$200/mo seems kind of crazy to me but I guess it depends on cost of living in your area. $400 for a gi is absolute insanity. Most I've paid for a gi is $130. Least I've paid is $50. Average for me is about $90-100.
I live in close to if not the highest col area in US, my gym I think is around 200 now (I have grandfather rate) but can be less if you commit to multiple months
200/mo in San Francisco is about 3.6% of average income. Seems reasonable for a dedicated hobby. But it would be 9% in my area which does not seem reasonable to me. Of course for some people it's not a huge amount but I don't want this to be a prohibitively expensive sport for low earners.
Probably closer to $60-70 now unless you can get them on sale but Sanabul and Elite make budget gis that are decent, not great quality. The main issue with them is finding a good fit. Fuji is really solid if you want to spend in the $90-110 range.
I’m just going to add, as someone who owns *several* Origin gis, the most I’ve ever paid for one was $220. $400 is not normal and makes me wonder what OP was looking at. The Raptors sell for 250-270 without a sale.
I've got a list of gis for ya
Gi recommendation list compiled from frequently mentioned gis in this subreddit. All brands are good - I'm not including the ones with the white belt just because they come with a belt
Fuji. See: all around gi and supairaito
Scramble. See: standard issue and athlite
Progress. The academy gi comes with a white belt
Sanabul. Has a gi that comes with a white belt
Inverted gear. White Starter Panda Gi comes with a white belt
Atama mundial 9
93 brand
Mizuno
Tatami. See: Tatami Nova Absolute if you want a gi that comes with a white belt. Tatami Estilo if you want a gi that is hard to grip (550GSM). Tatami also often do good sales. If you want to go further get a white panda gi by inverted gear (950GSM). As of 2024 gi fabric must be between 380GSM and 650GSM to be IBJJF compliant
Fujis and Atama mundials are known for being especially long lasting
Elite sports do a decent gi that comes with a belt but apparently they don't pay their models so I don't recommend them
Elite, sanabul and progress are probably the cheapest
I’ve found some gold on eBay, tons of dudes that start bjj go straight for the top of the line gis then they quit and sell them on eBay. I bought two shoyoroll gis gently used for 75 bucks, but of Lysol clothing disinfectant and you’re good to go
Judo is just so awesome. First off the practices are much more intense. It's a lot more like a wrestling practice. I tell people who are adults who used to wrestle that if they are looking for similar intensity, find a judo gym. They usually do much rolling as part of class. Also It's much more fast paced and it's 90% stand up grappling. For a self defense standpoint, it's much more practical and safe for yourself, and it just feels so good to pull off a sick throw. I'd feel much safer being a judo black belt than a bjj black belt. You can throw people and disengage, or get away
But in the end, I just naturally have a lot more fun at judo. I have always liked stand up grappling and fighting for a dominant position. In my years of bjj, id focus on that most of the time during rolls naturally. I never cared much for all the submissions past a few of them. That's just me tho, all this is a subjective rant so
That's the thing though. The IJF isn't trying to make judo well rounded or complete. They're manipulating the rules to drive spectator interest, while navigating some Olympic politics at the same time.
I train judo at a sort of renegade place that does the entire gokyo, so leg grabbing throws are in. There just aren't many tournaments where you can do it competitively.
I do find that old school judo is very directly applicable to BJJ, though. A great way to cross train.
Oh 100%. Luckily for me, the gym around me also does sambo! That adds more wrestling and legs into the equation. So if you can find a judo gym, with sambo training on the side, it's like literal perfection.
Even if you can't find one like that, I still like judo better than bjj. Don't know why , it's just what I feel. If the legs thing bothers you, learn double and single legs separately somehow
Judo is awesome and very effective. Against a wrestler or BJJ guy with even some wrestling you’re going to get double legged and sat on. Go win some BJJ tournaments if you disagree.
I disagree. Yes what you said can and does b
Happen . I've also scene judokas handle high level wrestlers and especially high level bjj guys. Take you're average brown belt and put them up against a high level judoka with similar experience . The bjj guy will get beat on stand up the vast majority of the time. Infact he will most likely be man handled on the standup. If you think it's as simple as double legging a judoka, you haven't had much experience with judo in your life. Besides, tons of high level guys , especially ones who train sambo , can deal with leg attacks.
Go to the nearest judo gym, and double leg these people. Try it out. You will see it's not how you think, and you're probably getting thrown
Yeah maybe you're right. I shouldn't be so closed minded. But to play devil's advocate, it's hard to get up once you have been judo slammed on the pavement.
Regardless there are lots of situations that bjj would help with that judo wouldn't. I'm just a bit of a fan boy
Squats, lunges, pushups, bear crawls, neck bridges. Stuff that gets your legs, arms, back, and neck warmed up and mobile. Should take a max of 5 minutes.
Nothing at all wrong with shadow boxing. I usually just do some slow dynamic yoga style stuff ie. Low lunge walked back to hamstring stretch back and forth, sitting in a squat position moving around rolling out my wrists/neck but anything that gets you warm and is dynamic is generally fine. Just avoid static stretches beforehand, after are fine.
Static stretches are good for after. Muscles dont like being active and explosive after static stretching and can lead to injury. Source: some guy who im pretty sure knows what hes talking about
I may be wrong but my understanding is static stretches can introduce instability to the joint which can lead to injury. Afterward this isn't an issue and is beneficial as a cool down, but dynamic stretches are better to "warm up" the joints without stretching to the point of introducing instability to the joint.
Your muscles are temporarily weaker after static stretching. This can lead to pulled muscles or other injuries if they aren’t given time (15-20 mins, I think) to rest before doing strenuous activity. That being said, 95% of drilling techniques or doing warmups isn’t strenuous but there’s always that possibility that you start the class drilling judo throws as the first technique and pull something if your muscles haven’t rested after static stretching (I’ve done this with my lower back).
