BJJ prices becoming inflated?

[JH34PG]

anyone get frustrated by the cost of BJJ these days?

anywhere from 100-200 plus...pending on the place...

so much money must be made since equipment is limited..

 

[jadillow]

I joined my Training Camp about a month ago...its 60 bucks a month unlimited...he offers Muay Thai Monday and Wednesday, and BJJ Tuesday and Thursday...4 and 8 oclock beginner classes and 7 for advanced and you can go to everyone if u want for same price...its awesome

 

[Gerbiljiujitsu]

it will probably get cheaper as time goes on, but honestly it's not that bad. When you compare it to a lot of TMA's they make their tuition and 100% more off of selling you clothing, weapons, promotions, and safety gear.

The places that are charing 100-200 a month should be offers 6 days a week with most of those schools offering night and daytime classes. That's a lot of instruction and it came at a price for them too.

 

[Janilane]

anyone get frustrated by the cost of BJJ these days?

anywhere from 100-200 plus...pending on the place...

so much money must be made since equipment is limited..

Yeah, sucks isn't!? A quality school in my area cost $120/month but just BJJ, nothing more. my KK school cost only $45, isn't it great!? How precious a BJJ class can you get?

 

[knoxpk]

becoming? Its pretty much been jacked from the start. If you think about it it might be cheaper now when you factor inflation.

But yeah they can stand to come down $20-$30 per month. Check out my thread on Ben Askren Seminar and compare it to a run of the mill bjj seminar.

 

[JH34PG]

its all about the name...a renzo gracie school can have the worst instructor and still charge 200 a month and be packed...

 

[JerseyTrash]

its all about the name...a renzo gracie school can have the worst instructor and still charge 200 a month and be packed...

So true. A Renzo school in my area charged $250 per month...they went out of business.

 

[method115]

So true. A Renzo school in my area charged $250 per month...they went out of business.

Wow thats the most expensive I've ever seen by far.

 

[Resendiz]

So true. A Renzo school in my area charged $250 per month...they went out of business.

I might be wrong but this is the way I see it.

If your the ONLY academy in the area and have a black belt under lets use Renzo Gracie here, then your going to do VERY good. Nobody can ever say "your not a Renzo Gracie Black Belt". I assume you took pictures of when you got your Black Belt and also have taken pictures training in Renzos academy, with the other black belts, wearing the black belt. Competing is also a plus, but from what i have personally witnessed, not necessary.

IF you move into a place with many BJJ schools that are affiliated, then I can see the average person looking at "Wow Renzo Gracie Certified Affiliated Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy!!??" How the hell is being affiliated going to change what you know and what you teach?

Not to say there isn't anything good that comes from affiliations. You get invited to your affiliates tournaments, it adds to your marketing (pulls in a few more people), and its always good to stay connected, networking has its pluses.

If I were to start an academy in California, I think I might have to be affiliated to benefit me. If I were to start one in a state or country that didn't have BJJ, I could run a successful BJJ academy without being affiliated I think.

Also it depends on the instructor. If hes an idiot, or has no business sense and is bad with people (ex, has Salesman written all over him) then he will go under. Running a business isn't for everybody.

I dont know exactly what the benefits of every affiliate brand is, its up to the situation and location to decide. Some also get pressured and feel like they are obligated to be affiliated or their network might outcast them or instructor might all of a sudden change his attitude towards you, who knows.

Personally, I trained from books at first and was in awe whenever I met a blue belt. If a local gym had a black belt, non affiliated, i would have trained there in a second assuming it was the only one in town. THeres just too many variables to think about here.

 

[Andrew Green]

Prices aren't that high if you want a full time instructor or two, and are in line with what professional traditional schools are charging.

In order for a single instructor running a school too make a moderate living the school is likely going to have to clear about $7500 / month give or take some depending on expenses. That's one guy doing everything and not getting rich. That means consistently 75 members at $100 / month.

The only way its going to get cheaper if when we start seeing community center programs. But those will be twice a week, and thats it. They will have instructors with day jobs that also only train those 2 classes.

If you want a instructor that does martial arts full time, trains and teaches every day and stays on top of you're going to have to pay a rate that lets them be a professional, not just a 2-day a week teacher.

 

[elbigsam]

Depends on your viewpoint I guess. If bjj was 300 a month, it would be a bargain to me, 10 dollars a day for a second family, get to test myself every day, exercises my mind and body. For a mere 10 a day. Cheaper than my beer budget.

