Huge drop out rates at my school

[sanuces]

BJJ may not be high on peoples priorities. it may be something they just do as opposed to something they love. ive seen folks come and go from my gym. some come back but most don't. its just something that happens i guess. i dont think there is one specific reason for it other than folks got shit to do.

 

[monkey roll]

The ones who are big and think they're the top dogs. They think they will beat up on the smaller guys but once they see the reality they dont come back. Actually my friend was one of them. He is a 230 lb powerlifter who thought his strength could overcome anything they threw at him. But turns out he was choked out everytime to smaller guys. Now he stopped going after three classes.

Haha i used to be one of them! But i didn't quit, and i only weight 195 solid

 

[Gsoares2***]

my favorite are the guys who come in with a brand new 150$ gi.. 1st day,... come for a little bit.. Think their the shit.. End up injuring them self and never comming back.

Either that or another of my fav scenarios is... They come in and pay for privates, they are paying for privates for muay thai, and boxing.. everything mma. They suck at everything and give up after awhile because they see little progress. FOCUS ON ONE THING.

You have to want bjj more than anything else to succeed quickly.. Ive past up a number of guys simply because i train more.. Im willing to make sacrifices in my social/work life to gain more experince in another field(bjj).... In the end.. people become envious of someone else at the club. Then convince them self they dont have the time to do bjj. then quit.

 

[Commissar]

Same with my school. People always try classes, but few ever return.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has a way of weeding out unfit people.

 

[tequilaman]

People addicted to grappling like me cannot understand how someone would pay for a class and not go. I would go more if I didn't have a job and bills to pay, but I can only go 2-3 times a week.

It is the non-grapplers that think "hey, I wanna try this new BJJ thing I heard about. I bet you I could do it!" Then they actually try it, realize that it is very hard, and they quit.

What they want is an easy road to black belt like Karate or Tae Kwon Do.

 

[LCDforMe]

I weighed 257 when starting and I thought it was all about the strength game. After I got done kick the shit out of some 150 pound begniners, I thought I might give the more experienced guys a go. I got my ass kicked for about 2 hours. I came back a day later hoping to get them back. The same thing happened. I realized strength isn't what it's about. Now, I weigh about 207 and I'm using little of my strength. I love working with the new big guys who come in to show them that it isn't strength that you use to win.

 

[judogido]

N00bs often have too high expectations. They expect to be mixing it with advanced players within a few months. Once the novelty and reality sets in after a few months of the "honeymoon period" they leave.

There's much truth to the saying that "Black Belts arent the BEST - they're whose LEFT".

 

[ShadowNINku]

I wonder where u heard that one. And its funny how on gi nights not many ppl show but on no-gi a ton shows. Mostly wrestlers show up. You would think wrestlers would stick with it becuz they have a good base but that isn't the case.

A friend of mine also pointed out that grappling attracts a certain type of ppl. The ones who are big and think they're the top dogs. They think they will beat up on the smaller guys but once they see the reality they dont come back. Actually my friend was one of them. He is a 230 lb powerlifter who thought his strength could overcome anything they threw at him. But turns out he was choked out everytime to smaller guys. Now he stopped going after three classes.

so true

 

[Waxwingslain]

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has a way of weeding out unfit people.

I think it's a mental thing. You don't have to be in great shape to succeed in BJJ (though it helps).

 

[abhi]

I stopped going as I had to change as much as 4 trains to get there and its was about 1 hour 2 get there

 

[fozzit]

I thought the thread title was talking about ahuge drop in rates for your school.. ahah

Anyways, in my 13 months of jiu jitsu less than 10 people still train from when I started. A lot of people quit due to injuries, moved away, or took up muy thai. For all the new people, we probably get 5 new students a month and they all train for a couple months, dissapear, then reappear. So on any given day a class can consists of 2-5 students or 10-20+. God bless contracts or else my academy wouldn't survive.

