I was wondering if it was possible to persue a martial art under a one to one basis, or one to two basis rather than joining a class? and would it mean a considerable larger expense?

Hi Laura

I know that Mark Hayes (www.sheffieldmartialartscentre.co.uk) provides 1-2-1 tuition, as does Wickercamp. Mark is an excellent teacher and Wickercamp's reputation speaks for itself.

I'm sure other places also provide 1-2-1 tuition.

I'm not sure how much either costs, but i've paid between £10 and £20 for private tuition before (sometimes 1-2-1, sometimes 2-1), although i would say that in my experience, private tuition is better alongside regular class attendance rather than instead of it.

how long have those tutorials lasted for?

i have never heard of wickercamp?

Wicker camp is a Thaiboxing camp based in Sheffield.
It's one of the biggest martial arts facilities in theregion
and has produced many world and european champions in its 30 year history.

What all this translates to is that you have a local gym offering world class tuition
in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.

private tuition can be 1to1 or up to max of 4 people. The total price remains
the same so you can share the cost.

Female instructors also available.

Here is the website for more info and directions:

www.wickercamp.com

how long have those tutorials lasted for?

i have never heard of wickercamp?

It's been 60-90 minutes.

how do you know which martial art is for you?

how do you know which martial art is for you?

Try them all!

You can't really rely on what people tell you, as most people are biased towards their own martial art.

Hi Laura
AFK: www.sheffieldkickboxingclub.com also do private group lessons as well as one to one lessons.
As do the SDF with Paul powers, Alex Mckenzie and Scot sykes.

Speak to a few instructors on the phone and see which one has the right viewpoints and outlook on training that you are looking for.
What is good for everyone else might not be right for you. Even for normal classes, I always recommend people look around before coming to us.
A good percentage of people training with us have spent a bit of time "looking around" or asking around before settling with us.

Why do you not want to join a class Laura?

how do you know which martial art is for you?

If you do a bit of background research about what each martial art involves you could try and find a club offering that art. if you like the art, the teacher, the venue, fellow students etc then stay with it - if not move on and try another club or art. i tried several arts and clubs before finding a couple of clubs that i really enjoy going to, and i've read where lots of people try different things before really feeling at home with a particular style/art/instructor.

what kind of thing would you like to do? striking? grappling? weapons?
a combination?

i cant join classes because i have social anxiety disorder which means that all the stress and strain that goes with it would be hard for me to deal with. i would probably join a class once i felt confident in the art.

Different people want different things from a martial art. Also some people have preferences on what subject matter they like to be taught and what is useless to them.

I have a variety of clients who want different things from training.
Example: I have a group of lads who want mainly boxing but are also interested in a bit of clinching , knees and sprawl work but are not too bothered about kicking.

I have a small group who are in their late 20's all are engineers and quite well educated and not under any delusiuons of becoming the next Ernesto Hoost. They like a good hard workout, a good hard sweat with balance between kicks and boxing sticking a bit of knee and elbow work here and there (for self defense purposes). At the end they will have a few rounds of "body sparring" with each other and then laugh about how they kicked each others backsides :D and had great fun doing it.

Another female client I have, works at a leisurely pace, tells me what shes been up to, shows me her new boots she has just bought,..etc , has a chat about good restuarants ,..etc and enjoys her training.
I know when to push and when to "leave well alone" we have a good workout and a good chat and thats the way she likes it.

Another lad pushes himself to the limit, likes a light spar with me and wants to be taken through the Grading syllabus. He has no desire to compete whatsoever but he already has a Black belt in Karate and high grades in other martial arts. I also take him through pad holding and other aspects should he want to teach someday.

Everyone is in martial arts for a different purpose. People like to be taught differently. If everyone wanted the same thing, everyone would train at the same place.
At AFK we respect individuality both in personality and in peoples previous martial arts background. With people who have trained elsewhere before I dont tell people to forget everything they have learned , I work more on adapting their style to one that works.


