My teaching method – The dynamic problem/Systematic Solutions model: My proudest achievement as a coach is not the many prizes and accolades my students have won, but rather the fact that all of them are excellent teachers and innovators who can chart their own development once they reach a certain level. A large part of why they can do this is the general method of teaching i use and in which they all excel – the dynamic problem/systematic solutions method. Most of you know that I see the primary attribute that determines long term success or failure in jiu jitsu (and in almost everything else in life – thus making jiu jitsu a mirror to all our other activities and giving it a deeper meaning) is PROBLEM SOLVING. Jiu jitsu is more than anything, the act of solving problems under stress faster and more competently in a competitive race towards submission victory than your opponent. My teaching reflects this belief. I break jiu jitsu into skill areas/scenarios and look to see what is the central problem(s) in that area. Note immediately that all the problems of jiu jitsu are DYNAMIC problems. If I ask you what is 316 divided by 23 – this is a static problem – once the problem is stated, it does not change as you figure out the answer. In jiu jitsu, like any competitive game with a sentient resisting opponent, every attempt at a solution to the problems they present will be countered even as we are fighting for a solution. Thus the usual pattern is one of central problems rapidly being followed by subsequent problems as we offer solutions. This immediately gets us into a creative drive to research and find new solutions in an interlocking web that rapidly grows in complexity and size proportional to the skill level of our training environment and our imagination. THIS TEACHING METHOD IS WHAT GIVES RISE TO SYSTEM BUILDING AND PROGRESS. It is the basis of teaching methodology and it creates innovative self starting students who can think for themselves and ultimately go further than their teacher – the very purpose of teaching. Begin by seeing every situation in jiu jitsu AS A PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED – in time you will astounded by the structures you build in response.
