So, I have been a member of a Gracie Barra for sometime now. I won't mention which one at the moment, because I don't feel comfortable doing so, but soon I may. This is a review of how it has changed over the years, the good, and the bad.
I am an advanced blue belt for those who are curious about it.
Let's begin:
Green Belts: Sometime ago the organization introduced green belts. Now, you would think that this may lead to a kind of McDojo atmosphere, but in fact it is breeding a kind of super blue belt in our academy. People receive their green belts, which are really only offered every 6 months now (more into that later), and then are stuck with it for a while. This means we have blue belt level green belts around that have to enter comps as white belts. I supposed this is ok, since people feel encouraged once they are promoted to green, and are less likely to quit. They also become more motivated to train and be better than white belts. The negative besides the limbo class this creates for tournaments is the hefty $60 price tag that comes with the belt.
Belt Testing: Belt tests used to be quarterly. Apparently they are now making it biannual. And forget about getting a belt if you can't afford the $60 bucks they charge you for it. With the introduction of green belts, which can be earned as soon as you have a few strips (2-6 months), I can only imagine how much money they make off of this. The ordeal takes hours since we have to wait for kids and adults from 4 different academies to test. I'm yet to see someone fail a test.
Gracie Barra America Take Over: recently Gracie Barra America took over the organization. With that, our formerly relaxed training environment is becoming a pain in the ass environment. Our new rules include always wearing a shirt under the gi, no talking unless it's related to the training, absolutely no cursing (I feel bad for our instructors because they curse often), blah blah blah. They now sell a Gi made by Atama that costs 180 bucks. And you HAVE TO WEAR IT. No other brands, gis, whatever allowed. This is an even bigger pain in the ass because when you start they sell you this shitty judo gi for something like 80 bucks that you must wear, but once you are promoted you HAVE TO WEAR THE DAMN ATAMA GI, meaning fork over 180 bucks along with the 60 that you spent on your belt. Add that to a minimum of 99 bucks a month.
Our instructors come from Brazil, where bjj is absolutely informal, so they feel like total douches having to enforce these rules. Recently one of our top instructors was telling us how back in the day (12 years ago, he's young) there was no bowing, you could slap people during training, you wore whatever gi you could find. Basically, no formal BS. Now they have to endure this stuff.
Instructors:Instruction is top notch. We have a pan am champ, a successful competitor, a good brown, a successful mma fighter, and a few other black belts. Since we have so many locations there is plenty of room to develop a varied game, and to see different styles of BJJ if you can train at different places. Our instructors are overworked, teaching all classes in their respective academies, in charge of administrative work, having to train to compete, etc. they pull 12-14 hour days at least 3 times a week, but I suspect that most places are similar.
Anyways, this is a review for now. I'll add more later. Really tired ATM.
Update 02/18/10:
This is stirring more controversy than I thought. The reason I choose to keep location confidential for now is because I love my instructors and training partners, and I don't want to create a negative atmosphere in the academy. I also don't want to drive potential visitors away and hurt my instructors in the process. I wanted to vent my frustration and generate some discussion in a safe and knowledgeable environment, that's why I came here.
I am not claiming all Gracie Barras are like this. We used to be Gracie Barra X, and now we are switching to GB America. Perhaps the strict adherence to the rules is due to the fact that we are new to the franchise, but there are clear money making schemes in place that bother me.
I'm glad to hear other GB academies don't charge for belts. Unfortunately, we do. And yes, green belts are required for adults, and they do cost 60 bucks. I don't think they're necessarily a bad thing. No one is performing any worse because of these belts.
Aesopian, I was told that our new Gis are being made by Atama. I don't know how these things work, perhaps our school still has an Atama contract? I don't know.
I am a bit frustrated with the practices in the academy. To some people rules and certain kinds of discipline aren't a big deal. Others are also well off financially. But some of us are low income, students, etc.-- it bothers me that I'm coerced to spend 180 bucks on a new gi when i have a perfectly good old one, and get crap every week for not being able to afford my purple belt test. I am paying my monthly dues, and I feel that's all I'm obliged to do (besides show basic respect). Bowing is perfectly fine with me, and so are many other practices, but being scolded for inane bs as if I owed these people something more than respect and 100 and something dollars a month just doesn't fly.
Let me clarify that the problem is with our top dogs (owners), who by the way are great black belts but are never seen in a mat anymore. Our current instructors are amazing, and don't like having to enforce any of these rules. Unfortunately they get an earful if they don't.
I am not a troll. And no, I didn't disappear. Look at my join date, this account is almost two years old - it wasn't created for this post. I joined the forum a long time ago but never had occasion/much time to post.