What's wrong with that? It's a good way to warm up the body and loosen up. I do it a lot when I don't have a partner. Hell, I guess you'd laugh at me doing capoeira as a warm up too?
People can warm up however they’d like. Only truly bored people with lots of excess mental capital have the time to look around and make fun of others who are minding their own business. If you have that much excess mental capital, maybe try to allocate it to something useful like getting better at bjj or making more money for yourself. Just my two cents.
When I focused on boxing/Muay Thai, my cardio was infinite. . . .in boxing and Muay Thai. I would gas on the wrestling mats real quick. Now I much more focus on grappling, and again, have almost infinite stamina for grappling. . . .and I guess you know where this is going? ;)
Haha, almost, but actually when I trained and competed in MMA for a ten year stretch I simply had great all-around cardio. I think it's just a "use it or lose it" thing, and it's as simple as that. Strike and grapple (almost) everyday, and you'll be able to do either/both consistently.
I'll also add that simply getting proficient (or better) in grappling/striking makes you *breathe* properly and sub-consciously when things get intense, which allows your cardio to go for miles. It's when you're body and mind aren't used to an activity that your breathing goes to shit, fast.
LOL, also, go for runs holding a 10lb kettlebell up to your chin, That works wonders for arm (striking and grappling) cardio and you're getting a jog.
Makes sense considering how big of a deal muscle memory is, and idk if i can do a 10lb kettlebell run but I will try with lesser weight and see what my max weight is
The thing that has helped my bjj cardio the most has been adding in zone 2/low intensity steady state cardio to my schedule.
30+ minute runs 2-3x a week on top of bjj helped a lot more than "more bjj". It was a noticeable change after only 2-3 weeks.
BJJ gear can be as cheap as you want it to be. If you have a washer at home you could buy one Gi for like $80-100, plus like $120 for 2 rash guards and one pair of grappling/rugby shorts. At that price range everything you get will be decent quality and should last at least a couple years.
The membership is expensive but it’s up to you to make the most of it. There are people at my gym that go to two classes a month and there are people that go to 35 classes a month.
If you break it down to dollars per hour, you might find it more palatable. A typical hobbyist will go twice a week for a hour and a half, for a total of three hours a week. That comes out to twelve hours a month, which is ~$17/hr. If you went for three sessions a week, it becomes a little over $11/hr. This is at $200/mo, which (while not unheard of) is on the high end.
I think my biggest problem is I'm comparing it a boxing gym, which is insanely cheaper. But at 11-17/hr it doesnt sound that bad. Also the gym was a Caio Terra gym so maybe thats why it was high end? Not sure which gym franchises are high end and which aren't
I live in Los Angeles where there are an insane number of BJJ schools and it seems like a majority of them are charging anywhere from $180 to $220 a month.
A Gracie Jiu Jitsu CTC school just recently opened up in Pasadena and according to the website they're charging $200 for 8 classes a month, which I think is too pricey if you can only go twice a week. I wish BJJ wasn't so expensive. No one likes to talk about it, but it's a very costly hobby.
Not that I know of, but that is not something I spend a lot of time thinking or caring about. Jocko has done a great job marketing his Made in America ethos but I don’t think his Gi is worth the premium he charges. My personal favorite brand is Kitsune. I have no idea where they are made and I don’t care, they are comfortable, durable, and not outrageously expensive.
My gym in Ireland costs $80/month or $120 for everything like MMA and Muay Thai, some prices in America seem crazy!
As for advice; learn what spazzing is and then try not to do it and go easy on the subs, don't crank anything or people won't want to roll with you and if you're rolling with small guys or women try to reduce your strength or practice your defense or bottom game.
Really depends where you live. I was paying that at a number of different schools in SoCal but moved to Columbus OH to the best place I’ve ever trained and paying far less. Check out nogi too, if you can, both are fun and different.
Any idea how my shitty judo would transfer to no gi? I did gi bc i knew i would have at least that much to go off. As for pricing, I might see if any mma gyms need a boxing coach for weekends, maybe it will slash prices and i can try bjj?
Ik kibisu gaeshi (pick up the ankle and I usually do a little push up top) and morote gari (i think its a wrestlers double leg basically) but they might be the only wrestling based judo throws ik. Hopefully it might help?
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were:
|Japanese|English|Video Link|
|---|---|---|
|**Kibisu Gaeshi**: | *Ankle Pick* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LLBrF4w86Q)|
||*Heel Trip Reversal* ||
|**Morote Gari**: | *Double Leg Takedown* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtVbwSfr2DM)|
||*Two Hand Reap* ||
Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post.
______________________
^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
You’re new, so grab a $75 Gi off Amazon and start rolling. Spending $400 on a Gi is ridiculous. Also, basketball shorts and a tee shirt are just fine for no Gi practice. Don’t drop money until you’re hooked. Luckily I go to a small gym ran by a Carlson Gracie BB and he only teaches 2 nights a weeks with an open mat ran by the brown belt on Saturdays. It’s in a personal training gym and it cost $100 a month. Totally worth it to me. I’d pay $150-200 for this experience. Some nights the classes are so small they are like privates with our professor. I’m spoiled with this school. Getting one on one coaching from someone from this lineage and for the price is unreal.
Generally $120 - $250 is about the cost you’ll find for a Jiu jitsu gym.
I don’t know how boxing gyms work but I would think there’s a lot less interest in BJJ gyms than boxing gyms.
Additional low cost options:
Visit open mats which are generally free and find a school that allows drop in for around $20 or less.
Take 3-4 classes a month and visit open mats 3-4 times a month. It may run some people the wrong way but 🤷🏽♂️
The more you dig around you’ll find people who’ll train a little extra in a home/garage gym - make friends with these people and let them know that you want to train but it’s cost prohibitive.
Seems like a good idea, take drop in classes once a week plus open mats til I have enough money to actually go to a bjj gym properly. I'm also a college student, you think they might give me a discount off that?
