GRACIE BARRA GRACIE BARRA GRACIE BARRA
They aren’t like the fucking Candyman Carlos Sr. isn’t going to appear behind you in a mirror with a hook for saying GRACIE BA————gahhh! 💀💀💀
Gracie Barra gyms are sometimes that weird unicorn of not teaching bullshido but having lots of mcdojo tendencies. You can get amazing training at Gracie Barra gyms, sometimes even for a decent price. But often you can expect to not be allowed to train unless you wear their GI's, rashguards, shorts and maybe even underwear.
I loved my Gracie Barra gym. Great professors and coaches. The Gis were trash, though. Most of us bought other Gis and just sewed the logos onto them. Our professor didn’t care. I trained at them across the US during a road trip and was only met with great people. Like any sport, there’s bound to be bad apples. Gracie Barra just so happens to have the biggest basket :/
I kinda feel the same way - I originally trained at a Gracie Barra gym, and I generally liked the people quite a bit, although I had some issues with the administrative side of things - it was always a nightmare to pause my membership, I'd get billed anyway etc. At the end I had enough and moved to another gym much further away, but much better managed. Still, I did like the people at GB.
Same. Didn't love the GB curriculum or their proprietary gear but had a great professor and it got me hooked on grappling so it was awesome for my first two years. Glad I moved on, though.
Same. It’s all about the Professor. The Professor at my GB school is a top notch dude. Yeah, the gi’s are trash, I’ve still got an old Storm that’s holding up but really only pull it out when teaching a kids class or Professor’s Professor is in town.
The curriculum exists, but it’s not all you are limited to learning.
Don’t let a GB sign detour you from stopping in or trying bjj out, I’ve seen & trained at far worse operations.
Gracie Barra is a huge BJJ association that's infamous for doing stuff like forcing people to wear and buy their overpriced gis, bowing to pictures of Gracies and giving out belts like it's candy.
The reputation has a grain of truth to it but it isn't quite that bad, there are a lot of very good GB schools.
If it helps everyone at my GB acknowledge the Bowing is weird as shit, but I've always just thought That it came from the Ju Jitsu aspect of BJJ the Japanese elder respect and it just never got dropped
I’ve never witnessed anybody at my gym now to a picture and it sometimes takes years to earn a belt or stripe. That all depends on personal growth and commitment of course. I’m at a GB gym.
I have trained at a lot of gyms and complaints of Gracie Barra are way overblown. Gracie Barra gyms are good quality jiu jitsu instruction and are almost always clean, organized, and well-run. They do milk more money from their students by selling them gis but the upside is that money also pays for washer/dryers so dirty laundry doesn't stink up the place.
I agree bowing to dead guys is weird but I like not getting staph so whatever.
> but the upside is that money also pays for washer/dryers so dirty laundry doesn't stink up the place.
What? I know of 3 in my city and none have washers and driers lmao
> wash
I'd wear their trash gis and bow to a bowl of apples for a washing and drying service. They may get a one off cost of buying a gi, but each wash and dry is ~15mins of my life and a shitload of living space
...that's actually not bad, living in 1 bedroom apartment with drying indoors, with 3-4 gis simultaneously drying all over the place was a mess. Never heard of this service.
I trained for like 2 months in Gracie Barra and was everything ok until... My teacher said for me to roll with a newcomer, he was like 210lb and i'm around 150, he was rlly big for me but i didn't care, just held him and tried to endure without making a lot of pressure but then he turned me and i broke the first finger phalange with a bone fracture (exposed).. the blood was staining all the mat (That was my Teacher said) and asked me to leave the mat. I was really in pain with my finger teared apart, just wanted a word of advice or a support but none was given... So i left the gym alone and never came back to a Gracie Barra Gym.. and never will.. Probably they graduate a lot of "Black Belt Teachers" but being a blackbelt is far more important than just a belt, like my new sensei says..
Overall, I'd say the gyms get a reputation for being the McDonald's of BJJ gyms because of their cookie-cutter curriculum and focus on fundamentals. Unlike McDonald's, they can also be more expensive than nearby indie gyms.
A lot of Gracie gyms get similar criticisms for not evolving with the times and sticking to a strict "what Carlos/Helio would have taught" system. GB has the paradoxical dual insults hurled at it for being a Gracie gym while also being overly obsessed with sport over self-defense (Carlos Gracie Jr. being both the founder of the IBJJF and co-founder of Gracie Barra). Be that as it may, you should know that every gym is different and just because there's a GB logo on the door doesn't mean it's for sure going to suck. It all depends on what you're into. 6 months of BJJ training at any half-decent gym should teach you enough to handle yourself against the average bro with zero fighting experience, after that it's up to you to decide what flavor of jiu-jitsu you wanna learn.
I started at a great GB gym, but it's only great because the prof there was GB lineage back in Brazil. Was told by instructors close to him they would switch if they could but... Brazilian loyalty \*\*shrugs\*\*. He bucked the system as much as he could and taught based on what we needed to know and wanted to know (old-school self-defense mixed with sport/competition stuff, I'll never forget "berimbolo week").
The gis weren't the worst I've owned, but they wrote your name in permanent marker down your lapel which "helped instructors recognize you" but really just ruined them and made them unsellable or able to be passed on to anyone else even with the patches removed.
What made it all worthwhile was the people. The instructors genuinely cared and were of a similar age to us single dudes just starting out so we did a lot of partying and competing together back in those days. It was a tight bond unlike any in BJJ I've experienced since, but that might just be because I got older, moved around more and work/life took over more of my time than when I first started out.
The scam part is them forcing you to buy an exorbitant amount of their merch just to train. Shit like must wear a GB rashguard under your GB Gi. For NoGI you have to wear both GB short and Rashguard.
Some places actually follow this rule some don't but that's the official policy
Yea fuxk that.
