Best BJJ school in the world?

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Sean33

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Hello everyone,

All of my income comes through various online businesses and marketing and because of this I've decided I'm going to move somewhere I can receive the best BJJ training around.

I've thought about possibly competing, or at least trying to. I'm a blue belt right now (living in the UK) and I'm 20 and very athletic (Ive been doing Martial Arts my entire life). Thankfully I'm in a position where I have been able to save quite a bit of money for the past few years and right now I only have a few hours of work a week (all done online). I'm planning on giving my life to BJJ and train whenever I can.


Ive been a huge fan of Marcelo for quite awhile now and have thought about going to train in New York at his gym there. I'm not a fan of big cities tho and would prefer somewhere with better weather and more laid back.



So where would you guys recommend going to train? It can be anywhere in the world.

Don't just name a country, I'm looking for gyms specifically. Don't just name your own gym for the sake of it, where is the BEST place to train?



Thanks guys :)
 
I'm in a similar position, except that I am looking for a Jiu Jitsu vacation (a tour of the top schools in North America) to go on after I graduate from highschool. I've just started jiu jitsu, but fell in love with the sport.

Some of the schools I've been looking into are: Alliance Atlanta, Cobrinha's new school (opened on Monday) Cobrinha Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu & Fitness | Los Angeles Premiere BJJ school, Alliance New York, Draculino's Gracie Barra and Lloyd Irvine's affiliate schools. I'm looking to do a month of training at each school I visit and a pre-month and post-month private, so the situation is pretty different but from what I've found those are all world class schools with world class instructors.
 
can you speak Portuguese?
Alliance.

out of interest where are you training now?
 
Just moved to england 3 weeks ago for some business, haven't had time to find a gym. I was training in Ireland before that. The training is not great.

I'm looking to find a gym in the next week or two and move straight away. Money not being an issue.


I'm planning on just living breathing and sleeping BJJ.


EDIT: No I can't speak Portuguese. :(
 
It's got to be Southern California for the highest concentration of world class guys.
 
hey sean.

i been looking alot also

in fact, i don't like the usa because it's pretty expensive compared to brasil ( I'm from across the water, belgium btw)

it's also alot easier to get some money coming in when you're in brasil ( when your purple you could give very cheap privates) you can help people with computer stuff(which is very expensive in brasil etc)

I made my first trip to brasil ( Rio) last summer for a month, and i was hooked really.

there are a few top notch gym's that stand out above all others

RIO :

Gordo JJ : awesome place & location ( next to the connection rio house) alot of the guys speak english, and there are alot of bigger guys there , if your medio-pesado or up, this will prolly be the BEST shot allround for you. in addition, they also have muay thai, boxing, and MMA classes

Checkmat/Fightzone : this place is crazy, the guys are alot smaller ( i think somewhere between pena & leve is the average weight here!!) and it's more fast paced, and i mean, a hell of a lot more( due to the weight difference). it's in copacabana, litteraly 30 seconds from the beach. it might be harder to find a location here to stay for a longer while, so it's best to come down and ask in the gym after a few sessions ( some guys have a room for free and they will let you stay for a price that can be pretty cheap)

Sao Paulo

Atos JJ : some of my favorite fighters come out of this camp ( calasans and R. mendes) if you only want to train, and do nothing, nothing, NOTHINGGG else, go here. after 6 months you'll probably be a killing machine in your belt & weight, and also on top of that, speak portuguese very good, since almost nobody speaks it you'll have to learn it. also harder to get a room, but then again the guys from the gym will help you

Alliance : i haven't heard alot from alliance in SP, except that it is amazing to train there. alot of the competitors have moved to the US, but still a load are left there were the champions are made and come from.

Checkmat/Fightzone : gym of leo viera


there are also other big gyms with high reputation, such as cavaca's gym in Santos ( which is also a cheap place to stay), GFT(very old respected team in rio), de la riva in copacabana , BTT, gracie barra HQ and many more

but these are the ones i just know about and heard of

many gyms won't give a crap where you train aslong as you pay your bill( paying for one month varies from 170R$-220R$ depending on gym) but if you plan on staying alot longer ( when you're paying normal prices and fighting), gym politics might be playing part

gym politics might be a difficult choice

for instance, my newer main instructor(who is a great guy) would love that i train at fightzone rio when i go back soon for a very long time where his little cousin trains, while i planned to train mostly at gordo's since it's closer to the connection rio house
 
Alliance SP probably has the highest concentration of high level black belts and lots of rising talent as well. Atos is a close second. If you don't speak Portuguese and would rather go to the states then there is Renzo in NY, Alliance ATL, and a bunch of good schools in socal like Riberios school, Andre Galvoas, and Cobrinhas to check out. Rogers school in london may also be worth looking into but I am not sure how many guys they are turning out.
 
You live in England go to London to Roger Gracies gym, you will be training with Roger himself, approx 5 other black belts regularly there as well as his dad Mauricio Gomes a Rolles Gracie black belt now 7th degree red belt and amazing teacher, also world class guys like GSP and Brazilians prepping for the Mundials are always popping in.
 
