the market. They all have a bit of overlap, but at the same time some of them are very innovative with how they track progress. All are customizable and fields can be named and modified as needed. One way I use them is when defining the go/no-go criteria of a specific part of a process, for example a belt level or sub level. And they are very, very good at tracking dependencies, which is the foundation of how almost all martial arts are built. For example, stances must be learned before learning a block or strike.
In terms of data input, this is the largest, most critical part since it will self-evolve once the data is setup up correctly. The trying part here is establishing a rock solid pass/fail criteria. While there can be one definable way to describe a down block, it looks and works different for everyone. This is near impossible to input into a program. A pass/fail range scale usually works but there will still be outliers that do not fall within the program parameters (special needs kids for example). But this falls outside the OP. The coalesced program should result in an easy to read set of parameters to hand to a new student.
So, while it should be relatively easy to set down and write the requirements for each progression, identifying all the what-ifs is a never ending process.

This is a related discussion, but slightly different than what I'm talking about. I'm talking about taking the output of this analysis, and then presenting it in such a way that it makes sense to the other person.

I did this analysis primarily using Visio. I put each "thing" I knew (whether it was a technique, a concept, a stance, etc.) into a block, and then arranged the blocks into columns for the category (i.e. technique - kicks) and rows by where they would make sense to learn.

Of the basic kicks, at least the way I teach them, knee strike leads to front kick leads to roundhouse kick, because each subsequent kick is basically done as the previous kick, with an added step. At the beginner level, anyway, I know they can be done very differently from each other, depending on the variant of the kick used. Front kick is a knee strike with an extension in the middle, roundhouse kick is a front kick with a pivot in the middle.

From there, side kick (which has no dependencies) leads to turning side kick and to hook kick, which lead to back kick and spinning hook kick.

This was my original analysis. However, what I found is it's much easier for me to keep track of A than B:

A: easy to track

• Beginner kicks - knee, front, roundhouse, side, stretch kick
• Intermediate kicks - hook, back, turning roundhouse, axe kick
• Advanced kicks - tornado kick, crescent kick, spinning hook kick

B: hard to track

• White belt - knee, front kick, roundhouse kick
• White belt w/ stripe - side kick
• Yellow belt - axe kick
• Yellow belt w/ stripe - inside and outside axe kicks
• Green belt - back kick
• Green belt w/ stripe - hook kick
• Blue belt - turning roundhouse kick
• Blue belt w/ stripe - crescent kick
• Red belt - spinning hook kick
• Red belt w/ stripe - tornado kick

It's much easier to track three groups of techniques than ten individual data points. Although it's not too bad here, if you have twenty categories of technique, it becomes much more difficult to keep track of 200 data points.

My original design had 34 columns and 17 rows, giving 578 data points to track. My current design is much more compact. My new design has 4 levels, breaking things down by beginner, intermediate, advanced, and black belt (instead of by each individual belt), and grouping things together in other ways as well. I have roughly 35 data points to track, which is by my simple math 1550% easier.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

This is a related discussion, but slightly different than what I'm talking about. I'm talking about taking the output of this analysis, and then presenting it in such a way that it makes sense to the other person.

I did this analysis primarily using Visio. I put each "thing" I knew (whether it was a technique, a concept, a stance, etc.) into a block, and then arranged the blocks into columns for the category (i.e. technique - kicks) and rows by where they would make sense to learn.

Of the basic kicks, at least the way I teach them, knee strike leads to front kick leads to roundhouse kick, because each subsequent kick is basically done as the previous kick, with an added step. At the beginner level, anyway, I know they can be done very differently from each other, depending on the variant of the kick used. Front kick is a knee strike with an extension in the middle, roundhouse kick is a front kick with a pivot in the middle.

From there, side kick (which has no dependencies) leads to turning side kick and to hook kick, which lead to back kick and spinning hook kick.

