#1 Academy to become a pro bjj competitor

[Reel Box Fen**]

Too many life coaches in this thread. STFU. If he wants to train jits for the rest of his life its his business.

TS, do you currently train at Kron's spot in Culver City? I have friends that trained there for a long time. I think Kron's place is a great place to learn BJJ but definitely not the best for compeition.

For competition Id recommend going to ATOS BJJ with Andre Galvao. Hes an unreal practitioner and passionate instructor who supports all of his students and gladly corners them at competition regardless of their belt. Hes truly not in it for the money like other Gracie Branded academies.

Id go with Galvao all day or if you want to go to the east coast Id go to Marcelo's.

 

[JustTheTip]

Too many life coaches in this thread. STFU. If he wants to train jits for the rest of his life its his business.

Curious,how old are you? He asked for advice. I'd guess that most of the people suggesting him not dedicating his life to BJJ are older and more experienced in life to know that its tough to make a living in BJJ to dedicate your life to it.

 

[jiujitsubjj]

Too many life coaches in this thread. STFU. If he wants to train jits for the rest of his life its his business.

TS, do you currently train at Kron's spot in Culver City? I have friends that trained there for a long time. I think Kron's place is a great place to learn BJJ but definitely not the best for compeition.

For competition Id recommend going to ATOS BJJ with Andre Galvao. Hes an unreal practitioner and passionate instructor who supports all of his students and gladly corners them at competition regardless of their belt. Hes truly not in it for the money like other Gracie Branded academies.

Id go with Galvao all day or if you want to go to the east coast Id go to Marcelo's.

I train with Shane Rice in Canada. Long time training partner for Kron. I think he even taught Kron for a little bit. But Kron's sounds great from everything I've heard aside from not producing any top competitors, I love his aggressive, sub only mindset. My current top choices are probably Atos, GB Northridge, Kron's, or Marcelo's.

 

[monsieur_jj]

wherever you choose start NOW! dont let anyone pull you down just do it! Though if i were you i would research on the middle east bjj there is now part of their curriculum which maybe in 10years will produce the best bjj players that it may claim their own style

 

[Reel Box Fen**]

I train with Shane Rice in Canada. Long time training partner for Kron. I think he even taught Kron for a little bit. But Kron's sounds great from everything I've heard aside from not producing any top competitors, I love his aggressive, sub only mindset. My current top choices are probably Atos, GB Northridge, Kron's, or Marcelo's.

Didnt know Shane moved to Canada. I remember seeing him at the original Rickson Gracie Academy in Brentwood on Wilshire.

ATOS is the place for you. Great academy for those who are serious about competing.

Outside of competing, I bet training with Shane must be great. Getting instructions from a real Rickson black belt is going to take your game to new levels.

 

[Reel Box Fen**]

Curious,how old are you? He asked for advice. I'd guess that most of the people suggesting him not dedicating his life to BJJ are older and more experienced in life to know that its tough to make a living in BJJ to dedicate your life to it.

TS didnt come here to ask us how its best for him to make a living. He came here to find out where the best BJJ academy for competition based style is.

Its hilarious to see these Sherdog life coaches tell someone how to live their life without even knowing the person.

For all we know this kid might be fortunate enough to where he can focus on BJJ and fully commit himself to it.

These sherdog life coaches crack me up.

 

[SuperSuperRambo]

What do you guys think of Kron's? It was recommended to me by a fellow training partner.

Kron is an outstanding grappler, but given his new focus on MMA, I don't know how much he's actually teaching there. Moreover, he's really anti-IBJJF rules and probably doesn't push competition very much, since he's practically given up competing in major tournaments himself.

Kron himself is an ADCC champ and has submitted some of the best in the world, but that doesn't mean he runs his school to produce sport champions.

 

[NSchoke]

As many others have said, I think Atos would be your best bet. If you're lightweight or higher I'd choose Galvao, below I'd go AOJ.

There's an interview with JT Torres where he says that when he got to Atos the training was so hard he didn't know if he was going to be able to handle it. Thats coming from a guy who was a "medal chaser", training full time at a well established program. Atos is going to start dominating tournament I think. Their training methods and being surrounded by killers up to LHW, and Galvao really seems to lead by example, training and competing side by side with his guys. Can't go wrong if you can handle the workload.