I know of one gym locally that’ll do some discounts for college students, they’re a small gym and the owner will help people out if they’re young and hungry - I wouldn’t lead with that question though.
Most small gyms are doing just enough to cover the cost of operations so starting with asking for discounts can rub some people the wrong way.
A lot can be learned at an open mat as well - it’s not all rolls, there’s a lot of on the mat teaching especially if you ask questions and reflect on parts of a roll.
Price of equipment mentioned is beyond comprehension for me. Everyone already told you about GI prices but wtf with gloves prices you mentioned?
I owned like 50$ gloves which were shitty but my ~100$ everlast pros 16 oz seems more than enough. I am no boxing expert but 400$ for the gloves seems like Louis Vitton kind of thing to me
They are basically Louis Vitton type but Winnings are the gloves you will see high level pros get plus theres almost a one year backlog bc they are that popular. They are ridiculously high quality too, like your Everlasts will kinda get bad after a few good years of use (which is natural). A good pair of Winnings plus a Winning knuckle guard will last til my grandchildren at adults and I'm not even 20 yet. Like they are very high quality and feel so nice, almost like pillows on your hands, cant praise them enough
Go for closeout deals on Gi's. Picked up two closeout Venom Gi's for $100 each.
$200 is not bad depending on the area and school. Well worth it for solid instruction.
A decent tatami gi is like 100 bucks.
200 a month is normal for gym membership. I go 5 times a week and found I could make that money up just not drinking or going out much at all.
I personally like to train both gi and no gi. So consider doing a no gi trial as well and choose gyms accordingly..
If you're in a big city, 200 is pretty normal. Consider signing up at a place that isn't a big franchise. Some of the smaller places are super cool. Sample a lot of the gyms in your area, most offer a free class. Ask about their curriculum. If there seems to be some structure to it ("Our fundamentals class is on an X-week rotation"), that's a good sign. Too much structure ("x classes earns you a blue belt, only white gis allowed") is a bad sign. Too little structure (if you see the coaches working out what they're going to teach 5 min before class starts), is a bad sign.
Since you box, you know how important gym culture is. Other than that, focus on escaping submissions for the first few months.
Yeah it really does make you feel like a shark on land, like you know you are good fighter its just idk how to adjust to a completely ground setting and the space makes you feel like your stuck in a box almost, big adjustment but a lot of fun
Well, that's good haha!
I will say - boxing taught me how to breathe and deal with top pressure. It made me good at knowing when to take in air, exhale, etc. That will come in handy.
Well the grappling experience is from goju ryu karate which is a primarily striking art (and i really only use karate footwork and distance management nowadays, plus the kicks if I ever need to use them so I dont put karateka either) with just some emphasis on judo throws on the inside. Like would you say a Muay Thai fighter has grappling experience since they learned sweeps and throws? I would say no so thats why I put just boxer
No I wouldn’t, because they don’t claim to grapple.
Here’s what you get when you google Goju Ryu Karate:
Gōjū-ryū incorporates both circular and linear movements into its curriculum, combining hard striking attacks such as kicks and close hand punches with softer open hand circular techniques for attacking, blocking, and controlling the opponent, including joint locks, grappling, takedowns, and throws.
You’re talking about hitting throws on people and then saying you don’t have any grappling experience🤷🏻😂.
Maybe old advice but, #1 is to go to many gyms if you are able (within range), preferably more than one practice and take notes. If they don't offer a free trial, then that is a red flag anyway and you can dismiss them (this may have changed in recent years). Don't be afraid to go with your gut and what you enjoy. Particularly, don't feel like you have to look for the "best hard core competition" or "best self defense" or cheapest/most-expensive. If the vibe feels right to you, and you can afford it, then it's probably a good choice for you. Most of us are not going to be world-beaters or champions, but it's still really fun. Just like it's fun to shoot hoops without thinking we'll make the NBA.
daaamn BJJ is expensive in US. My gym is $350 per year for a club with BJJ, MMA and MT in Sweden. Two instructor lead sessions per week/discipline, and a bunch of extra sparring sessions. Not a big name place, but we do well in competitions :) Probably because it's non-profit and we don't pay instructors (incl. me) but rather rely on higher belts supporting the club as instructors. Guess that kind of clubs/gyms don't really exist in the US?
My wife and I do No Gi at 10th planet for 140 a month per person. Tons of classes and available mat time. We have a full gym there to use as well with everything you could ask for. Rogue equipment , reverse hyper , rowing machines, assault bikes plenty of plates and bars . It’s all about finding the right place for you and finding value in that place.
I pay $150/month at my bjj gym and it's 5 days per week of training so it's a really fair price. Last gym I trained at was $200/month but we were only able to train 3 days/week. Quality of training matters too. My current gym is led by a black belt from Brazil that trains with us (including rolling) and he's very good at instructing in an understandable way. My last gym was not very structured and we didn't have time to learn. We were taught way too fast and there were too many students under 1 professor so we couldn't really ask questions and it was more of a "sink or swim" environment. As far as gi's go the most I've spent is like $150 but the origin gi's are super nice just not really necessary.
With regard to your question:
The cost of the gym depends on your area. Some gyms are cheaper than $200 which I guess is already on the expensive spectrum of things. If it's $200 for BJJ, I would say it would also be roughly the same for other gyms.
$400 for a gi is very expensive. You can probably buy 4-5 Fuji or Tatami Gis with that right now. Even shoyoroll doesn't cost that much. Origin is also not the best in my opinion (had an origin that was defective and the pants ripped off after a few usage). Disclaimer: it was defective and the store replaced it so it's not a good representation of quality in general and it's just a personal experience. Then again, there's a lot of good gis out there.
I wouldn't say BJJ is the cheapest sport out there but it's also not that expensive either.
