Teaching Problem Solving

I experienced a beautiful teaching breakthrough yesterday in my Monday night grappling class that left me incredibly proud of my students and validated my approach as an instructor.

Grappling presents unique teaching challenges - it requires coordinating full-body movements against an opponent actively resisting your efforts. Progress is typically slow and difficult to measure, leaving students questioning whether they are progressing.

While many instructors rely solely on step-by-step instruction (which has its place), I structure my classes around scenario-based learning. I encourage students to explore why techniques succeed or fail and how to troubleshoot problems. I believe understanding the "why" behind movements is crucial for developing into a competent grappler.

I do teach technical sequences, but my primary goal is developing exceptional problem-solvers. Exclusive reliance on step-by-step instruction can actually inhibit students from developing this critical meta-skill.

Yesterday provided the perfect example. We were working on opening closed guard, specifically using hand posts in the opponent's armpits to pin their upper body in order to standing up and break the guard. This creates a challenging predicament for the person on bottom, but I intentionally didn't demonstrate any solutions to the handposts during instruction.

At the end of class, I asked who had successfully reached this position during live rolls. Most hands went up - first victory! When I asked if anyone had found ways to counter these armpit posts once established, no one had.

I then asked, "Who feels confident holding this position?" One student volunteered to demonstrate by establishing the position in my guard. I turned to the class and asked, "What options do I have to deal with this?"

That's when magic happened. The room came alive with suggestions:

"Move your arm under!"

"Windshield wiper?"

"Can you bump her hips?"

"What if you opened your guard and sat up?"

Some ideas were solid, others less viable, but the true beauty was witnessing the entire class collaboratively solving the problem. I tested their suggestions in real-time, asking for clarification when needed. Together, we were decoding the puzzle!

Seeing their curiosity ignite and their problem-solving mindset emerge was everything I've been working toward as an instructor.

(By the way, the solution is simple but not obvious. By trying to fight the posts, you allow your opponent to maintain control of your shoulders. If you swim your arms up like you are doing a backstroke, you remove the shelf of your armpit, and can easily swim your arms back underneath the posts).