How important are privates in Bjj?

[newbie2MA]

No

Let's say you were taking Calculus. Now the instructor not only has a syllabus he haws 15 other students whose questions/needs he has to take into account while moving through it. Each student might have questions regarding aspects you already get which he then spends time going over, while you are stuck on certain parts, but he cannot afford to take a whole class or a whole week covering that and concentrating soley on your understanding and needs.

Likewise say you show particular apptitude in certain aspects or seem to learn certain things in a particular manner. Being that you are not the only student the odds of hime actually noticing this and then being able to focus, direct and nurture that skill will be limited.

So if you then hired that teacher to work with you and you alone, to teach you and tailor his teaching to the speed and specifics of your abilities, it would not be a failure on his part at all that you now learned faster. Quite the opposiste. I would take the position that it is a failure on the part of a teacher who *cannot* teach a student far faster and better alone then in a group. Because then he is merely someone who repeats information he knows in rote, and not one who truly understands it.

All in all I would say the ideal situation would be a 3 person group taking classes so that each of you could still work with people of varying skills/styles, the instructor could still personalize the course, and while any one student was having one on one attention the other students could either learn new things from that (from that students partiuclar needs/questions) or work together (spar, practice, etc.)

[Penance]

I honestly cannot say without talking about a specific teacher or school. Some teachers will always be better than others. Teaching is an art all its own.

Even if you're training with a grandmaster who is also an excellent teacher, if you are in a group class with 60 people, it's going to be less personal and you're going to get a generic lesson, not a personally tailored one. It's the difference between having a personal tutor or being in a 250 person lecture. You're going to miss details, like Carlos said. If you missed a class the week before you might not have the core material to understand the new techniques properly.

I do think teachers do not emphasize the details enough in group classes. They demo a technique 3 or 4 times, point out some important aspects and then walk around giving 1 or 2 pointers to people while they drill it or spar for the next 45 minutes. I would much rather see them highlight lots and lots of details and work with each student until they get it right. But is that practical? Time is always a factor and time is always money.

I'm sure some teachers use private classes as a way to make lots of cash, but certainly not all of them. I think a private class is what you make of it. If you feel you are missing something, maybe taking one or two is in order. Again, it never hurts to just talk to your teacher before or after class. Even send them an e-mail. If they are a good teacher they will make time for you!

[bjjinspector]

Age old question.....lol!

[bjjinspector]

I originally posted this question when I was still a white belt about 8 yrs ago. I remember I had been doing bjj for about a year and was frustrated because I couldnt even get a whiff of blue. Having stayed the path I am now a black belt. For me group classes provided me the environment to test the strategies and techniques that I learned during my private lessons. Those doing only group classes were at a disadvantage. To me they were like feeder fish or test dummies. As my instructor learned to trust my integrity, character and loyalty his lessons became deeper and more conceptual. He was now teaching me bjj from the heart. Which is vastly different from superficial group lessons. I guess there is a political aspect to bjj because if you want to earn (not buy $$) a bjj black belt you need to find a black belt to take you under their wing. Anyways stay consistent with your training!

dont know why I couldnt log in under my old username?

[PriorHouse]

lol wtf is the rap song doing in there...