Is this normal for a Judo gym?

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JudoPride

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My nephew is starting Judo classes in Missouri. The gym that he joined does half Judo and half BJJ. They do belt tests every 3 months for each one. They only have one teacher who does both the Judo and BJJ. They meet two nights a week for a total of 3 hours.

Is this something that is common throughout? When I did Judo as a kid, BJJ was something you did completely separate.

Thanks for the answers!
 
So he is teaching both judo and Jiu jitsu at the same time? I don't understand what the issue is. Is he testing for each sport individually?

At my sons school the bjj instructor emphasis is in judo and wrestling for the kids. Seriously. They learn throws and pins and escapes. He will teach them chokes and arm bars but he wants them to be good at their throws and pins especially for self defense.

I see nothing wrong with mixing both at the same time.

Also


Is Normal.
 
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Dogstarman said:
So he is teaching both judo and Jiu jitsu at the same time? I don't understand what the issue is. Is he testing for each sport individually?

At my sons school the bjj instructor emphasis is in judo and wrestling for the kids. Seriously. They learn throws and pins and escapes. He will teach them chokes and arm bars but he wants them to be good at their throws and pins especially for self defense.

I see nothing wrong with mixing both at the same time.

Also


Is Normal.
Click to expand...
My main issue being, is it possible to focus on both equally for only 3 hours a week while also testing for belts on each sport? With a ton of students and charging them 25 dollars to rank for each sport, it just seems a bit unusual to me.
 
Even if testing were needed to get a new belt, which IMO is not, you do not improve fast enough for a new belt every 3 months. It's just a money maker. Lots of schools do that crap on kids though.
 
Testing every 3 months for a new belt is a bit much but otherwise it sounds like he's on his way to becoming a great grappler.
 
One question to determine whats what - Who is the instructor?

I think that it could be great for little kids to get a judo base at the same time, but it does sound a little McDojo-ish.
 
JudoPride said:
My main issue being, is it possible to focus on both equally for only 3 hours a week while also testing for belts on each sport? With a ton of students and charging them 25 dollars to rank for each sport, it just seems a bit unusual to me.
Click to expand...

Our judo club in California promotes kids once a year. To get next belt kid needs to have 6 wins in the tournaments. They practice twice a week, 4 & 1/2 hr total. It takes about 10 years to reach shodan. I do not see a reason for belt testing every three months.

There is lots of overlap between bjj and judo, so teaching both seems ok to me. Charging for judo belt testing ... sounds like McDojo.
 
Russky said:
Our judo club in California promotes kids once a year. To get next belt kid needs to have 6 wins in the tournaments. They practice twice a week, 4 & 1/2 hr total. It takes about 10 years to reach shodan. I do not see a reason for belt testing every three months.

There is lots of overlap between bjj and judo, so teaching both seems ok to me. Charging for judo belt testing ... sounds like McDojo.
Click to expand...

Interesting.
That means 2340hrs or so till bb
 
JudoPride said:
My nephew is starting Judo classes in Missouri. The gym that he joined does half Judo and half BJJ. They do belt tests every 3 months for each one. They only have one teacher who does both the Judo and BJJ. They meet two nights a week for a total of 3 hours.

Is this something that is common throughout? When I did Judo as a kid, BJJ was something you did completely separate.

Thanks for the answers!
Click to expand...

What is unusual is belt testing every 3 months. LOL
I have a Judo/Bjj as one program. Belt promotion is once a year. Jun/Jul I do BJJ promotion and Dec Judo promotion
 
Russky said:
Our judo club in California promotes kids once a year. To get next belt kid needs to have 6 wins in the tournaments. They practice twice a week, 4 & 1/2 hr total. It takes about 10 years to reach shodan. I do not see a reason for belt testing every three months.

There is lots of overlap between bjj and judo, so teaching both seems ok to me. Charging for judo belt testing ... sounds like McDojo.
Click to expand...

10 years to reach shodan?

Why?
 
