Pace

I am really impressed with the newer half of our Blue Belts. They are learning at a pace that would fry my brain.

Let me explain.

We used to do the first level of Blue Belt material undistracted, and at a pace that would get us through in 21 months. Now, we complete the same material in 14 months. The curriculum is coming at them 50% faster than it did for us.

I know how intense this is. I put myself through something similar on a voluntary basis. I put in extra work every week, and took quite a number of private lessons. I found it incredibly demanding.

But that's only half of it.
 

We no longer learn material in isolation like we used to. We are completing two levels at once.

For us with stripes on our belts this means that we do a healthy review of stuff we've already done, and facing 150% more in the form of the second level material.

Of the lower Blues, they not only have to handle 150% of their own level curriculum, they also are getting hit with 150% from the level above. I doubt they'll be retaining much from the second level for very long, but they are expected to be able to handle it while we're working through each chapter.

By some miracle, they're handling it pretty well.