# 1 class a week enough?



## banana man (Sep 11, 2011)

hi,
I have found a krav maga school that offers 1 class a week in my area and i was just seeing peoples opinions as to whether they believe that this is enough to learn krav maga enough? they have 2 locations and as it is the closer 1 is a 3 hour round trip and the other one is alot further away so i could only train the 1 a week. 
any opinions would be great, thanks.
Brendan.


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## stone_dragone (Sep 11, 2011)

In any art, if you only practice once a week you'll get bare minimum results. 

Now if you spend the following 6 days practicing what you learned in class, then you can gain maximum benefit from the time spent in class. 

You can make it work as long as you don't just do one hour a week. 




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## Bill Mattocks (Sep 11, 2011)

stone_dragone said:


> In any art, if you only practice once a week you'll get bare minimum results.
> 
> Now if you spend the following 6 days practicing what you learned in class, then you can gain maximum benefit from the time spent in class.
> 
> ...



+1

If you're ONLY training while in class, then no.  If you practice when you're not in class, then perhaps.  Most of it will be on YOU.


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## Haakon (Sep 11, 2011)

My opinion is, no one day a week is not enough. Especially when you're new and don't know what you're doing practicing on your own is more likely to reinforce bad habits than progress your training so I disagree with Bill and stone_dragone that training on your own will help. It might help get you in better shape, but it's not likely improve your Krav maga much.

I know you want to train in KM, but I think you would be much better off finding a different art located where you could train at least 3 times a week.


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## Cyriacus (Sep 11, 2011)

Bill Mattocks said:


> +1
> 
> If you're ONLY training while in class, then no.  If you practice when you're not in class, then perhaps.  Most of it will be on YOU.


Well put.
Very well put.
Ill second this.


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## MJS (Sep 11, 2011)

banana man said:


> hi,
> I have found a krav maga school that offers 1 class a week in my area and i was just seeing peoples opinions as to whether they believe that this is enough to learn krav maga enough? they have 2 locations and as it is the closer 1 is a 3 hour round trip and the other one is alot further away so i could only train the 1 a week.
> any opinions would be great, thanks.
> Brendan.



Honestly....no, 1 class a week, is not enough.  IMO, you need at least 2, otherwise, you're really not going to be getting the full effect.  Of course, if thats all you can do, then provided you spend at least 2-3 days training what you worked on, I suppose thats better than nothing.  One other option that you may want to consider, is to supplement the 1 class, with a private lesson, if they're offered.  At least that way, you could get some 1 on 1 time with the inst.


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## oaktree (Sep 11, 2011)

I attend 1 on 1 private  class once a week for an hour and the material I learn In an hour is enough. I practice daily what I learned So when I attend class again my teacher corrects Things or we move on . I don't train in K.M. I train In baguazhang xingyiquan and taijiquan and in an hour once a week You can learn quite a bit if 1. You have a good teacher 2.  Take good Notes and practice every day.


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## seasoned (Sep 11, 2011)

oaktree said:


> I attend 1 on 1 private class once a week for an hour and the material I learn In an hour is enough. I practice daily what I learned *So when I attend class again my teacher corrects Things or we move on *. I don't train in K.M. I train In baguazhang xingyiquan and taijiquan and in an hour once a week You can learn quite a bit if *1. You have a good teacher 2. Take good Notes and practice every day.*


Never say never. Try it out as oaktree describes above. Nothing to lose, and if it something that interests you, perhaps there are students in the same situation as you are, and you can get together with them on off class times.


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## NSRTKD (Sep 11, 2011)

If you desire to train badly enough to drive all that way, I think you will get a lot out of each class. I also think you'll crave more than 1 class a week, and probably end up taking more classes than you intend to at this point. Otherwise, perhaps you can network with other practitioners in your area and find similarly minded folk who want to spend some extra practice time working technique, if your instructors are alright with you doing so.


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## Flea (Sep 11, 2011)

Along with taking notes and practicing at home, you can probably also find complementary activities.  I only get one class a week myself :wah: so I've taken up ballroom dance.  My city is virtually drowning in social dances, so it's more than enough to take up the slack.  I get the close quarters, the sensitivity-building to my "opponents" movements, and the mental flexibility of learning to move my body in totally new patterns on a regular basis.   

Training is where you find it.


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## mook jong man (Sep 11, 2011)

I used to teach a young man that only attended the Sunday morning class each week due to his work committments , and he was one of my better students.

He would really apply himself in class and train hard , he also trained diligently at home with his solo training when his schedule permitted. 

But he was very consistant as well , he might of only had formal training once a week , but I don't remember that young man ever missing one of those Sunday morning classes , not once.

So it's all up to you really.


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## Spork3245 (Sep 12, 2011)

Flea said:


> I've taken up ballroom dance.



Fantastic supplement. When Imi was alive, if you asked him what he was most proud of in his life-time, he would always say his "ballroom dancing trophies", infact, all of Krav Maga's movements are based off of ballroom dancing.

At our school we have a few people who are limited to coming once per week due to scheduling, they are generally law-enforcement but there's also a few others. They seem to get what they need out of it. Remember, Krav Maga is not a memorization of Katas and Stances, it is pure self-defense, based primarily off of instinct - Now that is not saying you don't need regular training to feel "comfortable" with the "self-defense" techniques you have learned, even though they are mostly instinctual, as we do generally recommend twice per week for "regular progression" at our school.
What you need to do, as everyone is different, is see if they'll allow you to purchase a single month (contract/commitment free), or try 2-3 classes, so you can gauge and see if only coming once per week will be beneficial enough for you in regards to self-defense. As others have said, if you really want to do this, it may be a good idea to supplement your training, either with books/videos, or by simply practicing in the mirror.


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## Flea (Sep 12, 2011)

That, and its a great social outlet.  Ladies love guys who aren't afraid to dance!


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## Sukerkin (Sep 12, 2011)

:chuckles:  That'll be why, in my museum curator days, the post Christmas Meal dance saw me waltzing every lady on the staff around the floor .  I'm no great shakes as a dancer but I don't wilt under the spotlight either .


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## Sukerkin (Sep 12, 2011)

As to the OP's question, the truest answer is that it depends.  If one day a week is all you can get and it's something you love, then it will have to be enough.

When I did Lau Gar, I trained every day and had formal tuition three times a week {three hours}.  Now I practise Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu Iaido and only have one formal training session per week for three hours.  I can't really practise at home, other than static drills for cuts {whilst kneeling}, drawing and re-sheathing, so that one session has to be enough.

I'm a Third Dan these days, so I must be doing something right :lol:.


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## Guvnor (Nov 14, 2011)

Practice at home as well? 1 class per week is better than nothing but by no means ideal.  2 or 3 and your laughing.


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