Why BJJ is so expensive

BJJ instructors want more for private lessons than my lawyer charges per hour. BJJ privates and seminar rates always make me laugh yet there are people who pay for them.

Privates are hard work tho. Also it's likely you will have to roll with some white belt spaz, you will have to experience his horrible movements and you can't even beat him up properly because he is paying you money. Also it's enough for a lawyer to be professional instead of cozzying up and bullshiting his clients to get more lessons.
 
I still don't see how a non profit organisation can turn a sport into non profit.

IJF is non profit.

Judo clubs are run by volunteers most of the time but it has nothing to do with the IJF.

The IJF is not going around telling their members that they cannot teach Judo for a profit or make a living of it.

Because Judo is taught by volunteers is the reason why it would difficult for a judo instructot to ask for higher fees in order to make a living of it.

lechien, you know that there are private judo schools in Japan that charge just as much as bjj.

The real question is this lechien:

Why dont you want your sensei to have a descent quality of life for his work?
 
lechien, you know that there are private judo schools in Japan that charge just as much as bjj.

The real question is this lechien:

Why dont you want your sensei to have a descent quality of life for his work?

Because it is frowned upon to make money of martial arts (fighting or teaching).

I mean in NZ, the first thing the judo federation does is give an instructional booklet on how a non profit judo club can apply for public funds to buy mats etc...

The only organisation that teach their members how to make a profit would be the big name ticket in bjj....but most of the time I think they are just pyramid scheme.

Regarding the question about my sensei making a good living of only teaching martial arts, I was under such instructor and never will ever go back under such systems.
 
Because it is frowned upon to make money of martial arts (fighting or teaching).

Making money from fighting is awesome. If there was some serious cash in winning in BJJ, everything would be so much better.
 
Making money from fighting is awesome. If there was some serious cash in winning in BJJ, everything would be so much better.

I was referring to the judo community not supporting their MMA fighters.
 
Because it is frowned upon to make money of martial arts (fighting or teaching).

according to whom? Teachers make a salary. Kano basically made judo senseis into government employees. They still got paid

I mean in NZ, the first thing the judo federation does is give an instructional booklet on how a non profit judo club can apply for public funds to buy mats etc...

Yes because judo is a government funded sport that is in the oympics.

The only organisation that teach their members how to make a profit would be the big name ticket in bjj....but most of the time I think they are just pyramid scheme.

The only? you sure about that? of the multitude of martial arts out there, you think that bjj is the only marital art that makes money?

Regarding the question about my sensei making a good living of only teaching martial arts, I was under such instructor and never will ever go back under such systems.

Ahh so you are one of those who think they are entitled to someone's sacrifice of time and work under the excuse of "oh you are a martial artist you should allow me to get what i want for free" I mean. Do you work for free? Are you a ghetto child living on welfare that needs charity? If so, i completely understand. My understanding is that you are a grown man. Why an able bodied grown man would want charity is beyond me.

Please name a non olympic marital art that is free. Fact is, no matter how you want to twists facts. Martial arts were never free. It wasnt free in japan, none of the kenjitsu schools were free and none of the numerous jiu jitsu schools were free. As a matter of fact JUDO isn't free. It is subsidized by the government. Thats what kano did, that's what made kano ingenious, the fact he got government sponsorship.

We all know this. You know this, yet you just choose to ignore all these facts because of your flawed sense of entitlement . Or maybe im wrong. Maybe you are a ghetto child who grew up on government assistance and doesn't have two pennies to rub together.
 
I don't want to put words into lechien's mouth but I think he is saying that martial arts by and large have always been a labor of love rather than a serious way to make a living. Many of the martial arts teachers I know in non bjj disciplines would never turn away a student hungry for knowledge. Many of them were not men of means and chose a more humble lifestyle if it meant they could share the art with more people. There are people in bjj like this too, but the high sticker price turns away a lot of people. Some of whom may benefit greatly from what the martial arts has to offer.

Instructors shouldn't have to martyr their lives off the mat to foster a more inclusive culture on the mat but BJJ as a martial art has lost a lot of it's traditional roots - some good, some bad. Ultimately, I don't know if it was a net positive.

Personally, I loved the muay thai crew that I hung out with. Everyone except one guy was poor, including my instructor, and there was a real sense of camaraderie among us. He was always struggling but he never let money become the reason anyone stopped training. He had his faults (some big ones) but I can honestly say that man embodied the martial arts.

I'm not trying to glorify being poor because there's nothing cool about being in a shitty place in life, but this is a type of kinship I never felt my old bjj crew. I can't really put my finger on it. The environment felt sterile. Maybe it was because all the muay thai guys were down to get punched in the face, I don't know.

There's something visceral and oddly intimate about striking people. I think this is why I prefer nogi to gi. In gi you can keep people away, play distance guards, and have a nice couple layers of rash guard and gi between you and your opponent - like killing a guy with a gun. It feels impersonal. You could shoot a guy from several feet away and they would never know it was you. You don't have to see the blood or feel the bullet enter their body.

In nogi you have to engage. Stalling is difficult. You have to get close and act quickly - like killing someone with a knife. I feel like you have to really commit to the idea of taking life with your own hands. You can see him and more importantly he can see you. You can feel the knife entering and you become connected to him in a way through the knife.

It's late - I'm going to cut this off before I start freaking myself out too much with what I just wrote.
 
