Theme of the month ideas

Over at the Mokuren Dojo blog instructor Patrick Parker has committed himself to "emphasizing a different broad principle each month" when teaching his judo and aikido classes, starting with relaxation in January 2009.

I think that this is a great idea, and for my jiu-jitsu and classical judo classes I plan to trial an explicit "theme of the month" starting in February, when I re-start my class after the summer recess.

Here are some ideas for candidate monthly themes:

• Juicy kuzushi
• Beautiful breakfalls
• Push and pull
• Minimum effort, maximum effect
• Divine alignment
• Whole-body power
• Sense and sensitivity
• Do try this at home!
• Come along, come along
• Wriggle like a piggle; squirm like a worm
• Groundhog month -- rejected: instead we occasionally have Groundhog day
• Combine and conquer
• Countermeasures
• Striking thoughts
• Distraction is a good thing
• Get smarter through kata
• Creative kata
• Mind and body
• Jiu-jitsu geometry: Circles, spirals and spheres
• Jiu-jitsu comes from the sword
• Ju, jitsu and do
• The higher goals of judo

Ok, at one a month those should keep me going for about two years!  So I'll try to rationalize, combine and prioritize.  And report back on what I do choose each month.

As always: Comments, suggestions and requests are welcome.