Thinking of taking my first private... How often do you take privates?

[Marc Montano]

I have been working more shifts to pay for a private lesson as I am thinking of filling some holes in my game. How often do you guys take privates and is there a particular time (pre, post-tournament), if any, do you strategically plan them? Thanks!!

[Will Richison]

Im actually in the same boat, so im excited to see what people say.

-Will Richison

[NelsonLucca]

I tried to take privates last night but she wasn't having it, lol.

On the serious note though. I think privates are good to focus on a certain part of your game. The more the merrier.

[Arman Fathi]

Privates are nice for the convenience of having dedicated time set aside for your personal improvement. I've found that there are usually guys hanging out after class, often times the instructors themselves, that are more than willing to answer your questions and share knowledge pro bono. If there's an area of your game that you'd like to particularly focus on and hash out the details to, it's not a bad investment to do privates. But it should be noted that improvement doesn't necessarily correlate to coin dropped, but rather, mat hours put in. A private can be effective for giving you more direction in your rolling, but viewed as a supplement to extensive mat time, imho

[Brian Debes]

I've tried to include privates with most of my early training trips. Some where game changing, some where "meh". By the way, if you have never done a private with your coach, don't confuse the quality of a private lesson with him answering a question really quick after class. That said, of course they don't substitute for mat time. Your results with privates will vary based on who your taking a private from (their ability to teach a private plus their compatibility with you and your game) as well the point you are in your training.

Personally, I was on my own most of the year so I had a surplus of rolling time, I squeezed in a decent amount of repping what I already know, but got almost no new technique or evaluation of my game by an expert so I was an ideal candidate.

If your interested in doing one, I wouldn't let anyone here talk you out of getting ONE and from their you can gauge how much you feel like it helped vs you being able to use those extra work our to roll some more or something

[Joe G]

I try to take private lessons as often as my schedule (and wallet) will allow, especially with savages from other schools that come through town for seminars or to guest teach.

[NameLikeNoOther]

Being a Ronin and not having regular access to class I take as many privates as I can afford/schedule. Every Coach has a different angle or something they can add to your game. It also seems to be better if the coach you take privates from has seen you practice or compete as they will be able to hone in on areas that require attention. Private lessons will increase your learning rate no matter what, at least that is my experience.

[Arman Fathi]

I mean privates are never a bad option. If you invest in your game, you'll see results. I've found that they are more desirable at certain times, whereas other times it'd be overkill and make more sense to catch an instructor later. Bottom line tho; if money is no object, the Ashton Kutcher route of a private a day will obviously make you better faster.

[Marc Montano]

Thanks every one for the feedback. I'm planning on scheduling a series of 5, but more toward the latter part of the year when I can save up some more. I want to strategically plan it before a tournament as well. I'm going to keep putting in mat time that I've been missing out on as of recent because of work.

[Diogo Trigo]

I've never done Tai Chi, but I'm likewise interested in what the feedback is. As I'm starting to work on my flexibility and doing some more yoga, can certainly see some advantages from it.

There were some fellas doing some kind of weird tai chi in the park the other day. They weren't even that old, one of them had a pony tail, the other one had a monkey tattooed on his chest, and they were basically trying to touch each other's butt.