Awful experience at "top notch" mma school

[Marbig]

I have been trying to find a school for a while now and, recently, saw a top ranked MMA school (they have two UFC fighters) advertise that they offer a week worth of trial. Excited, I signed up online for their offer and showed up for my first (and also last) trial class a few nights ago. This is my little rant on what happened next. The gym's name will remain anonymous in case of any legal issues (in case I do get some details wrong) plus I heard the combat sport community is pretty well linked to one another (and I wouldn't want any trouble in the future). Most Australians will have a good idea which gym I'm talking about anyway since its a pretty famous place.

The gym is located on the second floor of a commercial street in one of Sydney's quieter suburbs. The BJJ class was scheduled from 7-8 and I showed up at around 6:45. The school grounds itself was modest- the mats were clean, there was half a cage towards one side of the wall (presumably to teach students how to fight off the fence) and a mini boxing ring. At the rear end of the gym, there were bathrooms (one cubicle for men and one for women), a tap and a mini equipment store which was also where the administrative work was done. Overall, I would say that the school is just under three garage spaces- smaller than I had anticipated.

Even though the school advertised there were two UFC fighters, only one was there to teach the class that night. The instructor was friendly and first and shook my hand. He then pointed me to his admin staff who confirmed my identity and asked me about my previous experience etc Meanwhile, the gym started to fill with that day's students and, when he was done, I counted that there were close to FIFTY people in one class. FIFTY. My shock must have gotten through because the instructor quickly informed me that the admin staff was also an assistance instructor so the teacher to student ratio should be okay. The admin staff was just a blue belt with one stripe though.

Class started at 7:03 with the instructor calling everyone to gather around him. He informed us of an upcoming seminar before delegating one of his brown belt students to lead us through warm ups. He himself went off to talk to the admin guy. Warm ups started off with sprints which ended up more like a jog since the room was packed full. Next up were stuff that I could have done at home- sit ups, push ups and some basic stretches. I wasn't really impressed at this point- sure, my heart was beating faster but I have seen guys at judo clubs do cartwheels and boxers fancy skipping. Both looked to be much more impressive and style orientated warm up imo. Warm ups took more than ten minutes and it was already quarter past seven before the instructor, now in a gi with his black belt, started demo-ing how to do a basic guard pass. This was the only good part of the lesson since he was really good and detailed in his explanation. After that, we broke off into pairs and practiced it.

[Marbig]

Practice was really awkward due to space restraints and we bumped into each other frequently. Someone's foot trod on my hair more than once. What was worse though was that one of the other students forgot how to do a part of the pass and he asked the instructor. The guy was polite but the instructor still accused him for "not paying enough attention" before assigning the admin/assistant instructor guy to help. Meanwhile, said instructor continued to lean against one of the pillars and continued surveyed the class without offering any advice. He looked visibly bored and just pointed at the poor blue belt whenever someone else needed help. He did not introduce anything advance for any of the non-white belts but it was a beginners class (and they were probably there just to solidify their basics).

Anyways, he announced it was time to roll ten minutes prior to the end of class. I personally had no idea what to do (seriously, the guard pass was like the only thing I know) and, when I asked, was told to "try and survive" and that "I'll learn eventually". Well, that advice didn't help in the slightest. So, for the next ten minutes I was awkwardly shuffling around with a white belt who had six months experience. I think I got subbed more times than both my hands and feet could count. The blue belt did try to help me out but I was so angry I had no idea what I was doing (for the record, the blue belt guy was really nice)- all I could see was the instructor giving the upper belts instruction over in the corner but totally ignoring me!

Downtrodden and a bit bruised/sore, I was glad when class came to an end. I quickly gathered my stuff and was heading towards the stairs when I was called back by the instructor. He asked me whether I had enjoyed the class or not. Not wanting to be impolite, I said yes. He then told me that pure BJJ classes were $140 monthly unlimited mma training was $180. He also added that Carlos Machado was coming too and was offering a seminar at $80 for an hour. I replied that I was unsure whether I wanted to continue and was definitely not ready at this point for a seminar. I suggested that maybe we could talk about payment after my initial trial period? At this point, he went hard on me and his smile disappeared. He questioned why, since I had "liked" the class did I need more time on deciding. Was it because I was afraid of commitment? Was I at this class "just for fun" and was I aware that "quite frankly, having you [me] here meant less attention to other students"? He also suggested that I enter a YEARLY LONG CONTRACT.

