Quite a number of Thai Massage training schools offer the option to take private Thai Massage courses with them besides group massage training, and some massage schools or trainers even specialize in the private massage training niche. Nevertheless, there are some important differences in the way things work (and differences in the results of training) when choosing one or the other option.
There’s a lot to say here, so I will just embark a bit randomly on the subject. Now, private massage training can generally be scheduled in the student’s own time (taking the teacher’s time into account, of course), so that could be a welcome thing if you could not join group massage classes, which are generally held at certain fixed moments through the year.
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Also, if a student is shy, or maybe has another rhythm of learning, or is already very advanced, it could perhaps also be better to have private Thai Massage training instead of having to deal with student group dynamics.
On the other hand, an advantage of group massage courses over private courses is that you’re able to practice with/on different people and also see what other students do, which will improve your own practice. It teaches one to deal with different type of bodies and different types of emotions, and that’s something that’s obviously missing in private massage trainings.
In private Thai Massage training one only deals with the massage teacher or at best with the teacher and an extra “demo client,” which makes the practice and experience options a bit limited. In any case, although strictly not necessary, it would certainly be best to have private trainings with an extra person you bring with you or someone being available through the school.
Having an extra person around is important, because you could see the moves and techniques done on this person by the massage instructor, which makes it easier for you to copy and learn. And secondly, you can practice on the “demo client” while the teacher can observe to see if you apply the Thai Massage techniques appropriately.
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Of course, private trainings will usually cost more than group trainings (as for the tuition), but then again, private massage training generally takes less time (for the same study curriculum) and is of a higher quality compared to group classes; the massage teacher can focus totally on one student and as a rule progress will be much faster and moreover, things are often explained better or more in-depth.
Personally, I think one of the other advantages of private training is that the Thai Massage instructor will perform every technique on the student so that the student really experiences how things should feel. This is often not the case in group massage training where you will mostly get the techniques applied by other students of the group.
All by all, it surely depends on a student’s wishes, character and situation what’s best for them, of course, and also, one group is not the other. I mean, there are groups of only four Thai Massage students (making a group class almost as being a private massage class) or groups of fourteen students, which gives a massage training totally other dynamics.