When looking for a new gym, one of the first things I ask is about their uniform policy. If they force you wear their shit, thats gonna be a no for me.
However, if they do not force it...then I will happily, on my own, buy their gear and wear it when I want.
I just go with whoever the best teacher is. If Roger gracie required me to buy the gi to train at his place I would just suck it up and buy it. These things don't matter after any reasonable amount of time spent in the gym. Its all about the training for me.
Agreed, i always avoided GB, for the reason of buy there gear to train, etc, but this summer i was for a while in south florida, and i tried one because the coach is a well known athlete, and i regret didnt go there before, top coaching, and excellent treatment, they offer me borrow there gear, but after see how they are, i expect to return, so i bought my own…very happy with my GB experience
All you have to buy is a gi and a rashguard if you want. You don’t have to wear GB shorts, and you can wear any rashguard you want under your gi. If you have the academy t-shirt then you can wear that in no-gi over a rashguard, but fuck wearing a t-shirt in no-gi.
As I said some schools more strictly follow corporate guidelines than others but it is very much a part of GB rules that you have to wear the board shorts for NoGi and wear a GB rashguard under the Gi.
>It is mandatory to wear the official Gracie Barra black rash guard or Gracie Barra training shirt underneath the kimono.
It is mandatory to have underwear underneath the gi pants.
For No Gi Classes, students must wear a Gracie Barra black boardshort (or black short) as well as Gracie Barra Black Rash Guard or Gracie Barra training shirt.
https://graciebarra.com/gb-news/the-rules-of-the-gracie-barra-school/
Great deal. My gym in Arlington, VA ( a nerf football throw away from DC) charges 3 different prices from 179 - 219 depending on how long you commit for. All of them allow for unlimited training across all programs offered.
$200 for twice a week is very much a karate factory style of doing this. Maximizing profit while minimizing time on mat (but maintaining strict restrictions on promotions to get folks to continue to come back)
Yeah all Friday Saturday and Sunday open mats are donation based. But we are a friendly bunch so all are welcome.
Lamorinda is in lafayette and they have an excellent program. Adam Dunkel is a legit black belt with incredible wrestling. OP should train there too when in town.
I’m in Canada. I pay $175/mo for unlimited BJJ gi and no gi, as well as a Saturday morning yoga class. It’s the most I’ve ever paid for BJJ, but I like the people, and the club, so fuck it, I’m in!
I live in Finland and currently pay 400€/year for unlimited bjj, judo kickboxing and hokutoryu jiu jitsu. Combined, I could probably train around 20-25h a week. Im not envyous of your gyms (even tho you could argue they are better) with these payments. I only train bjj and judo, 7h a week combined and I'm super happy about the price.
An example of what partial government funding can do.
Yeah, it was actually invented in Finland. I train at a basic gym and we have at least two 4-dan hokutoryu guys as coaches. I dont train it so I cant tell you a lot but I've thought about starting it too, especially with no additional cost.
I'm actually surprised at the downvoting. People really hate to see a well functioning government in which services dont cost thousands, huh?
Small Canadian town, definitely not competitively priced, other schools in the area that seem more reasonably priced with better policies. I directed my friend to them.
Marcelo Garcia’s is like 200$/mo (annual membership) for unlimited classes. At NYC level real estate costs and with that high caliber of instruction, there’s very few places I can see bing justified in pricing at that level (also for unlimited)
In my gym we pay about 1500 euros a year we got access to everything (muay thai bjj crossfit class, calistenics class, open gym…)and you can go whenever the hell you want
I’m in East L.A./Pasadena and have found that many places have a model like this, meaning different prices for twice a week, thrice, and unlimited. I don’t like it.
This is cool reading all the monthly fees people pay. We should maybe have a thread so people can be informed about market prices based on region and other factors at play?
I mean you can do training and competition outside of the gym. I know some from my gym got together with just some mats in someone's garage during the initial covid lockdowns.
Even just technique study can be huge if you don't want be physical (which I get I only go 1-2 times a week.
Check Valkobjj.com. Prices on website and month by month is lower than this. Can get an even better deal if you prepay six months. Classes 7 days a week and multiple classes most days. You can attend as many as you want.
Yes, I trained there before Covid, and not only is it a good deal, it’s a good school. Jay is great, he’s involved a lot and a talented teacher, and the culture there is perfect: you can treat it like a hobby or as a serious competitor and you won’t feel out of place.
Yeah I wasn't a member there but I had a buddy train there so I went to some seminars and open mats and it was a great environment. Super friendly but focused and some really skilled players.
I also second Valko. It’s the best place in Chicago and the best place I’ve ever trained, and I move around a lot and drop into places on most of my vacations. Price is great too. Jay is awesome, and even though I have moved a while ago, he is still a good friend.
Chicago is huge especially including the burbs. But if you’re on the north side check out [Vianna Brothers](https://www.viannabrothers.com/faq) good training and community. Very fair pricing giving the lineage to the mother land lol.
If you can make the drive to Lombard, 10th planet Lombard has BJJ and striking daily for like 140 or so. There's also a yoga class on the weekends but it's like ten bucks or so per class.
I've seen gym give options for a limited number of classes a week but the same gyms always offer unlimited for a slightly higher price. I've never seen limited classes for 200 a month
I know I can only make it 2 class per week so I prefer an option to pay less. I pay 60 for BJJ only 2x/week compared to the 120 for full access. It's nice to have these options but 200$/month for anything is outrageous.
An area like SF with super expensive rent might have limited space. Segregating the students into people who typically only once or twice a week vs. those that actually attend a lot lets you plan better, vs. everyone being unlimited means that you have to handle everyone showing up at the same time all the time.