Needless to say, after this experience, I feel quite disheartened. Its expensive (although it says "unlimited", I was barred for 3-6 months from attending the "advanced" classes which left me with two classes each week both, after deducting the time spent warming up, is only around 45 minutes each), I felt abandoned and I felt pressured into making decisions I haven't really thought about yet. What pissed me off more was that the instructor had been phoning my home number constantly (like once a night) and wanted me to give him a reply on whether I want to learn or not.

Bleh.

Has anyone noticed other MMA gyms trying to capitalize on the increased population of the sport at the expense of their students?

[206warrior]

Maybe MMA isn't for you.

[Megaman X]

i'm guessing you're talking about perosh's gym..

find another gym and go to day classes if you're able to. night classes are always packed.

[Marbig]

Originally Posted by 206warrior

Maybe MMA isn't for you.

What? Why? I like watching MMA and I didn't have an attitude at the class or anything.

[206warrior]

Originally Posted by Marbig

What? Why? I like watching MMA and I didn't have an attitude at the class or anything.

Didn't say you couldn't be a fan, but it takes a lot of persistence and physical discomfort to actually do it. If UFC fighters train at the gym, it is legitimate. It may not necessarily be the gym that is the problem, but MMA training in it's entirety. It isn't for everybody.

[nhbfan8080]

Originally Posted by Marbig

What? Why? I like watching MMA and I didn't have an attitude at the class or anything.

You should've been honest and asked him if the real class was going to be that crowded. You could have just fobbed off his questions about signing up by saying that you wanted to look at other bjj gyms or judo places or just say you don't like signing things right away and need time to think about it.

[mmadragon]

50 students at once sounds like a mess might not be for you look for a smaller school that might have a blue or purple belt teaching

most people starting off learning dont need to go to a pro gym they just need to learn the basics

[nhbfan8080]

Originally Posted by Marbig

......
Needless to say, after this experience, I feel quite disheartened. Its expensive (although it says "unlimited", I was barred for 3-6 months from attending the "advanced" classes which left me with two classes each week both, after deducting the time spent warming up, is only around 45 minutes each), I felt abandoned and I felt pressured into making decisions I haven't really thought about yet. What pissed me off more was that the instructor had been phoning my home number constantly (like once a night) and wanted me to give him a reply on whether I want to learn or not.

Bleh.

Has anyone noticed other MMA gyms trying to capitalize on the increased population of the sport at the expense of their students?

Just read this bit... just tell him you're not interested and if he asks why, just tell him what you wrote above.

[robotsonic]

You sound like a whiney little bitch who even if he was getting one on one privates from Greg Jackson would find a reason to complain.

Here is where you went wrong...

- Great, so two UFC fighters train here, you expect them both to be at every session giving you one on one advice? You think they have time for that? If anything it's a sign that the instruction there is quality and they are serious about what they do, you are deluded if you expect them to be there 24/7 helping you out.

- You then go on to critiquing how specific to BJJ the instructors warm up was, while admitting you know nothing about BJJ. FAIL

- It was crowded, deal with it, that's how it is sometimes. You expect teh instructor to turn away guys who want to train, because he's got a limit? Do you understand business at all? How do you know these guys haven't got a plan to move to a bigger place anyway, did you ask?

- Oh you got beat up in sparring, boo hoo. Personally I don't see the problem letting noobs spar with experienced guys. Of course you don't know what you're doing, you won't know that for another 3/4 months at least, what would you say if he banned you from sparring for 3/4 months? You will be getting your ass kicked for a while, if you can't handle it on your first lesson, you ain't going to be able to handle it when you have to spar with someone who won't go easy on you.

- Lots of places have an advanced class, that's normal.

I probably agree with you on the hard sell thing though, that's uncalled for. I do think you need to man up a bit and stop acting so precious though, just my 2 cents.