Everyone has their own needs and goals to pursue. Different approaches work with different people. Hence why private lessons are a good idea before groups.

sounds good, just about finding a suitable time to get down there as i have family commitments too. i have had a couple of people email me through this post and upto now 2 have not really been able to meet my needs. i shall keep looking.

i cant join classes because i have social anxiety disorder which means that all the stress and strain that goes with it would be hard for me to deal with. i would probably join a class once i felt confident in the art.

I see. What is you hope to get out of learning a martial art?

I'm not being critical, just interested in what you're hoping to achieve.

sounds good, just about finding a suitable time to get down there as i have family commitments too. i have had a couple of people email me through this post and upto now 2 have not really been able to meet my needs. i shall keep looking.


well good luck with it laura - there's plenty of clubs in sheffield so you might find somewhere :)

Hi Laura,

Adrain & Graham Abdulla do private tution in Kung Fu and Kickboxing www.prokungfu.com

Hope you find what your looking for!

I see. What is you hope to get out of learning a martial art?

I'm not being critical, just interested in what you're hoping to achieve.


self defense and self confidence

self defense and self confidence

You will find that even having private lessons doesn't mean you are going to have the place to yourself.

All it means is that you will have one to one tuition, but the place could be full of people doing the same.

Make sure you ask before booking.

self defense and self confidence

I thought it might be something like that...

It seems a bit like it's in contradiction though. Wouldn't learning in a group and helping you to overcome the social issues be a more useful self defence than learning a physical skill that hopefully you'll never have to use.

self defense and self confidence

Self defense is a word that is highly over used these days.
A lot of martial arts clubs claim that their system is useful for self defense. Most of them will get you into more trouble IF you used that system i.e. cause more harm than good.

Now I cant comment on every system out there , but generally :

Judo , Ju jitsu and BJJ are grappling based styles if you like to have a roll around.
Kickboxing, boxing and muay thai are EFFECTIVE striking systems.
Taekwondo , karate and some versions of "kickboxing" are flamboyant and stylised striking systems but have less practical value than the versions mentioned before.

When you mention Kickboxing systems, the street effective variants are those that incorporate thai-style or K-1 style training methods.
Example:
AFK : www.sheffieldkickboxingclub.com, Wicker camp , Mark Hayes' club (JKD concepts i believe?) on Edmund road (i think), SDF in Malin bridge .
All of those that I mentioned teach an effective version of kickboxing that is useful for competition and is also brutally street effective.

Many kickboxing systems are just modernised versions of Taekwondo or karate. Not saying they are no good, just that they are less practical for "outdoor" use.

Hi,

In relation to the last post, and the explanation of kickboxing systems, I know Mick Mullaney from Wicker Camp doesn't like his gym to be called, in any way, a camp that teaches kickboxing. Mick's a purist Muay Thai.

In consideration of street effectiveness, the first consideration has to be training style; if the training in the camp doesn't allow for the students to have some full contact training (properly supervised!) then it hasn't any street value, because in a real situation you will be getting punched, kicked and manhandled, and no amount of training that doesn't include this will prepare you for that.

Laura, find a club that suits you, train until you're confident enough in the style, and then join classes. My knowledge of the various gyms is limited, but I know the Wicker Camp is a very friendly place, the private lessons are good, and you will be treated as an individual and efforts made to fit your needs.

I'm sure there are other gyms that will fit this too - so it is a case of you experimenting a little.

Good luck,

Ade

laura, for info on martial arts/combat sports/systems etc for self -defence/self protection, take a look at here: http://selfprotection.lightbb.com/

it's a great forum and i've never come across a more knowledgeable bunch of people.

I was wondering if it was possible to persue a martial art under a one to one basis, or one to two basis rather than joining a class? and would it mean a considerable larger expense?

I used to go to Paul Powers they were excellent and i believe they have a female instructor if it makes you feel more comfortable.