This was my original analysis. However, what I found is it's much easier for me to keep track of A than B:

A: easy to track

• Beginner kicks - knee, front, roundhouse, side, stretch kick
• Intermediate kicks - hook, back, turning roundhouse, axe kick
• Advanced kicks - tornado kick, crescent kick, spinning hook kick

B: hard to track

• White belt - knee, front kick, roundhouse kick
• White belt w/ stripe - side kick
• Yellow belt - axe kick
• Yellow belt w/ stripe - inside and outside axe kicks
• Green belt - back kick
• Green belt w/ stripe - hook kick
• Blue belt - turning roundhouse kick
• Blue belt w/ stripe - crescent kick
• Red belt - spinning hook kick
• Red belt w/ stripe - tornado kick

It's much easier to track three groups of techniques than ten individual data points. Although it's not too bad here, if you have twenty categories of technique, it becomes much more difficult to keep track of 200 data points.

My original design had 34 columns and 17 rows, giving 578 data points to track. My current design is much more compact. My new design has 4 levels, breaking things down by beginner, intermediate, advanced, and black belt (instead of by each individual belt), and grouping things together in other ways as well. I have roughly 35 data points to track, which is by my simple math 1550% easier.

It's easier in the moment to track the three categories, but doesn't that make it harder to track for the individual? Since you have a large range of ranks to work with, just seeing the rank tells you a lot about what techniques that person should already have covered.

I look at this the same as the foundational curriculum for NGA (50 "classical" techniques, 10 kicks, 7 arm strikes, 5 "blocks", and a smattering of other bits). I can chunk those up into big groups, but then I have to remember where each person is, individually. Even though we have far fewer ranks to work with (white, yellow, blue, green, purple, brown), dividing by rank was easier. Sure, it took a while to remember what was at each rank (and sometimes I'd screw up my mnemonic and have to look at the paperwork), but for each student, I quickly knew about where they were in the progression (with some allowance for variation).

 

[HighKick]

This is a related discussion, but slightly different than what I'm talking about. I'm talking about taking the output of this analysis, and then presenting it in such a way that it makes sense to the other person.

I did this analysis primarily using Visio. I put each "thing" I knew (whether it was a technique, a concept, a stance, etc.) into a block, and then arranged the blocks into columns for the category (i.e. technique - kicks) and rows by where they would make sense to learn.

Of the basic kicks, at least the way I teach them, knee strike leads to front kick leads to roundhouse kick, because each subsequent kick is basically done as the previous kick, with an added step. At the beginner level, anyway, I know they can be done very differently from each other, depending on the variant of the kick used. Front kick is a knee strike with an extension in the middle, roundhouse kick is a front kick with a pivot in the middle.

From there, side kick (which has no dependencies) leads to turning side kick and to hook kick, which lead to back kick and spinning hook kick.

This was my original analysis. However, what I found is it's much easier for me to keep track of A than B:

A: easy to track

• Beginner kicks - knee, front, roundhouse, side, stretch kick
• Intermediate kicks - hook, back, turning roundhouse, axe kick
• Advanced kicks - tornado kick, crescent kick, spinning hook kick

B: hard to track

• White belt - knee, front kick, roundhouse kick
• White belt w/ stripe - side kick
• Yellow belt - axe kick
• Yellow belt w/ stripe - inside and outside axe kicks
• Green belt - back kick
• Green belt w/ stripe - hook kick
• Blue belt - turning roundhouse kick
• Blue belt w/ stripe - crescent kick
• Red belt - spinning hook kick
• Red belt w/ stripe - tornado kick

It's much easier to track three groups of techniques than ten individual data points. Although it's not too bad here, if you have twenty categories of technique, it becomes much more difficult to keep track of 200 data points.

My original design had 34 columns and 17 rows, giving 578 data points to track. My current design is much more compact. My new design has 4 levels, breaking things down by beginner, intermediate, advanced, and black belt (instead of by each individual belt), and grouping things together in other ways as well. I have roughly 35 data points to track, which is by my simple math 1550% easier.

