St Paul, MN - Am I crazy to start a free BJJ club?

[Refreshing]

Hey guys!

I have been practicing BJJ for 2 years and I love it. When my son was born this year my wife urged me to temporarily stop BJJ because my free time does not coincide with ANY of the BJJ class times (we have no family to help babysit). I still exercise every morning while watching my son and I have a BJJ friend who rolls with me in my backyard once every few weeks but this isn't enough.

I want to start a club that meets once a week to roll and do some easy drilling in the grass at my local park. The two other guys that I have rolled with in the grass both agree that it isn't much different than rolling on mats. However, the end goal would be to purchase some mats for my garage so we can continue to roll through the winter.

The club would not be used for instruction but instead it would be a place for friends to practice the skills that they learned from their gym. So ideally every member would be affiliated with a gym.

However, I worry that if I start a club that does not require a monthly fee and create a website to attract some members I will instead attract weirdo's, violent people, or the fat guy who thinks he is Bruce Lee. I also worry about potential legal issues if someone gets hurt. I assume that I can't personally be sued since we would be training in a public park but I am not a lawyer. What do you guys think? Good or bad idea?

 

[Balto]

The grass gets real annoying real fast. You are going to be covered in grass bits and get rashes from it. I used to train on grass too. It's not a good long term solution. At least get some cheap puzzle mats to throw over the grass.

Weirdos already come to regular gyms. It's going to be even worse with a club that rolls in the grass at a public park. Again, this is coming from a guy who once rolled in the rough outside the 9th hole of a public golf course, football fields, parks, etc. Tons of weirdos show up. It's like a beacon.

You can definitely be personally sued. I mean you always can so not sure that should stop you but in no way is you being in a public park some kind of lawsuit shield. If anything it probably opens you up more because it makes the whole thing seem amateur and nonstandard.

 

[Big Nasty Edison]

1. You don't have to roll in the grass. Go to Lowes and get a tarp and some sand bags to weigh it down in the corner. If you are willing to put in the time there are cheap ways to get mats. You can get basic puzzle mats that will be better than the grass at most department stores. They are not long term suitable but better than a dirt floor I guess.

2. You will need some sort of source of instruction. A bunch of newbs just showing up and sparring will just instill bad habits IMO. And by instruction I don't just mean youtube. Something like one of the subscription sites with some sort of road map will be necessary.

3. Make sure everyone signs waivers and you store them in a safe place so they don't get lost. Everyone is cool until some newb hurts themselves and blames you. I'm not even sure on the legality of waivers of liability, but I guess it would be better than nothing at all.

4. I'm not clear on why if the members of your club would be working on skills from a gym. IF they belong to a gym wouldn't they just go to open maats instead of rolling around with you?

 

[Pwent]

dont make a class on grass, its ok when fucking around with your friends, but if you do it all the time, youre gonna get itchy and bug bites and whatnot

 

[Russky]

Using public park for a private business (even if that is a free one) can be subject to some local regulations and liabilities. You should check with the city before starting your training in the park.

Try local pub on Friday night. Rolling and drinking beer after rolls with new friends - what could be better?

 

[Solidus Snake]

Honestly this kind of things always sounds like a bad idea to me.

Maybe if you just bought tatami for your garage, and only limit this to very few people you could trust, it could work out.. but as the others said, taking legal responsibilities for this kind of training and attracting weird, unknown guys by rolling in public park grass (which I wouldn't feel the slightest safety in doing anyway, but maybe just because parks in my city are in a really bad shape, but in the end it would always be less hygienic than a regularly washed tatami) sounds like something that could lead to pontentially really bad situations..

 

[Balto]

sounds like something that could lead to pontentially really bad situations..

Can confirm. Training in any kind of public area invites weirdos and challenges.

Definitely make sure you are prepared to deal with that. You will not be left alone training in public.

 

[IndyCovaHart]

Outdoor rolling in St fucking Paul, MN? Lol

 

[Refreshing]

So it appears that the answer to my question is yes. Yes I would be crazy to try starting a free public club. Haha.

4. I'm not clear on why if the members of your club would be working on skills from a gym. IF they belong to a gym wouldn't they just go to open maats instead of rolling around with you?

My last two mma gyms were both closed Saturday and Sunday nights. If someone's schedule only allows them to make 1 or 2 classes at their gym each week then having an open roll late on a weekend may help them get some extra training in.

Outdoor rolling in St fucking Paul, MN? Lol

I actually live in Maplewood (is this any better?) and my house is located next to a secluded walking path with a well maintained grass field area about the size of 1/2 a football field. I spend an hour there every day and rarely run into anyone. But I hear you. If there isn't snow on the ground there are mosquitoes in the air.

 

[nodeal]

There are lots of "community" judo clubs that meet at YMCAs and such. The ones I've seen typically charge a nominal monthly fee that goes toward stuff like mats, insurance, loaner Gis, etc...