Huge drop out rates at my school

[Big Red]

It's all about passion. If you are a total newb to sub grappling & you are going to a class in your area to satisfy your ego, sub the top students and/or become Royce Gracie in one night.. in most cases, after they see that fails they won't return.

If you are going for fitness, fun and/or to learn the art, you will come time and time again no matter how your session goes. I know I pay money to learn jiu jitsu, I can sub my friends for free, so I don't see why people come with such high expectations.

 

[iclimb513]

I think the observation that the vast majority of people will drop out quickly regardless of the school is valid.

I've been at my place since August of 2003. I was student #2 when it opened. Since that time only a few of the guys who started around then or shortly therafter are still there. I have stopped even paying attention to those who come in all gung ho then suddenly disappear after 1 to 3 months.

I'm not even talking about the guys who come for free for a few weeks to try it on for size. I mean the guys who have decided to sign on the line and fork over some dough.

It's really funny, whenever someone makes the decision, our instructor will always be sure to formally welcome that person during line up by announcing "our newest team member" and then everyone claps. A lot of the time that is the last time we'll ever see that guy. It's become a bit of a private joke with those of us down at the far end of the line up. Instructor says "Let's all welcome our newest team member...(dude's name)" and during the clapping as if on cue, 3 or 4 of us all look at each other and say out of the sides of our mouths "...and we never saw him again"

Anyway, I am sure people drop out for all kinds of reasons. Disillusionment with what a hard row to hoe BJJ really is, work issues, family issues, other hobbies, etc. Bottom line is, if it isn't fun you probably won't come back.

I am unmarried (and God willing will always be), no kids, I have my own business working from home, the money is good, the gym is 5 minutes away so I have a fair amount of free time. But more importantly Bjj is fun. I'm into it but I am not a frothing fanatic about it like some people. So I go 4 days a week for 3 hours, which to me is the right balance to keep improving yet not burn out or get overuse injuries (I am 37). It never feels like a chore or anything, so consistency is easy. In 26 months I think I have only missed 10 classes, usually due to illness or being out of town. For a while I was very serious about it, training very hard 5 or 6 days a week but my body was balking at that volume. I was injured a lot and mentally unpsyched. So I just throttled it back and now things are good.

I completely agree that the guys who become awesome are simply the ones who were left after everyone else bagged it. I've seen some amazingly talented guys come and go. They could have been incredibly good, all they had to do was keep coming.

 

[Flaco]

most people where im at are there for the first month and then drop. me on the other hand i keep having stupid injuries pop up and miss time

Same here, I just had surgery and will be out 4-6 months. Guess I'll be with the newbies learning all over when I go back..

 

[DMcKayBJJ]

Great thread guys...
I think the younger guys drop out fast because they think they'll be Royce in a few weeks and are too immature to deal with their pride/egos when they get manhandled over and over again.
I think the older guys drop in and out over time mostly due to other stuff in life (work, kids, injuries).

I gotta hand it to some of you guys for your commitment, though. There are many times when I've wished I could win the lottery and just roll and learn for a couple of hours every day...but sometimes life isn't so permitting.

I hope to stick with BJJ for a long time. It's fun and a great skill to learn, IMO.
But there's a lot of stuff in life that I like to do, too. I gotta make time for that stuff, too.

I may have to drop out and drop back in from time to time, but I'm not on a time schedule to get my blue/purple/brown/black belt either like some guys seem to be.

That's all...just my 2 cents.

 

[Soid]

A lot of people have responsibilities. I'm grateful for being 17 and learning jiujitsu when i was 16. I have no responsiblilities, therefore I don't look at what I do as anything special. Those who have jobs, have relatives to care for, school, and come to jiujitsu are the ones I look up to. Whether they be the suckiest whitebelt ever, they are the ones that through it all put their heart into the sport. Some people cannot handle the pressure (Living far, going to jiujitsu right after, and putting all their time into it). They simply couldn't do it, no one should point fingers at them and laugh so to say.

Shit.. look at Infamous matty. He goes to lawschool, works, goes to jiu jitsu, posts on sherdog and bangs his fiance all in ONE NIGHT. Remarkable.

