Guide
How to book a private session with a coach
A private session is an hour or so with a coach whose attention is entirely on you. In a group class the coach splits their time between everyone; in a private they watch every repetition, correct the small details and build the session around your problems. Used well, a handful of privates can move you further than months of guessing on your own.
This guide explains what privates are good for, when they are worth the money and how to choose a coach. It also covers what to ask before you book and how to arrange a session on Matador, whatever your sport.
What private sessions are good for
- Fixing a specific problem, such as always having your guard passed or dropping your hands when you kick.
- Building a game plan: a set of techniques that suits your body type, style and goals.
- Preparing for a fight or competition with focused pad work, drilling and strategy.
- Learning the basics in a calm setting before joining group classes.
- Training around an injury or a physical limitation with a coach who can adapt the session.
- Learning from a specialist, such as a coach known for a particular position, style or sport.
Privates add to group training rather than replace it. You still need classes and sparring to practise what you learn against resistance. Think of a private as the place you get the diagnosis and the plan, and your regular training as the place you put it to work.
When a private is worth it
A private is most valuable when you can say clearly what you want from it. If you have been stuck on the same problem for weeks, are preparing for a competition or fight, are coming back after a long break or have just moved gym, a focused session can save a lot of time. If you are only a few weeks into training, group fundamentals classes usually give you more for your money, although some beginners find one early private helps them settle in.
Before you book, write down the two or three situations that go wrong most often when you spar. They make the best starting point for a private, and they help the coach judge whether they are the right person to help.
How to choose a coach
The best coach for a private is not always the most decorated competitor. Look for someone who teaches clearly, has worked with people at your level and understands the problem you want to solve. A champion who cannot explain what they do is less useful to you than a patient coach who can.
- Relevant experience in your sport and, ideally, your style: a pressure passer, an out-boxer, a clinch specialist.
- A track record of coaching other people, not only of competing.
- Credentials you can check: rank and lineage in graded sports, a fight or competition record, and coaching qualifications where your sport has them.
- A teaching style that suits you. Watch one of their classes or seminars first if you can.
- Good safety habits, such as asking about injuries and your training history before you start.
Your own coach is often the best first choice, because they already know how you train. Booking a private with a coach from another gym is common and usually welcome, but it is courteous to mention it to your own coach, especially at a gym with a strong team culture.
Rates and what affects them
Coaches set their own rates, and they vary widely with experience, reputation, location and sport. Well-known competitors and coaches in big cities tend to charge more, and a session at a gym can cost more than one elsewhere because the coach has to pay for the mat or ring. Some coaches offer a lower price per session if you book several, or split the cost if you bring a training partner.
When you compare coaches, check what is included: how long the session lasts, whether mat or ring hire is extra, whether a partner can come at no extra cost, and the cancellation terms. The cheapest session is poor value if it does not solve your problem, and the most expensive is not automatically the best.
On Matador, many coaches publish their private session rate on their profile, shown as a price per hour, alongside their seminar rate. It gives you a starting point before you get in touch.
What to ask before you book
- Are you taking private students, and when are you available?
- Where will the session take place, and is mat or ring hire included?
- How long is a session, and what is your rate?
- Can I bring a training partner?
- Can I film part of the session, or take notes on my phone?
- How do you like to be paid, and what is your cancellation policy?
- Have you worked with people at my level on this kind of problem?
Tell the coach what you want to work on in your first message. It helps them decide whether they are the right fit and gives them time to plan the session around you.
How to find and message a coach on Matador
Matador does not book or take payment for private sessions. Instead it helps you find the right coach and talk to them directly: you agree the time, place, price and payment with the coach in your messages, just as you would by phone or email, but with their profile and your conversation in one place.
Search the athletes directory
Filter verified athletes and coaches by sport, by BJJ belt or by a town or city. In the app you can also browse athletes by sport and distance from you.
Read their profile
Check their sports, belt, where they are based, their achievements and their private session and seminar rates where published. Their upcoming events and video instructionals give you a feel for how they teach.
Message them
Choose Message on their profile. It opens their profile in the Matador app, on your phone or on the web, where you can start a conversation.
Agree the details
Settle the date, place, length, price and payment in the conversation, and confirm them in writing before the day.
Follow them
Follow the coach in the app and Matador tells you when they publish an event, such as a seminar near you.
Find a coach for a private
If you already train at a gym on Matador, you can also message the gym from its page to ask whether its coaches teach privates. Many coaches fit privates in before or after classes, and the gym is often the quickest way to reach them.
When the coach lives far away
If the coach you want to learn from lives a long way off, a seminar is the next best thing. Coaches and gyms publish seminars on Matador, and some coaches make time for privates around a seminar trip, so it is always worth asking when they are coming to your area.
Seminars near you
Getting the most out of the session
Arrive ready
Be on time and warmed up, with water and a notebook or your phone for notes.
Start with your problem
Describe it as precisely as you can: the position or exchange, what your opponent does and where it goes wrong.
Stay open
Let the coach look for the cause. The real problem often starts a step earlier than you think.
Bring a partner if you can
With the coach's agreement, a partner lets the coach watch you instead of being your drilling dummy.
Keep it focused
One or two themes per session beats trying to cover everything.
Ask for a recap
At the end, go through the key points together and note them down, or film a short summary if the coach is happy for you to.
In striking sports, expect much of the session to be pad work, technical drilling and controlled positional sparring, with the coach correcting as you go. In grappling, expect a mix of explanation, drilling and short rounds from the position you are working on. Either way, the aim is a small number of changes you can take back to your gym.
After the session
The session is the start, not the end. Drill what you learned within a few days while it is fresh, ideally with the same partner, then try it in sparring and note what happens. New techniques usually fail the first few times you try them live, and that is information for your next session rather than proof that they do not work.
Many people book privates in blocks, with a few weeks of practice in between, so the coach can see what has changed and move you on. Keeping your conversation with the coach in one place makes it easy to look back at what you worked on.
Video instructionals are a good way to revise between sessions, or to get a feel for a coach before you book. On Matador you pay once and watch every lesson in the app, and some lessons are free previews.
Watch before you book
If you are the coach
If you teach privates, make it easy for people to find you. Set up your athlete profile in the Matador app with your sports, belt or level, where you are based, your achievements and your private session and seminar rates. Matador checks that you are who you say you are, and once your profile is verified it is listed in the athletes directory, where people can message you directly.
Get found for privates
A good private session is one of the best investments you can make in your training. Know what you want to fix, choose a coach who can teach it, agree the details clearly and put the work in afterwards.
