Beginner

Beginner, four weeks

Three short sessions a week. Week one is shapes, week four is the first chains. Every week ends with a reflection.

Week 1: shapes

Sit, kneel, fall. Nothing fast.

Day 1: Foundations first, about 9 minutes. Kneeling posture and combat base, Back breakfall, Seated base.
Day 2: A quiet start, about 8 minutes. Seated base, Forearm frame / solo, Class sequence recall.
Day 3: After class, about 9 minutes. Class sequence recall, Forearm frame / solo, Seated reflection round.

Phase cues for this week

Kneeling posture and combat base: Tall on both knees. Hips over the knees, hands in front. Post a foot. One foot forward beside the other knee, no lean. Combat base. Rear toes tucked, hands ready, eyes level. Return. Foot back, still tall. Other side. Same base with the other foot posted.
Back breakfall: Squat. Low, arms in front, chin tucked. Sit back. Back and down, never straight down; chin stays on the chest. Land and slap. Rounded upper back on the mat, both arms slap wide, palms down. Recover. Sit up, then back to the squat. Land again. Same slap, same tuck.
Seated base: Sit tall. Hips under you, one hand posted behind, the other free. Settle the post. Weight into the posted hand without collapsing the shoulder. Small weight shift. Move a few centimetres and feel which foot would push. Hold. Breathe. Nothing else moves. Shift the other way. Same shift, other side, same posted hand.
Forearm frame / solo: Arms at rest. On the side, elbows near the ribs. Elbows in. Elbows stay inside the width of the shoulders as the forearms rise. Frame presented. Forearms in front of the chest at about a right angle. Hold the space. Structure without locked elbows. Release. Back to the seated base.
Class sequence recall: Sit. Start position of the technique you are recalling. Frame. Name the problem the technique answered. Sit. Write the step you want clarified. Hold. Read it back.
Seated reflection round: Sit. Choose one moment you understood better today. Shift. Record one question. Sit. Choose the drill to revisit. Hold. Close the notebook.

Week 2: the escape

The hip escape until the hips move, not the feet.

Day 1: Foundations first, about 9 minutes. Kneeling posture and combat base, Back breakfall, Seated base.
Day 2: A study in space, about 8 minutes. Hip escape / shrimp, Forearm frame / solo, Frame / hip escape.
Day 3: After class, about 9 minutes. Class sequence recall, Forearm frame / solo, Seated reflection round.

Phase cues for this week

Kneeling posture and combat base: Tall on both knees. Hips over the knees, hands in front. Post a foot. One foot forward beside the other knee, no lean. Combat base. Rear toes tucked, hands ready, eyes level. Return. Foot back, still tall. Other side. Same base with the other foot posted.
Back breakfall: Squat. Low, arms in front, chin tucked. Sit back. Back and down, never straight down; chin stays on the chest. Land and slap. Rounded upper back on the mat, both arms slap wide, palms down. Recover. Sit up, then back to the squat. Land again. Same slap, same tuck.
Seated base: Sit tall. Hips under you, one hand posted behind, the other free. Settle the post. Weight into the posted hand without collapsing the shoulder. Small weight shift. Move a few centimetres and feel which foot would push. Hold. Breathe. Nothing else moves. Shift the other way. Same shift, other side, same posted hand.
Hip escape / shrimp: On the back, feet planted. Knees bent, both feet flat, frames in front of the chest. Post and turn. Near hand posts on the mat and the body turns onto that shoulder. Drive and travel. Push through the planted foot; the pelvis lifts and travels away from the post. Reorganise. Top knee comes back in front of you before anything else. Reset. Back to the seated base without pulling on the neck.
Forearm frame / solo: Arms at rest. On the side, elbows near the ribs. Elbows in. Elbows stay inside the width of the shoulders as the forearms rise. Frame presented. Forearms in front of the chest at about a right angle. Hold the space. Structure without locked elbows. Release. Back to the seated base.
Frame / hip escape: Frame. The shape of the arms first. Post and turn. Near hand to the mat, turn onto the shoulder. Travel. Hips away from the post. Frame again. Re-present the frame from the new spot. Check the arms. Elbows still inside the shoulders.
Class sequence recall: Sit. Start position of the technique you are recalling. Frame. Name the problem the technique answered. Sit. Write the step you want clarified. Hold. Read it back.
Seated reflection round: Sit. Choose one moment you understood better today. Shift. Record one question. Sit. Choose the drill to revisit. Hold. Close the notebook.

Week 3: two directions

Add the reverse escape.

Day 1: Two escapes, about 8 minutes. Hip escape / shrimp, Reverse hip escape, Hip escape to reverse escape.
Day 2: Return to base, about 9 minutes. Seated base, Ground-to-standing sequence, Technical stand-up.
Day 3: After class, about 9 minutes. Class sequence recall, Forearm frame / solo, Seated reflection round.

