Grappling Dilemma

[theoberman]

I really want to do BJJ but the cheapest place I can find is $130 (3 days a week) and the metro ride is 1 hour round trip ($9 for round trip). In a local community center by my college (less than one mile away) there is a Judo Club that is non-profit and only cost $40 for two months. My question is is it beneficial to do one first and then do the other? Should I do both at the same time? If I were to choose one, with my current situation, which one should it be?

 

[Fenrir]

Judo is awesome, you should get on that.

 

[Waxwingslain]

Either one would be good.

Depends really what you want to achieve and how much money/time you want to devote to training.

I'd lean towards Judo first though. Just my opinon.

 

[Mr. Switch]

If bjj is too expensive and too far then judo is an awesome and cheap discipline.

 

[Higher Learning]

judo is a great sport and MA, if its a question of funds for you dont think judo is a bad second choice

 

[BreezerD**]

yeah judo is definitely a good thing. If you had six months to a year of judo under your belt before starting BJJ it'd be a great advantage.

 

[danielr]

In your situation, I'd go with Judo. Judo is great! You can always start taking BJJ when things get better/more convenient for you.

 

[georgejjr]

Ideally you'd do both BJJ and judo - crosstraining them gives you the complete gi game. But if money is tight, judo is almost always cheaper - and you can add BJJ as your finances improve.

 

[BjjZero]

I'd hit that judo...it can only help you later when Bjj isn't such a pain in the ass and $$$.

 

[Flounder]

I'd hit that judo...it can only help you later when Bjj isn't such a pain in the ass and $$$.

Same here.

 

[bjj_ninja]

I think you need to figure out what your main goals are going to be. Are you getting into martial arts for recreation, exercise, sport or whatever. If you can, read the intro to Marcelo Garcia's X Guard book. He was in a very similiar situation when he started training. Very inspirational. Good luck with whichever you choose.

 

[onepointeighty]

why is judo almost always cheaper than BJJ? i always wondered

 

[Mr. Switch]

Probably because it's been mainstream for quite a while, hence there are more black belts to teach etc.

 

[Darksky]

Just pay the money and take the trip, if its a good BJJ club you will not be disappointed.

 

[BenWS]

why is judo almost always cheaper than BJJ? i always wondered

Essentially the cheapest price places will charge will be whatever covers their running costs. Now alot of judo guys do it for the love of the sport, where as jiujitsu guys do it for a living. This basically means judo guys just need to charge enough to cover rent etc. Where as jiujitsu guys needs to charge enough to cover rent and give the instructor a salary. Basically jiujitsu places have higher running costs in general.

 

[lechien]

Essentially the cheapest price places will charge will be whatever covers their running costs. Now alot of judo guys do it for the love of the sport, where as jiujitsu guys do it for a living. This basically means judo guys just need to charge enough to cover rent etc. Where as jiujitsu guys needs to charge enough to cover rent and give the instructor a salary. Basically jiujitsu places have higher running costs in general.

It is interesting point.

At the moment, BJJ instructors are making a living of teaching BJJ therefore it is expensive.

But it is always about supply and demand.

I am sure a Judo BB could make a living teaching Judo. But is there a market for it?

In BJJ, I know blue and purple belts that are charging to teach and they still charges a lot more that to just to cover their expensive.

In ten years time, there will a lot be more "qualified" BJJ BB.
Will the price go down or will BB start teaching for the "love"?

 

[SAMBO1]

I'm a judo and sambo guy so judo because it's cheaper as well.

 

[juijitsufan]

why is judo almost always cheaper than BJJ? i always wondered

it receives funding becuase it is an olympic sport

in canada anyways - thats why so cheap, plus donations from rich japanese as well

 

[Sohan]

One more vote for Judo.

$130/month should give you unlimited BJJ, not 3x/wk. Plus another $108/month for travel expense? Not worth it, unless you are REALLY serious about your training.

 

[georgejjr]

In ten years time, there will a lot be more "qualified" BJJ BB.
Will the price go down or will BB start teaching for the "love"?

Hard to say. Tae Kwon Do and karate schools around here charge as much or more than BJJ - I think it has a lot to do with the discipline's tradition. Judo has always had an amateur sport tradition - it tends to work on the same model as minor baseball, hockey, boxing and wrestling ... ie volunteer run, the dojo's in public centers (Y's and community centers). Not everywhere of course, but a large portion are run that way.

BJJ is like TKD and karate in its model (note I'm not saying the clientele or what is taught is the same, I think BJJ is in general a much better deal in terms of what you get than karate or TKD), in that instructors want to make a living teaching it. In some ways that's better than the amateur sports model judo has ... I suspect judo Olympians would love to make a living teaching judo afterwards, but most can't simply because the almost free judo dojo down the street would get most of their students.

And as someone said, in many countries like Canada, judo gets Olympic sport funding because its taught by volunteers. BJJ could probably get funding from sport Canada as well (ie not all sports getting funding are in the Olympics ... ringettes for instance), but its business model makes that unlikely, as professional instructors aren't seen as needing tax dollars.