 

[S.D.Force]

It's all about passion. If you are a total newb to sub grappling & you are going to a class in your area to satisfy your ego, sub the top students and/or become Royce Gracie in one night.. in most cases, after they see that fails they won't return.

If you are going for fitness, fun and/or to learn the art, you will come time and time again no matter how your session goes. I know I pay money to learn jiu jitsu, I can sub my friends for free, so I don't see why people come with such high expectations.

You're wrong.... most people do come in for fitness and fun and to learn some cool subs ("the art")....that's exactly the problem. Guys that know what's up feel that since they got their asses handed to them upon joining, well now it's their turn to dish it out to the newbs a little. Kind of an "initiation", or "rite of passage".

If you are a guy who wrestled all through high school and joined up with a JJ school right out of high school. Or while in high school, then you are young and full of sass and vinegar. There are many guys that have families, full time jobs, mortgages, things most of the young guys could never understand.

Getting physically "worked over" can be a bit uncomfortable for new guys that are out of shape. It has nothing to do with them having a weak ego or anything like that. It's just not fun when you're out of shape.

And to make matters worse. One of the worst things about being new is the fact that "open mat" to most of the more seasoned guys, means to roll non stop for 30 to 45 minute with different partners with very little breaks. For a new guy being thrown right into this mix, especially an older guy that may be out of shape, he is thinking "what the hell", "damn this isn't fun". So he really came in to learn subs as a newb. But is not really forced, but strongly encouraged through peer pressure to engage in the conditioning portion of class AND the extensive open mat period, where he inevitably gets his ass kicked and goes home sore and feeling bad about himself.

I think its human nature to want to work some new moves on the new guy and rough him up a little bit. I blame it mostly on instructors lack of common sense in controlling the issue.

 

[Commissar]

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.

I cracked my rib from a reaping hip throw in my second class of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I was out a month. And, if anything, that cemented the necissity of me joining.

 

[iclimb513]

No fookin' way...

There's a BIG easy to notice difference between a fresh out of highschool wrestler in tremendous shape with somehting to prove and some 40 year old guy who hasn't exercised in years.

When it's time to roll with new students for the first time it is very easy to sense what speed to go at. The wrestler gets my full attention and I will punish him (as best I can) depending on how hard he is going. I'll throw sub after sub and try and put him on his back just to see if I can. If he's throwing a spaz I may mention its in his interest to mellow out for the sake of learning and safety before I hit an armlock with a bit too much gusto.

The 40 year old? yea like I'm so sure I'm going to beat his ass as an "initiation". Oh boy what a good time that would be. No, I'm going to go super light and probably even let him take good position and keep going until he is tired.

I find it hard to believe anyone who's made it much past bluebelt still feels the need to beat up on obviously helpless new guys. I mean, seriously...

Guys that know what's up feel that since they got their asses handed to them upon joining, well now it's their turn to dish it out to the newbs a little. Kind of an "initiation", or "rite of passage".

If you are a guy who wrestled all through high school and joined up with a JJ school right out of high school. Or while in high school, then you are young and full of sass and vinegar. There are many guys that have families, full time jobs, mortgages, things most of the young guys could never understand.

Getting physically "worked over" can be a bit uncomfortable for new guys that are out of shape. It has nothing to do with them having a weak ego or anything like that. It's just not fun when you're out of shape.

And to make matters worse. One of the worst things about being new is the fact that "open mat" to most of the more seasoned guys, means to roll non stop for 30 to 45 minute with different partners with very little breaks. For a new guy being thrown right into this mix, especially an older guy that may be out of shape, he is thinking "what the hell", "damn this isn't fun". So he really came in to learn subs as a newb. But is not really forced, but strongly encouraged through peer pressure to engage in the conditioning portion of class AND the extensive open mat period, where he inevitably gets his ass kicked and goes home sore and feeling bad about himself.

I think its human nature to want to work some new moves on the new guy and rough him up a little bit. I blame it mostly on instructors lack of common sense in controlling the issue.