I do not feel a martial art can be that static and fixed in evaluation. Giving a 'score' for a technique can have some trackable gross attributes such as foot position, chamber, extension, etc... (think of tournament scoring) but evaluating whether it is an effective kick goes beyond statistics. This is a big reason why it takes the average person 3-years to attain black belt level.
Sometimes it takes getting beyond what you see compared to a fixed set of values and determining what the value of the kick is specific to that person overall. For example, a 15-year old red belts roundhouse spinning wheel kick is almost certainly going to look different from a 30-year old red belt, even though both can check all the boxes for being technically correct.
For me, trying to associate kicks the way you did in the Vizio matrix is problematic and can be easily misunderstood in the attempt to convey information. I have heard and seen instructors teach kicks many different ways, but the most consistent theme it to teach them individually. Using or explaining the constants in each kick which, by in large, comes down to the knee, is explained bit later in a student's training as things begin to gel. And that is not always a hard constant. .
When we work with our competition groups, it is stressed that the knee is chambered the same for all forward moving kicks to create momentum and drive the kick. The second part(s) of the kick come post knee, such as rotation or the foot and shoulders for a side or roundhouse kick. This gives the opponent less time for pattern recognition but makes the kicks a bit more advanced. It is hard to train a person's leg to be light as a feather and hard as a rock at the same time. For Poomsae competitors, certain kick mechanics take a different trajectory. In this respect, trying to Vizio kicks would be an illegible flow chart. I just have a hard time thinking of kicks as an absolute if-then function.
Going back to your first three questions:
1.) Will be largely dependent on the high-ranking student themselves. Everyone processes information at different speeds, largely based on experience and maturation. I pay more attention on the person's willingness to put in the work to make the transfer, not necessarily how long it takes.
2.) This is the color belt progression method in a nutshell. Assuming the person knows the expect criteria for each belt, it is just a matter of working with the student to see where they are.
3.) This one is a bit of a head scratcher for me. We stand at attention, face the flags and salute, bow our heads and briefly meditate to forget the days burdens and get mentally ready for class, then bow to the highest-ranking person in the room. It takes about a minute. Class is closed the same way. When we pair up to do line work, we bow to each other to show respect. Same when we spar, just at the beginning or at a fall. That is about all the pomp and circumstance I can think of. In terms of learning or understanding respect, I do not think it ever comes via pomp and circumstance.
I am not certain I am making sense relative to the OP questions but hope this helps.

 

[Hanshi]

All students are not equal in speed, power or generally ability. I've personally seen students who could barely and accurately do a few of their techniques who could literally "wipe the floor" with a more "skilled" student.

If a new student joined my school with rank up into the black belts the following would be done.
1. learn things in our curriculum they had not been previously taught.
2. Given time enough time to acclimate to our "zeitgeist" of our school.
3. Any techniques requiring coaching sharpened up to our standards.
4. If everything worked out pretty well they would be accepted as one belt under their former rank and even their
current rank.

This is what our two major organizations more or sell did so I followed suit. It was certainly easier than starting fresh at the bottom and then working their way up but by no means a cake walk. Plus it was fair to them and the other students.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

All students are not equal in speed, power or generally ability. I've personally seen students who could barely and accurately do a few of their techniques who could literally "wipe the floor" with a more "skilled" student.

If a new student joined my school with rank up into the black belts the following would be done.
1. learn things in our curriculum they had not been previously taught.
2. Given time enough time to acclimate to our "zeitgeist" of our school.
3. Any techniques requiring coaching sharpened up to our standards.
4. If everything worked out pretty well they would be accepted as one belt under their former rank and even their
current rank.

This is what our two major organizations more or sell did so I followed suit. It was certainly easier than starting fresh at the bottom and then working their way up but by no means a cake walk. Plus it was fair to them and the other students.

I think that's a pretty fair approach. If I'd had someone from elsewhere in the art join my school, that's about what the plan would have been, unless they didn't manage to perform near the requirements for their belt, then I'd give them the option to just start back at white (which would probably be less embarrassing than being "demoted" 2-3 ranks).

 

[msmitht]

What I mean by the title - curriculum tracking - is a combination of three things:

1. How easy is it for someone who is a high rank in another school to transfer in and figure out your curriculum?
2. How easy is it for someone who is an instructor in your school to keep track of what each student needs?
3. To a lesser extent, how much ceremony is in the daily process that would take up bandwidth that folks need for #1 and #2?

In my experience, most TKD schools are not set up with the idea of making it easy for someone to transfer in from outside, or for instructors to have an easy time keeping track of everything. Instead, they seem to be designed around "micro-gains" in your repertoire. In my opinion, these types of curriculum are great for building up the first generation of students, but horrible for building up the next generation of instructors.

