Privates vs. Classroom

Are privates worth the money in BJJ? Do you get a full-hours worth? Does
the instructor you thought would give the privates do the training?

I had taken some boxing privates and was once 'coached' by some dude
that happened to be in the gym at the time.

Does the instructor take you less serious or is weirdly offended
because you can afford privates? I would take privates to MAXIMIZE my
training efforts.

What are opinions on the matter?

depends on the instructor.

Thank you. End of thread.

andre have you taken privates?

Wow....ask a general, nonspecific question, get a general, nonspecific answer.

Hey, I was wondering something. Should I bring my car to a mechanic? ;)

MrBlume,

Sorry for the vague answer. I didnt really mean it to be vague or a smartass remark, Ive just found that some instructors make the time well worthwhile, and some are just trying to get through the hour as quickly as possible because they're bored. Most fall into the former category.

But a lot of it is on you. You should go into the private with a specific goal or some specific questions in mind. The worst thing you can do is to go in and just ask him to show you something.

Ive taken a lot of privates, and many times it depended on how into the instructor was, and even with the unattentive instructors I was able to get something valuable if I knew what to ask and how.

Private lessons rock. Instructors love what they are doing, and one-on-one instruction lets both of you focus.

It's like suddenly the class is only drilling the stuff you really need or want to learn, plus you get to roll with the most qualified person at your school, your instructor.

In my first private lesson at my academy, my instructor was extremely generous with his time, running way over.

YMMV - as someone said above, it depends on your instructor and your relationship with him or her at your academy.

To answer a few of your questions more specifically:

'Are privates worth the money in BJJ?' Yes. Very.

'Do you get a full-hours worth?' Yes, somtimes they will go over and you get more.

'Does the instructor you thought would give the privates do the training?' Yes. Generally you will set a private with a certain instructor. You don't just set up a 'private' and see who turns up. You will say 'I want to do a private with such and such, how much, what time' etc. And that is the person you will get.

'Does the instructor take you less serious or is weirdly offended because you can afford privates?' No. In fact, most instructors love privates. It is a really good hourly rate for the work they have to put in. The only ones that don't are the really busy or famous ones, but they would generally not be teaching you anyway.

In my opinion, privates are worth every penny. A full hour of technical instruction under a great instructor who is giving you his undivided attention. No running circles around the mats, doing jumping jacks, pushups, etc. I can do conditioning at home. With my busy schedule, privates are the way to go.

Private lessons are definitely worthwhile if you can afford it. The first private lesson I had, my technique was basically ripped apart! There were so many fundamental mistakes that I was doing wrong. I definitely recommend it.

If you are training in an academy, get an instructor who knows your game well - if possible. He'll be able to show you moves that'll go well with your game.

Yes. Go with specific questions in mind.

Classroom, You need to roll to get better and develop techniques. If you have specific problems in your game that you have been unable to fix in class, then do privates to see if your instructor can help you out.

I have seen a few guys improve greatly with privates, but honestly, not many. Most guys that do Privates, in my experience, seem to attend less classroom instruction and never get any better.

It depends on who you take them with. I believe private lessons are most valuable to people who are at the purple belt level or higher. They can seriously jump your game up BIG time if you train with the right guys. I learned some tiny details on many movements and positions I would routinely use every time I sparred, and this just changed everything.

I'm sure if you mention where you live, people can recommend some good guys for private lessons. I've never had a problem with people looking at the clock. Usually they go over a few minutes, sometimes more.

Another thing, it isn't a good idea to go to a private with nothing in mind. You should prepare before hand and write down things that are giving you problems so you know what to ask. That will save you a ton of time with your private lesson so you don't end up seeing stuff you don't want to learn or already know.

A really good teacher will be able to roll with you and pinpoint a bunch of things you need to work on and then focus the private lesson on those things. However, I can't even guess the percentage of teachers who would be able to use that approach and leave you satisfied with your money spent.

Thanks to all for the information. Some excellent points were brought up
that I hadn't considered.

I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Which schools are recommended? I
know some schools are mostly BJJ and some are more MMA. Any opinions
would be appreciated.

Again, thanks for the above info!

When I go for an hour private session sometimes I finish quick and then I feel ripped off and I haven't even tipped her yet.....Oh wait, that's a different private session...

I go with full classroom training mostly.  I have the luxury of getting privates often but if I didn't I would say a private every 4 months would be good provided you have questions built up from your training and those questions are interlaced somehow or there is some positional focus.  I would ask him how long it is.  Every time I've gotten one it's been great and the instructor has never watched the clock and most go well over the alotted time if nothing else is going on.

The main assumption is that the guy is a good teacher though.

Usually its quite interesting to get a private class as most coaches as mentioned really like to talk about BJJ for an hour

Last time he was in Ireland Roy Harris was doing private classes for something like 50 Euros for half an hour.

I know he is supposed to be a very good coach but 30 minutes didn't sound like enough time for a one on one session.

Privates are well worth the money with the right instructor IMO

i take a private once a week with my instructor, ive been doing this for the last six months, it has definitely been worth it, for me it also helps the mental part of my game.