How To Make A Martial Arts Student Manual

This section reviews the essentials needed for a good martial arts student manual. Martial arts schools and clubs should consider these areas when designing a new manual or updating their existing martial arts school manual. For additional information on running a martial arts school, please visit the section on Tips for Martial Arts Instructors.

Recommended Sections for Martial Arts Manuals

• Introduction - This should be a brief section that introduces students to your school and style.
• Style Characteristics - What makes your style and school unique versus other martial arts.
• History - This section should review the origin of your martial arts style, the founders, etc.
• Benefits - This section should review the benefits of martial arts training for students and parents.
• Dojo Etiquette - This section should review how students should behave in the dojo, rules & regulations, punishment for infractions, dress code, etc.
• Belt Requirements - This section should tell students what they will need to know in order to pass a belt test. For example, for the yellow belt test, a student will need to know XYZ kicks, ABC punches, Kata 1 & 2, ten Japanese words, etc.
• Techniques - This section can review or expand upon kata, kicks, strikes, self-defense, etc.
• Sparring - This section should review your schools's sparring rules and regulations, explain how points are awarded, etc.
• Philosophy & Mottoes - This section should review the key philosophies and concepts practiced by your martial arts style.
• Terminology - This section should review basic foreign words and numbers used at your school.
• Glossary - This should review key English-language words (i.e. commands, names of training equipment, etc.) used at your school.
• Additional Resources - This section should point students to online sources or books that can supplement the material in the manual. Online sources (such as ) are useful for videos of katas, advanced kicks, etc.