# Handbook and curriulum



## pvwingchun (Jun 25, 2003)

How many of you out there have a handbook that you give to students?

What is in it? 

Is the curriculum in a book like a training manual? 

Are they combined into one?

How is it accepted? 

Is it something that is given out at registration, handed out after acertain length of time or is it optional?


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## Disco (Jun 25, 2003)

Not sure if offering a printed curriculum for students is a good idea.

There's two viewpoints. Shows what has to be done during the complete phase's of training. Viewpoint 1). Some people can accept this because they thrive on a challenge
2). Can't / Won't accept because they feel it's overwhelming. 
Sorry to say that most people fall into the number 2 segment.
You could shoot yourself in the foot by scaring people off. I have found that if you can use a soft sell approach (which stands a much better chance of getting them into taking the training), that once their into it, they can more readily accept what's expected.

Now what we do is just give them the portion of the curriculum for the rank they are going for. It's a lot less overwhelming than looking at the complete course. But only after we have them for a couple of classes. They see after a few classes that it's not rocket science and they don't have to have the moves of Van Damm. 
Hope this will be of some help for you.........................
:asian:


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## pvwingchun (Jun 25, 2003)

> Now what we do is just give them the portion of the curriculum for the rank they are going for. It's a lot less overwhelming than looking at the complete course.



Thanks this is what we are thinking of doing.


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## tonbo (Jun 25, 2003)

We do the same as Disco does.  Each time a student earns a new belt, they get a new booklet that describes the material that they will need for their next rank.

This seems to work out quite well.  My wife went to a school where they had all the curriculum in one book, which you got when you enrolled.  It was good, in that you could see what you needed for many belts yet to come, but it also got some people pretty messed up by trying to "interpret" techniques they weren't ready for.  Early bad habits stayed with most of those people.

I would say to give it out in small bites, like you were planning on.

Peace--


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## pvwingchun (Dec 11, 2003)

Update. Our curriculum is a big succes the students love it.   In it is the rules of the kwoon, history, lineage, brief explanation of the forms and when you are taught each one, what it takes to pass into the next level, terminology, expanation of testing and several other snippets of info.  Plus we have the for the beginning studentd the the entire Siu Lim Tau form broken down move by move into thirds with both the Chinese and English translationand drills and principles associated with each third of the form. When they pass into Chum Kiu they get additional pages and the same for Biu Gee.   

Almost every student who has studied elsewhere said they wished the other arts they had studied had given them a curriculum.


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## triwahine (Dec 15, 2003)

I like the curriculum that is written and given to each student as he/she works toward a new belt level.  I also like the idea of the student writing down his/her notes and using it as a study guide.  Hand-in-hand with the curriculum information, it should give the student a pretty thorough understanding of what is needed to achieve the next level.  Also, by writing notes, the student will be able to think of questions for the sensei and he/she runs into problems.  It allows the student to use mental as well as physical skills to learn.  Just a thought.


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## rschoon (Mar 29, 2004)

pvwingchun said:
			
		

> How many of you out there have a handbook that you give to students?
> 
> What is in it?
> 
> ...



What I do is at sign-up, they get a sheet with the school ettiquete and a sheet with the  requirements they will need for their first belt.  As they make new ranks they get the next requirement list.  I also have all the requirements listed by rank in poster form on the wall.   I also require that everyone keep a notebook for  questions and other info.  I do by the way have manuals that the students may purchase for thier current rank or below.

Rick


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## Nightingale (Mar 31, 2004)

on my first day at the first school I trained at, I was given a little, photocopied handbook explaining all the policies of the school, when tuition was due, everyone must wear deodorant and have clean uniforms, etc....

it was kinda nice, because the instructor, instead of telling a student he stunk or to wash his uniform, he'd just tell the student to "re-read section 6 of the handbook."  :uhyeah: 

We were also given a card with all the stuff we needed to know for our next belt.


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## KenpoTess (Mar 31, 2004)

The I.K.K.O. has a 'manual' for each belt level. In it, the curriculum is broken down so the student has a hard copy of what they need to know.  Pledge, sayings, fundamentals, Tecs with defenses listed, but not with the tec written out, an area for the instructor to initial when taught and the head instructor to sign off on when tested. The sets per belt etc. 
It's a nice reference to have and each student is responsible for their own copy and are expected to bring it to each class.

Tess


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## someguy (Mar 31, 2004)

KenpoTess said:
			
		

> The I.K.K.O. has a 'manual' for each belt level. In it, the curriculum is broken down so the student has a hard copy of what they need to know.  Pledge, sayings, fundamentals, Tecs with defenses listed, but not with the tec written out, an area for the instructor to initial when taught and the head instructor to sign off on when tested. The sets per belt etc.
> It's a nice reference to have and each student is responsible for their own copy and are expected to bring it to each class.
> 
> Tess


I hope you don't have to pay for those manuals or at least they are dirt cheap.


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## KenpoTess (Apr 1, 2004)

no they are part of our membership.