 

[NSchoke]

Lavato's might be a good choice also, it may be cheaper to live in there than So Cal, and you're instructor probably has good connections there, same lineage I think. They also turn out killers, not sure why they always get overlooked.

 

[Aprentice]

TS

Don't listen to what these guys are saying about this being a terrible career option.

Just keep in mind that in order to be a professional jiu jitsu guy, you will have to be a businessman really, and you will have to make money from a school, most likely.

If you compete a lot, work your ass off, you can be a black belt with some credentials in say 7 years? And i don't mean being a world champion (as has been said here) but having won many local competitions and placed at a few important ones like brasileiros, pan ams, etc. But this is just a help really. What is really important is your capacity of selling your product, which will be your capacity to teach jiu jitsu.

My instructor, who is also a great friend, is a black belt who is very respected in the local scene, but has never been world champion. He was second place once in worlds of a federation called CBJJO. He made an academy that is well located, with a low fixed cost, and he is making an EXCELENT living. Definetely a lot better than if he would have thought "jeez, i don't have balls to go after my dreams, i'll just try something really safe so that i can make money - ILLUSIONS!! But the reality is that he is a business man. But a businessman who works in a GI and who trains all the time and competes lol

There is no escaping this, at least for now: if you want to live off jiu jitsu, you have to make it into a business! And when I say "at least for now" what i mean is that, who knows?? maybe some day there will be more money in BJJ and good grapplers will get payed to grapple? I wouldn't count on that though

The thing about this business is that you will never make much money, but your fixed costs are all extremely low.

As for training for competition, i think the best place would be Brazil of course. I am from and live in Fortaleza, a city in northeast of Brazil. If I were you, honestly, I would come here or go to Manaus. No need going to the BJJ post cards that are filmed on BJJ hacks and other channels. Do not move to sao paulo, its expensive and it sucks. Rio is too big, crazy city. Go to Natal, Fortaleza or Manaus. Legends all around.

 

[Aprentice]

wherever you choose start NOW! dont let anyone pull you down just do it! Though if i were you i would research on the middle east bjj there is now part of their curriculum which maybe in 10years will produce the best bjj players that it may claim their own style

THIS!!
don't listen to the non believers. Do not.

 

[NateTx4112]

I should have taken my father's advice. Son do everything while you're still young and still know everything.

 

[Toothless King]

OP is only 19 year old, still a kid. He should definitely do it while he's still young & with little responsiblity.

I'd question his decision if he was 30+ year old guy and/or has a family.

Go out and pursue your dream whatever that may be, young padawan

 

[knoxpk]

Im with the youngster, I am not sure if he can make money as a competitor only but who cares? He will be doing something he loves.

As for schools, I agree a good competition school would be your best bet but you can easily research that based on competition results. The best bet is the one with an instructor who teaches in a manner you enjoy, the availability of the top instructors, the availability of the classes, great sparring partners and class composition.

It is not always as simple as saying "school ABC has 25 champs" its a factor, but not the only factor.

 

[Hywel Teague]

Too many life coaches in this thread. STFU.

This.

"OP, forget any dreams you may have. You must suffer in mediocrity like the rest of the people in this world because THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE DO..."

Ridiculous.

And my vote goes to ATOS.

 

[Uchi Mata]

This.

"OP, forget any dreams you may have. You must suffer in mediocrity like the rest of the people in this world because THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE DO..."

Ridiculous.

And my vote goes to ATOS.

Apparently the only two choices are 'dedicate your life to BJJ' and 'suffer in mediocrity'. Who the hell knows what they want to do with their life when they're 19? If TS wants to do this, fine, but he should go into it with eyes open and recognize:

- No one makes a living from competing in BJJ. Saying 'I want to be a BJJ pro' is equivalent to saying 'I want to open a school and teach'. The success of the your school is much more dependent on your teaching and business skills than how good you are at BJJ.

- BJJ is a very narrow specialization. There's not really any benefit to having a BJJ black belt (from an economic standpoint) other than being able to credibly teach BJJ.