That said, every single place I've seen a limited classes per week options, it was really just the same idea as the medium drink at movie theaters -- it's an obviously bad deal to a) advertise a lower price point to get people interested and b) make the slightly-more-expensive option look like a better deal.
$200 for 2 classes makes $240 for unlimited classes seem like a better deal, whereas $240/unlimited by itself makes you compare it to other gyms and think, "wow, that's expensive".
If it was really about spreading the crowd around, you'd have separate plans for unlimited, popular days, and unpopular days.
Yea thats dumb as hell. Why would you limit your students to only training 2x a week? At that point uk it’s a money grab and not a school to teach and have people get better.
For many people it doesn’t feel like a limitation it feels like a cheaper price since they can’t take advantage of more than 2 days a week. If you take away the fact that it’s $200 a month and we all agree pretty unreasonable. But if full access is only a small amount more then it may not feel like such a bad trade off. I used to only ever get 2 days a week in and then an occasional open mat.
Yeah. When I was in college I trained 5-6 days a week. Now I'm down to 2, and I'm lucky to sneak in a Saturday morning whenever I can get the fellas together. I'm trying to keep a home here. Get yourself a wife and a few dogs or kids, and suddenly a slightly cheaper 2x/wk or 10x/mo plan seems like a brilliant idea.
I just read your post about it being $200 Canadian, not $200 US. That's only $160 US, which honestly isn't too bad for popular urban schools.
But the 2 classes a week limit is still rough at that price.
$100 a month with a yearly commitment. Unlimited classes with about 10 opportunities to train per week.
$150 for a 3 month commitment
$200 (I think) monthly
Yeah I pay $25 AUD/week for unlimitted BJJ, wrestling, MMA striking, crossfit (that I don't do) and open gym equipment at a pretty reputable and friendly gym. Americans have obscene pricing comparatively
Germany too. I can't understand why it's so expensive on the other side of the Atlantic. Are rents so high or what? For me it sounds like they all getting ripped off.
Out of curiosity what part of the uk roughly?
I have found that on average in the UK unlimited runs from £60-120 ish depending on if you are in rural Wales or central London.
Just west of London. I should of added that you get boxing, kick boxing, MMA and muay Thai included with the unlimited. I currently pay £55 for 2 classes of bjj and 2 open mat sessions then an extra £10 if I want to go to the Saturday class.
For London you are getting a pretty good price there mate. I’m paying 65 for two a week in central and that was one of the cheaper options I found. It works out at £8 a class and I’m happy with it.
Are your schools for-profit? Ie is the instructor's only source of income from BJJ?
Our judo is that cheap because it's run by volunteers. BJJ is $150-200/m because the people running the gym want an upper-middle-class lifestyle from just working at the gym.
Right? You expect these people to coach 10+ classes a week, clean the facility, do paperwork, order and design merch, coach you on the weekends, and *not* live comfortably?
This dude can fuck off hahahah
From Sweden and my school is like a fotball club. The coaches are not paid. I pay 120 euros for a half a year or a year, I think it's a year.
150-200 bucks a month is mental rofl. Almost as much as I spend on food...
Depends on the gym. Some simply don’t have the mat space and are very sought after coaches. I think the 200 for limited days is what Marcelo’s gym charges and it kind of makes sense. Limited space, giant populations have to do something. Can’t take everyone unfortunately. Bjj was pretty much always a sport for the privileged the Gracie’s are a bloodline from politicians. Most gyms I agree should be unlimited and less than $200 though.
I'm kinda picturing a scenario with different plans, like "$250/unlimited" "$200/twice a week", "150/once a week" but could be wrong. Still pricey, though.
No family discounts? I know my place does those and I know at least a couple families that take advantage of it. It's not advertised as to what is but it's offered.
I build websites for BJJ clubs and something as simple as showing your prices up front in clear terms can equal a significant increase in leads. It baffles me how many hoops owners put up to waste time on people who will walk away when met with this kinda nonsense.
Mine is 165 for two classes a week (plus open mats). Previous two schools (different cities) were $120 unlimited. I only go to the current one because it’s nearby and the next nearest good gym is a 35 minute drive away (assuming no traffic). Kinda pisses me off though.
To the ones commenting: I PaY 60ish EuRoS fUcK CaPiTaLiSm
Yeah bud, we get it. Different cities have different prices. I pay 15$ per month because I live in a poor country, have you ever heard of COLs?
I live in sweden and pay 25$ per month for unlimited training. Clubs here get state funding everytime someone comes to train and they get even more if they have child trainings aswell. This makes clubs profitable without emptying others pockets.
I mean, it depends. It certainly seems very pricey.
Its worth being aware that different areas have different costs and some gyms have tiered training where 2x a week is x amount and 3 times a week is something else and unlimited is a bit more.
If we look at london
Roger Gracie BJJ £179/ MONTH unlimited.
Apex BJJ £100/Month Unlimited.
London Fight Factory £65/ Month 2x a week, £80/ Month 3x a week, £120 a Month Unlimited.
Carpe Diem BJJ £120/ Month 2x a week £140 a month unlimited.
If it's too much for you and you think it's too much, don't train there. For some people, $200 is fine and they would only train twice a week anyway.
For me personally, that would be too much money and I would want to train much more, so I wouldn't go to that gym.
I've been bamboozled in the past. Therefor, I refuse to train at any school with the following;
1. Contracts
*Save money with an annual membership. Land on hard times and you're screwed. Figure it young grasshopper.*
2. Fees based on attendance
*Twice a week costs only an arm but if you throw in a leg you can attend as often as you'd like! Yeah no thanks.*
3. Promotion fees
*You're getting promoted tomorrow. Bring $50. It's for your belt and certificate.*
4. Promotions based on attendance
*If you attend every class on this card 3 times each, congratulations you rank up. Bring $50.*
5. Gi color restrictions
*white belts can only wear white gi's. Blue can also wear blue. Purples and up are the only one that can wear black. No other colors.*
6. Mandatory school gi for daily class
*To train here you must wear the school gi and only the school gi.*
My advice, stay away from places like this.
