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Anf
Anf's picture
Training without an instructor

I wonder what people's thoughts are on organising training sessions without an instructor. What I am thinking is in addition to regular training with an instructor, very often some students want to practice outside of class. One person might want to work on, say, a roundhouse kick, but they have nobody in their private circle of friends that will hold pads for them or who can spot for them. Someone else might want to practice and particular self defence technique and so on. So I'm thinking about hiring a hall for an hour, and a few of us from our club meet to practice various things. None of the more dangerous stuff like sparring. We can save that for when we're under qualified supervision. What's people's thoughts on this please? Would it be necessary/good etiquette to consult our instructor first, or is this just a group of mates meeting for casual practice? What about insurance needs etc or liability waivers or anything?

Chris R
Chris R's picture

I think it has potential to be a great idea, but it depends on the context.

In my personal experiences with training outside of classes, I have seen instructors that were happy with small-scale legitimate training happening outside of classes. These were not Karate instructors, but I think this is still relevant. I think the scale of the training is important to consider, and if you are training with a decent number of people, and renting your own hall etc, then personally I would speak to the instructor about it. Some people might disagree, but I think it is good in terms of etiquette, as well as giving the instructor an opportunity to advise you on what training is best to do outside of classes. But, if you are just doing something small-scale (couple of people, not necessarily renting anything), then if you have enough experience you could probably just get together and train. That's just my opinion though.

In terms of actual training, consider who is participating and what you will be practicing. In my opinion, having people with skill and experience is necessary (not just a bunch of beginners), and you should be practicing legitimate stuff that your instructor would approve of (not making it up as you go). I don't know much about the insurance or liability waivers thing, but for me the main precautions are knowing the people who you are training with, and following the rules of the place you are training in (if you are in someones gym for example).

Anf
Anf's picture

Thanks for your input Chris R. It is sincerely appreciated. To pick up on some of the points you raised; initially the group would consist of me, my wife and son, and a couple of others who we are personal friends with. The hall hire bit is not technically necessary, but I just think if we were on the clock, we'd actually train rather than just meet up and chin wag. In terms of having someone with experience, none of us are even black belt yet. But the idea is we'd only practice what we've been taught so far. Possibly testing variations of it. For example, we've been taught various counters against an incoming punch to the face. We might vary that to see how it works if the punch is a hook instead of a straight punch, or what if our counter is countered etc. But no new techniques, just adaptations of what we've already been shown. Longer term, more people might be invited. But we'd play it by ear and see how it goes without a small group first.

Chris R
Chris R's picture

No problem. I understand what you mean now, that's different to what I imagined you had planned to do. In that case I personally wouldn't see a need to speak to the instructor, maybe consider it later on if you end up having a bigger group. If you are concerned about a potential lack of focus when your group is training, you could consider having some kind of a timed structure to your training. Just off the top of my head, one could start off with 15 minutes of kata/kihon to warm everyone up and get them into a training mindset, then spend 15 minutes on pads/impact drills, then spend 20 minutes on practical applications with a partner, then finally do some flexibility work in the last 10 minutes. That was just an example off the top of my head, but that could be an hour of well rounded training. The main thing you would need to be careful of is not developing any bad habits, so try to follow what you've been taught by your instructor. Hopefully some of that is helpful.

Anf
Anf's picture

Sounds like good advice. Thanks.

Jr cook
Jr cook's picture

Just a thought, I've taught martial arts for several years now. Everytime I train, I train without an "instructor".

At some point we all have to be responsible for our own education. I think it's a positive thing that you want to practice outside of class. However, there are a few things to be aware of. It's challenging to train on your own if the group is relatively inexperienced. How do you know if you are practicing good or bad techniques? One possibility is to ask your instructor(s) for a list of things to practice and maybe a few key points or drills you should be focusing on. They might also be able to provide some references such as books or videos to follow if you have questions. I would think that kata practice would be high on the list if that is a part of your system.

This approach also addresses another potential issue. It is easy to meet with your group and get side-tracked and train in an unfocused manner. As you mentioned above, wasting time talking rather than doing. Having a plan will help you make the most of the time you have. I have found this to be even more true as I advanced. Another black belt and I used to meet in the park on weekends to train and there were a number of times that without a plan it became a show-and-tell session more than improving any particular skill. The more you know, the more side-roads you can find!

Again, have a plan.