Minatour MMA said:
You live in England go to London to Roger Gracies gym, you will be training with Roger himself, approx 5 other black belts regularly there as well as his dad Mauricio Gomes a Rolles Gracie black belt now 7th degree red belt and amazing teacher, also world class guys like GSP and Brazilians prepping for the Mundials are always popping in.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I hate England, London Especially. The weather and transportation system is morbid.
 
chris1190 said:
Alliance SP probably has the highest concentration of high level black belts and lots of rising talent as well. Atos is a close second. If you don't speak Portuguese and would rather go to the states then there is Renzo in NY, Alliance ATL, and a bunch of good schools in socal like Riberios school, Andre Galvoas, and Cobrinhas to check out. Rogers school in london may also be worth looking into but I am not sure how many guys they are turning out.
Click to expand...

outonbail said:
hey sean.

i been looking alot also

in fact, i don't like the usa because it's pretty expensive compared to brasil ( I'm from across the water, belgium btw)

it's also alot easier to get some money coming in when you're in brasil ( when your purple you could give very cheap privates) you can help people with computer stuff(which is very expensive in brasil etc)

I made my first trip to brasil ( Rio) last summer for a month, and i was hooked really.

there are a few top notch gym's that stand out above all others

RIO :

Gordo JJ : awesome place & location ( next to the connection rio house) alot of the guys speak english, and there are alot of bigger guys there , if your medio-pesado or up, this will prolly be the BEST shot allround for you. in addition, they also have muay thai, boxing, and MMA classes

Checkmat/Fightzone : this place is crazy, the guys are alot smaller ( i think somewhere between pena & leve is the average weight here!!) and it's more fast paced, and i mean, a hell of a lot more( due to the weight difference). it's in copacabana, litteraly 30 seconds from the beach. it might be harder to find a location here to stay for a longer while, so it's best to come down and ask in the gym after a few sessions ( some guys have a room for free and they will let you stay for a price that can be pretty cheap)

Sao Paulo

Atos JJ : some of my favorite fighters come out of this camp ( calasans and R. mendes) if you only want to train, and do nothing, nothing, NOTHINGGG else, go here. after 6 months you'll probably be a killing machine in your belt & weight, and also on top of that, speak portuguese very good, since almost nobody speaks it you'll have to learn it. also harder to get a room, but then again the guys from the gym will help you

Alliance : i haven't heard alot from alliance in SP, except that it is amazing to train there. alot of the competitors have moved to the US, but still a load are left there were the champions are made and come from.

Checkmat/Fightzone : gym of leo viera


there are also other big gyms with high reputation, such as cavaca's gym in Santos ( which is also a cheap place to stay), GFT(very old respected team in rio), de la riva in copacabana , BTT, gracie barra HQ and many more

but these are the ones i just know about and heard of

many gyms won't give a crap where you train aslong as you pay your bill( paying for one month varies from 170R$-220R$ depending on gym) but if you plan on staying alot longer ( when you're paying normal prices and fighting), gym politics might be playing part

gym politics might be a difficult choice

for instance, my newer main instructor(who is a great guy) would love that i train at fightzone rio when i go back soon for a very long time where his little cousin trains, while i planned to train mostly at gordo's since it's closer to the connection rio house
Click to expand...


Wow thanks!

Would LOVE to go to brazil to train. However Ive heard the Visas are a bitch. I'm looking to train somewhere long term (years) and I don't think there are any visas for that.

Ive also heard it's a dangerous place? Any truth in that?


Definitely will check out those gyms.


How have you found brazil to be?
 
to answer you, brasil is fucking awesome. if you cook at home everyday, for around 120pound you will be settled.. lol heck, i include all meals of the day.

i walked in barra da tijuca at 2am more times, no problem, i was at copacabana at night , took the last bus to barra da tijuca at night, it was like a roller coaster though. it really depends on yourself, if you walk totally wasted in copacabana, not going where to go and going away from public places, there's about a 50% rate you'll get robbed yes. however, if you stick to public places where alot of people come, you won't really be in danger. to be honest, i think there's a bigger chance of dying on the bus then on the streets.. lol. when you're hanging around with brazilians the chance to get robbed is almost nihil. flower shorts and white socks in sandals will increase that chance btw lol

visa's aren't a bitch, in fact if you're from the uk hell you don't even need a visa. you can stay for 3 months, then pay for an extension for another 3 months for around 150pound. that's the max u can stay legally. if you stay longer you're illegal but they don't really give a crap. the maximum fine you can have is 300pounds, even if you overstay for 3 years, lol.

btw, i'm also 20
 
Congrats on your business success. Find out where Rickson Gracie lives, and beg him to personally train you. If money is truly no object, and you're living the "4 Hour Work Week" life, then go to the source.
 
Tough call. So many gyms are available with big names. The question is how much time will they dedicate to you one on one. Maybe don't move right away. Narrow your options go down for a week or two. See if the fit is right. Keep us posted on your decision and how it works out. Best of Luck Bro!! By the way always welcome in Canada lots of great gyms but it can get a bit cold. lol
 
WeCryHavoc said:
Tough call. So many gyms are available with big names. The question is how much time will they dedicate to you one on one. Maybe don't move right away. Narrow your options go down for a week or two. See if the fit is right. Keep us posted on your decision and how it works out. Best of Luck Bro!! By the way always welcome in Canada lots of great gyms but it can get a bit cold. lol
Click to expand...

every gym will support and dedicate time to you if you are friends with them and compete for them. it's the ugly truth
 
why don't you do some travelling around to find the best place and try it out, if your only twenty and work 4 hours you have time. no need to rush it.
 
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