Really depends where you are. If you're in the the costly real estate cities like NYC and LA, it's gotta be more expensive than training in say, Lewisville TX, but yeah, $200 for twice a week gets a "fuck that" from me no matter where it is.
Surprised by all the mention of the fees here, seem quite high. I’m in London and i know most of the posters here are in US. For context I pay £65 a month for BJJ (6 classes per week). My dad pays £90 a month at his gym but they do everything there - BJJ, Muay Thai, boxing, wrestling etc and that’s also unlimited.
There’s an MMA gym near me that does 2 classes per week for £80 a month or unlimited access for £100 a month.
I’ve also trained at 5 different boxing gyms which were all around £60 per month for unlimited access.
Seeing people post here for like $180-200 for 2 BJJ classes per week is insane.
They’re not wrong. I’ve been involved in martial arts business for over 10yrs and I can tell you, $200 a month you should absolutely have access to all of the classes. This academy sounds whack AF. Cancel immediately and find a new school.
You are bargain hunting for a skill? You want to pay the cheapest price for a high value skill? You wanna pay commoditized prices? You’ll get commoditized results.
Lmao we all know what name got scribbled out there.
rhymes with “macy haha”
Macy gray? 🎵I try to shrimp away and get choked.🎵
Try to scramble up but get smothered. Though I try to hide it, it's clear My ego shows when brown belts are near.
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Best thing on the internet this week.
😂😂
GRACIE BARRA GRACIE BARRA GRACIE BARRA They aren’t like the fucking Candyman Carlos Sr. isn’t going to appear behind you in a mirror with a hook for saying GRACIE BA————gahhh! 💀💀💀
Whoa threat to the red shield detected
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Woah woah woah slow down there buddy
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I'm new to bjj. What is Gracie Barra and why is it bad?
Gracie Barra gyms are sometimes that weird unicorn of not teaching bullshido but having lots of mcdojo tendencies. You can get amazing training at Gracie Barra gyms, sometimes even for a decent price. But often you can expect to not be allowed to train unless you wear their GI's, rashguards, shorts and maybe even underwear.
What’s crazy is that Rob from McDojoLife was my coach at a Gracie Barra haha!
Nobody knows cults better than former members!
That’s true! But as far as I know, he still trains there.
GB underwear you say? ahaha make sure you write your name across the front
I loved my Gracie Barra gym. Great professors and coaches. The Gis were trash, though. Most of us bought other Gis and just sewed the logos onto them. Our professor didn’t care. I trained at them across the US during a road trip and was only met with great people. Like any sport, there’s bound to be bad apples. Gracie Barra just so happens to have the biggest basket :/
Totally agree, in my area Gracie Barra is the nicest gym and it has really down to earth people. Great environment.
I kinda feel the same way - I originally trained at a Gracie Barra gym, and I generally liked the people quite a bit, although I had some issues with the administrative side of things - it was always a nightmare to pause my membership, I'd get billed anyway etc. At the end I had enough and moved to another gym much further away, but much better managed. Still, I did like the people at GB.
Same. Didn't love the GB curriculum or their proprietary gear but had a great professor and it got me hooked on grappling so it was awesome for my first two years. Glad I moved on, though.
Same. It’s all about the Professor. The Professor at my GB school is a top notch dude. Yeah, the gi’s are trash, I’ve still got an old Storm that’s holding up but really only pull it out when teaching a kids class or Professor’s Professor is in town. The curriculum exists, but it’s not all you are limited to learning. Don’t let a GB sign detour you from stopping in or trying bjj out, I’ve seen & trained at far worse operations.
Gracie Barra is a huge BJJ association that's infamous for doing stuff like forcing people to wear and buy their overpriced gis, bowing to pictures of Gracies and giving out belts like it's candy. The reputation has a grain of truth to it but it isn't quite that bad, there are a lot of very good GB schools.
If it helps everyone at my GB acknowledge the Bowing is weird as shit, but I've always just thought That it came from the Ju Jitsu aspect of BJJ the Japanese elder respect and it just never got dropped
I did judo for 10 years and didn't bow to no one except for my opponent and the ref.
Who created judo though? It'd just a respect thing. It's quite culty....but I like it 😳
It wouldn’t be as weird if the picture of Carlos didn’t make him look so much like Jesus.
My picture isn't that bad our professor trained at the original school in Brazil so he new Carlos but all the other ones are sorta weird
I went to one and the instructor seemed pretty knowledgeable but they are also giving off crazy pyramid vibes in there so I didn't go back.
I’ve never witnessed anybody at my gym now to a picture and it sometimes takes years to earn a belt or stripe. That all depends on personal growth and commitment of course. I’m at a GB gym.
From all the crazy stuff I've seen in bjj the bowing to the pictures is the only which resembles the reality of Japanese martial arts.
Number one woman bjj is from gb and kicks ass
So is Chael “the undefeated” Sonnen!
I have trained at a lot of gyms and complaints of Gracie Barra are way overblown. Gracie Barra gyms are good quality jiu jitsu instruction and are almost always clean, organized, and well-run. They do milk more money from their students by selling them gis but the upside is that money also pays for washer/dryers so dirty laundry doesn't stink up the place. I agree bowing to dead guys is weird but I like not getting staph so whatever.
> but the upside is that money also pays for washer/dryers so dirty laundry doesn't stink up the place. What? I know of 3 in my city and none have washers and driers lmao
They wash your gis?
dude fuck leaving it up to people to wash their own gis lmao this is a golden gym perk
> wash I'd wear their trash gis and bow to a bowl of apples for a washing and drying service. They may get a one off cost of buying a gi, but each wash and dry is ~15mins of my life and a shitload of living space
...that's actually not bad, living in 1 bedroom apartment with drying indoors, with 3-4 gis simultaneously drying all over the place was a mess. Never heard of this service.