Testing often for kids is not that big of a deal imo. I know of a few schools who add stripes and kids belts into their program. I think children get bored and stop enjoying things very quickly if they aren't being rewarded often. It's understandable from a business perspective.
 
Gambledub said:
Testing often for kids is not that big of a deal imo. I know of a few schools who add stripes and kids belts into their program. I think children get bored and stop enjoying things very quickly if they aren't being rewarded often. It's understandable from a business perspective.
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This. Everyone hatin belt tests and promoting children don't know any children or want their children to be stoic warriors. Kids get bored easily. It's not like some adults that are blue belts for 4 years and keep at it just because they love it.

Also the gyms gotta make money too. Don't know why that's a so bad.
 
Take your "McDojo" blinders off for children. Belt testing for them is practically a necessity. To keep them interested, as they get disinterested very easily, you have to periodically give them little incentives and ego boosts. I don't even have kids, and I know this shit.
Russky said:
Our judo club in California promotes kids once a year. To get next belt kid needs to have 6 wins in the tournaments. They practice twice a week, 4 & 1/2 hr total. It takes about 10 years to reach shodan. I do not see a reason for belt testing every three months.

There is lots of overlap between bjj and judo, so teaching both seems ok to me. Charging for judo belt testing ... sounds like McDojo.
Click to expand...

Ten years for shodan is... wow.

Why the hell does it take so long at that club?

The average for my main club is 6 years.
 
JudoPride said:
My nephew is starting Judo classes in Missouri. The gym that he joined does half Judo and half BJJ. They do belt tests every 3 months for each one. They only have one teacher who does both the Judo and BJJ. They meet two nights a week for a total of 3 hours.

Is this something that is common throughout? When I did Judo as a kid, BJJ was something you did completely separate.

Thanks for the answers!
Click to expand...

If the school or the instructor is somehow linked to Dave Camarillo and/or Guerilla Jiu-Jitsu, it wouldn't be that odd.

If the instructor is legitimately qualified to teach both and to award promotions in both, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Doing a bit of research about the instructor, his credentials and his affiliations should address most of your concerns.
 
JudoPride said:
My main issue being, is it possible to focus on both equally for only 3 hours a week while also testing for belts on each sport? With a ton of students and charging them 25 dollars to rank for each sport, it just seems a bit unusual to me.
Click to expand...

No judo or bjj school I know tests each of its students every three months. While there's certainly some flexibility and subjectivity accorded to instructors, most legit judo and bjj organizations and/or governing bodies have rules (or at least firm guidelines) about how long an individual must remain in his current rank regardless of their level of skill. So the idea that everyone gets tested for a promotion every three months (in either or both sports) sound odd to me. But it might be a miscommunication; maybe what your nephew meant was that the instructor tests all the students who qualify for a promotion every three months. That wouldn't be all that odd. A lot of schools have specific recurring calendar dates that they reserve for tests and promotions (
 
It's also possible that this guy is a legit BB in both sports but is operating an unaffiliated / freestyle school. In other words, doing his own thang. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It just means that the rules and guidelines of promotions from the IJF or USA Judo and the IBJJF don't apply.
 
Ippy said:
Take your "McDojo" blinders off for children. Belt testing for them is practically a necessity. To keep them interested, as they get disinterested very easily, you have to periodically give them little incentives and ego boosts. I don't even have kids, and I know this shit.

Ten years for shodan is... wow.

Why the hell does it take so long at that club?

The average for my main club is 6 years.
Click to expand...

Must be different in the U.S. 10yrs is pretty standard in Australia.

Co-grading in BJJ & judo is not common here
 
Dogstarman said:
This. Everyone hatin belt tests and promoting children don't know any children or want their children to be stoic warriors. Kids get bored easily. It's not like some adults that are blue belts for 4 years and keep at it just because they love it.

Also the gyms gotta make money too. Don't know why that's a so bad.
Click to expand...

Yeah plus I think kids have a lot more belts and I'd imagine that this place has a belt for jiu jitsu and a belt for judo so it doesn't seem that crazy
 
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