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## someguy (Apr 1, 2004)

ah
btw nice quote


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## KenpoTess (Apr 1, 2004)

Thanks  I think it fits me to a 'T' *G*


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## BlueDragon1981 (Jul 1, 2004)

We have a book. It is basically a list broken down into what technique that you need for each rank. The katas are listed and some other information like steps for waza etc. This is used to let people know what techniques they need to study. Also it is used when teaching to see what that rank needs because sometime once you get to the higher ranks you don't remember where you learned something. It is given out when you become a student. At least at that dojo.


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## BrandiJo (Oct 4, 2004)

i got a hand book form my new school i took it as a challage for what i have to know in the future and a way to practice what i know now even when i get mixed up it lists all the rules so they can get on my case for any of the 4rules they have cus they all are in writing i thought it was a good idea 

also no suprises come testing time cus all they gotta do is point back to the book and say youv known what was expected of you :readrules


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## AnimEdge (Oct 4, 2004)

We have a booklet that they hand out to the ones that seam to keep coming backi think i got mine like a month after i started, its generaly a guideline, has some history in the front, the tenets, and goes by each belt not saying how to do but a general name for the tech, just becouse its in theb ook doesnt mean your do it on the test and just becouse it is not in the book doesnt mean you wont do it on the test but its a general book to know what you need, like for exp a tech for High Brown is: 5-7 Sword Disarms
Or for Green: Shirt Grab, Thumb Tech
I know whatthese are becouse i have done them but someone who just picks up the booklet woudlnt know what to do and self teach themself

In all i think Class books are good for like quick ref. but it wouldnt bother me if i didnt have one


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## Miles (Nov 22, 2004)

At the school where I teach, we have a curriculum guide which is posted on the school's website.  If someone does not have a computer, then we provide a copy of it.  These are minimum requirements so that the student knows how many classes needed to test, what the material they are expected to know, etc.  It also helps the instructor because it says what material is to be introduced at each rank.

Miles


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## OC Kid (Nov 23, 2004)

I give my students a sheet with the requirements for each rank. just the one they will need for the next rank. It has the form they will need. self defense techniques and terminology as well as basics they will need to know.
I tell them that this is a guideline or referance. There test may have more than that, depending on them as a individual. 

There is absolutely no time table for them to achieve this knowledge or rank. If it takes them 2 years so be it. If it takes them 3 months (which 6 months is about average ) so be it.


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## still learning (Nov 25, 2004)

Hello, We have our own folders, but we get handouts of the new material for next rank,as we grow so do the folders. This is good because as a students you have something to go back on. 

 We also get the history and etiquettes materials in the begining. It is nice to get all the requirements on paper, no guessing and miss spoken things.

  Everyone knows what is expected and can follow their own progess. Most of us like that.....Aloha


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## jbclinic (Oct 8, 2005)

pvwingchun said:
			
		

> How many of you out there have a handbook that you give to students?
> 
> What is in it?
> 
> ...


i have a manual that i give out for each belt level so that, 1) you don't waste money in manuals 2) all the info is too much to comprehend. so at least limit the distribution


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## tsdclaflin (Dec 30, 2005)

Students NEED something in writing....either before or during their training.  I earned my black belt after four years with no written curriculum.  I personally hated it.  I documented everything (and I learned a lot).  However, I never even so much as had a vocabulary list.  I would stay after class or come early and ask questions and write notes.  It is not possible to remember in class the Korean name for all the techniques, much less how to spell them.

I give an intro to our style and our school.  I include a list of basic terminology and etiquette.  Then I have a one-page list of requirements for each rank that I hand out separately.  The students have to write out their own instructions for forms, self-defense, etc.

There is balance in here somewhere.


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## bushidomartialarts (Mar 7, 2006)

we're in the process of setting up our curriculum manuals.  we have a student handbook/rules book we call the 'white belt manual'.  it's given to each student who signs up for an introduction.

additional manuals are available for sale, but not compulsory.  they include descriptions of technique plus some philosophical and historical notes.


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## fnorfurfoot (Jun 11, 2006)

I sell my manuals to my students.  The checklists are on my school's message board and the students can download them for free.  I offer descriptions on how to perform the needed techniques in a 3 ring binder.  Teaching at the YMCA, I don't have much control over how much I charge for classes themselves, so I have to suppliment my income by offering things like the manual.  I don't require them to buy one, but I manage to sell quite a few of them.  The first sale contains enough material for the first two belt ranks.  After that I charge ten dollars per rank.  That way the students don't have to dish out tons of money up front.  I was concerned about doing it that way at first, but everyone seems cool with it.  

When I was going through the ranks, my instructor didn't offer anything like that.  We had to write down everything ourselves.  I still encourage my adult students to take notes but most of my students, like many other schools, are children.  They don't write down anything.  So the parents buy the manuals so they know what the children have to practice at home.


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## lhommedieu (Jun 11, 2006)

When I was in an instructors' class our teacher gave us a lengthy handbook that described the history, geography, and culture related to the martial art that we were learning.  There was also a biography of our teacher and his teacher.  I always thought that this was a great gift as it gave us the perspective to talk to our students about our art and incentive to do further research.  For example, I became interested in learning more about our teacher's teacher and did research that eventually led to an update on this chapter in the manual (most of which involved contributions from other martial artists that I met on-line), which can be found at the following URL:

http://www.northshoreac.com/san_miguel_eskrima/momoy.htm

Best,

Steve Lamade


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