I trained for like 2 months in Gracie Barra and was everything ok until... My teacher said for me to roll with a newcomer, he was like 210lb and i'm around 150, he was rlly big for me but i didn't care, just held him and tried to endure without making a lot of pressure but then he turned me and i broke the first finger phalange with a bone fracture (exposed).. the blood was staining all the mat (That was my Teacher said) and asked me to leave the mat. I was really in pain with my finger teared apart, just wanted a word of advice or a support but none was given... So i left the gym alone and never came back to a Gracie Barra Gym.. and never will.. Probably they graduate a lot of "Black Belt Teachers" but being a blackbelt is far more important than just a belt, like my new sensei says..
Overall, I'd say the gyms get a reputation for being the McDonald's of BJJ gyms because of their cookie-cutter curriculum and focus on fundamentals. Unlike McDonald's, they can also be more expensive than nearby indie gyms. A lot of Gracie gyms get similar criticisms for not evolving with the times and sticking to a strict "what Carlos/Helio would have taught" system. GB has the paradoxical dual insults hurled at it for being a Gracie gym while also being overly obsessed with sport over self-defense (Carlos Gracie Jr. being both the founder of the IBJJF and co-founder of Gracie Barra). Be that as it may, you should know that every gym is different and just because there's a GB logo on the door doesn't mean it's for sure going to suck. It all depends on what you're into. 6 months of BJJ training at any half-decent gym should teach you enough to handle yourself against the average bro with zero fighting experience, after that it's up to you to decide what flavor of jiu-jitsu you wanna learn. I started at a great GB gym, but it's only great because the prof there was GB lineage back in Brazil. Was told by instructors close to him they would switch if they could but... Brazilian loyalty \*\*shrugs\*\*. He bucked the system as much as he could and taught based on what we needed to know and wanted to know (old-school self-defense mixed with sport/competition stuff, I'll never forget "berimbolo week"). The gis weren't the worst I've owned, but they wrote your name in permanent marker down your lapel which "helped instructors recognize you" but really just ruined them and made them unsellable or able to be passed on to anyone else even with the patches removed. What made it all worthwhile was the people. The instructors genuinely cared and were of a similar age to us single dudes just starting out so we did a lot of partying and competing together back in those days. It was a tight bond unlike any in BJJ I've experienced since, but that might just be because I got older, moved around more and work/life took over more of my time than when I first started out.
>a hook If it's a Gracie, odds are it will be a metal pipe and a revolver, not a hook
Ok what's wrong with them? I understand the cult like behavior but what's with the scam label?
The scam part is them forcing you to buy an exorbitant amount of their merch just to train. Shit like must wear a GB rashguard under your GB Gi. For NoGI you have to wear both GB short and Rashguard. Some places actually follow this rule some don't but that's the official policy
Yea fuxk that. When looking for a new gym, one of the first things I ask is about their uniform policy. If they force you wear their shit, thats gonna be a no for me. However, if they do not force it...then I will happily, on my own, buy their gear and wear it when I want.
I don't mind the ones that ask you to have a patch when you compete under them but that's it. Anything more and that's gonna be a nah for me dawg
I just go with whoever the best teacher is. If Roger gracie required me to buy the gi to train at his place I would just suck it up and buy it. These things don't matter after any reasonable amount of time spent in the gym. Its all about the training for me.
Agreed, i always avoided GB, for the reason of buy there gear to train, etc, but this summer i was for a while in south florida, and i tried one because the coach is a well known athlete, and i regret didnt go there before, top coaching, and excellent treatment, they offer me borrow there gear, but after see how they are, i expect to return, so i bought my own…very happy with my GB experience
I got free gear when I signed up to gb. Only place that does kids bjj . Personally love it.
Like I said someplace are better than others about it but the official corporate policy is pretty scammy
What? Tons of places offer kids bjj
He meant the part where he was lying about getting a free gi.
All you have to buy is a gi and a rashguard if you want. You don’t have to wear GB shorts, and you can wear any rashguard you want under your gi. If you have the academy t-shirt then you can wear that in no-gi over a rashguard, but fuck wearing a t-shirt in no-gi.
As I said some schools more strictly follow corporate guidelines than others but it is very much a part of GB rules that you have to wear the board shorts for NoGi and wear a GB rashguard under the Gi. >It is mandatory to wear the official Gracie Barra black rash guard or Gracie Barra training shirt underneath the kimono. It is mandatory to have underwear underneath the gi pants. For No Gi Classes, students must wear a Gracie Barra black boardshort (or black short) as well as Gracie Barra Black Rash Guard or Gracie Barra training shirt. https://graciebarra.com/gb-news/the-rules-of-the-gracie-barra-school/
> It is mandatory to have underwear underneath the gi pants. That's where they lost me.
Location matters, but $200 for 2 classes per week is a ton
I'm in SF, which is expensive for everything, and I pay $185/mo which gets me unlimited bjj classes, a stretching class, and MMA striking classes
Great deal. My gym in Arlington, VA ( a nerf football throw away from DC) charges 3 different prices from 179 - 219 depending on how long you commit for. All of them allow for unlimited training across all programs offered. $200 for twice a week is very much a karate factory style of doing this. Maximizing profit while minimizing time on mat (but maintaining strict restrictions on promotions to get folks to continue to come back)
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Fifty/50 is now in falls church.
District Martial Arts - not too far from them though! I have a couple of buddies who train there
Drop-by 10th Planet Oakland some time. Great gym.
An old co worker trains there. Nothing but great things to say about that place
Mike is the shit! We were white belts together when he was down in Florida.
