Areas with no BJJ

[Dean Lewis]

Hey guys, sometimes this topic comes up, but I wanted to revisit it. There are obviously a lot of schools around the United States, but it seems that many are focused in popular areas (southern California, NYC, southern Florida, Houston has some good schools, etc.) whereas other areas have a lack of BJJ and grappling instruction. Does anybody know in particular what areas are severely lacking in instruction? This is mostly out of my own curiosity, I'm far from opening my own school one day, though the topic is very intriguing.

If you are from an area that is relatively devoid of grappling instruction, what do you do to cope with this and how could we better spread BJJ to all areas of the country? It's a shame that people in certain areas have a huge advantage over others because of their great instruction opportunities.

 

[KGB256]

Hey guys, sometimes this topic comes up, but I wanted to revisit it. There are obviously a lot of schools around the United States, but it seems that many are focused in popular areas (southern California, NYC, southern Florida, Houston has some good schools, etc.) whereas other areas have a lack of BJJ and grappling instruction. Does anybody know in particular what areas are severely lacking in instruction? This is mostly out of my own curiosity, I'm far from opening my own school one day, though the topic is very intriguing.

If you are from an area that is relatively devoid of grappling instruction, what do you do to cope with this and how could we better spread BJJ to all areas of the country? It's a shame that people in certain areas have a huge advantage over others because of their great instruction opportunities.

The problem is that standards are rising faster than the art is spreading to those remote areas. Whereas in the 90s and early 2000s it wasn't that unusual to have a school run by a brown or purple belt, these days the attitude seems to be that a school without a black belt instuctor (or at least a close association with one) is crap. There are still very large areas that don't have a quality black belt nearby, and they have to make due with whatever they can get.

The areas without any instruction are precisely what you'd think: small towns, suburbs for smaller cities, and rural areas. Often in the states that most people think of as being unpopulated, like Wyoming or Montana as well.

However, for those areas without any schools at all, people still have options. Obviously, there are instructional books and videos. There are some decent instructional videos floating around on YouTube (along with lots of absolute crap). Also, websites like Gracie University and MGinAction have been created to provide a more comprehensive resource for people interested in learning jiu-jitsu.

 

[HEAVY GRAPPLER]

You gotta wonder if there are any places left in North America. it used to be that the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island had no BJJ, but now I believe a brown belt has set up shop there.

 

[CorningGrappler]

Corning, NY. I moved to Corning from Philly last January as a Blue Belt and the only place to train is in Ithaca NY which is over an hour away. They also have classes that start at 5 and 6PM which doesn't really work for the working professional.

I train at the YMCA and their judo club sometimes and sometimes go down to Philly on the weekends to train. But the winters suck out here so I can understand why no one has set up shop here. In October the sun stops coming out until around April.

It's around 80 minutes west of where Jon Jones is from.

 

[Unipres]

I've been so frustrated by this that a group of us got together and have a club were we each bring back our collective knowledge from various drop-ins in BJJ schools, catch wrestling etc... Anyway, it's been a blast but know one will ever recognize us since we don't have a lineage. Still I'd much rather face my grappling peers and say we do our own thing than say we do Gracie Video University or some such.

 

[Dean Lewis]

Would you guys say it's true that most areas that have a customer base will have a school, or are there still areas or small cities (I'm thinking in the midwest or Wyoming/Montana as someone else has stated) that have potentially 100+ interested customers that aren't being reached for whatever reason?

 

[Balto]

Would you guys say it's true that most areas that have a customer base will have a school, or are there still areas or small cities (I'm thinking in the midwest or Wyoming/Montana as someone else has stated) that have potentially 100+ interested customers that aren't being reached for whatever reason?

One hundred interested customers is not nearly enough for a base.

 

[redaxe]

You gotta wonder if there are any places left in North America. it used to be that the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island had no BJJ, but now I believe a brown belt has set up shop there.