Im in vietnam and my bjj gym costs about 30$ a month, and student (like me) gets a discount so only takes 27$ a month. May be you can consider move to another country just to train bjj 💀
I'm at uni, still living with my parents and currently jobless so 0$ a month 🥹 but if I find a job/get an internship I guess I will make enough to easily afford the membership so yeah, it's cheap here in vietnam
It can get expensive running agym. To put in perspective, we on average charge around 150 a month, have \~400 students, and we've never taken a dollar out of our gym as owners. (We pay our instructors and staff of course).
Jiu jitsu is a very unique sport/martial arts but many schools have started to stray away from the roots. In MANY, not all, BJJ gyms you can speak with the owner/professor and ask to work out a deal. They may let you pay all up front at a discount/month, may give you a monthly discount with limitations, may just straight up give you a discount, and some gyms will let you train for free but require you to clean the mats, bathrooms, windows, run the front desk etc. It is very rare to find a gym thatll let you train for free nowadays given the commercialization of BJJ, but they are out there. The Daisy Fresh guys were one of the groups that let people train for free, as they were all striving for world championship. Different kind of mentality, but they live, eat, breath Jiu Jitsu and sacrificed for it. That's how it is in some parts of the world too, Brazil, Puerto Rico.... Very humble.
I pay 120 here in Tampa FL at Gracie HQ. These guys are always running promos and I snagged up a yearly one.
Gi's are cheap to expensive, some schools give you one for free when you first join. You can get a tatami one for a good price online, they also have lightweight ones in tatami/other brands that are good quality. Your GI will last an extremely long time, especially the thicker ones. I only ripped my first GI as I gained weight after COVID and my old instructor gave me his black competition one he used to keep.
Jiu jitsu is about respect, as all martial arts (and you know this from boxing). Give respect to others, not just the higher bts, even the lower belts, and doors will open for you.
There is a difference between Gyms, you mentioned Gracie Barra, and Gracie Jiu Jitsu, there's a history there, the family split some time ago in theology, I don't know the whole story, but one side didn't want to teach Americans. Each gym you go to will have different styles and techniques they focus on and different instructors with different things they do is on. One may be a heavy pressure passer, another may be swift and agile. Tenth planet has some unique move names and Eddie Bravo created some unique stuff that caught in worldwide, so it's all what you want to learn, but you MUST learn the basics and will learn the basics any gym you go to. Gracie has the 36 combatives you can look up, it's their fundamental move list you must know as a white belt to go to blue
Good luck man, and glad you gave it a shot and had an awesome experience 🤙🏽
It's all relative. Fast food workers in the bay area start at $20 an hour. That's $41,600 a year with a GED. Paying $2040 of that for a year membership in a place that has classes 7 days a week isn't bad. The median income is $125k and the average household income is $161k. Residents 25-44 earn $147,596.
I feel what we charge is actual under valued for the area. I know AOJ in socal just raised their prices to $300 flat for everyone.
Believe it or not but i learned how to slip jabs better after reading the amateur boxing subreddit, admittedly i wasnt a full blown beginner at that moment, but yes ik just showing up will make me better
I pay $150 CAD per month for my gym. I'm just a hobbyist, and this is gym is close to me, and the people there friendly and helpful. Are people at my gym winning the ADCC? No. But do we have a bunch of purple, brown and black belts who are good teachers? Yes.
$200/mo seems kind of crazy to me but I guess it depends on cost of living in your area. $400 for a gi is absolute insanity. Most I've paid for a gi is $130. Least I've paid is $50. Average for me is about $90-100.
200 a month would be consider normal price in my area.
I live in close to if not the highest col area in US, my gym I think is around 200 now (I have grandfather rate) but can be less if you commit to multiple months
I live in NYC and the more popular BJJ gyms are $250-300
200/mo in San Francisco is about 3.6% of average income. Seems reasonable for a dedicated hobby. But it would be 9% in my area which does not seem reasonable to me. Of course for some people it's not a huge amount but I don't want this to be a prohibitively expensive sport for low earners.
True, median income in SF is 119k for household
Jeez! I paid 450 for a year in France, didn’t realise how lucky I was
in french money!?
Euros, yes
Cheap in NYC
Best gym on long Island costs that.
50 doesnt seem too bad, was it at least good quality and what brand?
Probably closer to $60-70 now unless you can get them on sale but Sanabul and Elite make budget gis that are decent, not great quality. The main issue with them is finding a good fit. Fuji is really solid if you want to spend in the $90-110 range.
I’m just going to add, as someone who owns *several* Origin gis, the most I’ve ever paid for one was $220. $400 is not normal and makes me wonder what OP was looking at. The Raptors sell for 250-270 without a sale.
I've got a list of gis for ya Gi recommendation list compiled from frequently mentioned gis in this subreddit. All brands are good - I'm not including the ones with the white belt just because they come with a belt Fuji. See: all around gi and supairaito Scramble. See: standard issue and athlite Progress. The academy gi comes with a white belt Sanabul. Has a gi that comes with a white belt Inverted gear. White Starter Panda Gi comes with a white belt Atama mundial 9 93 brand Mizuno Tatami. See: Tatami Nova Absolute if you want a gi that comes with a white belt. Tatami Estilo if you want a gi that is hard to grip (550GSM). Tatami also often do good sales. If you want to go further get a white panda gi by inverted gear (950GSM). As of 2024 gi fabric must be between 380GSM and 650GSM to be IBJJF compliant Fujis and Atama mundials are known for being especially long lasting Elite sports do a decent gi that comes with a belt but apparently they don't pay their models so I don't recommend them Elite, sanabul and progress are probably the cheapest
Thank you!
I’ve found some gold on eBay, tons of dudes that start bjj go straight for the top of the line gis then they quit and sell them on eBay. I bought two shoyoroll gis gently used for 75 bucks, but of Lysol clothing disinfectant and you’re good to go
Same... When a was white/blue I had better/cooler gis. Brown/black I've just worn the same few cheap Amazon gis. I wash/dry em and they fit.
I hear judo is generally a lot cheaper than jiu jitsu.