 

[VTJas81]

I thought the thread title was talking about ahuge drop in rates for your school.. ahah

Anyways, in my 13 months of jiu jitsu less than 10 people still train from when I started. A lot of people quit due to injuries, moved away, or took up muy thai. For all the new people, we probably get 5 new students a month and they all train for a couple months, dissapear, then reappear. So on any given day a class can consists of 2-5 students or 10-20+. God bless contracts or else my academy wouldn't survive.

Yesterday we had about 5-6 students in class yesterday. But on any given day it could be packed. Ppl are inconsistent. Thats fine with me, more mat area to roll on.

 

[fozzit]

Or less ^^^ ahah

Man somedays I'd be the only one there and im thinking I get a free private lesson, but then 4 or 5 cats would show up late....

 

[S.D.Force]

Here's the reason drop outs are so high>>>

People come in wanting to learn cool subs and "jiu jitsu" like they see in the UFC.

People, no matter what their experience in grappling do NOT like to get their asses handed to them in "hard" rolling that takes place after instruction. You have guys that maybe have been there a couple of months just mauling these new comers and "practicing" up on their neck cranks and chokes.

After you leave a class in which you were choked out a couple of times and your arm is sore from kimuras and your ankles are sore from ankle locks you didn't see coming and that were cranked to hard by newbies (and advanced players as well), you do NOT have a great motivation in going back. This is NOT fun for you. You want to learn subs and have some fun, not necessarily roll at 100% speed, which is almost always what is going on.

You should be learning techniques and subs for a long time before you start rolling at 100%. You should be working on conditioning and stretching for a while to before a new guy is allowed to roll full speed. Yet instructors and people in the class seem to use the new guy to practice "chain" submissions and exotic subs on. This leaves the new guy confused and bewildered.

That's a bunch of BS when guys say "oh, that's how you learn".....total bullshit! People want to practice their own technique, and rarely do you see them taking all kinds of time explaining just how they exectuted that reverse heel hook.

Bottom line....people like to use new guys as practice dummies, and instructors should be the first ones to identify this and regulate it.

 

[Resendiz]

Or less ^^^ ahah

Man somedays I'd be the only one there and im thinking I get a free private lesson, but then 4 or 5 cats would show up late....

haha so true i was in class early one time and there was only one person there, im thinking HELL YEAH privates! Then comes in one person followed by another...then another and so on.

 

[Gsoares2***]

Here's the reason drop outs are so high>>>

People come in wanting to learn cool subs and "jiu jitsu" like they see in the UFC.

People, no matter what their experience in grappling do NOT like to get their asses handed to them in "hard" rolling that takes place after instruction. You have guys that maybe have been there a couple of months just mauling these new comers and "practicing" up on their neck cranks and chokes.

After you leave a class in which you were choked out a couple of times and your arm is sore from kimuras and your ankles are sore from ankle locks you didn't see coming and that were cranked to hard by newbies (and advanced players as well), you do NOT have a great motivation in going back. This is NOT fun for you. You want to learn subs and have some fun, not necessarily roll at 100% speed, which is almost always what is going on.

You should be learning techniques and subs for a long time before you start rolling at 100%. You should be working on conditioning and stretching for a while to before a new guy is allowed to roll full speed. Yet instructors and people in the class seem to use the new guy to practice "chain" submissions and exotic subs on. This leaves the new guy confused and bewildered.

That's a bunch of BS when guys say "oh, that's how you learn".....total bullshit! People want to practice their own technique, and rarely do you see them taking all kinds of time explaining just how they exectuted that reverse heel hook.

Bottom line....people like to use new guys as practice dummies, and instructors should be the first ones to identify this and regulate it.

My though on it, is they let the small fish go as to learn humility from the get go. Other wise you build up a bunch of guys who have a false sense of securty. People think they can apply these things full force when they cant.. You have a good point.. but i think the old ways has it advantages.. If you want tough guys to make a good team.. old way is best.. if you want a shit load of students and want money.. your way is best.

