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