I "grew up" in my old school. I had some previous experience, but I started over at white belt. Everything I learned at that school, I learned on the path that most everyone else was on. I've spoken about the school at length, but I'll summarize it here: each belt had around 1-2 forms and around a dozen other things to memorize (such as self-defense, combinations, etc.). Because there was so much stuff, every 2-3 tests you were allowed to brain dump most of it. Everything green belts were tested on, they learned at green belt. 70% of what blue belts were tested on was learned at blue, with the other 30% coming from green. And at black belt there was one final reset, so 90% of the tests after black belt were almost strictly black belt material.

This led to a few problems. With one exception (me), nobody else remembered the colored belt curriculum, or was able to teach it. Similarly, because so much was focused on memorization, folks who came from another school or came back from a long break had a ton of trouble picking up on the curriculum. A good example is that in the black belt class, we rarely do that 10% of colored belt techniques that's on the test, so they rarely get a chance to practice it.

It was relatively easy for me to keep track, because most techniques were labeled by where they were in the curriculum. For example, I know that green belts need "Advanced Punching" because that's the "Advanced Class", and I know that green belts need "Green Belt Punch Defense" because...isn't it obvious? But it was still a lot of techniques to keep track of. Colored belt self-defense was 96 curriculum items alone.

At my new school, I'm having trouble as an outsider. This school uses tape stripes, each of which is a different color with a different meaning, sometimes a different meaning based on the belt color. Every belt (out of 10) has a new kick they need to learn. The kicks are taught in one order, and then "deputy" belts (the last before black belt) have to learn them in order. The white belt stuff is different than yellow belt and on. Yellow belt has Taegeuk Il Jang (#1), but does not have self-defense. Every belt after has self defense. Which means the first self-defense techniques are #2.1 and #2.2 learned at yellow/advanced, and then #3.1 and #3.2 at green, and so on. This has led to me being confused because I count from #1 instead of #2, which means I teach the wrong stuff to the wrong belt.

On top of all of this, the new school also has a lot of what I'd call "pomp and circumstance". The intro to class is a ceremony spoken completely in Korean, followed by a call-and-response cheer, then a rote memorized stretching routine and warmup. Class closes with another Korean ceremony, one of three student creeds, another creed, and another call-and-response cheer. I feel like I've spent most of my time here trying to learn how to start and end class more than I've been learning martial arts.

This is also something I found when trying to design my own curriculum, which I am on (what I believe to be) my final version. My original plan was very similar to my current school - each belt or intermediate rank has a new punch, a new kick, a new defense, etc. etc. What I found is that trying to keep track of all of this was a nightmare, and I'm the one writing the damn thing. It would also be a lot of work each class to separate the students out so that yellow belts can work on their kick while white belts sit down, and then have yellow belts sit out to teach purple belts their next kick, and so on.

Instead, what I've done is center on levels. There's 4 levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced, and black belt. Each level is treated a different way in class, with beginners focused on repetitions of a consistent foundation, and the more advanced the more open the curriculum gets. I've tried to focus the design of the class on making it as easy as possible for someone to come in from outside and pick up on how we do things.

It will be interesting to see how this shakes out once I do open my own school. But I feel that a system that's easy for outsiders to pick up is going to make them more likely to stay, which will most likely be a benefit to the school.

Good evening. I spent my youth training and competing in taekwondo. From age 22-45 I taught and coached (2 very different things) taekwondo and had a school of my own til 2017.
Having met, trained under, refereed and coached alongside and across the mat fom some of the best in both "traditional" Tae Kwon Do and Kukkiwon taekwondo I learned a few things that stuck.
1. Keep it simple. Did you know that in Korea it takes 1 year to reach 1st poom/dan? The program I witnessed in Korea at an elementary school( part of a trip I took in 2005) only taught the basic stances, poomsae, 6 kicks on targets and in the air, basic movements for sparring(sliding and stepping both evading and attacking). After 1 year they go to a KKW sanctioned test or the Kukkiwon and do 2 poomsae, basic kicks, break a plastic board and spar for the 1st time. The test cost them $35 US and they get certificate same day or within a week.
No self defense, meditation, excessive memorization (other than poomsae). No home rules or other creed/answer respond excessive kneeling/bowing.
2. Be consistent. Whatever you are teaching and whatever your standards are stick to them. The moment you say "well...he/her will get it someday..let's promote him/her based on "whatever" even though they failed to meet standards" is the beginning of a road you can not turn back from.
That being said don't make to high or many will never reach. Don't make so low that you are embarrassed or should be.
3. Be yourself. Don't jump on fads and quick money-making ideas that don't last or drain your students pocketbooks. Teach what you know and stick to it while learning more yourself.
4. All sparring in school should be for educational purposes. I know 3 Olympians who only do light contact sparring (head) in house. Their students are top tier in the USA and internationally.
5. Seek opportunities within your community to help (offer a free self defense class for kids/women). Attend student graduations, performances and sport competitions other than TKD when schedule permits.
I closed because I fell in love with another style, Jiu-Jitsu, which I have been doing since 1996. Enjoy your journey and I hope it takes you all over the world.

