Private Self Defence Vs Classes

If you’re interested in private self defence you can arrange a 1 to 1 private session with us. See our contact us page for enquiries. We also offer evening classes for adults only Wing Chun Kung Fu. Visit the main website at leedsipmanwingchun.co.uk for more details of classes and courses.

When it comes to private classes versus normal classes there’s a benefit to both. In a private class you get more time with a senior instructor so can improve more quickly. In a regular class you get more experience with a variety of other students. This is one of the best reasons to join regular classes since you can’t get the random and differing attacks and movements from only one person.

Many people choose private classes because it suits their schedule, they are uncomfortable with a class room scenario, or they just can’t make the evenings due to other commitments. However, it’s definitely a good idea to make a class if you can. Regular classes add to the learning experience and give you something you can’t get from private classes alone.

Private Self Defence Vs Classes

I’ve personally found a combination of regular classes plus some private sessions on a regular basis works the best. You can test out the techniques and theory you learn in private classes on your regular class mates and observe your rate of progression much better with other beginners to match yourself against. This can also help keep your motivation up as you notice your improvement over time.

With only a senior this is more difficult. You have no bar to measure yourself against as you progress. However the benefits of private classes are several too. You avoid learning bad habits which you’re prone to do with other beginners and/or intermediate students steering you off course, which can happen at times.

Progress is typically slower depending on how many seniors attend a regular class. In most classes there’s usually only one or two instructors and multiple beginners. This means you spend less time with an instructor in a class room setting.

A single instructor can also make things much clearer whereas having multiple instructors can confuse a beginner if they give advice which seems contradictory.

Random Attacks Of Beginners

Beginners can offer something a senior instructor can’t of course by the way of randomness. When a senior instructor attacks you, it’s often very focused whereas a beginner can easily throw a curveball, testing out your ability to adapt. Working with other beginners and novices at your level in class is a good way to improve as you work towards understanding technique and principle together.

In a class, when someone throws a hook punch, for example, it will be slightly different depending on who throws it. So having multiple people to train with gives you more opportunity to understand a technique from a broader vantage point.

Ideally a combination of regular classes and private classes can give you the best learning curve in terms of time served and experience of training partners and of course class etiquette.

The more subtle skill you learn from having multiple training partners (in a class room setting) isn’t always acknowledged. It is the ability to deal with difficult partners and hence difficult people in life in general! While a difficult person might seem like a bad thing in class, it gives you the ability to deal with such people, which is of course the point of training in many ways.