I'm guessing there aren't any BJJ schools in Nunavut, but at this point who knows? Perhaps there's some Eskimo who's a purple belt and put some puzzle mats inside his igloo or something

 

[bjh13]

You gotta wonder if there are any places left in North America. it used to be that the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island had no BJJ, but now I believe a brown belt has set up shop there.

There are a lot of places where the closest jiu-jitsu instruction is more than an hour away. States like Vermont, South Dakota, Maine, Wyoming, Montana, the population is just too spread out to support more than a couple of schools. Even heavily populated states like California and Texas have tons of schools near the big cities but if you live in a smaller town it could be hours away from the nearest school.

 

[Balto]

I always find it interesting that people in very rural areas are so bothered by the lack of BJJ schools available.

For some reason, they never seem to be as bothered about the lack of hospitals, major league sports teams, universities, cultural centers, etc.

 

[KGB256]

I always find it interesting that people in very rural areas are so bothered by the lack of BJJ schools available.

For some reason, they never seem to be as bothered about the lack of hospitals, major league sports teams, universities, cultural centers, etc.

Pretty sure those other concerns exist, but you have to remember that this is a grappling forum. Most of the folks in those areas are likely fine without having BJJ schools around, because they don't care. The 4-5 guys from each of those communities that would become regular mat rats just aren't enough to support a school. They are enough, however, to come here to lament their situation and make it seem like a widespread concern.

 

[Balto]

Pretty sure those other concerns exist, but you have to remember that this is a grappling forum. Most of the folks in those areas are likely fine without having BJJ schools around, because they don't care. The 4-5 guys from each of those communities that would become regular mat rats just aren't enough to support a school. They are enough, however, to come here to lament their situation and make it seem like a widespread concern.

If they have all those other concerns and hate living where they do, it would make more sense for them to move to a bigger area rather than bitch on here while they wait for a new major city to be built right on top of them.

I mean, the whole point of living in the country is that nothing else is around. The advantage is that you don't have to be bothered by other people. The disadvantage is that you can't find other people to teach you stuff or do other things with you. Seems pretty obvious to me.

 

[Unipres]

Perhaps they have no interest in those other activities but do have an interest in BJJ? Like it or not, because of it's effectiveness in MMA, BJJ will soon be the new TaeKwonDo where there are schools multiplying in even smaller communities. Then we'll have endless debates about whether they are Mc Dojo's or legitimate schools. The old guard, wanting to protect their superiority, will call it crappling and to an extent it will be true. Then someone will commit the ultimate sin and start handing out black belts with just a few years training further diluting the art until people will really quit caring about rank and superiority as much and start rolling for fun or as prep for sport MMA. Cost and travel will no longer be a big factor and those purists wearing and training almost entirely in the gi will be considered just another TMA in the list.

I always find it interesting that people in very rural areas are so bothered by the lack of BJJ schools available.

For some reason, they never seem to be as bothered about the lack of hospitals, major league sports teams, universities, cultural centers, etc.

 

[Dean Lewis]

I'm not necessarily asking why there aren't schools in extremely rural areas, but rather if there are still a lot of towns with tens of thousands of people that have no grappling instruction for hundreds of miles. I thought maybe they'd be more common in the midwest, but I wasn't sure. Is the Pacific Northwest lacking schools in populated areas? What about places like the desert southwest (outside of the most major cities like Phoenix and Albuquerque)?

 

[Balto]

Perhaps they have no interest in those other activities but do have an interest in BJJ? Like it or not, because of it's effectiveness in MMA, BJJ will soon be the new TaeKwonDo where there are schools multiplying in even smaller communities. Then we'll have endless debates about whether they are Mc Dojo's or legitimate schools. The old guard, wanting to protect their superiority, will call it crappling and to an extent it will be true. Then someone will commit the ultimate sin and start handing out black belts with just a few years training further diluting the art until people will really quit caring about rank and superiority as much and start rolling for fun or as prep for sport MMA. Cost and travel will no longer be a big factor and those purists wearing and training almost entirely in the gi will be considered just another TMA in the list.

