Are privates worth it....

Im 35, been training for about a year. Still a white belt, not the best, but no longer the worst either. Looking to do a few tournaments in the next month or two.

Is privates a good way to better your game? Is it worth the money?

Im not looking to learn more subs, what im really looking to improve is my positioning, ie. holding side control better, holding mount, prevent passing my open guard, and being able to pass open guard better.

Are these things that can easily be improved with private lessons.

Yes but it depends on the teacher.  If an instructor lets you work on what you want to work on and is really dedicated to giving you the best details possible then it can be worth it to tweak your game now and then.  Not all instructors are created equal though so my answer is really more of a "it depends".  If you do take a private lesson try to focus in as much as possible.  I would never try to cover more than one subject per so for instance you would want to dedicate one lesson to passing the guard only, etc.

If you can find a good training partner to work with on the side that can be a huge help too.  Then you can actually isolate what you want to work on rather than having to follow the regular curriculum.  If you haven't already give the post entitled "will you put your systems on dvd" in Mike Jen's Q&A.  He gives some good advice on figuring out solutions on your own with a training partner.

Also make sure that every time you roll rather than starting from the knees if you can help it start from the positions you most want to work on.  Again this comes down to partners since some won't agree to start with you mounted.  I find that starting from the knees is a complete waste of time and everybody would be better served just picking a position to start from.

privates at all levels by a top instructor will always help. the question is, will YOUR level of knowledge be able to process it.

honestly speaking, as a 1 year white belt, u will get better value from more mat time, hanging around after class with a high colour belt and asking them questions, and MORE MAT TIME.

when u get to the blue belt level, thats where u will start to develop a game, and privates will be better value for u.

just stick with ur classes, and ask questions of the higher belts. i see it all the time from the white belts, they get towelled up, but never ask what they should be doing to stop the attacks

Sometimes a private with a GOOD instructor can make a HUGE difference to your training.

I had a private with a BB at my instructor's (a purple) suggestion. After a half hour of rolling and looking at my game from various positions, he was able to pinpoint my major weaknesses so precisely, and not just at a "your XXX sweep sucks" level, but at a deep training philosophy level, and gave me a plan on where to go from there.

That private was worth at least twenty times the $65 I paid for it.

I'm still a believer that most of your training should be done in a class scenario, with lots of different people under a good instructor. But the occasional private to deal with particular problems or sticking points is almost vital IMO.

I can't emphasize enough that the real issue with a private lesson is the quality of instructor.  I have taken a fair amount of private lessons in the past and there is a wide variance in terms of how helpful different instructors are.  Some just don't have the skill to express what they do naturally in a methodical and easily understandable way.

On a side note, the best way to take a private lesson is to split one with a friend and agree on the subjects you want to work on.  That way the instructor can demonstrate the move on your friend while you watch.  It can be very hard to learn a move that is being demonstrated on you or which an instructor is trying to walk you through.  This is especially true if you learn visually.  On top of that between the two of you it is more likely that you will remember more of the important details.  If you both take notes and then exchange copies you will have a more complete picture.  Also you will have someone specifically to practice the moves with after.  There is no point taking a private lesson if you aren't going to internalize the lesson with a lot of practice afterwards.

"On a side note, the best way to take a private lesson is to split one with a friend and agree on the subjects you want to work on. That way the instructor can demonstrate the move on your friend while you watch. It can be very hard to learn a move that is being demonstrated on you or which an instructor is trying to walk you through."

EXCELLENT advice! I was told the same thing by one of my classmates.

Another thing I was told which should be consider is think about getting an half hour private instead of a full hour. If the instructor shows you alot of different stuff in an hour private session you'll most likely won't remember all of it. You're more likely to remember an half hours worth of instruction. If the instructor is only going to show you 1 or 2 things anyway then you really don't need to have that stretch over an hour. Chances are, in that case, you'll get details and information which isn't all that important.
(I am of the belief that all details are not equal. Some details are more important than others and make more of a difference. I think some of are fooled into thinking that every bit of detail is equal in value and importance so we allow ourselves to be overloaded with details which can cause use to miss the forest because of the trees. In other words we missed the main point because we are caught up in the little insignificant points).

Ridgeback is correct, alot of it depends on who the instructor is.

I took a private once with one guy who had two of his
students with him in the private. It was trully the worst experience I ever had training bjj. Everytime I would ask any type of question he would give his two guys a smirk like what I was asking was pathetic. It got old after a while so I just started counting the minutes till it was over. Needless to say that was the
first and last private I took with him.

Another guy who I continue to do privates with is the
total opposite. He allowed me and my buddy to take a video camera and let it run during the whole duration of the session. He taught us the maximum amount of techniques he could in the alotted time giving as much
detail as he could and answered all of our questions. He then told us to go home and review the tapes and drill the techniques. Great way to do buisness if you ask me.

Not everybody has regular access to an instructor or even an advanced instructor.  If, for instance, you were flying to the US to train from the Netherlands, where you run a bjj club, it would be really silly not to use your limited time with your instructor to get some one on one training.

The key is to take a private now and then sort of as a checkup and when you really need to work on something in particular.  I wouldn't take one just to take one but rather I would wait until I needed special help with a particular problem.

Also a lot of people find they benefit when they train at a particular school but then take a private lesson with a different instructor who can give them some fresh ideas about their game.  No matter how good an instructor is he doesn't know everything so sometimes it helps to cross-reference problems with a different instructor to find new solutions.  Since a lot of bjj/SW is a matter of "what works well for you may not work so well for me" sometimes you need those alternative ideas to put together your own individual game that works for you.

In the early years of bjj up until the early 80s, in Brazil, ALL lessons were private. Group session were reserved for sparring and drills.

Carlos Gracie Jr. stated this in an interview that appeared in some Martial arts Mag in Britian.

Carlos made the point that private lessons were superior to group lessons because the student got all the individual attention and help they needed. The student didn't have to fight for the instructors time and attention. Carlos said this is the reason why bjj student from a particular era, 50s to late 70s, were more knowledgeable and well-rounded than students of today.

Carlos said he was essentially a private student of Rolls.

I think in regards to pure instruction private lesson offer waaaaaaaaaay more than group lessons.