I am an advanced blue belt for those who are curious about it.
Let's begin:
Green Belts: Sometime ago the organization introduced green belts. Now, you would think that this may lead to a kind of McDojo atmosphere, but in fact it is breeding a kind of super blue belt in our academy. People receive their green belts, which are really only offered every 6 months now (more into that later), and then are stuck with it for a while. This means we have blue belt level green belts around that have to enter comps as white belts. I supposed this is ok, since people feel encouraged once they are promoted to green, and are less likely to quit. They also become more motivated to train and be better than white belts. The negative besides the limbo class this creates for tournaments is the hefty $60 price tag that comes with the belt.
Belt Testing: Belt tests used to be quarterly. Apparently they are now making it biannual. And forget about getting a belt if you can't afford the $60 bucks they charge you for it. With the introduction of green belts, which can be earned as soon as you have a few strips (2-6 months), I can only imagine how much money they make off of this. The ordeal takes hours since we have to wait for kids and adults from 4 different academies to test. I'm yet to see someone fail a test.
Gracie Barra America Take Over: recently Gracie Barra America took over the organization. With that, our formerly relaxed training environment is becoming a pain in the ass environment. Our new rules include always wearing a shirt under the gi, no talking unless it's related to the training, absolutely no cursing (I feel bad for our instructors because they curse often), blah blah blah. They now sell a Gi made by Atama that costs 180 bucks. And you HAVE TO WEAR IT. No other brands, gis, whatever allowed. This is an even bigger pain in the ass because when you start they sell you this shitty judo gi for something like 80 bucks that you must wear, but once you are promoted you HAVE TO WEAR THE DAMN ATAMA GI, meaning fork over 180 bucks along with the 60 that you spent on your belt. Add that to a minimum of 99 bucks a month.
Our instructors come from Brazil, where bjj is absolutely informal, so they feel like total douches having to enforce these rules. Recently one of our top instructors was telling us how back in the day (12 years ago, he's young) there was no bowing, you could slap people during training, you wore whatever gi you could find. Basically, no formal BS. Now they have to endure this stuff.
Instructors:Instruction is top notch. We have a pan am champ, a successful competitor, a good brown, a successful mma fighter, and a few other black belts. Since we have so many locations there is plenty of room to develop a varied game, and to see different styles of BJJ if you can train at different places. Our instructors are overworked, teaching all classes in their respective academies, in charge of administrative work, having to train to compete, etc. they pull 12-14 hour days at least 3 times a week, but I suspect that most places are similar.
Anyways, this is a review for now. I'll add more later. Really tired ATM.
Update 02/18/10:
This is stirring more controversy than I thought. The reason I choose to keep location confidential for now is because I love my instructors and training partners, and I don't want to create a negative atmosphere in the academy. I also don't want to drive potential visitors away and hurt my instructors in the process. I wanted to vent my frustration and generate some discussion in a safe and knowledgeable environment, that's why I came here.
I am not claiming all Gracie Barras are like this. We used to be Gracie Barra X, and now we are switching to GB America. Perhaps the strict adherence to the rules is due to the fact that we are new to the franchise, but there are clear money making schemes in place that bother me.
I'm glad to hear other GB academies don't charge for belts. Unfortunately, we do. And yes, green belts are required for adults, and they do cost 60 bucks. I don't think they're necessarily a bad thing. No one is performing any worse because of these belts.
Aesopian, I was told that our new Gis are being made by Atama. I don't know how these things work, perhaps our school still has an Atama contract? I don't know.
I am a bit frustrated with the practices in the academy. To some people rules and certain kinds of discipline aren't a big deal. Others are also well off financially. But some of us are low income, students, etc.-- it bothers me that I'm coerced to spend 180 bucks on a new gi when i have a perfectly good old one, and get crap every week for not being able to afford my purple belt test. I am paying my monthly dues, and I feel that's all I'm obliged to do (besides show basic respect). Bowing is perfectly fine with me, and so are many other practices, but being scolded for inane bs as if I owed these people something more than respect and 100 and something dollars a month just doesn't fly.
Let me clarify that the problem is with our top dogs (owners), who by the way are great black belts but are never seen in a mat anymore. Our current instructors are amazing, and don't like having to enforce any of these rules. Unfortunately they get an earful if they don't.
No, our green belts compete in white out of respect for the blue belts. They haven't been awarded a blue yet and feel that they should respect that fact. Considering the fact that many of them get their greens after one or two stripes, they aren't necessarily sandbagging.
I am not a troll. And no, I didn't disappear. Look at my join date, this account is almost two years old - it wasn't created for this post. I joined the forum a long time ago but never had occasion/much time to post.
