Cost of Renzo Gracie DC Academy?

I did a few times but they insist on coming down for a "trial class."
 
So... go down for a trial class? If they aren't charging you for a trial, what's the harm?

Also I haven't heard much about the school but I've heard Cesar is a pretty great teacher and the facility looks very nice.
 
AboveThisFire said:
So... go down for a trial class? If they aren't charging you for a trial, what's the harm?

Also I haven't heard much about the school but I've heard Cesar is a pretty great teacher and the facility looks very nice.
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No harm I guess, but if the price is too steep then there's no need to go a trial class. I suppose you could make the same argument vice-versa though, if a class is bad then no need to worry about the price because you won't be attending.

Either way, I'm guessing it's high-dollar if they refuse to disclose the price. Usually if you call and talk with someone, they'll at least give you their rates.
 
#53QBKiller said:
No harm I guess, but if the price is too steep then there's no need to go a trial class. I suppose you could make the same argument vice-versa though, if a class is bad then no need to worry about the price because you won't be attending.

Either way, I'm guessing it's high-dollar if they refuse to disclose the price. Usually if you call and talk with someone, they'll at least give you their rates.
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Well, hopefully it's not as expensive as their Manhattan academy.
 
It will probably cost between $100-200 a month given the area. I'd say $150 a month is a good average to use in your head.

As far as the school not giving out the pricing information over the phone, I totally agree with the practice. What would you do with the price if they gave it out? You would just compare it in your head with what you think the school offers, but you've never actually been to the school to see for yourself. You need to go down first in order to make an informed decision about the price.

The argument that you can't afford it is a bullshit argument because you either can afford an extra $100-200 a month if you are committed, or you are seriously so poor that you need to worry a lot more about getting a job and saving some money than you do about training.

Almost everyone has at least $100-200 of discretionary income a month. The problem is that most people piss it away on movies, going out to bars, impressing slutty women, driving fancy cars, etc. You might have to give up some other things in order to afford training, but that's the whole concept of money anyway -- you only have a limited amount, so you have to make some choices.

The vast, vast majority of people who say they can't afford BJJ are full of shit. What they really should be saying is that they would much rather spend their money on other stuff like bars and women instead of training. A small percentage truly have less than $100-200 of discretionary income per month, but those people are almost by definition living in poverty and shouldn't be training anyway if their situation is really that dire.
 
#53QBKiller said:
100 percent horseshit.

At some point the price becomes a bad investment regardless of whether you can afford it or not. Especially if a school wants a sign-up fee and limits the number of classes you take per week/month, etc. etc. And if they will not give the price up front, then it's probably not worth the venture to try the school out because it's most likely a ripoff and they're going to want an arm and a leg.

If a school doesn't offer a schedule that works with your life, then there's no need to try out a class because it isn't going to work. If a school isn't within a reasonable distance to your home or work, then training there isn't going to work out either.

The price is no different.

I don't give a fuck how good a school is, not everyone is training to be a professional fighter and wants to blow $200+ a month to train a limited number of just bjj classes.
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That's exactly my point if you read my post. Clearly you're not as serious about training as most of the other students if you won't even bother to check it out, so they don't really want you as a student.

Schools don't give out pricing over the phone because they know exactly how people are. The vast majority of people just want to talk a big game over the phone but never actually intend on coming down. Running a school takes enough time as it is, so why waste extra time? If you can't talk them into coming down, they're not going to train anyway.

Here's a link to a nice video that explains why schools act this way:

I have this conversation once a week.

Anyone who runs a school has to deal with guys like this all the time, either on the phone or in person. You just invite them to come down and try it out, and if they keep talking around it, you move on because they're just not that serious.
 
#53QBKiller said:
100 percent horseshit.

At some point the price becomes a bad investment regardless of whether you can afford it or not. Especially if a school wants a sign-up fee and limits the number of classes you take per week/month, etc. etc. And if they will not give the price up front, then it's probably not worth the venture to try the school out because it's most likely a ripoff and they're going to want an arm and a leg.

If a school doesn't offer a schedule that works with your life, then there's no need to try out a class because it isn't going to work. If a school isn't within a reasonable distance to your home or work, then training there isn't going to work out either.

The price is no different.

I don't give a fuck how good a school is, not everyone is training to be a professional fighter and wants to blow $200+ a month to train a limited number of just bjj classes.
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Good luck at finding any halfway decent school in the DC area for $100 per month for any kind of training. All the decent schools (even the ones who don't focus on competition) - and when I say decent, I'm being generous - all of them charge over $100 and most probably closer to $150. And depending on how many classes you want to take or whether you want to combine with MT, etc, they can go way up in price.
 
I guess the overall point is that if someone can't even fathom dedicating $100-200 per month to BJJ, he sure as hell isn't going to be able to dedicate the time and effort that serious training requires.

You think it sucks to pay $100-200 per month? Wait until you realize that you are going to have to work hard in training, get tapped out by white belts, and protect yourself from injuries.

BJJ is extremely rewarding if you can be motivated enough to stick with it. It's the instructor's job to help motivate you, but if he can't even convince you that a week of training is more valuable than a night at the bar, there's no hope. You might as well not even start at that point because you are just wasting everyone's time.
 
there are better schools in the area i think. I dont think that school is bad (i dont really know anything about it other than the fact that a purple belt teaches) but there are better options I think.

I would check out 5050bjj.com instead, or beta academy. i wouldnt train with a purple belt when there are world class brown and black belts around.
 
The rationale for not telling you the price before you attend a free class isn't to conceal inflated prices in the hope of somehow conning you into joining. There is a market rate for jiu-jitsu instruction, which some people have alluded to in this thread (I train in D.C. and those figures sound about right). Personally, I've not heard of any instances of academies that were wildly out of line with market practice.

The reason they won't tell you the prices is to elicit a minimum commitment from you and, in exchange for a couple of hours of your time and a little effort, you get a free class and all the information pertaining to joining the club. In addition, it allows you to make an educated decision by gaining an understanding of exactly what it is you will be paying for; of course, some people prefer simply to fantasize about training.

When I first spoke to my instructor on the phone, I also got the standard response. At the time, I found it a bit odd, but I now understand that it has nothing to do with underhanded/ high-pressure sales tactics. Quite frankly, as Balto mentioned, if you're not willing to make that minimum commitment, the odds are that you're simply not very serious about starting BJJ.
 
If distance is an issue, Yamasaki DC is less than a mile from that location. It's located at Woodley Park Metro (1 stop below Renzo DC). I'd suggest you check it out - Luis Pantoja is the instructor and a blackbelt. He's super nice and the class is a great environment.
 
Luis Pantoja is great too.

I just checked the website, and Renzo's guy in DC is a brown belt now (pretty sure that was recent). Check out all three or four places in your vicinity (50/50 in Arlington, Beta Academy, Yamasaki DC, and Renzo's) and then make your decision. Obviously cost is a big factor to you.
 
Welcome to the board, Luis.

LOL at the guy equating not telling the price up-front equating rip-off status.
Here's a hint: If they don't have the price on their website, they're going to make you come in for an intro before they tell you the price.
 
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