What specifically do you dislike about Gracie Barra schools?

[Söze Aldo]

We had to bow to photo of Carlos Gracie Sr. Before and after every class. Felt cultish.

I can go on and on but don't want to give too many details.

Last 2 years I've switched with a few buddies to arguably the top gym in San diego. Don't even do gi anymore because I'm embarrassed to wear a bb, so do just no gi

If you are bowing to the photo of an old dead man you're not related to, you are definitely in a cult.

 

[School_Of_Koi]

2). Superfast attendance based promotions, like 6months blue belt.

 

[HunterAcosta]

I didn't like that they told me their fundamentals was only "25%" self defence.

also, nothing to do with GB, but I heard there is an MMA gym in a big American city that is haunted and none of the fighters will stay there alone.

Really ?! Seriously ? Where’d you hear that ? That’s nuts. Haunted ?

 

[Foppa21]

If you are bowing to the photo of an old dead man you're not related to, you are definitely in a cult.

That's pretty much every religion

 

[TheMoa]

I first started in a GB here in Brazil.

My first problem was the GI, GB gi is really expensive, 3x the price of a same quality GI I could buy on the internet. The local gym owner told me that it wouldnt be a problem and I could use any GI, so I brought a patchless gi on the internet.
3 months in he started to send me links of GB patches to buy on the internet, I ignored for a time until he started to address it before every class: "Guys, we are a school, we use uniforms... people upstairs are putting pressure on me about people without GB patches, I can lose the franchise this way"

I didn't like it, but I brought some second hand patches over the internet.

The promotions bothered me a little too (just a little), the stripes were given purely by time training there. It confused me a little bit seeing WBs who couldnt hit a sub or a sweep on stripless WBs getting a new stripe.

Now, what really made me quit was when I was "promoted" to blue I had pay a fee. "It's not a fee, is just to buy the physical belt like you brought the GI".
It was a ridiculous price, I asked if I could buy a belt on the internet (3x cheaper) like I did with the GI and he told me no, that the belts came from the GB quarters and older GB black belts would be on the ceremony and it would give him trouble.

I got mad and quit realizing that it was a money making machine, I went 3 years without training and only started again when I moved to a new city. I took the stripes out of my white belt and started fresh on a new gym.

Sad thing is.. the local gym owner was actually a nice guy, it was a very small school in a small city and he didnt have any money to spare. But the whole GB franchiese was aways putting pressure on him, he kept the filiation cuz it helped with seminars and human material to train.

 

[mattemate]

I first started in a GB here in Brazil.

My first problem was the GI, GB gi is really expensive, 3x the price of a same quality GI I could buy on the internet. The local gym owner told me that it wouldnt be a problem and I could use any GI, so I brought a patchless gi on the internet.
3 months in he started to send me links of GB patches to buy on the internet, I ignored for a time until he started to address it before every class: "Guys, we are a school, we use uniforms... people upstairs are putting pressure on me about people without GB patches, I can lose the franchise this way"

I didn't like it, but I brought some second hand patches over the internet.

The promotions bothered me a little too (just a little), the stripes were given purely by time training there. It confused me a little bit seeing WBs who couldnt hit a sub or a sweep on stripless WBs getting a new stripe.

Now, what really made me quit was when I was "promoted" to blue I had pay a fee. "It's not a fee, is just to buy the physical belt like you brought the GI".
It was a ridiculous price, I asked if I could buy a belt on the internet (3x cheaper) like I did with the GI and he told me no, that the belts came from the GB quarters and older GB black belts would be on the ceremony and it would give him trouble.

I got mad and quit realizing that it was a money making machine, I went 3 years without training and only started again when I moved to a new city. I took the stripes out of my white belt and started fresh on a new gym.

Sad thing is.. the local gym owner was actually a nice guy, it was a very small school in a small city and he didnt have any money to spare. But the whole GB franchiese was aways putting pressure on him, he kept the filiation cuz it helped with seminars and human material to train.

The level of gatekeeping is ridiculous.