Yeah, I know, another post on teaching. But I love teaching! It not only validates that I know my shit, but it also reminds me of the nuances of a technique.
There’s a very specific template when it comes to teaching Krav Maga (at least, from what I learned from Krav Maga Worldwide but you’ll see this template when you watch videos on youtube too).
- Live speed of the technique
- Slow speed and exaggerated movement of the technique
- Context/anecdotes about why this technique is necessary (can also be #1 depending on the class and technique)
- Break the technique down into 2-5 steps (including how safety equipment should be used)
- Students person dry work (copying the 2-5 steps one at a time)
- Students partner up to practice the technique
Can I carry this over to games? Yes! Krav teaching needs exaggerated visuals because your students are only going to perform at about 40-60% compared to their instructor. The thing to be careful of would be going to slow that the player would lose interest. In total, steps 1-5 should take no longer than three minutes. In a video game, that’s forever! A tutorial of a mechanic should never be longer than 15 seconds, but it also need to show the players what to do. In a video game, the template can be:
- Shadow player performing live speed of the mechanic (including the controls).
- Mechanic should be shown within the context it will be most often used in
- If the player has not performed the mechanic properly (or at all), slow the shadow player down to a slow and exaggerated speed (including the controls).
- Player is within an environment where they can practice the mechanic at their own pace.
Aviva Schecterson 