5 Red Flags to look out for when choosing a BJJ school.
Here we ill teach you 5 Red Flags to keep an eye out for! Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can be a strange endeavor with equally weird characters. That being said, don’t just take your new environment at face value and accept it for all its flaws. These issues might not all be discernible for a while and they may not even be deal breakers considering your goals. That being said, this list is simply for adding to the discussion and giving my very personal and probably biased takes.
1. Open mat fees, no open mat & or discouragement of cross pollination.
Does your run of the mill, Joe Schmo non-world renowned gym charge a substantial open mat fee? They might be trying to keep you insulated from the outside world. If they don’t offer open mat at all and discourage your right to go to other gyms for new looks then they might be trying to hide you from the truth. They suck and you probably suck at Jiu-Jitsu too. #SorryNotSorry
2. Gordon Ryan, Craig Jones, John Danaher…. We don’t mention those names here.
This might be personal but oh well. If your coach is adamant about ignoring modern Jiu-Jitsu development then you my friend might be learning from an old head who hasn’t bothered learning anything since they’ve received their black belt. While their skill set might still be applicable and their BJJ might not be fake, you will have to suffer the embarrassment of getting destroyed by a smaller person who’s been training nearly half as long as you and has a modern approach to Jiu-Jitsu.
If your goal is to reach some sort of personal proficiency and feel confident in your self defense(untrained opponents) this coach can probably get you there- heck they might even give you a solid base to stand on. However once you care more about your development among the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world at large this will leave you unlearning bad habits and might close your imagination to the magical world of innovation if you stick around for too long.
3. The vibes aren’t vibing.
This can come from a multitude of reasons. But simply put if you feel uncomfortable or unwelcome get the hell out!
4. Forced & extensive contracts.
The argument might be that people need to REEAALLY commit to BJJ and truly give it an honest college try before deciding it’s not for them. I’ve heard the argument- I disagree. For better or worse Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has been commodified and the local gym should be focused more on improving their product and using customer friendly tactics to keep you around. Your agreement with the gym should probably hold as much value as a firm handshake.
5. Attendance based promotions, belt testing and fees.
This one can be a little murky. Jiu-Jitsu’s belt system is largely subjective and we mostly aim to keep it that way. First off if they only offer a belt promotion at a price then you’re in a McDojo. And you should probably look at getting your blue belt elsewhere. God help you if you’ve already crossed that bridge. Belt testing is also weird. Traditionally BJJ belts should be awarded based on what your coach observes and feels you doing on a daily/weekly basis. Belt tests might mean you’re just a number to them or they’re inattentive in the best case scenarios. Attendance based promotions can be a little more nuanced. If they’re asking you to check in and mark your attendance this isn’t immediately a red flag.
The coach might simply be using the attendance as a checkpoint to remind them to make sure your development is coming along as planned. In my experience a student logging in 250 classes at white belt means that they’re probably about ready for a blue belt. There’s still technical considerations that must be involved. Oftentimes people would earn their belts before that by clearly showing their competence. Whether through competition or their performance in the training room and the stragglers needed additional coaching and support. If you notice or find out there’s a scheduled promotion for you without any kind of consideration done for your technical improvement & competency that’s a problem.