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I think our school might be the opposite – the smaller the class gets, the more likely we are to spend a little extra time on technique and a little less time on the warm-up/combative part.
And Lor, going back to your original question, our school offers private lessons but doesn’t advertise them – our students just talk to the instructor directly and work out a schedule. I would definitely recommend them if you can fit it in your schedule/budget!
I’m considering it a little more.
At first I was just curious. Then I thought this would be a good alternative for my cousin. Now I’m wondering if my husband and I should try this route. I’d love to work with him (even though he’s Mr. Competitive 🙄 ), and he shows interest in Krav, but his schedule is erratic.
I recommend it if you can afford it.
It’s a good way for a rank beginner to get the basics, discover specific areas to focus and establish a comfort level with the school and system.
It’s also a helpful way for experienced students to fine tune techniques, prepare for tests, and get specific questions answered. It’s also a good way to bring yourself to your teachers attention as someone who is committed to the training.
If you’re going to spend the money, though, I’d definitely recommend having a game plan – go in with an idea of what you want to cover, what you specifically want to work on, what your goals are (short term and long term), etc. Be open to feedback from your instructor, who will obviously have valuable input on your progress, but only you know what you ultimately want to get out of training!
That having been said, be sure not to avoid working on the things that you hate, because it’s likely that those are the things that you need to work on the most! 🙂
My thoughts on private lessons
As a Krav Maga instructor, I usually recommend private lessons for two reasons. 1. The regular class doesn’t work for them (schedule, previous trauma or other phycological condition, significant physical limitation). 2. The need to attend a SPECIFIC issue. Number two would be things like: preparing for an exam, Difficulty with a technique or two, having a specific self defense issue that is not covered in the class curriculum for his/her group.
The class dynamic not only allows a student to interact and train with a variety of differenct sizes and personalities, it allows the instructor to do different stress drills and exercises to help the students. In addtion, when teaching self defense, it is sometimes difficult for the instructor to get the best view of what the student is doing if he or she is the attacker. For these reasons, I will usually try to get students to bring one or more other students in to make it a semi-private lesson. Not only does this lower the cost for all involved but it gives the instructor some more options when training the student.
But, that’s just me.
Take Care
DJ
My school does. I actually took a private lesson with one of the instructors as preparation for my level 2 test.
I went and prepared on my own, then made notes of where I was weak. At the private lesson is where I fixed the weak spots.
Also at times if a class is small, you may get more one on one time with the instructor – just depends on how many students there are.
I forgot to mention the obvious benefits reaped should you be able to schedule the private lesson with an instructor who is giving the test. You may discover his or her pet peeves, specific training tips, and stylistic tendencies.
Thanks for weighing in everybody. I’m glad I asked.
DJ, I like the idea of bringing in at least one other student. I hadn’t considered the benefits from an instructor’s point of view though, so thank you for mentioning that.
Solip and Mara, this is going to sound terrible, but testing couldn’t be further from my mind. I can see where private lessons would be a huge help though, and I’ll keep your advice in mind should I find myself facing the Level 2 test.
Not to hijack my own thread 😛 , but I started Krav to learn how to defend myself, not giving much thought to levels. I look forward to my classes and gaining both knowledge and experience, but I truly don’t care whether I’m in Level 1 or 2, etc. I’ve heard some classmates talk about how long it’s going to take them to test into Level 2, and I’ve seen a couple of classmates graduate to Level 2, but I’m pretty happy where I’m at.
Anyone else like me, or am I too laid back for this kind of thing? 😆
It’s absolutely vital to maintain sight and ownership of your own training goals and (speaking of hijacking,) not let them be hijacked by pressures you might encounter from other students, friends and family, and other external sources.
Belts and levels mean nothing except that they enable you to learn new material and it sounds like you’ll know when you want to go to the next level. I think your perspective on training and progress is healthy, and smacks of a great deal of self-assurance and confidence. Kudos. Keep it up.
Thank you for the encouragement, Solip. 🙂
I confess, I’m not an aggressive, competitive person. My father thinks I lack ambition 😆 , but I think I’m just more methodical and patient about stuff.
When I first started Krav, I was in it purely for the self defense aspect and nothing else. I had no intention of EVER taking a test, because that’s not why I was there. I sort of got pressured into taking the Level One test by my instructor, which I resented a little bit at the time, but looking back he was doing it for my own good – I think he could see that I needed to find out if I could really push myself and do the defenses under stress. I really hate it when he’s right. 🙂
Since then, I swear every time I take a test that it’s my last and that I’m not in it to get to a certain level and that I don’t have anything to prove (to myself or to anyone else). But then a new test date comes up and I read over the material and I feel pretty confident with my abilities and want to be able to get the objective feedback so I can see what I need to work on, so I sign up again. And again. And again. Every time I take a test, it makes me want to work that much harder and it gives me that much more confidence in myself. You just don’t get very many opportunities as an adult to really push yourself and find out what you can do, so I seem to have developed a little bit of a competitive nature – I want to do better this year than I did last year or the year before that or the year before that.
So even though you don’t have any intention of testing any time soon, you never know when you might change your mind. 🙂
I think that the methodical and patient manner in which you are pursuing training is exactly the way the learning process should be undertaken to yield, among other things, maximum retention of material and benefit to your health. To do a little bit, every day, (to paraphrase my source) is the best way to become better.
The stress of class exercises and training in general often bring out facets of our personalities that remain hidden or buried, but it sounds like you have a healthy level of self-awareness and are well-adjusted enough to value the part of your nature that might appear to be at odds with what others think they see as in your best interests.
Let you be a lesson to me.
Thank you again. 🙂 I used to think I was missing something vital because I’m not aggressive in my approach to things. But I’ve come to realize that’s my personality, and it doesn’t mean I can’t use it to my advantage. Slow and steady wins the race.
Well now, a private lesson or two is looking like more of a possibility for me.
Tonight my husband and I were play fighting again, and he figured he could try some stuff. He choked me from the front and guess what…I froze and completely forgot what I learned in class. I was able to pluck his hands off my neck, but that was it.
The strength of his hands really surprised me. In class, we work with people who barely know us. Our instructor says to use some pressure, but I don’t think any of us feel comfortable doing anything more than a little squeeze, especially since we’re mostly Level 1 people.
My husband, on the other hand, apparently feels no inhibition about choking me. 😆 It was the first time I had red marks around my neck (hm…a little pent up frustration perhaps 😛 ).
Anyway, after the initial shock, we kept practicing. It felt good working with someone I fully trusted, and he isn’t afraid to push me around. It took more than a few attempts, but eventually I felt comfortable with the pressure he was applying, didn’t freak out and was able to pluck and then deliver a decent elbow.
The same thing with headlock from the side. It took me a few trys to remember some moves.
I think a private lesson with my dear husband as the attacker might be a good idea. (The instructor will probably have to pull him off of me at some point, \”Stop! The lesson is over! Get off her neck!!!\”)
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