Lol

Just because you made up your own martial art at some TKD school doesn't mean you're now pioneering the direction of BJJ.

 

[Balto]

I'm not necessarily asking why there aren't schools in extremely rural areas, but rather if there are still a lot of towns with tens of thousands of people that have no grappling instruction for hundreds of miles. I thought maybe they'd be more common in the midwest, but I wasn't sure. Is the Pacific Northwest lacking schools in populated areas? What about places like the desert southwest (outside of the most major cities like Phoenix and Albuquerque)?

BJJ can be found in all big areas and almost all medium areas. There is even a pretty good chance of finding it in a small area.

BJJ has now been spread throughout America about as much as it ever will be. I don't foresee any more massive expansion. A little bit here and there maybe, but it's already just about everywhere that it can be sustained.

 

[KGB256]

If they have all those other concerns and hate living where they do, it would make more sense for them to move to a bigger area rather than bitch on here while they wait for a new major city to be built right on top of them.

I mean, the whole point of living in the country is that nothing else is around. The advantage is that you don't have to be bothered by other people. The disadvantage is that you can't find other people to teach you stuff or do other things with you. Seems pretty obvious to me.

I hope you realize that not everyone posting here that lives in a rural area does so by choice. There are plenty of people on this forum that are still in school, or living with their parents.

I also think you overestimate the reach of BJJ. The Huntsville-Decatur (AL) combined statistical area is the 65th most populous in the country, with roughly 510,000 people. It has precisely one black belt teaching jiu-jitsu, and only one other school that even teaches in the gi.

 

[KGB256]

Perhaps they have no interest in those other activities but do have an interest in BJJ? Like it or not, because of it's effectiveness in MMA, BJJ will soon be the new TaeKwonDo where there are schools multiplying in even smaller communities. Then we'll have endless debates about whether they are Mc Dojo's or legitimate schools. The old guard, wanting to protect their superiority, will call it crappling and to an extent it will be true. Then someone will commit the ultimate sin and start handing out black belts with just a few years training further diluting the art until people will really quit caring about rank and superiority as much and start rolling for fun or as prep for sport MMA. Cost and travel will no longer be a big factor and those purists wearing and training almost entirely in the gi will be considered just another TMA in the list.

Why is it that almost every post you make is trying to defend your crappling club as legit or the future of BJJ?

 

[Balto]

I hope you realize that not everyone posting here that lives in a rural area does so by choice. There are plenty of people on this forum that are still in school, or living with their parents.

I also think you overestimate the reach of BJJ. The Huntsville-Decatur (AL) combined statistical area is the 65th most populous in the country, with roughly 510,000 people. It has precisely one black belt teaching jiu-jitsu, and only one other school that even teaches in the gi.

If you're under 18, just wait a couple of years then. If you're over 18, quit whining and move if you hate where you live.

My instructor flew to America with like $300 cash in his pocket and nothing else. He barely even spoke English. I'm pretty sure if he could make it work, another American can make it work moving from Bumfuck, Nowheresville to a larger area.

Also, I don't know what you are getting at with your example from Alabama. You say it's 65th most populous in the country like that means it's big. There are only 125 areas grouped that way in the country period. That makes it actually rather small.

I'm from Pittsburgh, which would be considered a medium sized city. That's the 19th most populous in that ranking. So 65th means it's fairly small.

And from what you say, it still has two legit gi BJJ schools -- one of which is taught by a black belt.

That just goes to show how much BJJ has expanded in the past ten years or so. When I first started, the highest rank in Pittsburgh was a purple belt. Nowadays you can find a black belt teaching in a place that is only like 1/5 the size of Pittsburgh.

BJJ is available pretty much everywhere it is feasible in America now.

 

[Unipres]

I suspect is has something to do with the use of the term "crappling club" by those who don't know us.

Why is it that almost every post you make is trying to defend your crappling club as legit or the future of BJJ?