 

[nefti]

hey you live within your means. You gotta pick and choose what you are financially able to handle. I don't mind 100+ a month. Heck i spend that much on a night out.

 

[ohmalley]

i pay $200/mo. that's about average for nyc. i balked at first -- the tma school i was at charged 120 for unlimited, 4-6 classes a day, open 7 days a week. but once i realized the quality of what i was getting, well, let's just say that 120/mo now kinda seems like a rip off.

i think about what my bb instructor's week is like. running a small business is a shitload of work. eventually i'm sure he'll be able to offer more classes because he'll have more higher belts who want to teach, and teaching is part of the learning process. for now tho, he offers 2-4 classes a day, 6 days a week. and he teaches all of them. and he manages his own books, promotes his business, and takes care of all the other crap that goes into running a gym. he has a few students who help out, but i think they help out in exchange for privates or a break in dues. so one way or another, he's constantly working. when i add that to the quality of the education i'm getting, $200 ain't bad at all. in fact, given the rent he must pay on a union sq studio, sheesh. i'm surprised he turns a profit at all.

the day my school drops dues to 120/mo and offers 6 1hr classes a day -- many taught by shabby lower belts trying to fulfill a "teaching requirement" in order to get their next rainbow colored belt -- is the day i look for a new school. it's a scam. quality instruction costs money. altho, i'm sure being in ny doesn't help.

 

[lechien]

To all complainers, I like to see you getting your BB in BJJ and then go and teach that amount of hours/classes per week and charge a lower fees.

then we see who are the real hypocrites!

 

[Cricket]

It's not cheap to run a nice school...if you're in a decent area, and depending where you live, rent can run anywhere from $2000-4000/month plus the electric bill, phone bill, water bill, school insurance, alarm system (usually required by insurance companies), cleaning supplies, bathroom supplies, maintenance on your space if your A/C or water goes out, advertising, paying an employee or two, paying payroll taxes on an employee or two, replacing broken/getting new equipment, investing in merch (usually have to buy in bulk for shirts/patches), belts (if you don't adults charge for testing) and paying your own personal bills if you're doing this full time...not to mention self-employed insurance in this field is not too cheap.

Most places, you get what you pay for...if you're in a dumpy school with a not so great BB, then there's room for complaints. However, if you're in a nice school that offers lots of classes, and has a solid BB, around $120/month is verrry reasonable.

 

[curb1850]

I love my BJJ school, and I want them to prosper so I always have a nice place to train.

 

[pailum117]

Everyone of our classes (except warmups on occasion) are taught by high level blackbelts, the majority of whom are world champions. Not to mention when you sign on at 1 location you can train at them all. I could feisably train for 40 hours per week in: BJJ (with world champions and MMA fighters), Muay Thai (under a world champion and with MMA fighters), and combatives under former military H2H instructors.

So do I feel my near $200 a month is a rip off? Hell no

 

[curb1850]

Everyone of our classes (except warmups on occasion) are taught by high level blackbelts, the majority of whom are world champions. Not to mention when you sign on at 1 location you can train at them all. I could feisably train for 40 hours per week in: BJJ (with world champions and MMA fighters), Muay Thai (under a world champion and with MMA fighters), and combatives under former military H2H instructors.

So do I feel my near $200 a month is a rip off? Hell no

Where do you train? Sounds solid.

 

[irc]

Everyone is saying any cost is justifiable, no matter how high, if that is what it costs to run a school. At some point that analysis no longer makes sense. If the costs of running a school create a situation where each student must pay $500, you're not likely to have many students. But is $200 a month too high? For a lot of people, it is. That's a car payment.

BJJ is not some secret amazing magic. It's taught by dudes just like you, that have been doing it a long time. Anyone can do it. It is obviously not hard to teach at all, if the instructor is legit. It's not a chore. You just teach what youi know and do all the time, every day, and have been for years. Probably one reason everyone and their mother is opening a school. Blue belts open schools around here. In the end, a bunch of guys can throw a mat down in a basement and do the exact same thing.

Just a thought, but Yoga is a far more developed than BJJ and has been around for hundreds of years. The studio space is similar. The overhead is similar. But you would never see a yoga studio charging $200 a month.

 

[irc]

To all complainers, I like to see you getting your BB in BJJ and then go and teach that amount of hours/classes per week and charge a lower fees.

then we see who are the real hypocrites!

Shut up dude. Some places charge $250 a month, others charge $50 a month.