Many people feel that smaller classes are better because they get more personal attention others feel that larger classes are better because they can hide in there and not be singled out for correction. What do students and instructors prefer?

Cheers,
boz

I'm going to have two bob each way on this.

I like medium to large classes as the 'spirit' is great when 20-30 students are going hard. Some people would argue that students might take it easy because they can hide but they are only cheating themselves and it comes out in the end or at gradings etc. Now when i do kata etc practice i like small groups with a good instructor.

My ideal mix is when you have a class of about 24 ie 4 rows of 6, have good solid warms ups and basic combo etc then split into groups or 5-8 with a instructor ie 2nd/ 3rd dan up minimum. This is how i train at the moment but it was hard to find a school like it.

If i only had a dojo with 1 or 2 senior BB. I would like either smaller groups (12) so i would get some personal attention if needed or classes based on rank ie new-white, yellow-green, brown-shodan ho, Shodan up. That way i would spend time working on relevant information at my level and maximise my training. Doing a technique 1000 times might be good to pattern in at the beginning but for higher kyu grades etc i would rather learn new kata applications etc and leave the repetition for home training.

Another note is some students never train at home and expect that their 1 or 2 classes a week will give them everything they need, i train at home at least twice a week and run 2-3 days a week so when i go to training i want to learn skills not pushups. One of my Sensei said the other week, if you want a fitness class go to the gym, for karate you should turn up fit enough to learn the skills taught. In other words if you have a good level of fitness i can spend more time teaching. This is not a elite level of fitness so i agree with this.

cheers
Freek

I used to lament the fact that going from a sport style to a more... I guess 'technical' class meant the exercise element was greatly reduced - so yeah, I joined a gym and am happy that class time is now all about karate not sweating.. Theres about 6 or 7 of us now and I do feel thats not enough. A good mix of training partners is surely preferable. Whilst I certainly learnt a lot more when it was just one on one, I felt that training with just the one person led to being perhaps conditioned to deal with only attack scenarios from that type of person.

So from what you've learnt at Micks class you will be fine if attacked by women then ?

I have to say I prefer a smaller class just because you get more one on one attention.

Also, I agree with Freek, started at karate mainly for fitness... now its more for self defence and for as much martial arts experience as I can get... for fitness I have joined the gym.

Yeah I agree with freak too.

Most of our adult classes are small because we have quite a young club and I havent really promoted to adults, which is good because the students get heaps of one on one, but I really enjoy teaching large classes as there seems to be a bit more energy in the class and everybody feeds off that. I think the ideal size for adults would be 15 to 20 students, for kids I like about 12 in a class.

rocket

For kyu grade students, definitely small classes are best. With large classes there has to be a good degree of simplification in explanations, the training essentially becomes more basic. Small classes allow the instructor to observe each and every student, it allows them to get hands on with each student if necessary. Sometimes the only way you can fully explain something is in a tactile manner.

Higher grades can be left much longer to work things out themselves, but smaller is still generally better.

Mike

I must say, If the sensei is good then you will notice how much more they see when they have 5 to teach instead of 30.

Personally I want my sensei to come up and say ""you're overextending, think about a closer target" because it's the persona; attention that tells me to really listen to what they're saying, because they are referring to MY technique, not anyone elses.

EDIT: Also, the people I train next to affect me greatly. I hate slackers.

There seems to be a theme running through the thread that practitioners like a mix of personal attention from smaller classes or small groups within the class plus the energy that occurs when a larger group of people get stuck in and train hard.

It is true that the dojo is the place to learn but that doesn't mean that you don't also learn how to train hard and push your physical barriers. A good dojo is one where one learns how to apply themselves physically and mentally.

With good instruction its not so hard to get a grasp of the big picture but nothing counts as much as going through the discipline of hard physical training expecially in kumite. Good kumite skills and knowledge are acquired on both the dojo floor and in competition with quality opponents who extend each other and progress together.

So I think a mix of small and large classes are best with only one or the other having negative points over time.

Cheers,
boz

Total agreement.

I prefer the smaller class for having the opportunity to have sensei say "you need to fix this" etc, but i get a bit of a kick when in a larger class and a synchronised 'kiai' goes up. Boosts the training effort i suppose, feeding of each other's energy.

I like doing the double classes (in GKR), where the first hour class is generally larger with kids etc, but then the second class is a lot smaller. Get that special attention. Only problem is i get knackered in the first class and my techniques in the second class suffer from it. mmmm.. just gives sensei more opportunity for corrective comments