 

[HighKick]

Good evening. I spent my youth training and competing in taekwondo. From age 22-45 I taught and coached (2 very different things) taekwondo and had a school of my own til 2017.
Having met, trained under, refereed and coached alongside and across the mat fom some of the best in both "traditional" Tae Kwon Do and Kukkiwon taekwondo I learned a few things that stuck.
1. Keep it simple. Did you know that in Korea it takes 1 year to reach 1st poom/dan? The program I witnessed in Korea at an elementary school( part of a trip I took in 2005) only taught the basic stances, poomsae, 6 kicks on targets and in the air, basic movements for sparring(sliding and stepping both evading and attacking). After 1 year they go to a KKW sanctioned test or the Kukkiwon and do 2 poomsae, basic kicks, break a plastic board and spar for the 1st time. The test cost them $35 US and they get certificate same day or within a week.
No self defense, meditation, excessive memorization (other than poomsae). No home rules or other creed/answer respond excessive kneeling/bowing.
2. Be consistent. Whatever you are teaching and whatever your standards are stick to them. The moment you say "well...he/her will get it someday..let's promote him/her based on "whatever" even though they failed to meet standards" is the beginning of a road you can not turn back from.
That being said don't make to high or many will never reach. Don't make so low that you are embarrassed or should be.
3. Be yourself. Don't jump on fads and quick money-making ideas that don't last or drain your students pocketbooks. Teach what you know and stick to it while learning more yourself.
4. All sparring in school should be for educational purposes. I know 3 Olympians who only do light contact sparring (head) in house. Their students are top tier in the USA and internationally.
5. Seek opportunities within your community to help (offer a free self defense class for kids/women). Attend student graduations, performances and sport competitions other than TKD when schedule permits.
I closed because I fell in love with another style, Jiu-Jitsu, which I have been doing since 1996. Enjoy your journey and I hope it takes you all over the world.

This is a fantastic post.

Seek opportunities within your community to help (offer a free self defense class for kids/women). Attend student graduations, performances and sport competitions other than TKD when schedule permits.

This part says it all. It is a real-life indicator that as an instructor you are in it for your students and not just yourself. The satisfaction and memories this creates cannot be overstated.
We have had people make it to the Olympics and AAU Nationals, but honestly the people I remember the most are the ones who I got involved with in their day-to-day life events.
With the idea of being a school owner and instructor/coach, if a person goes into it thinking it will be a very modular 9-5 type job, they have it totally wrong.

 

[msmitht]

This is a fantastic post.

This part says it all. It is a real-life indicator that as an instructor you are in it for your students and not just yourself. The satisfaction and memories this creates cannot be overstated.
We have had people make it to the Olympics and AAU Nationals, but honestly the people I remember the most are the ones who I got involved with in their day-to-day life events.
With the idea of being a school owner and instructor/coach, if a person goes into it thinking it will be a very modular 9-5 type job, they have it totally wrong.

I have many good memories and have friends I've met from many different parts of the world. I still teach (BJJ) and recently a woman, who's son just signed up, came to me and asked if I remembered her. After a few seconds her name popped in my head as did her twin brother's. Trained at the 1st school I ever taught at til they were about 14. Part of the "demo team" and competed regularly. Was almost 24 years ago...
We hugged and she said she wouldn't have it any other way.
I still have the photo from her jr. BB exam. I have them all.