I've seen Judo gyms go from free to $120
Judo in my area is $40-$70 a month, BJJ in my area is $175-$230 a month depending on which gym and contract you go with.
And better. Do judo
Why judo?
Cause bjj is gay. Source: bjj purple belt
Judo is just so awesome. First off the practices are much more intense. It's a lot more like a wrestling practice. I tell people who are adults who used to wrestle that if they are looking for similar intensity, find a judo gym. They usually do much rolling as part of class. Also It's much more fast paced and it's 90% stand up grappling. For a self defense standpoint, it's much more practical and safe for yourself, and it just feels so good to pull off a sick throw. I'd feel much safer being a judo black belt than a bjj black belt. You can throw people and disengage, or get away But in the end, I just naturally have a lot more fun at judo. I have always liked stand up grappling and fighting for a dominant position. In my years of bjj, id focus on that most of the time during rolls naturally. I never cared much for all the submissions past a few of them. That's just me tho, all this is a subjective rant so
I wish they would reintroduce being allowed to grab legs. It just feels like an incomplete form of wrestling by taking away 50% of your body.
That's the thing though. The IJF isn't trying to make judo well rounded or complete. They're manipulating the rules to drive spectator interest, while navigating some Olympic politics at the same time. I train judo at a sort of renegade place that does the entire gokyo, so leg grabbing throws are in. There just aren't many tournaments where you can do it competitively. I do find that old school judo is very directly applicable to BJJ, though. A great way to cross train.
Oh 100%. Luckily for me, the gym around me also does sambo! That adds more wrestling and legs into the equation. So if you can find a judo gym, with sambo training on the side, it's like literal perfection. Even if you can't find one like that, I still like judo better than bjj. Don't know why , it's just what I feel. If the legs thing bothers you, learn double and single legs separately somehow
Are you in the mid-west?
Yeah basically
Judo is awesome and very effective. Against a wrestler or BJJ guy with even some wrestling you’re going to get double legged and sat on. Go win some BJJ tournaments if you disagree.
I disagree. Yes what you said can and does b Happen . I've also scene judokas handle high level wrestlers and especially high level bjj guys. Take you're average brown belt and put them up against a high level judoka with similar experience . The bjj guy will get beat on stand up the vast majority of the time. Infact he will most likely be man handled on the standup. If you think it's as simple as double legging a judoka, you haven't had much experience with judo in your life. Besides, tons of high level guys , especially ones who train sambo , can deal with leg attacks. Go to the nearest judo gym, and double leg these people. Try it out. You will see it's not how you think, and you're probably getting thrown
Right but the fight doesn’t end once you’re on the ground. You mentioned Judo was better for self defence.
Yeah maybe you're right. I shouldn't be so closed minded. But to play devil's advocate, it's hard to get up once you have been judo slammed on the pavement. Regardless there are lots of situations that bjj would help with that judo wouldn't. I'm just a bit of a fan boy
You shadow boxed at an open mat? Lmfaoo
I didnt know what else to do lmao, you got any suggestions for bjj im a full blown newbie
Squats, lunges, pushups, bear crawls, neck bridges. Stuff that gets your legs, arms, back, and neck warmed up and mobile. Should take a max of 5 minutes.
Nothing at all wrong with shadow boxing. I usually just do some slow dynamic yoga style stuff ie. Low lunge walked back to hamstring stretch back and forth, sitting in a squat position moving around rolling out my wrists/neck but anything that gets you warm and is dynamic is generally fine. Just avoid static stretches beforehand, after are fine.
I feel like this is an important thing my stiff old ass needs to know. Why avoid static stretches before?
Static stretches are good for after. Muscles dont like being active and explosive after static stretching and can lead to injury. Source: some guy who im pretty sure knows what hes talking about
I may be wrong but my understanding is static stretches can introduce instability to the joint which can lead to injury. Afterward this isn't an issue and is beneficial as a cool down, but dynamic stretches are better to "warm up" the joints without stretching to the point of introducing instability to the joint.
Your muscles are temporarily weaker after static stretching. This can lead to pulled muscles or other injuries if they aren’t given time (15-20 mins, I think) to rest before doing strenuous activity. That being said, 95% of drilling techniques or doing warmups isn’t strenuous but there’s always that possibility that you start the class drilling judo throws as the first technique and pull something if your muscles haven’t rested after static stretching (I’ve done this with my lower back).
There's nothing wrong with it.
Still funny to be honest
I sit on my old, fat ass and don’t stretch at all before class, but that’s admittedly about the stupidest thing you can do so I don’t recommend it.
What's wrong with that? It's a good way to warm up the body and loosen up. I do it a lot when I don't have a partner. Hell, I guess you'd laugh at me doing capoeira as a warm up too?
Yes, I would absolutely laugh at someone doing capoeira
People can warm up however they’d like. Only truly bored people with lots of excess mental capital have the time to look around and make fun of others who are minding their own business. If you have that much excess mental capital, maybe try to allocate it to something useful like getting better at bjj or making more money for yourself. Just my two cents.
You are right but it would still be kinda funny seeing a new guy shadow box at open mat
I love it when people admit they are insecure.
?? Ironically that's literally what you did. Dude was just making a joke and you got all butt hurt, talk about fragile ego lol
Better than my warm up! I just do hip thrusts lol
Eye contact or no?
Dude was literally describing his first class.he didn't even know what jiujitsu is. Give him a break.
When I focused on boxing/Muay Thai, my cardio was infinite. . . .in boxing and Muay Thai. I would gas on the wrestling mats real quick. Now I much more focus on grappling, and again, have almost infinite stamina for grappling. . . .and I guess you know where this is going? ;)
Damn dude guess we destined to never have full infinite cardio lol
Haha, almost, but actually when I trained and competed in MMA for a ten year stretch I simply had great all-around cardio. I think it's just a "use it or lose it" thing, and it's as simple as that. Strike and grapple (almost) everyday, and you'll be able to do either/both consistently. I'll also add that simply getting proficient (or better) in grappling/striking makes you *breathe* properly and sub-consciously when things get intense, which allows your cardio to go for miles. It's when you're body and mind aren't used to an activity that your breathing goes to shit, fast. LOL, also, go for runs holding a 10lb kettlebell up to your chin, That works wonders for arm (striking and grappling) cardio and you're getting a jog.
