Starting in March we have introduced an Open Mat session on Thursday Nights at 6:30pm.
To make better use of the Dojo opening hours, we are going to reshape the 6:30pm class on Thursdays to an open mat session for senior Children's Class students (Green belt and above), and Adult Students (from Orange belt and above).
An Open Mat session is a free period (up to 1 hour) where you can practice anything you require under Blackbelt supervision, but not as a structured class.
This has the following benefits:
It will increase utilisation of the Dojo at this time.
Senior Children's class students (who were the main attendees at this time) can work on advanced curriculum as they do not currently have an advanced class.
Adult students who can not attend the advanced classes can practice that work in this session. (Bunkai, Advanced Kata, etc)
Tournament oriented students can practice tournament specific Kumite or Kata in this time slot with like-minded students.
All students can work on any part of the curriculum that they need more work on.
Self Defence seminars/sessions can also use a part in this session for this type of training.
Assistant Instructors will get more practice at assisting individuals or small groups on the Dojo floor.
If adults can't make it for a 6:30pm start they can join in when they do arrive. Open mat sessions allow for this flexibility.
Note: You will need to be self-directed, the blackbelts are there to assist, but will also be practicing their own work. Please respect this use of their time.
We feel this meets a number of needs across the student population, and is a much better use of the Dojo time. Children's class beginners and adult beginners will still get focused work on Monday evenings and Saturday mornings in structured classes.
It also goes without saying that standard classes are also still a priority for working on grading curriculum.
This will start from the first Thursday in March (7th).