the cost of learning

[Kung Pao]

BJJ is always expensive, at least in my experience. It's also the reason I quit it. Lame reason, but many MA schools give more dojo time with less money (in my case, half) in Asian martial arts. Maybe it evens out though, after buying all the weapons.

[Hard Fists]

Didn't see your signature...Yeah, I think Mario Yamasaki runs like one of the best schools around this area. I've heard nothing but good things and have had a few buds that have trained there over the years.

[Chief Fox]

hahahahahahahahahaha i did my first class of BJJ tonight. i can barely type. my fingers are so sore from gripping. omg my muscles are exhausted. awesome workout. but i was doing randori with a blue belt and he did a thing, i think he called it a bicep slice, and now my bicep hurts like a ba$tard. it feels like it has a huge cramp or something. i dunno. what a painful experience. i can't wait to do it again. if i can walk tomorrow i will go back. if i cant walk tomorrow i will go saturday. even if i have to crawl.

Dude, that's not right. There's no way (IMO) you should be doing randori on your first class. At my school we're not allowed to participate in randori until we get our 3rd stripe on our white belt. Right now I have 2 stripes and won't be getting my third for another 2 or 3 months. Right now I feel that I have a decent arsenal of techniques to use but in another few months I'm sure that I'll have many more refined techniques were I'll really begin to benenfit from free training.

The only thing that participating in randori right from the get go will do is create bad habits and possibly get you hurt.

Also, there is no way a blue belt should be applying such a painful technique on a brand new beginner. I'd look for another school if I were you. Preferably a Gracie school.

I attended a club much like the school you are at now. They threw me into the mix right on the first night. I didn't know what I was doing, I was tense and ended up getting injured. It was like every man for himself. Nobody gave a crap about my development as a BJJ practitioner. I've since switched to a Gracie school. The difference is night and day. Everyone there is there to help everyone else. The instructors reinforce this in class. It's like a big family. I learned more at this school in my first few classes than in a couple of months at the other school.

Oh, and I pay $150 a month at the school I'm at now. We have several black belts that teach. The main teacher is a black belt from Gracie Barra in Brazil.

The other school I was at was a club, run by a Machado purple belt. I was there for about 2 months and never met the head instructor. That school cost $90 a month.

[MasterKiller]

Um....I disagree.

You want to learn to swim, you get in the water for your first lesson.

[Chief Fox]

Um....I disagree.

You want to learn to swim, you get in the water for your first lesson.

Yes, you get in the shallow end, maybe you wear a vest or fins to help. You're not thrown into the deep end with a blue belt.

[bodhitree]

Every grappling practice I've ever been to new students would participate in randori.

Even at Judo, as long as soon as you can breakfall you do randori.

[Chief Fox]

I know the sink or swim method is very common.

My school: http://www.eastonbjj.com/

[BruceSteveRoy]

its ok i did pretty good against the white belts. i didnt submit them but i was able to keep them from submitting me (except for once. darn triangle) and did an ok job maintaining control. the blue belt was a really nice guy and he would stop me every time he did something that was going to submit me and show me what i did wrong and how to avoid it. he actually gave me a lot of tips and pointers. it was cool. i did wrestle for more than a decade and did judo for a little while so its not like i am completely out of my element. i am just so out of practice (and shape). i think he did that thing to my bicep bc i think i had his knee and rather than stop me to get himself out he went again and got me to tap and then explained what he did.

[Chief Fox]

its ok i did pretty good against the white belts. i didnt submit them but i was able to keep them from submitting me (except for once. darn triangle) and did an ok job maintaining control. the blue belt was a really nice guy and he would stop me every time he did something that was going to submit me and show me what i did wrong and how to avoid it. he actually gave me a lot of tips and pointers. it was cool. i did wrestle for more than a decade and did judo for a little while so its not like i am completely out of my element. i am just so out of practice (and shape). i think he did that thing to my bicep bc i think i had his knee and rather than stop me to get himself out he went again and got me to tap and then explained what he did.

Sounds like he was a pretty good guy. I may be jaded. I like to call the old school I went to a "meat head" school. Every man for himself, no one really helping you. No set curriculum, just the instructor teaching what he wants to work on. Basically a bunch of meat heads.

Sorry if it sounded like I was bashing your school. I meant no offense.

Good luck with your training!

[MasterKiller]

Yes, you get in the shallow end, maybe you wear a vest or fins to help. You're not thrown into the deep end with a blue belt.

A Blue Belt should have enough control to work you out without hurting you.

[Chief Fox]

A Blue Belt should have enough control to work you out without hurting you.

I agree.

I can only comment on my own experience where I was thrown into the mix with a "meat head" purple belt. Got slammed, felt something "pop" in my chest and ended up at the doctor's office getting Xrays on what I thought was a broken rib. Turned out to be a strained rib muscle. It was still jacked though.

[uki]

the cost of learning is not as expensive as the price of practice.

[Reverend Tap]

The school I'm at ranges from $60-90 per month based on classes per week (1-3), plus quite a bit of open floor time. At the moment, I'm on $80 per month (two classes per week), 6 month contract, and unfortunately missing tons of classes due to having two jobs.

Belt fees and extra stuff (uniform, dit da, etc) have been pretty reasonable. The belt fees are progressive, starting at I think 30 and going up to something in the hundreds for BB. I hear there's some expensive extra stuff at the higher end, but I suppose I'll find that out when I get a bit higher up there (and stop missing all my friggin classes).

Edit: wow, didn't notice the dates on this thread. Gravedig much, uki?

[peace&love]

I'm currently looking for a new school and of course tuition is a factor. Most of the schools I am researching charge $45-$80 per month. None of these schools have contracts. I have noticed most kung fu schools do not and I have always liked that. One thing I am factoring in is time and quality of instruction.

The MMA schools in my area, and there are tons of them, charge $120-$200 per month. The local TKD school charges $120 per month along with belt tests, etc.

I have been a part of two schools. The first charged $80 per month and the instruction was outstanding. There were not any test fees and the only thing sifu asked was to cover his cost of the sash which was not much. The classes were 3-5x per week depending on the time of year. The second school I was a part of charged $56 per month for classes 3x per week. The instruction was fair to above average. Honestly, it depended on if the instructor actually wanted to teach that night or not. There was an assistant instructor there, and when he was, class was focused and on task. Otherwise, it could be quite non productive. The test fees were built into the monthly tuition.

[WinterPalm]

Price is always a good reason to train/not train in a club.
I paid a visit to a popular BJJ club here and was told $100 per month and that was expensive for here. Most I've paid is $60. However, I was going to join until they wanted me to sign an exclusivity contract. **** that, you know? Is this Mixed Martial Arts or not?

Re: Randori.
You can train all you want and not spar but it only helps a bit. Sparring is necessary from day one. Even if just to learn to resist and not let the other guy do what he's trying to do.
I'm a third stripe and have gotten it by improving vastly at sparring and by competing. To me, martial arts are about ability, not a catalog of moves. Passing gradings is through applicable real-world skill. That said, a bicep-slicer isn't even legal outside of Abu Dhabi, is it? Seems pretty harsh!