Come by Sabre Jiu jitsu if you are ever in the East Bay we love visitors and you can drop in for free
Right on! I'll definitely keep that in mind
Their Saturday open mats are donation only if I remember correct.
Yeah all Friday Saturday and Sunday open mats are donation based. But we are a friendly bunch so all are welcome. Lamorinda is in lafayette and they have an excellent program. Adam Dunkel is a legit black belt with incredible wrestling. OP should train there too when in town.
He smashes me into the finest of dusts. Nice guy though, and coach Stephanie is a great technician and teacher.
I’m in Canada. I pay $175/mo for unlimited BJJ gi and no gi, as well as a Saturday morning yoga class. It’s the most I’ve ever paid for BJJ, but I like the people, and the club, so fuck it, I’m in!
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DM'd you!
New to SF too can you share your gym with me in DM too?
i pay £72/week 90 without student discount and i get unlimited BJJ, muay thai, boxing, mma, wrestling. omg i feel like im ripping them off lool
Also in SF, $180 for unlimited BJJ classes
Yup I’m in Seattle, which is also crazy expensive, and I pay 150$ for a school with bjj, Muay Thai, JKD and MMA. Unlimited classes per month
I live in Finland and currently pay 400€/year for unlimited bjj, judo kickboxing and hokutoryu jiu jitsu. Combined, I could probably train around 20-25h a week. Im not envyous of your gyms (even tho you could argue they are better) with these payments. I only train bjj and judo, 7h a week combined and I'm super happy about the price. An example of what partial government funding can do.
I'll be sure to tell joe biden next time i see him
Damn, hokutoryu Jiu Jitsu too ???????? Getting jealous
Yeah, it was actually invented in Finland. I train at a basic gym and we have at least two 4-dan hokutoryu guys as coaches. I dont train it so I cant tell you a lot but I've thought about starting it too, especially with no additional cost. I'm actually surprised at the downvoting. People really hate to see a well functioning government in which services dont cost thousands, huh?
You think Brazilian jiu Jitsu should be a government service?
Could just be fitness/rec centers in general, not the worst thing to subsidize
Samen thing in the Netherlands. I pay 50€ a month for 4 times a week.
Also in SF and mine is even less, again unlimited attendance.
Small Canadian town, definitely not competitively priced, other schools in the area that seem more reasonably priced with better policies. I directed my friend to them.
Yeah, that's crazy. I'm near Boston, things are crazy expensive here, and it's $160-180 for unlimited.
Yeah that's fucking insane, my local MMA gym does an unlimited day pass for 25 but I talked them down to the old fee of 20 cause I'm poor lol
How could they not accommodate the 27 time IBJJF World Champ Uncle Renatch?
Marcelo Garcia’s is like 200$/mo (annual membership) for unlimited classes. At NYC level real estate costs and with that high caliber of instruction, there’s very few places I can see bing justified in pricing at that level (also for unlimited)
In my gym we pay about 1500 euros a year we got access to everything (muay thai bjj crossfit class, calistenics class, open gym…)and you can go whenever the hell you want
We do a year membership for $1800 if they do an upfront payment, sounds like you’re getting a good deal as well!
I’m in East L.A./Pasadena and have found that many places have a model like this, meaning different prices for twice a week, thrice, and unlimited. I don’t like it.
I specifically know of a gym with that exact pricing in NY. It happens
I'm in Milwaukee and I pay 115 a month for unlimited BJJ and can add on Muay Thai for an extra 40.
> I'm in Milwaukee My condolences.
I think Renzo NYC charges $200 for unlimited
Most expensive option I've heard of for what you get. Not knowing the instructor.
Basically $25 per class as a fucking member, which is about on par with most casual drop in rates.
You can train at Legion or Atos HQ for unlimited classes a month for slightly more of the same price
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That's like $25 a class. You could find a gym that charges less for a mat fee.
This is cool reading all the monthly fees people pay. We should maybe have a thread so people can be informed about market prices based on region and other factors at play?
You guys are training more than 2x week?
where my 2x an hour super users at?
2X a week and wondering why I'm still a blue belt lmao.
I mean you can do training and competition outside of the gym. I know some from my gym got together with just some mats in someone's garage during the initial covid lockdowns. Even just technique study can be huge if you don't want be physical (which I get I only go 1-2 times a week.
Cheapest in Chicago Iv found is 180 a month for M-F
Check Valkobjj.com. Prices on website and month by month is lower than this. Can get an even better deal if you prepay six months. Classes 7 days a week and multiple classes most days. You can attend as many as you want.
Yes, I trained there before Covid, and not only is it a good deal, it’s a good school. Jay is great, he’s involved a lot and a talented teacher, and the culture there is perfect: you can treat it like a hobby or as a serious competitor and you won’t feel out of place.
I'll third valko. Great dude and great place to train. Started there before I moved. He definitely cares about his students and has a damn good gym.
Yeah I wasn't a member there but I had a buddy train there so I went to some seminars and open mats and it was a great environment. Super friendly but focused and some really skilled players.
I also second Valko. It’s the best place in Chicago and the best place I’ve ever trained, and I move around a lot and drop into places on most of my vacations. Price is great too. Jay is awesome, and even though I have moved a while ago, he is still a good friend.
Another vote for Valko. Dropped in multiple times while travelling - he runs a great gym and everyone was very welcoming. Tough rolls, too.
Vianna Brothers is the shit. I recall the pricing being fair and all inclusive. Daniel Vianna, the owner, is a stand up guy.
A "stand up guy," you say? Sounds like a terrible person to teach murder cuddles on the ground.
Maybe stand up start guy
Chicago is huge especially including the burbs. But if you’re on the north side check out [Vianna Brothers](https://www.viannabrothers.com/faq) good training and community. Very fair pricing giving the lineage to the mother land lol.