Other wise you got white belts at tournaments dominating the other white belts who never roll, then you have a whole slew of players with no Real force situation training..

 

[S.D.Force]

Bottom line....the best way to actually "learn" JJ, is to slowly learn moves at very slow speeds and repeat them over and over with somebody that's not really resisting. You both take turns working on things and offering mild resistance at a slow pace.

This is definitely not the way almost every school works. Your conditioning and mat awareness needs to develop slowly and you do NOT need to learn by getting your ass handed to you on a daily basis.

This is a big turn off even to people that really want to learn. They show up and see a bunch of bad asses that can kick their asses and they feel out of place. Everybody has pride. It has nothing to do with humility in learning. These people are paying a high price to learn JJ, not to be a practice dummy for the other guys.

Again, this is the reason you lose a lot of guys. Most people that show up after a hard day of work or whatever may not really want to go 100%, but feel obligated to do so at the end of practice as everybody else is doing it. So the alternative is, that if you aren't really feeling up to going "balls to the wall" that night....well then, you just don't show up.

This is further illustrated by the fact that there ususally is some kind of conditioning session that is part of practice as well. And after a hard day at the office, i may not want to participate in it.....but, you do feel obligated to do it if you are there. You look like a pussy if you are the only one sitting out. Again, the alternative is just not to show up if you don't want to do a hardcore conditioning session.

The best alternative is for instructors to realize this obvious fact and adjust their classes.....yeah right.

 

[Gsoares2***]

Only if you want a class full of paying pussys.
This is what forced tkd and karate to be so mcdojo'd...

More concern for what the working man wants, When you bring how people feel into the situation you make my point more clear. Its fighting, not a sleep over.

I think alot of schools have addressed this by splitting the classes from advanced to beginners.

Your talking about making it comfortable for people... If you want to run a buisness thats great.. But your not going to produce the best athlete's by being so soft on them..

Im paying so i have people to train with, a coach to coach me, and a place to train.
Its a sport... and class is practice.

At any practice of any sport.. If you sit out... you are looked at the same.

 

[S.D.Force]

Only if you want a class full of paying pussys.
This is what forced tkd and karate to be so mcdojo'd...

More concern for what the working man wants, When you bring how people feel into the situation you make my point more clear. Its fighting, not a sleep over.

I think alot of schools have addressed this by splitting the classes from advanced to beginners.

Your talking about making it comfortable for people... If you want to run a buisness thats great.. But your not going to produce the best athlete's by being so soft on them..

Im paying so i have people to train with, a coach to coach me, and a place to train.
Its a sport... and class is practice.

At any practice of any sport.. If you sit out... you are looked at the same.

Most people are there just to learn cool subs and not to become a world class athlete, or regular tournament competitor.

You take basically a "baby", a guy during his first month of training a kick his ass all over the mat and you will break him down so that he doesn't want to come back. You need to bring people along a little more slowly, get them in the game, give them a little confidence.

If you are there to become an "ass kicker and name taker" then that's fine. But don't call the average Joe a pussy b/c he just wants to come in after work and learn some subs. I've seen a lot of ex wrestlers in their late 30's come in and drop out after a short time b/c these young and in shape guys in their early 20's are climbing all over them right out of the blocks.

Sorry if you think that's what it's all about...but it's not...or at least it shouldn't be.

There definitely should be advanced/beginner/intermediate sections of the class where maybe they could all learn the moves together but the new guys should be only able to roll with new guys that are somewhere in their weight class range. Either that or advanced guys should only be able to roll at about 25%speed with them.

You want to keep class sizes up and drop out rates down....then people should do what i'm suggesting. You want high drop out rates and a few "hard core" ass kickers that stick around for a few years whipping-up on the new guys and winning at tournaments, then keep up the same routine.

 

[infamous mattyd]

sepearting skill level is the only ting that will prevent drop outs imo