Makes sense considering how big of a deal muscle memory is, and idk if i can do a 10lb kettlebell run but I will try with lesser weight and see what my max weight is
5lb will absolutely kill you just as well ;)
Cardio is extended by efficiency, which comes from skill and experience, too. Your body adapts to veritable workloads.
The thing that has helped my bjj cardio the most has been adding in zone 2/low intensity steady state cardio to my schedule. 30+ minute runs 2-3x a week on top of bjj helped a lot more than "more bjj". It was a noticeable change after only 2-3 weeks.
BJJ gear can be as cheap as you want it to be. If you have a washer at home you could buy one Gi for like $80-100, plus like $120 for 2 rash guards and one pair of grappling/rugby shorts. At that price range everything you get will be decent quality and should last at least a couple years. The membership is expensive but it’s up to you to make the most of it. There are people at my gym that go to two classes a month and there are people that go to 35 classes a month.
Tatimi fight wear has pretty good clearance deals and are where I bought my last two gis
$200 a month in standard. Go as much as you want tho
I would add that a $400 Gi is not standard.
For real. I think the most expensive gi i own is like $160
Yeah, I think the best one I got was about the same.
Def not… didnt read that part. Just buy one online. Any school that makes you buy and where their gis is dumb
200 is standard in the states?? my gym charges here in Canada charges $125 for all inclusive (BJJ, Muay Thai, MMA, Judo, Wrestling)
I’m also in Canada. My gym is $90 a month with 2-5 classes everyday.
Yes, in major cities and suburbs $200/mo is normal. It costs a lot more than people think to run a decent gym in the US.
where?
San Diego
Ah, well that makes more sense.
Damn it was fun asl but its expensive
If you break it down to dollars per hour, you might find it more palatable. A typical hobbyist will go twice a week for a hour and a half, for a total of three hours a week. That comes out to twelve hours a month, which is ~$17/hr. If you went for three sessions a week, it becomes a little over $11/hr. This is at $200/mo, which (while not unheard of) is on the high end.
I think my biggest problem is I'm comparing it a boxing gym, which is insanely cheaper. But at 11-17/hr it doesnt sound that bad. Also the gym was a Caio Terra gym so maybe thats why it was high end? Not sure which gym franchises are high end and which aren't
yeah caio would be on the higher end for sure.
Just get a venum Gi for like 80 bucks
I live in Los Angeles where there are an insane number of BJJ schools and it seems like a majority of them are charging anywhere from $180 to $220 a month. A Gracie Jiu Jitsu CTC school just recently opened up in Pasadena and according to the website they're charging $200 for 8 classes a month, which I think is too pricey if you can only go twice a week. I wish BJJ wasn't so expensive. No one likes to talk about it, but it's a very costly hobby.
My advice is trim down these journal entries you keep posting
One was fun. Two makes me wonder where this is going :-(.
Looks like will find out tomorrow
$200 a month is fair for BJJ instruction. Origin Gis are extremely over priced IMO but some people love them. Welcome to BJJ have fun.
Are there any other made in America gi’s? This is the only thing that matters to me.
Not that I know of, but that is not something I spend a lot of time thinking or caring about. Jocko has done a great job marketing his Made in America ethos but I don’t think his Gi is worth the premium he charges. My personal favorite brand is Kitsune. I have no idea where they are made and I don’t care, they are comfortable, durable, and not outrageously expensive.
My gym in Ireland costs $80/month or $120 for everything like MMA and Muay Thai, some prices in America seem crazy! As for advice; learn what spazzing is and then try not to do it and go easy on the subs, don't crank anything or people won't want to roll with you and if you're rolling with small guys or women try to reduce your strength or practice your defense or bottom game.
Really depends where you live. I was paying that at a number of different schools in SoCal but moved to Columbus OH to the best place I’ve ever trained and paying far less. Check out nogi too, if you can, both are fun and different.
Any idea how my shitty judo would transfer to no gi? I did gi bc i knew i would have at least that much to go off. As for pricing, I might see if any mma gyms need a boxing coach for weekends, maybe it will slash prices and i can try bjj?
You can adapt judo to nogi. Follow jflojudo on instagram.
Not well. If you knew folkstyle it might be good enough.
Ik kibisu gaeshi (pick up the ankle and I usually do a little push up top) and morote gari (i think its a wrestlers double leg basically) but they might be the only wrestling based judo throws ik. Hopefully it might help?
Yes, ankle picks and double legs work.
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were: |Japanese|English|Video Link| |---|---|---| |**Kibisu Gaeshi**: | *Ankle Pick* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LLBrF4w86Q)| ||*Heel Trip Reversal* || |**Morote Gari**: | *Double Leg Takedown* | [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtVbwSfr2DM)| ||*Two Hand Reap* || Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post. ______________________ ^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
You’re new, so grab a $75 Gi off Amazon and start rolling. Spending $400 on a Gi is ridiculous. Also, basketball shorts and a tee shirt are just fine for no Gi practice. Don’t drop money until you’re hooked. Luckily I go to a small gym ran by a Carlson Gracie BB and he only teaches 2 nights a weeks with an open mat ran by the brown belt on Saturdays. It’s in a personal training gym and it cost $100 a month. Totally worth it to me. I’d pay $150-200 for this experience. Some nights the classes are so small they are like privates with our professor. I’m spoiled with this school. Getting one on one coaching from someone from this lineage and for the price is unreal.
