Positive Characteristics of a Jiu-Jitsu School

[scottnshelly]

I noticed recently that there was a new Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school in my town. I called today and got information. They only practice on Wednesdays and Thursdays right now and only have about 5 students in the adult class. The classes are $49/month or $10/class. I may not be able to change my days off at work or afford the tuition right now.

I’ve never been to any type of grappling school. I’ve been to seminars and talked with grappling Instructors though. From many years of experience with Martial Arts schools in general, I have a pretty good idea of what to look for in a good Instructor.

My questions are:

1) Is there anything specific that I should look for in the Instructor?

2) Is there anything specific I need to ask the Instructor?

3) Is there anything that would be different when judging a Jiu-Jitsu school from a Tae Kwon Do school?

4) Is there anything that would be different when judging a Jiu-Jitsu Instructor from a Tae Kwon Do Instructor?

5) What kind of equipment is generally expected? (They said they don’t require a uniform right away)

Again, I have a general idea from dealing with many Tae Kwon Do, Kenpo, etc. Instructors. My questions are Jiu-Jitsu specific.

Thanks,

[TJS]

find out the instructors rank and who they are ranked under. as long as they dont have a mail order belt or something you shoudl be fine.

make sure the have plenty of free rolling also.

[White Warlock]

Calling something Brazilian ju-jutsu doesn't guarantee it is legitimate. I agree it is important to see if the instructor is legitimate. If he is registered as an instructor with the Gracies or Machados, i would say he's qualified to instruct. Otherwise, research further.

[ninjanurse]

I agree with the above posts. As far as the differences between a TKD instructor and a JJ instructor go...a good teacher is a good teadher regardless of the style. And....as in any style...a Black Belt does not make you an instructor.

Take the time to watch or take a few classes before committing. The style of teaching will be very different than a typical traditional TKD school so it may be hard to judge unless you are actually in the class. In my experience there is much less structure...more self-discovery from the get go.

It may be a good sign that uniforms are not required at first because you must build a good base of falling, rolling,etc., to avoid injury.

Keep us update on you decision.

[SubGrappler]

1) Is there anything specific that I should look for in the Instructor?

For such a cheap price, Im going to assume that the instructor is NOT a black belt. Judge him as you would any normal person you just befriended- is he friendly? Does he seem to care about what your interests are? Its also important to see whether or not he spars with or in front of his students. This is a quick and easy way to see if he knows what hes teaching. If you've never seen him compete before or if he refuses to train/spar with or in front of his students, that could be the red flag.

2)Is there anything specific I need to ask the Instructor?

Ask him what his name is, what his rank is, and who it is that he recieved that rank from. Most people that are not black belt instructors belong to some sort of association of someone who IS a black belt (i.e. "Im a purple belt instructor and belong to Saulo Ribeiro's Association" would be a typical response).

The web site is a bit out of date, but https://www.BJJ.org has made attempts to keep track of all legitimate BJJers. See if you find his name on there, but simply because you dont doesnt mean his not legit (as said, that website is quite out of date)

3) Is there anything that would be different when judging a Jiu-Jitsu school from a Tae Kwon Do school?

Jiu Jitsu is not about learning katas or just practicing moves. If you're not doing resistant training everynight, or often at the very least, then you're not in a typical jiu jitsu school. Most schools will also allow you to participate in at least 1 class prior to signing any contracts (to see if its right for you).

4) Is there anything that would be different when judging a Jiu-Jitsu Instructor from a Tae Kwon Do Instructor?

Jiu Jitsu is alot about put up or shut up. In other words, its not disrespectfull to see if an instructor can do what he claims to be able to do and it should be commonplace to see him train with his students.

5) What kind of equipment is generally expected? (They said they don’t require a uniform right away)

Many schools will have spare kimonos available for those who want to try out an intro class, unless of course hes doing alot of no gi training. Make sure you either buy a Judo kimono or a BJJ kimono (karate and TKD gi's will be torn to shreds). Some people elect to wear cups, mouthpieces, sambo/wrestling shoes, and knee pads or knee braces as they see fit.

Get a name, rank, and his instructor and post it on here and we'll most likely be able to find alot of info on him very quickly.

[stonecrusher69]

instead of asking so many questions why don't you try him out.that 's the only way to know for sure.Thats what I do...

[TJS]

instead of asking so many questions why don't you try him out.that 's the only way to know for sure.Thats what I do...

A little research never hurts.

[White Warlock]

SubGrappler, I agree with you on all points except this one:

For such a cheap price, Im going to assume that the instructor is NOT a black belt.

For two reasons. One is that a black belt is not, as you indicated, a determinate of a good 'teacher' and two, because some people prefer to instruct or study over making a significant income. It could also be, because this school is new to the area, that he is providing lower rates at the onset. Etc...

Especially in the martial arts, price is absolutely no guarantee of quality.

[SubGrappler]

SubGrappler, I agree with you on all points except this one:

For such a cheap price, Im going to assume that the instructor is NOT a black belt.

For two reasons. One is that a black belt is not, as you indicated, a determinate of a good 'teacher' and two, because some people prefer to instruct or study over making a significant income. It could also be, because this school is new to the area, that he is providing lower rates at the onset. Etc...

Especially in the martial arts, price is absolutely no guarantee of quality.

If there were a black belt in BJJ who only charged $50 a month for lessons, that would be absolutely great. Problem is that BJJ is natrually an expensive style to study. Not many people train in it, especially when compared to styles such as TKD, Kung Fu, and Karate. The fewer number of people would natrually yield a need for higher prices.

Im not saying that the amount of money you pay directly affects the quality of instruction you get, its simply that $50 is a very cheap price for BJJ and the cheapest black belt instructors I've seen charge at least double that.

[White Warlock]

Agreed, at least for here in the U.S.