Group training verses individual training

One of the things I stress is the combination of group and individual practice. Group training is valuable for obvious reasons such as motivation and kumite. Individual training is where you practice aspects which are self-specific such as ironing out weak points, improving your tokui-waza etc. Again stating the obvious, group training and self-practice compliment each other and produce superior results than either `type' in isolation.

Many people of course simply do not have the time to do both types of training, and in this case, it depends largely on the level of the karateka in question. My advice in solving this issue is to weigh up the pro's and con's. In my case for example, the only Shotokan dojo I train with in Christchurch are IJKA clubs, that is because the karate is correct! Elsewhere would be detrimental for my practice. So without IJKA in Christchurch, I'd simple settle for doing extra self-training.

Ideal scenarios rarely exist, so the key is to make the most of what you have at any given time. That way, regardless of where you are, and how busy your schedule is, you will always make the most of your training time and optimise your skills based on your situation.
© André Bertel. Christchurch, New Zealand (2011).