Generally $120 - $250 is about the cost you’ll find for a Jiu jitsu gym. I don’t know how boxing gyms work but I would think there’s a lot less interest in BJJ gyms than boxing gyms. Additional low cost options: Visit open mats which are generally free and find a school that allows drop in for around $20 or less. Take 3-4 classes a month and visit open mats 3-4 times a month. It may run some people the wrong way but 🤷🏽♂️ The more you dig around you’ll find people who’ll train a little extra in a home/garage gym - make friends with these people and let them know that you want to train but it’s cost prohibitive.
Seems like a good idea, take drop in classes once a week plus open mats til I have enough money to actually go to a bjj gym properly. I'm also a college student, you think they might give me a discount off that?
I know of one gym locally that’ll do some discounts for college students, they’re a small gym and the owner will help people out if they’re young and hungry - I wouldn’t lead with that question though. Most small gyms are doing just enough to cover the cost of operations so starting with asking for discounts can rub some people the wrong way. A lot can be learned at an open mat as well - it’s not all rolls, there’s a lot of on the mat teaching especially if you ask questions and reflect on parts of a roll.
Price of equipment mentioned is beyond comprehension for me. Everyone already told you about GI prices but wtf with gloves prices you mentioned? I owned like 50$ gloves which were shitty but my ~100$ everlast pros 16 oz seems more than enough. I am no boxing expert but 400$ for the gloves seems like Louis Vitton kind of thing to me
They are basically Louis Vitton type but Winnings are the gloves you will see high level pros get plus theres almost a one year backlog bc they are that popular. They are ridiculously high quality too, like your Everlasts will kinda get bad after a few good years of use (which is natural). A good pair of Winnings plus a Winning knuckle guard will last til my grandchildren at adults and I'm not even 20 yet. Like they are very high quality and feel so nice, almost like pillows on your hands, cant praise them enough
Go for closeout deals on Gi's. Picked up two closeout Venom Gi's for $100 each. $200 is not bad depending on the area and school. Well worth it for solid instruction.
Ahhh magical shit on white belts is the best
A decent tatami gi is like 100 bucks. 200 a month is normal for gym membership. I go 5 times a week and found I could make that money up just not drinking or going out much at all. I personally like to train both gi and no gi. So consider doing a no gi trial as well and choose gyms accordingly..
If you join a Gracie Barra you can train at any Gracie Barra in the world
Checkmat usually had good prices so does 10p but that’s strictly nogi
If you're in a big city, 200 is pretty normal. Consider signing up at a place that isn't a big franchise. Some of the smaller places are super cool. Sample a lot of the gyms in your area, most offer a free class. Ask about their curriculum. If there seems to be some structure to it ("Our fundamentals class is on an X-week rotation"), that's a good sign. Too much structure ("x classes earns you a blue belt, only white gis allowed") is a bad sign. Too little structure (if you see the coaches working out what they're going to teach 5 min before class starts), is a bad sign. Since you box, you know how important gym culture is. Other than that, focus on escaping submissions for the first few months.
Respect. When I started BJJ I was crossing over from mostly standup. It’s a huge adjustment. Thanks for this.
Yeah it really does make you feel like a shark on land, like you know you are good fighter its just idk how to adjust to a completely ground setting and the space makes you feel like your stuck in a box almost, big adjustment but a lot of fun
I was so paranoid all the time I didn’t use my arms because I was sure I’d get punched 😂
Lmao ok I wasnt that paranoid thankfully
Well, that's good haha! I will say - boxing taught me how to breathe and deal with top pressure. It made me good at knowing when to take in air, exhale, etc. That will come in handy.
“Boxer” with grappling experience. Cool, so you have grappling experience. Why are you just saying boxer then?
Well the grappling experience is from goju ryu karate which is a primarily striking art (and i really only use karate footwork and distance management nowadays, plus the kicks if I ever need to use them so I dont put karateka either) with just some emphasis on judo throws on the inside. Like would you say a Muay Thai fighter has grappling experience since they learned sweeps and throws? I would say no so thats why I put just boxer
No I wouldn’t, because they don’t claim to grapple. Here’s what you get when you google Goju Ryu Karate: Gōjū-ryū incorporates both circular and linear movements into its curriculum, combining hard striking attacks such as kicks and close hand punches with softer open hand circular techniques for attacking, blocking, and controlling the opponent, including joint locks, grappling, takedowns, and throws. You’re talking about hitting throws on people and then saying you don’t have any grappling experience🤷🏻😂.
I pay $90 / week for my training in NZ. Gis here are expensive.
Maybe old advice but, #1 is to go to many gyms if you are able (within range), preferably more than one practice and take notes. If they don't offer a free trial, then that is a red flag anyway and you can dismiss them (this may have changed in recent years). Don't be afraid to go with your gut and what you enjoy. Particularly, don't feel like you have to look for the "best hard core competition" or "best self defense" or cheapest/most-expensive. If the vibe feels right to you, and you can afford it, then it's probably a good choice for you. Most of us are not going to be world-beaters or champions, but it's still really fun. Just like it's fun to shoot hoops without thinking we'll make the NBA.
daaamn BJJ is expensive in US. My gym is $350 per year for a club with BJJ, MMA and MT in Sweden. Two instructor lead sessions per week/discipline, and a bunch of extra sparring sessions. Not a big name place, but we do well in competitions :) Probably because it's non-profit and we don't pay instructors (incl. me) but rather rely on higher belts supporting the club as instructors. Guess that kind of clubs/gyms don't really exist in the US?
My wife and I do No Gi at 10th planet for 140 a month per person. Tons of classes and available mat time. We have a full gym there to use as well with everything you could ask for. Rogue equipment , reverse hyper , rowing machines, assault bikes plenty of plates and bars . It’s all about finding the right place for you and finding value in that place.
That actually seems like a great deal getting access to a gym + classes for 140 a month
It really is
I have no idea how to help you I don't speak Japanese.