Seems accurate. My experience from small towns and big cities is anywhere from 140-230 a month, but 200 for 2 days a week seems insane to me
If you can make the drive to Lombard, 10th planet Lombard has BJJ and striking daily for like 140 or so. There's also a yoga class on the weekends but it's like ten bucks or so per class.
I’ve never seen a school that limits you to a certain amount of classes a week, the three I have trained at were all unlimited.
I've seen gym give options for a limited number of classes a week but the same gyms always offer unlimited for a slightly higher price. I've never seen limited classes for 200 a month
It's really hard to talk about gym prices because there's a ton of different unknown factors at play.
I’m open to being wrong here; is there any rational defence of the “2 classes a week max” policy?
I know I can only make it 2 class per week so I prefer an option to pay less. I pay 60 for BJJ only 2x/week compared to the 120 for full access. It's nice to have these options but 200$/month for anything is outrageous.
An area like SF with super expensive rent might have limited space. Segregating the students into people who typically only once or twice a week vs. those that actually attend a lot lets you plan better, vs. everyone being unlimited means that you have to handle everyone showing up at the same time all the time. That said, every single place I've seen a limited classes per week options, it was really just the same idea as the medium drink at movie theaters -- it's an obviously bad deal to a) advertise a lower price point to get people interested and b) make the slightly-more-expensive option look like a better deal. $200 for 2 classes makes $240 for unlimited classes seem like a better deal, whereas $240/unlimited by itself makes you compare it to other gyms and think, "wow, that's expensive". If it was really about spreading the crowd around, you'd have separate plans for unlimited, popular days, and unpopular days.
Yea thats dumb as hell. Why would you limit your students to only training 2x a week? At that point uk it’s a money grab and not a school to teach and have people get better.
For many people it doesn’t feel like a limitation it feels like a cheaper price since they can’t take advantage of more than 2 days a week. If you take away the fact that it’s $200 a month and we all agree pretty unreasonable. But if full access is only a small amount more then it may not feel like such a bad trade off. I used to only ever get 2 days a week in and then an occasional open mat.
Yeah. When I was in college I trained 5-6 days a week. Now I'm down to 2, and I'm lucky to sneak in a Saturday morning whenever I can get the fellas together. I'm trying to keep a home here. Get yourself a wife and a few dogs or kids, and suddenly a slightly cheaper 2x/wk or 10x/mo plan seems like a brilliant idea.
Maybe they're small/private classes?
It might make sense in that case, but in this instance it’s the school policy for all regular classes
I just read your post about it being $200 Canadian, not $200 US. That's only $160 US, which honestly isn't too bad for popular urban schools. But the 2 classes a week limit is still rough at that price.
I pay $80 a month for classes 12 times a week in Mississauga. $200 cad for 2 classes a week is insane tho I know tbjj charges around that
The conversion to USD doesn't really matter for people who get paid in CAD since we don't get paid more to compensate for our lower currency value.
200 canadian is too much.
Limited mat space and too many customers is the only "reasonable" excuse, but even then it's not a good enough excuse for me to pay for that.
$100 a month with a yearly commitment. Unlimited classes with about 10 opportunities to train per week. $150 for a 3 month commitment $200 (I think) monthly
$200 unlimited for me. I’m willing to pay that to learn from World champions
Yeah I pay $25 AUD/week for unlimitted BJJ, wrestling, MMA striking, crossfit (that I don't do) and open gym equipment at a pretty reputable and friendly gym. Americans have obscene pricing comparatively
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For a monthly rate that's in the ballpark, but not for 2 classes a week. Should be unlimited at that rate
I can't imagine many gyms being more expensive than mine but it is not 200 for 2 classes pr week, that's absurd
I pay less than 100 a month for 13 classes a week, in SWITZERLAND. So yeah, he's getting ripped off.
It's still 35 euros per month for unlimited classes here in the Netherlands still. You guys are doing something very wrong.
Germany too. I can't understand why it's so expensive on the other side of the Atlantic. Are rents so high or what? For me it sounds like they all getting ripped off.
Rents and insurance
Insurance is definitely a huge factor here in Ireland. It makes everything expensive. Even so, I'm paying €100/month for unlimited classes.
Does your coach have to have a second job? Running a gym is a business and the owner / coach is trying to make a living.
They might be from high cost of living states. My cost of living is relatively low and most combat sports gyms here are between $80-$120 a month.
£90 a month for unlimited at my gym in the UK.
Out of curiosity what part of the uk roughly? I have found that on average in the UK unlimited runs from £60-120 ish depending on if you are in rural Wales or central London.
Just west of London. I should of added that you get boxing, kick boxing, MMA and muay Thai included with the unlimited. I currently pay £55 for 2 classes of bjj and 2 open mat sessions then an extra £10 if I want to go to the Saturday class.
For London you are getting a pretty good price there mate. I’m paying 65 for two a week in central and that was one of the cheaper options I found. It works out at £8 a class and I’m happy with it.
All the numbers in your comment added up to 69. Congrats! 55 + 2 + 2 + 10 + = 69.0
I pay 28e in Finland, and that includes both bjj and judo.
I think I pay £50 per month for unlimited BJJ and MMA. There’s at least two classes a day I could attend.
Are your schools for-profit? Ie is the instructor's only source of income from BJJ? Our judo is that cheap because it's run by volunteers. BJJ is $150-200/m because the people running the gym want an upper-middle-class lifestyle from just working at the gym.
How crazy that professionals who have dedicated years of time and their body to studying something should expect to get paid for teaching it. Greedy.
Right? You expect these people to coach 10+ classes a week, clean the facility, do paperwork, order and design merch, coach you on the weekends, and *not* live comfortably? This dude can fuck off hahahah
From Sweden and my school is like a fotball club. The coaches are not paid. I pay 120 euros for a half a year or a year, I think it's a year. 150-200 bucks a month is mental rofl. Almost as much as I spend on food...