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according to whom? Teachers make a salary. Kano basically made judo senseis into government employees. They still got paid



Yes because judo is a government funded sport that is in the oympics.



The only? you sure about that? of the multitude of martial arts out there, you think that bjj is the only marital art that makes money?



Ahh so you are one of those who think they are entitled to someone's sacrifice of time and work under the excuse of "oh you are a martial artist you should allow me to get what i want for free" I mean. Do you work for free? Are you a ghetto child living on welfare that needs charity? If so, i completely understand. My understanding is that you are a grown man. Why an able bodied grown man would want charity is beyond me.

Please name a non olympic marital art that is free. Fact is, no matter how you want to twists facts. Martial arts were never free. It wasnt free in japan, none of the kenjitsu schools were free and none of the numerous jiu jitsu schools were free. As a matter of fact JUDO isn't free. It is subsidized by the government. Thats what kano did, that's what made kano ingenious, the fact he got government sponsorship.

We all know this. You know this, yet you just choose to ignore all these facts because of your flawed sense of entitlement . Or maybe im wrong. Maybe you are a ghetto child who grew up on government assistance and doesn't have two pennies to rub together.

Actually in NZ, you can apply for government funds if you are a non profit martial arts gym.
Martial artists that get paid to teach cannot apply for them.
 
Actually in NZ, you can apply for government funds if you are a non profit martial arts gym.
Martial artists that get paid to teach cannot apply for them.

Exactly you get funded just by the government and not by your student. Someone always pays. You just dont want to pay.
 
Exactly you get funded just by the government and not by your student. Someone always pays. You just dont want to pay.

Not really.
I don't mind paying for training martial arts.
Actually I just opened a second bjj club and also have an affiliate club.
I don't teach for free.
What I said is that I will never affiliate under another bjj BB.
I find the bjj affiliation system or even the way they treat their BB as a pyramid scheme.
 
Not really.
I don't mind paying for training martial arts.
Actually I just opened a second bjj club and also have an affiliate club.
I don't teach for free.
What I said is that I will never affiliate under another bjj BB.
I find the bjj affiliation system or even the way they treat their BB as a pyramid scheme.


So let's get this clear, you have an issue with affiliations not students paying their instructors?

Sounds good to me. I mistakenly thought you were his parasite like person who didnt want to pay for his training. I mean if a ghetto kid needs training for free I understand. However a grown ass man acting like a leech under the bullshit disguise of "oh martial arts should be for free" is nonsense.

Since you made it clear that your sole issue is with affliations we have no quarrel.
 
the people who want to train for free can certainly get competent and then teach for free if they want to

but i don't really want to hear bitching about $130/mo or something, when people blow through that on shit like cable TV packages every month. Let me just also tell my commercial landlord that the space ought to be free also.
 
Interesting thread (necro). There are no (or very few) pro bjj people. They are professional teachers who compete in a high level amateur sport. I believe you will see less and less full time bjj instructors. A black belt use to be rare now they are everywhere. I think you will see more and more part time instructors who do bjj for fun and as a hobby. They may be too old to compete or to do intense training but still love the sport.
 
Interesting thread (necro). There are no (or very few) pro bjj people. They are professional teachers who compete in a high level amateur sport. I believe you will see less and less full time bjj instructors. A black belt use to be rare now they are everywhere. I think you will see more and more part time instructors who do bjj for fun and as a hobby. They may be too old to compete or to do intense training but still love the sport.
Black belts with successful careers in the real world dont want to own and operare/ commitment of teaching at a gym. They dont mind teaching a class here and there for fun but to be committed? No. Most black belts just want to roll with other seinor belts and go home.

*clarified for leichen
 
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Unless you are a welfare kid you shouldnt leach off other men.
 
Black belts with successful careers dont want to own and operare/ commitment of teaching at a gym. They dont mind teaching a class here and there for fun but to be committed? No. Most black belts just want to roll with other seinor belts and go home.

Do you have any examples of such BB?
 
I mean black belts with real jobs.
Ok. Got it.

I spoke to an aikido instructor that ownes his gym.

We kind of share the same views that in our country, people do not pay for martial arts training but would happily go on a long term contract with a local fitness gym with contract that they never ever use.
 
There's something visceral and oddly intimate about striking people. I think this is why I prefer nogi to gi. In gi you can keep people away, play distance guards, and have a nice couple layers of rash guard and gi between you and your opponent - like killing a guy with a gun. It feels impersonal. You could shoot a guy from several feet away and they would never know it was you. You don't have to see the blood or feel the bullet enter their body.
What the fuq???
 
Black belts with successful careers in the real world dont want to own and operare/ commitment of teaching at a gym. They dont mind teaching a class here and there for fun but to be committed? No. Most black belts just want to roll with other seinor belts and go home.

*clarified for leichen

My coach has class two days a week and I run an open mat one day a week. He is a successful scientist that owns his own business in medical research. He has a black belt in Judo and is a three stripe IBJJF registered black belt. He has several masters medals at worlds.

We charge $50 a month and it basically covers costs. I know a judo school that is this way as well. Two doctors (medical) own the mats and the building. They coach two/three days a week. Our particular school rents a building that is a co-op. Three different schools teach and run classes there. Two are TMA types.

I don't think it takes "most". Just one or two and the dynamic of a given market changes.
 
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