Foundations 12-Week Programme
A session-by-session schedule for delivering the foundations curriculum — 2–3 sessions per week, mapped to all ten stages with drill prescriptions and completion checkpoints.
This programme maps the ten stages of the foundations curriculum to a twelve-week delivery schedule. It assumes 2–3 training sessions per week of approximately 60–90 minutes each. Adjust pacing based on your cohort’s progress — the completion criteria are the gate, not the calendar.
For coaches: This schedule is a starting point, not a contract. Where completion criteria are not met, extend the block rather than advancing. Where a stage is clearly complete early, reduce repetition and move forward. The curriculum sequence is non-negotiable; the timing is not.
Weeks 1–2: Safety and Framework
Content: The tap — what it means, how to tap (hand, foot, verbal), when to tap (before pain). The social contract of training. Why elevated-risk content is gated behind competence, not time.
Drill: Partner tapping in all three modalities under light contact pressure. Not resistance — familiarisation.
Checkpoint: Student can explain the protocol and demonstrate all three tap modalities before moving on.
Content: INV-01 through INV-07 conceptually. Base, connection, structure vs. movement, hip engagement, angle and control. Not assessment — vocabulary establishment.
Drill: Base identification — coach applies light lateral pressure, student identifies whether base is adequate. Simple, kinaesthetic, immediate feedback.
Note: These invariables will be revisited in every subsequent stage. Do not spend more than two sessions on introduction — the depth comes through application.
Weeks 2–4: Guard Fundamentals
Content: Sitting guard baseline (POS-GRD-SEATED) — the default starting position, base requirements, hip engagement.
Drill: Seated guard maintenance — partner applies standing pressure, student maintains structure for 20 seconds. Build to 30.
Content: Butterfly guard bottom (POS-GRD-BUTTERFLY-BOT) — hooks, connection, basic retention concept.
Drill: Butterfly guard retention under slow passing pressure. 30-second rounds.
Content: Half guard bottom (POS-GRD-HALF-BOT) — flat survival and basic frames. Closed guard as emergency survival.
Drill: Recovery drill — partner partially passes, student reframes and recovers guard. Focus on the frame, not the scramble.
Student maintains guard bottom against moderate passing pressure for 30 seconds and recovers guard after a partial pass. Do not advance until this is functional.
Content: Over-under passing frame — head and hip position, maintaining pass pressure.
Drill: Frame establishment only — reaching and maintaining the over-under frame against a moving guard player. No pass completion yet.
Content: Pass completion sequence — breaking the guard structure, settling the pass. Primary guard recovery patterns and how to anticipate them.
Drill: Full pass sequence against cooperative partner. Student identifies what broke down mechanically when a pass fails.
Student establishes passing position against moderate resistance and completes a guard pass against a cooperative partner.
Weeks 5–7: Back Position and Top Pins
Phase 1 — Defence: POS-BACK-BOT-SEATBELT. Survival in seatbelt, rotation escape to half guard, seat-belt removal, hip escape. Which escape is available when — the mechanical logic of the choice.
Drill: Rotation escape — from seatbelt, complete the rotation to half guard. Partner provides light seatbelt pressure. Build resistance over sessions.
Phase 2 — Offence: POS-BACK-TOP-SEATBELT. Seatbelt grip, body triangle vs. hooks choice, maintaining position against rotation escape. RNC grip setup only — no finish mechanics yet.
Drill: Back control maintenance — 30-second rounds from seatbelt, partner actively rotating. Transition to body triangle when the rotation escape is well established.
Student escapes seatbelt using at least one primary route, maintains seatbelt control against a cooperative partner, and can set the RNC grip.
Side control — defence first: Survival frame, hip escape to guard, elbow-knee recovery. Three sessions of escape work before any offensive content.
Drill: Hip escape to guard from static side control. Partner maintains position. Build resistance over sessions.
Side control — offence: Control points (KOB, standard, reverse), transition between them, Americana entry as first submission.
Mount — defence first: Survival frame, bridge-and-roll, elbow-knee escape. Then mount control, arm trap entry.
Drill: Bridge-and-roll — partner holds high mount. Focus on the hip drive, not the arm work.
Student escapes side control and mount using primary routes, establishes basic control from both, and sets a submission attempt from each.
Weeks 8–9: Front Headlock, Turtle, and Standing
Content: Turtle survival position — tucked position, posting, managing the arm. Sit-out and granby roll mechanics.
Drill: Granby roll — static start, mechanics only, no partner pressure. Repetition before resistance.
Content: Front headlock bottom (defending the guillotine grip, recovering guard) and top (maintaining position, head-and-arm entry). Guillotine mechanics introduced as a concept — no finish details.
Student takes functional turtle position, executes sit-out or granby roll, and identifies a guillotine grip when it is applied.
Content: Clinch position and basic hand fighting. Sprawl mechanics — hip drop, why the sprawl works structurally.
Drill: Sprawl timing — partner shoots a basic single leg, student reacts. Repetition on the hip drop, not the arm work.
Content: Single leg entry (penetration step). Double leg concept introduced. Trips and throws acknowledged but not developed — proprioceptive prerequisites not yet in place.
Drill: Single leg entry mechanics against cooperative partner. Penetration step, level change, leg capture.
Student takes functional clinch, executes sprawl against basic shot, and attempts single leg with correct mechanics against cooperative partner.
Weeks 10–12: Leg Entanglement Introduction
Content: Lace grip, hip compression finish, role of the instep. The distinction from heel hooks: Achilles tendon stress, not joint rotation. Why this comes before ashi garami.
Drill: Hip compression mechanic in isolation — student applies load through the hip, partner taps. No entries yet.
Content: Primary defensive movements — heel extraction, rolling defences. How to maintain control against each.
Drill: Full ankle lock with live defence — partner attempts heel extraction, student adjusts grip and hip position to maintain control.
Student establishes ankle lock from basic control position, applies finishing mechanic correctly, and identifies primary escape attempts.
Phase 1 — Defence: Recognising ashi garami, heel extraction escape, identifying when in danger. Three sessions of escape work before offensive ashi content.
Drill: Heel extraction — static start. Partner holds ashi garami control, student extracts heel. Mechanical precision before resistance.
Phase 2 — Offence: Basic ashi garami control structure — inside position, hip connection, transition to ankle lock.
Drill: Ashi to ankle lock — establish ashi garami control, transition directly to ankle lock. The connection between the two is the curriculum content.
Student identifies ashi garami, executes heel extraction, establishes ashi garami control, and transitions to ankle lock. Can explain why heel hooks are not introduced here and what conditions must be met.
Programme Completion
A student who has completed all ten stages has a defensively sound platform in every major position family, a functional ankle lock game, and the conceptual framework to begin developing the connection-thinking that characterises the developing curriculum. They are not finished — they are ready to start.
The next step is the developing curriculum. Coaches who want a structured approach to delivering the developing systems can use the Developing Focus Blocks guide.
A note on timing: Twelve weeks at 2–3 sessions per week is 24–36 sessions. The stages above total approximately 40–55 sessions at the recommended durations. Adjust by reducing between-stage review time once cohort competence is clear, or by adding sessions where stages require more development. The schedule is a framework, not a formula.