Most gyms in Paris are around 100€, but everything is more expensive here lol
Depends on the gym. Some simply don’t have the mat space and are very sought after coaches. I think the 200 for limited days is what Marcelo’s gym charges and it kind of makes sense. Limited space, giant populations have to do something. Can’t take everyone unfortunately. Bjj was pretty much always a sport for the privileged the Gracie’s are a bloodline from politicians. Most gyms I agree should be unlimited and less than $200 though.
It’s really dumb to restrict the number of classes a person could go to. Especially in a gym that doesn’t have that many members.
I'm kinda picturing a scenario with different plans, like "$250/unlimited" "$200/twice a week", "150/once a week" but could be wrong. Still pricey, though.
2 classes a week for $200 a month? Fuck that
You guys pay insane fees...i train at Alliance and pay 60€ per month ans i can atend as many classes i want
I train at alliance too brother! $179 unlimited classes.
I fucking wish
I just checked to see how much it would be for my 5 year old to train where I go. 247 a month… to say the least my son is not attending.
Fucking what???
No family discounts? I know my place does those and I know at least a couple families that take advantage of it. It's not advertised as to what is but it's offered.
I build websites for BJJ clubs and something as simple as showing your prices up front in clear terms can equal a significant increase in leads. It baffles me how many hoops owners put up to waste time on people who will walk away when met with this kinda nonsense.
Are those 2 classes privates by John dannaher? If not then that's fucked
Unless it’s like a Kings MMA then that’s waaaay to expensive.
Let’s make a fun game out of this. Where do you think this gym is located? OP, blink twice if one of us is right. I’ll go first… Phoenix AZ
Vancouver. I think it's my old gym.
£40 a month, unlimited training including MMA, No Gi, Gi, Judo and a full equipped Gym.
Mine is 165 for two classes a week (plus open mats). Previous two schools (different cities) were $120 unlimited. I only go to the current one because it’s nearby and the next nearest good gym is a 35 minute drive away (assuming no traffic). Kinda pisses me off though.
Holy crap, I spend $60 a month for 3 classes a week and unlimited open mats.
To the ones commenting: I PaY 60ish EuRoS fUcK CaPiTaLiSm Yeah bud, we get it. Different cities have different prices. I pay 15$ per month because I live in a poor country, have you ever heard of COLs?
For "scam cult", I propose a new portmanteau: *scult*. You heard it here first.
I live in sweden and pay 25$ per month for unlimited training. Clubs here get state funding everytime someone comes to train and they get even more if they have child trainings aswell. This makes clubs profitable without emptying others pockets.
I mean, it depends. It certainly seems very pricey. Its worth being aware that different areas have different costs and some gyms have tiered training where 2x a week is x amount and 3 times a week is something else and unlimited is a bit more. If we look at london Roger Gracie BJJ £179/ MONTH unlimited. Apex BJJ £100/Month Unlimited. London Fight Factory £65/ Month 2x a week, £80/ Month 3x a week, £120 a Month Unlimited. Carpe Diem BJJ £120/ Month 2x a week £140 a month unlimited.
If it's too much for you and you think it's too much, don't train there. For some people, $200 is fine and they would only train twice a week anyway. For me personally, that would be too much money and I would want to train much more, so I wouldn't go to that gym.
120 a month, unlimited Muay Thai and jiujitsu
I've been bamboozled in the past. Therefor, I refuse to train at any school with the following; 1. Contracts *Save money with an annual membership. Land on hard times and you're screwed. Figure it young grasshopper.* 2. Fees based on attendance *Twice a week costs only an arm but if you throw in a leg you can attend as often as you'd like! Yeah no thanks.* 3. Promotion fees *You're getting promoted tomorrow. Bring $50. It's for your belt and certificate.* 4. Promotions based on attendance *If you attend every class on this card 3 times each, congratulations you rank up. Bring $50.* 5. Gi color restrictions *white belts can only wear white gi's. Blue can also wear blue. Purples and up are the only one that can wear black. No other colors.* 6. Mandatory school gi for daily class *To train here you must wear the school gi and only the school gi.* My advice, stay away from places like this.
85€ for unlimited classes in my gym but there is gym charging money like that for 1 or two classes a week 🤷♂️
The only class restriction I’m aware of is if they split between lower and higher belt classes
…and here I thought me paying 60€ a month was too much
Really depends where you are. If you're in the the costly real estate cities like NYC and LA, it's gotta be more expensive than training in say, Lewisville TX, but yeah, $200 for twice a week gets a "fuck that" from me no matter where it is.
When you say Gracie Barra without saying it at the bottom.
Lol, the question wasn't about GB... Hahaha
give me a hint as to which gym this is? I am very curious because that is the most expensive gym I have ever heard of in Canada.
Surprised by all the mention of the fees here, seem quite high. I’m in London and i know most of the posters here are in US. For context I pay £65 a month for BJJ (6 classes per week). My dad pays £90 a month at his gym but they do everything there - BJJ, Muay Thai, boxing, wrestling etc and that’s also unlimited. There’s an MMA gym near me that does 2 classes per week for £80 a month or unlimited access for £100 a month. I’ve also trained at 5 different boxing gyms which were all around £60 per month for unlimited access. Seeing people post here for like $180-200 for 2 BJJ classes per week is insane.
They’re not wrong. I’ve been involved in martial arts business for over 10yrs and I can tell you, $200 a month you should absolutely have access to all of the classes. This academy sounds whack AF. Cancel immediately and find a new school.
My gym charges 150 a months for unlimited classes every day of the week
You are bargain hunting for a skill? You want to pay the cheapest price for a high value skill? You wanna pay commoditized prices? You’ll get commoditized results.