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Step one: choose one skill per session
Beginners learn faster when each session has a single focus and a visible outcome. Start by listing the skills you could teach, then assign only one to each meeting. Week one might cover stance, balance and creating distance. Week two could address voice, boundaries and breaking a wrist grab. Week three may introduce basic strikes on pads, and week four can combine them in slow scenarios. Write the outcome as something a participant can demonstrate, such as escaping a grab three times in a row, so progress is visible without competition or pressure.
02
Step two: structure the hour and the practice
Give every session the same rhythm so newcomers know what happens next. A sixty-minute class could open with ten minutes of warm-up and a check-in, fifteen minutes of demonstration, twenty minutes of paired drills at low speed, ten minutes of a short scenario, and five minutes of cool-down and questions. Specify partner roles, how to signal stop, and which equipment to provide. In the worked example, week two uses a simple counted drill: grab, voice, break, step away. The repeated pattern lets participants build memory before adding speed or force.
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Step three: set safety, consent and follow-up
Publish the ground rules on the same page as the outline. Include health questions, clothing guidance, an agreement that anyone can pause or skip a drill, and a clear statement that the class teaches awareness and basic technique rather than guaranteed protection. Add a short follow-up: a one-page recap with the four drills, a suggested ten-minute weekly practice and an invitation to a refresher session. In the worked example, the instructor ends week four by asking each participant which drill felt strongest and which needs more repetition, then uses those answers to plan the next course.