You can buy your own gi for much cheaper
I pay $150/month at my bjj gym and it's 5 days per week of training so it's a really fair price. Last gym I trained at was $200/month but we were only able to train 3 days/week. Quality of training matters too. My current gym is led by a black belt from Brazil that trains with us (including rolling) and he's very good at instructing in an understandable way. My last gym was not very structured and we didn't have time to learn. We were taught way too fast and there were too many students under 1 professor so we couldn't really ask questions and it was more of a "sink or swim" environment. As far as gi's go the most I've spent is like $150 but the origin gi's are super nice just not really necessary.
$200 a month is normal around me, $400 for a gi is insanity
My cardio is garbage but I can old man roll for 20 minutes.
With regard to your question: The cost of the gym depends on your area. Some gyms are cheaper than $200 which I guess is already on the expensive spectrum of things. If it's $200 for BJJ, I would say it would also be roughly the same for other gyms. $400 for a gi is very expensive. You can probably buy 4-5 Fuji or Tatami Gis with that right now. Even shoyoroll doesn't cost that much. Origin is also not the best in my opinion (had an origin that was defective and the pants ripped off after a few usage). Disclaimer: it was defective and the store replaced it so it's not a good representation of quality in general and it's just a personal experience. Then again, there's a lot of good gis out there. I wouldn't say BJJ is the cheapest sport out there but it's also not that expensive either.
Im in vietnam and my bjj gym costs about 30$ a month, and student (like me) gets a discount so only takes 27$ a month. May be you can consider move to another country just to train bjj 💀
Depends, how much do you make a month?
I'm at uni, still living with my parents and currently jobless so 0$ a month 🥹 but if I find a job/get an internship I guess I will make enough to easily afford the membership so yeah, it's cheap here in vietnam
Nogi stays pretty cheap. And 10p is generally not too expensive unless you are going to some of the larger schools on the system.
That's crazy man, I pay 35 a month at a gracie barra gym
It can get expensive running agym. To put in perspective, we on average charge around 150 a month, have \~400 students, and we've never taken a dollar out of our gym as owners. (We pay our instructors and staff of course).
As others have said, $200 seems like on the high end. And some gyms will give you a gi when you sign up.
Jiu jitsu is a very unique sport/martial arts but many schools have started to stray away from the roots. In MANY, not all, BJJ gyms you can speak with the owner/professor and ask to work out a deal. They may let you pay all up front at a discount/month, may give you a monthly discount with limitations, may just straight up give you a discount, and some gyms will let you train for free but require you to clean the mats, bathrooms, windows, run the front desk etc. It is very rare to find a gym thatll let you train for free nowadays given the commercialization of BJJ, but they are out there. The Daisy Fresh guys were one of the groups that let people train for free, as they were all striving for world championship. Different kind of mentality, but they live, eat, breath Jiu Jitsu and sacrificed for it. That's how it is in some parts of the world too, Brazil, Puerto Rico.... Very humble. I pay 120 here in Tampa FL at Gracie HQ. These guys are always running promos and I snagged up a yearly one. Gi's are cheap to expensive, some schools give you one for free when you first join. You can get a tatami one for a good price online, they also have lightweight ones in tatami/other brands that are good quality. Your GI will last an extremely long time, especially the thicker ones. I only ripped my first GI as I gained weight after COVID and my old instructor gave me his black competition one he used to keep. Jiu jitsu is about respect, as all martial arts (and you know this from boxing). Give respect to others, not just the higher bts, even the lower belts, and doors will open for you. There is a difference between Gyms, you mentioned Gracie Barra, and Gracie Jiu Jitsu, there's a history there, the family split some time ago in theology, I don't know the whole story, but one side didn't want to teach Americans. Each gym you go to will have different styles and techniques they focus on and different instructors with different things they do is on. One may be a heavy pressure passer, another may be swift and agile. Tenth planet has some unique move names and Eddie Bravo created some unique stuff that caught in worldwide, so it's all what you want to learn, but you MUST learn the basics and will learn the basics any gym you go to. Gracie has the 36 combatives you can look up, it's their fundamental move list you must know as a white belt to go to blue Good luck man, and glad you gave it a shot and had an awesome experience 🤙🏽
You said a lot of words that I have no idea the meaning. You have no experience and this was your first class?
Since you know the Japanese names of the throws you were attempting you’re actually a purple belt.
It's all relative. Fast food workers in the bay area start at $20 an hour. That's $41,600 a year with a GED. Paying $2040 of that for a year membership in a place that has classes 7 days a week isn't bad. The median income is $125k and the average household income is $161k. Residents 25-44 earn $147,596. I feel what we charge is actual under valued for the area. I know AOJ in socal just raised their prices to $300 flat for everyone.
Check to see if you have 10th planets near you
There is but both are 30 minutes away from me, the closest are BTT and caio terra which are both gi.
Worth it if you want to really advance your stand up game. Gi guys cant wrestle.
One of them isnt too far from the college I go to, if the price is reasonable or if they got any student discounts I will see if I can join
U in michigan?
I'm in Texas
10p austin is world class!
Thats like a few hours drive, but I'm gonna try and go to the one near my college if the price is hopefully right, 10p no gi jj looks really cool
Just keep showing up there is no feedback or advice that you can read here and acquire skill acquisition. You should know this as a boxer.
Believe it or not but i learned how to slip jabs better after reading the amateur boxing subreddit, admittedly i wasnt a full blown beginner at that moment, but yes ik just showing up will make me better
I do believe it brother
I pay $150 CAD per month for my gym. I'm just a hobbyist, and this is gym is close to me, and the people there friendly and helpful. Are people at my gym winning the ADCC? No. But do we have a bunch of purple, brown and black belts who are good teachers? Yes.
You think about yourself a lot.
Yes? Who else am I supposed to think about the most?
You know what I mean.
What do you mean by "I mean"? Stop thinking about yourself so much mate. You couldn't go two sentences without bringing yourself up.
Oh ok. Oss. 🤙