The Next One

Traditionally, I do a ton of writing in November. Just not here.
November is the National Novel Writing Month or Nanowrimo. The challenge is to finish 50,000 words in one month-- a month with a major holiday, family obligations and all of your regular work, too. Lots of my friends take the challenge and I try to finish something. It's not a novel, but I add 50,000 words to a project.
For the last 28 days, every spare minute has been spent on the IDC manual. IDC was our cop jargon for "Instructor Development Course." So a book on how to teach. Finished it today. Or, at least, thought I did. Then realized I needed to add a new section. No idea why these things always seem to pop into my head in the shower.

So, if anyone is still reading the blog, here's a taste. The Table of Contents:

Introduction

Section 1: The Unique Problem of Self-Defense

Section 1.1: Rarity

Section 1.2 An Open, Not a Closed System 

Section 1.3 Surprise, Fear and Speed 

Section 1.4 The Problem is Longitudinal

Section 1.5 The Problem Exists in the Real World 

Section 1.6 You are Teaching Students, not Subject Matter

Section 2: Subject Matter Expertise

Section 2.1 Knowledge of the Problem

Section 2.1.1 The Ethical and Legal Implications of Using Force

Section 2.1.2 Violence Dynamics

Section 2.1.3 Avoidance; Escape and Evasion and De-Escalation

Section 2.1.4 Counter Assault

Section 2.1.5 Freezing

Section 2.1.6 The Fight

Section 2.1.7 Aftermath

Section 2.2 Applicable Solutions

Section 2.3 Experience Thresholds

Section 2.3.1 Sharing Experiences

Section 3 The Ability to Teach

Section 3.1 Adult Learning

Section 3.2 Assessment

Section 3.2.1 Reading Students

Section 3.2.1.1 Creating Student Profiles

Section 3.2.1.2 Troubleshooting Difficult Students 

Section 3.2.2 Reading a Class

Section 3.2.3 Assessing Sources of Information

Section 3.2.4 Assessing Drills

Section 3.2.5 Assessing Techniques

Section 3.3 The Transfer of Information

Section 3.4 Curriculum Development

Section 3.4.1 Curricula in General

Section 3.4.2 Curriculum Design for Long-Term Classes

Section 3.4.3 Curriculum Design for Short Classes

Section 3.4.4 Teaching Groups vs. Singles

Section 4: Principles-Based Teaching

Section 4.1 Background Concepts of Principles-Based Teaching

Section 4.1.1 Building Blocks

Section 4.1.2 Principles

Section 4.1.3 Concepts

Section 4.2 The Process of Principles-Based Teaching

Section 4.3 The Flaws of Principles-Based Teaching

Section 5: Teaching Professional (LEOs, Military and Specialty Teams)

Section 5.1 The Fundamental Fundamentals

Section 5.2 Before You teach, Know the Policies

Section 5.3 Teaching Professionals

Section 5.3.1 Class Structure

Section 5.3.2 Preparation

Section 5.3.3 Class Format

Section 5.3.4 Deciding What to Teach

Section 5.3.5 Setting up the Class

Section 5.3.6 Presentation

Section 5.3.7 Troubleshooting

Section 5.4 After the Class

Section 6: Instructor Ethics

Section 6.1 Ethics

Section 6.2 Student Empowerment

Section 6.3 Assumptions and Biases

Section 7 Business and Marketing, to be contributed by Randy King

Section 8 Tips and Tricks

Appendices

Appendix 1 Building Blocks

Appendix 2 Principles

Appendix 3 Concepts

Appendix 4 Dracula’s Cape as an Example of Operant Conditioning

Appendix 5 Example Flexible Curriculum Template 

Appendix 6 Example Revolving Curriculum

Appendix 7 Example Professional Lesson Format

Appendix 8: Sample Safety Briefing 

AAR- Europe and Japan

Well, if I count layovers it's been seven different countries since last I wrote. Nine border crossings, since I've been through Canada twice. One more border crossing in an hour or so and then I'll be home.

Processing lots. Taught "How to Run Scenarios" without being able to understand the native language well enough to really evaluate how well everyone was doing. I think there are some things I don't have the skills to do myself. In future, I will probably have to create a cadre of instructors who can create teams to work in their native language. Much as it hurts me to say that, it's time to think about the next generation.

Taught InFighting on the second visit to the Netherlands. Have to think about this carefully as well. To do InFighting safely requires pretty high-level distancing, ukemi, control and confidence. People panic. They always call it something else but it is definitely panic. The class went very well in Natick, but that was a jujutsu school with very similar core competencies to mine and it was my (fifth?) visit there. They were ready and they knew how to be safe. Not that Chris' men and women in the Netherlands were unsafe or not ready, but there were some minor injuries. And there was a weird time compression thing, because I got through almost all of the sixteen hour class in eight. Still can't figure out how that happened.

Japan was very strange for me on an emotional level. I always assumed my first visit there would be as a student, not an instructor. In my head I had just assumed that the expats were the people who were so into martial arts that they changed their entire lives and gave up everything to get closer to the source. I was expecting on a very deep level to be the itty-bitty bug in a roomful of martial gods. And I found out, like every other time I've been around the immensely talented or famous or whatever, that they were pretty much people. Just like me. And we all have tons to learn. And learning with good people is kind of fun.

And oh my god they can drink. Had whisky, beer, awamori, and habushu, and that was on the first day, just saying hello. The dinner after the seminar was epic.

Habushu. Snake wine. Tastes remarkably like alcohol.

Also fulfilled an obligation. Had to go to the hombu of Sosuishitsu, just to say thanks. One family preserved something that kept me alive in some rough times. There's an eternal debt there. It was a good place and I liked Shitama-sensei. He's solid. 

Met some good people, as always-- Quint, Peter, Joe, the Fearsome Foursome (Quint's kids) Iida, Shinya and James. Other names I don't remember.

And got to duel an entire generation of an ancient samurai clan simultaneously at their family shrine. Of course, the oldest was eight.

Good times. But time to head home.