If he wants to do this for a while good for him. Maybe he'll win a world title for Atos and found a successful school. But financial security is nothing to sneeze at. Having the ability to raise a family, handle unplanned medical bills, etc is pretty important to most people as they move past the ripe old age of 19. TS just shouldn't burn any bridges in terms of life options. And frankly, anytime someone says 'I want to dedicate my life to BJJ and become a pro' all I can think of is these guys:

 

[texastwisties]

I can only speak on Marcelos - a lot of great training partners and I have been learning a lot from Paul, Bernardo, Marcelo, and the small classes led by brown belts.

 

[Hywel Teague]

Apparently the only two choices are 'dedicate your life to BJJ' and 'suffer in mediocrity'.

No, the choices are endless. But in this case, they boil down to:

follow your dreams

or

follow the instructions of others.




Even if he doesn't reach his current goal, who knows what experiences he will have and what doors will open on his journey?

By strongly suggesting he should not consider investing his energy in his current passion, you are potentially denying him the ability to grow, to develop, and to discover his true path.




Did you do what was expected of you rather than what you felt you wanted? Were you told where to go, what to study, what job you should take?

If so, I feel sorry for you. Please shut the fuck up.

If not, let the kid enjoy himself. And shut the fuck up.

 

[shunyata]

Apparently the only two choices are 'dedicate your life to BJJ' and 'suffer in mediocrity'. Who the hell knows what they want to do with their life when they're 19? If TS wants to do this, fine, but he should go into it with eyes open and recognize:

- No one makes a living from competing in BJJ. Saying 'I want to be a BJJ pro' is equivalent to saying 'I want to open a school and teach'. The success of the your school is much more dependent on your teaching and business skills than how good you are at BJJ.

- BJJ is a very narrow specialization. There's not really any benefit to having a BJJ black belt (from an economic standpoint) other than being able to credibly teach BJJ.

If he wants to do this for a while good for him. Maybe he'll win a world title for Atos and found a successful school. But financial security is nothing to sneeze at. Having the ability to raise a family, handle unplanned medical bills, etc is pretty important to most people as they move past the ripe old age of 19. TS just shouldn't burn any bridges in terms of life options. And frankly, anytime someone says 'I want to dedicate my life to BJJ and become a pro' all I can think of is these guys:

This is what the "life coaches" are trying to say.

There is no such thing as a pro bjj competitor. Being a professional competitor is being paid to compete. Furthermore it's implying that it is a major part of your income stream. If a waitress earns 5% of her annual income from acting, we would laugh at the idea of calling her a professional actress. World champions in BJJ lose money competing. To focus your training on a tournament means you are doing labor over a long period of time without getting paid for it. You will likely also need to pay people to train you or train with you during this time. At the higher levels that training camp means you can't teach as many income generating class. You cover your travel expenses, fees, food. Now certainly if you are a world class amateur BJJ competitor and your competitive performance is a big part of the marketing for your real business (the school or seminars you teach, DVD sales, etc) then you could consider all the costs of competition to be a loss leader for your real business (teaching).

But that doesn't make you a professional competitor. That makes you a successful amateur competitor who is trying to succeed at proffesional teaching.

Now you can say that you want to be a high level BJJ competitor. You can say you want to be an IBJJF champion, or an ADCC champion. You can say your dream is to open a school, or teach professionally at your coaches school. All those are pursuable.

And we've all given you a lot of options on those fronts, most of which confirmed what you already knew.


But until a pro BJJ or submission grappling league opens up, there is no such thing as a pro BJJ competitor.

 

[selfcritical]

I think some of you missed the point. I'm not asking for opinions on how to live my life, I'm asking for opinions on the top competition school in the world.

Depends on where in the world you are, where you can get citizenship, what kind of cashflow etc. Your weight class and style might matter here too. Also, a single gym may not be the best fit for your entire career- if someone was a serious competitor at blue belt and lived in the pacific northwest, moving to portland to go to Straight Blast Gym wouldn't be a bad move, but if they were a serious brown belt competitor at a light weight, that would be silly.