Personal training in Krav Maga
Coach Paul Grey addresses some of the common questions regarding Personal training in Krav Maga.
Paul is a highly experienced Krav Maga coach and explores whether personal training is right for you, costs and how to save money when booking personal training.
Personal Training in Krav Maga
As a professional coach I often get approached about personal training in Krav Maga or fitness.
So today, I thought I would spend a few minutes discussing what personal training can achieve in Krav Maga or indeed any physical pursuit. I also wanted to cover what you can expect and potential pitfalls in the process.
What are the benefits of personal training
In simple terms you learn better and learn faster with personal training than class based lessons. Training is personalised and focused on you – not the entire class so progress is faster.
With personal training you get a skilled Krav Maga Instructor to look at you and help address movement issues, teach content or simply drill the correct movement to develop power and fluidity.
Is personal training right for you ?
Personal training is not right for everyone. Now, to be clear we are looking specifically at personal training in relation to Krav Maga or Martial Arts. Technically speaking this is not personal training but personal coaching – but thats another article altogether. We will stick with ‘personal training’ as it is the term most people use when they approach a coach or Instructor.
Personal training is not a panacea for all coaching issues. Personal training is not a quick answer to personal apathy, poor fitness, lack of regular attendance or physical imbalances within your body. Personal training can make a dramatic improvement in your ability but only if you are committed to training and disciplined about practicing what you have learned between personal training sessions.
If you have existing physical issues (weak glutes for example), no amount of personal training will get you to round kick correctly. Diagnosis of physical issues is a specific and highly skilled job best done by a sports physic with years of specialist training. Invest around £35-40 and get a physic assessment for issues like this. Then you can address the issue and gain benefit out of personal training.
If you don’t have a game plan, training objectives and make a commitment to an agreed programme of personal training, then it is probably not worth starting the process.
A programme of training could be quite modest and very training specific geared to your goals. For example, to learn how to throw jab cross hook or to learn some basic ground reversals (reversing a position of disadvantage) could be done in a lesson or two. To become become fluid and able to react instinctivley requires more time and a commitment to regular practice, but a couple of personal training training sessions would be a great starting point.
Another good example of a training programme is preparing for a grading by covering a specific level of krav maga skills.
How often and how much
You should look at committing to perhaps 4 -10 regular sessions with a clear set of training objectives. This can be repeated as long as you have a clear objectives and feel you are receiving value from the training. Ideally 2 sessions per week for a limited duration are a cost and training efficient way to go. Due to time restrictions many prefer one session per week this is not optimal unless accompanied by classes or regular home training to reinforce learning.
Prices vary dramatically based on the reputation of the krav maga instructor and their location. Successful instructors are busier and as a result have greater demand for their service pushing prices up. A newly qualified krav maga instructor in a rural area may charge from as little as £22 an hour. An experienced instructor in central of London may charge up to £90 an hour.
Typically an experienced Krav Maga Instructor outside of London would charge in the region of £35 to £45 an hour plus travel.
What personal training can't achieve - efficiently at least...
Less cost efficient: Like any type of training, Personal taining is a specific tool for a specific job and has it’s limitations. By far the largest drawback of personal training is cost. With Krav Maga lessons costing around £8-10 for 90 minutes and personal training in the regio of £40 an hour you could buy a 4 regular lessons per personal training session. Though obviously the personal training session will promote faster skill acquisition and faster progress.
Cant replicate stress: It is pretty much impossible to replicate stress and scenarios with personal training – this is better replicated in class. Personal training should focus on skills and corrections.
Saving money - Block booking and joint personal training sessions
If you block book 8 -10 lessons you can usually expect a discount on the normal sessional price – typically of 10-15% depending on the trainer and location. Two sessions a week for 4-5 weeks would be an example of a typical programme of training. This could be repeated or a one off depending on your objectives.
You can also look at reducing personal training costs by training with a friend. This is popular with trainers and students as its’s easier to coach 2 people than to coach and train one and saves money.
Summary
Personal training offers a flexible method of coaching. The net effect of personal training is that it offers faster acquisition of skills, personally focused training and can be geared to address specific training goals or areas of weakness.
Links
Personal training in Weston Super Mare
