We get asked about private training almost every week. The answer people expect is “of course, we recommend it”. The answer they get is more complicated - because a private hour is not a better version of a group class. It is a different tool.
This piece sets out who it genuinely pays off for, who it does not, and what an hour one-to-one gives you that a group cannot.
What actually changes one-to-one
The difference is not that the training is harder or that you train longer. The difference is the density of corrections.
In a group of ten, a teacher corrects you three or four times in an hour. One-to-one you get corrected on every repetition until the movement settles. Which means you do not spend three weeks grooving an error before anyone notices - the largest hidden cost of group training.
The second half of the difference is pace. In a group we move on when the majority is ready. Privately we move on when you are ready - which sometimes means faster and often means slower.
Who it pays off for
- People who are stuck. If you have trained a year and something will not come - the same movement, the same shoulder ache - one private hour is often enough to expose the cause. It is almost never where you think it is.
- People with an injury or a restriction. An adapted stance, a different angle, a dropped finish. That works in a group; it works better one-to-one.
- People with an impossible schedule. Shift work, frequent travel, a small child. One reliable hour a week at an agreed time beats two group classes you always miss.
- Complete beginners who find the group daunting. Two or three private hours on the basics, then joining the group without feeling like the only person who does not know where to put their hands.
- People with a specific goal. A form for a demonstration, preparation for a grading, work on one technique.
Who it does not pay off for
Honestly: private training is not the best investment for everyone.
If you are a complete beginner without particular restrictions, you will get more out of two group classes a week in your first year than out of one private hour. The reason is not cost - it is that in a group you also learn from other people’s mistakes, from the rhythm, and from watching someone who has trained five years.
If what you need is motivation, a group supplies it better. A private hour requires you to bring your own.
If the fighting side interests you, you need partners of different sizes and styles. One teacher cannot substitute for that.
It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop.
The combination that works best
In practice the most effective arrangement is one private hour every month or two alongside regular group training.
The group provides rhythm, community and volume. The private hour is a service: every few weeks someone looks closely at what you are doing and corrects whatever has crept in. At that cadence, one hour often saves two months of slow progress.
Practicalities
Length: one hour. For beginners that is exactly right; longer is not useful, because concentration drops.
Timing: arranged around your schedule - mornings, daytime or weekends included.
Place: the hall at Ziherlova 44 in Ljubljana, or outdoors by arrangement.
Content: you set it, we shape it together. Kung Fu, Qi Gong or a mix; technique, mobility, breath or a return after injury.
In pairs: private hours can also be run for a couple or two friends. The session is different then, not worse.
How to arrange one
Write and tell us what you want to achieve and when suits you. If from your description we think you would get more out of group classes, we will say so - even when that means no private hour.
