I am increasingly under the impression that martial arts classes are really tough places when it comes to practicing Interpersonal Skills. I have failed miserably once and already more or less given up on the whole class because I could not make them understand (or accept) my point. The experience was quite frustrating and I write it down hoping that somebody can tell me what I could have done better.
More than a year ago I joined judo class because I wanted to learn certain judo throws. Learning those beautiful throws was my only goal. I did not want to participate in judo tournaments and I could not care less about judo belts. At that time I was a beginner in judo but also a somewhat experienced grappler who already trained many years with live resisting partners pressure testing my techniques. So I wasn't the typical beginner (if there is such thing).
The judo class was quite hierarchical and I ended up doing exactly what everyone else were doing which pretty much seemed to me to wasting my time. Sometimes I did have the opportunity to briefly practice the throws I wanted to learn but usually we quickly rushed to other techniques.
My biggest frustration came from this constant jumping between techniques: experience has thought me that if I want to learn something like a complex throw I need to practice it literally thousand or even tens of thousand times. As Bruce Lee famously put it : I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times. But we usually got 10-12 reps and we moved to a different technique. First I tried to address the problem explaining what I want and why. The instructor said 'Yes' but nothing changed. Then a couple of training later I jokingly said 'As I said I'd prefer boring trainings for me, boring trainings are good, whoever wants to amuse himself, should go to cinema instead'.
I also approached several class members saying: 'let's learn this together'. Some initially joined, some even admitted that my approach actually makes sense, but the next class their enthusiasm was over and we ended up doing the 'normal' training. (Maybe I need to add that doing +100 of reps of these throws are physically challenging, requires and improves strength and stamina. But isn't challenging yourself is the very reason why one would attend martial art/combat sport classes??)
As for the instructor whenever I brought the issue up it fell on deaf ears. I told him that I do not feel to make any progress (which is not only a feeling but also a fact because after wasting my time for a year I am in no way better position to perform these throws on a resisting opponent than I was at the beginning.) I have the feeling that whatever I said was dismissed as a white belt can't possibly know it. Having said this whenever we did newaza (free sparring on the ground) I made a human pretzel from anybody present (including the instructor) but that was attributed to my physical superiority and not my grappling background.
Long story short when it was getting clear to me that I could not get my thousand repetitions my enthusiasm started to wither away and started to skip class. I am technically still a member, but I do not really bother to visit class. So I have every right to call this experience a failed experiment. I didn't learn the throws, I didn't make new friends, didn't even improve my interpersonal skills, I achieved nothing...
So I am wondering, how could I have best emphasized to my instructor, that I would rather practice only specific techniques (i.e. I need way more depth and less breadth), in a way so we would have been able to find a compromise?
Added difficulty: I am a foreigner in this country. I am fluent in their language and fairly familiar with their habits still cultural misunderstandings can occasionally happen.
My class is quite a low budget one with limited schedule. It does not offer private lessons.