Phase cues for this week

Hip escape / shrimp: On the back, feet planted. Knees bent, both feet flat, frames in front of the chest. Post and turn. Near hand posts on the mat and the body turns onto that shoulder. Drive and travel. Push through the planted foot; the pelvis lifts and travels away from the post. Reorganise. Top knee comes back in front of you before anything else. Reset. Back to the seated base without pulling on the neck.
Reverse hip escape: Feet planted. Both feet flat, knees bent, frames in front. Heels in, load. Draw the heels toward the hips and lift the hips a little. Hips toward the head. Push through both feet; the hips slide along the mat toward the head. Walk the feet in. Feet back under you before the next push. Again. Second push, same line.
Hip escape to reverse escape: Hip escape. Post, lift, travel sideways. Reorganise. Top knee back in front. Reverse escape. Both feet push; hips toward the head. Walk the feet in. Under you again. Hip escape again. Same frames, other direction.
Seated base: Sit tall. Hips under you, one hand posted behind, the other free. Settle the post. Weight into the posted hand without collapsing the shoulder. Small weight shift. Move a few centimetres and feel which foot would push. Hold. Breathe. Nothing else moves. Shift the other way. Same shift, other side, same posted hand.
Ground-to-standing sequence: Hip escape. Make space first. Seated base. Post a hand and set the feet. Hand and foot take the weight. Hips lift over the post. Leg clears. Rear foot on its ball. Stand. Both feet down before the post releases.
Technical stand-up: Seated, hand posted. Opposite hand and foot are the base. Hand and foot take the weight. Hips lift with the free hand in front of the face. Clear the trailing leg. The free leg swings back under you; the rear foot posts on its ball. Stand in base. Both feet down before the hand leaves the mat. Settle the standing base. Knees bent, weight over the balls of the feet.
Class sequence recall: Sit. Start position of the technique you are recalling. Frame. Name the problem the technique answered. Sit. Write the step you want clarified. Hold. Read it back.
Forearm frame / solo: Arms at rest. On the side, elbows near the ribs. Elbows in. Elbows stay inside the width of the shoulders as the forearms rise. Frame presented. Forearms in front of the chest at about a right angle. Hold the space. Structure without locked elbows. Release. Back to the seated base.
Seated reflection round: Sit. Choose one moment you understood better today. Shift. Record one question. Sit. Choose the drill to revisit. Hold. Close the notebook.

Week 4: first chains

Escape, sit, stand. Slowly.

Day 1: Two escapes, about 8 minutes. Hip escape / shrimp, Reverse hip escape, Hip escape to reverse escape.
Day 2: Return to base, about 9 minutes. Seated base, Ground-to-standing sequence, Technical stand-up.
Day 3: A familiar flow, about 10 minutes. Seated base, Hip escape / shrimp, Frame / hip escape, Seated reflection round.

Phase cues for this week

Hip escape / shrimp: On the back, feet planted. Knees bent, both feet flat, frames in front of the chest. Post and turn. Near hand posts on the mat and the body turns onto that shoulder. Drive and travel. Push through the planted foot; the pelvis lifts and travels away from the post. Reorganise. Top knee comes back in front of you before anything else. Reset. Back to the seated base without pulling on the neck.
Reverse hip escape: Feet planted. Both feet flat, knees bent, frames in front. Heels in, load. Draw the heels toward the hips and lift the hips a little. Hips toward the head. Push through both feet; the hips slide along the mat toward the head. Walk the feet in. Feet back under you before the next push. Again. Second push, same line.
Hip escape to reverse escape: Hip escape. Post, lift, travel sideways. Reorganise. Top knee back in front. Reverse escape. Both feet push; hips toward the head. Walk the feet in. Under you again. Hip escape again. Same frames, other direction.
Seated base: Sit tall. Hips under you, one hand posted behind, the other free. Settle the post. Weight into the posted hand without collapsing the shoulder. Small weight shift. Move a few centimetres and feel which foot would push. Hold. Breathe. Nothing else moves. Shift the other way. Same shift, other side, same posted hand.
Ground-to-standing sequence: Hip escape. Make space first. Seated base. Post a hand and set the feet. Hand and foot take the weight. Hips lift over the post. Leg clears. Rear foot on its ball. Stand. Both feet down before the post releases.
Technical stand-up: Seated, hand posted. Opposite hand and foot are the base. Hand and foot take the weight. Hips lift with the free hand in front of the face. Clear the trailing leg. The free leg swings back under you; the rear foot posts on its ball. Stand in base. Both feet down before the hand leaves the mat. Settle the standing base. Knees bent, weight over the balls of the feet.
Frame / hip escape: Frame. The shape of the arms first. Post and turn. Near hand to the mat, turn onto the shoulder. Travel. Hips away from the post. Frame again. Re-present the frame from the new spot. Check the arms. Elbows still inside the shoulders.
Seated reflection round: Sit. Choose one moment you understood better today. Shift. Record one question. Sit. Choose the drill to revisit. Hold. Close the notebook.

A schedule of solo plans, not a claim about how fast anyone learns. Sparring, rest, weight and anything with a partner are between you and your coach.

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Other progressions: Intermediate, four weeks · Competition preparation, four weeks. Read warm-up and cool-down before the first week.