Why BJJ is so expensive

[Irenaeus]

I pay about $30 usd a month. This is because the club is run by part-time, unpaid instructors and because I live in a country that subsidizes almost any kind of sports activities. I have a strong impression that this is very close to the kind of Judo instruction you talk about in the US.

We might have limited classes and no regular black-belt instructors, but the instructors we do have love their work, they are the only game in town, and they are still miles ahead of the rest of the club. I'm a little unsure how much I would be willing to pay monthly for instruction, but I really don't think 150 would stop me.

 

[knoxpk]

So you think that the instructors in San Diego could be forming a cartel? Where they basically agree on what price they should charge, and they don't compete with each other? I doubt that's the case, and it would even be illegal if they were agreeing on prices as competitors.

No I do not think they are intentionally price fixing, they see what others pay and have full schools so they do the same. No way that ALL of those schools have the same bills or expenses yet even the school with the LEAST bills charges the same amount as the school with the MOST bills.

I just think that the demand for BJJ is relatively inelastic. Many people decide where to eat based on the price, but I don't think that many people decide where to train based on the price. If BJJ instructors thought they could get more students by lowering the price, they would, and they would advertise their prices openly on their websites instead of making you come to an intro class first. Also nearly all of them offer some kind of discount if you pay a few months in advance, or sign a contract, or make some other kind of commitment. They don't just want to get people in the door, they want to sign up long-term students. The guys that just want to find the cheapest place to train probably aren't going to be the loyal students that keep coming back several times a week for many years. Those guys come because of the quality of the instruction, and the facility quality and location are big factors too.

Personally, I think that the price of BJJ training is just about the last thing I consider when choosing an academy, just as long as it is within my budget. Like, if it's $75 vs. $125, I really don't care about the price difference and will probably even pick the more expensive one because they are going to be open more days per week, have a better facility, have a more highly qualified instructor, or offer bonus classes like no-gi or kickboxing, whatever. If it gets up around $200 though I will probably decide that this is out of my budget and look for a cheaper option.

Again that would depend on the instruction.

The other point I could make is, how much does a health club membership cost? A good one probably costs close to what I would pay for BJJ. A 24-Hour Fitness is maybe $50/month but I probably want to get personal training along with that. A fully-equipped Crossfit gym in my area costs $175/month for unlimited! I need to work out anyway, so if I'm not spending that money doing BJJ I'm going to spend it doing some other type of exercise. That's why my demand is relatively price-inelastic as long as it's within the maximum amount that I feel I can afford to pay.

As I mentioned in the post prior to this one, apparently the cost of living and business cost in SD is much higher than what we have here in Tampa. We have facilities that are 10K sq feet and we can get that for $50 a month all day long. Clubs like LA fitness, Lifestyles etc...

 

[NateTx4112]

As I mentioned in the post prior to this one, apparently the cost of living and business cost in SD is much higher than what we have here in Tampa. We have facilities that are 10K sq feet and we can get that for $50 a month all day long. Clubs like LA fitness, Lifestyles etc...

Gyms like la fitness have 20-50 time the membership total of a bjj gym easily and that doesn't include the people that have a gym membership and don't go but 3-6 times a YEAR.

You can not compare a 24 hour/lifetime fitness to a bjj academy. It's like comparing mcdonald to Bob's Steak and Chophouse. I won't even get into the part about being a corporation run gym etc.

 

[knoxpk]

Gyms like la fitness have 20-50 time the membership total of a bjj gym easily and that doesn't include the people that have a gym membership and don't go but 3-6 times a YEAR.

You can not compare a 24 hour/lifetime fitness to a bjj academy. It's like comparing mcdonald to Bob's Steak and Chophouse. I won't even get into the part about being a corporation run gym etc.

I was not comparing a BJJ club to a gym. I was responding to the fact that even a regular gym was up $175 per month.

That is what I meant about being unfamiliar with the cost of doing business in San Diego.

In other words he was telling me there are BJJ gyms all over SD charging $200/month and I thought that was high. The he mentioned that even gyms are $100-$175. So apparently there is a much higher cost of biz in SD vs Tampa.

I would never try to compare a corp run regular gym to a small BJJ club. I was comparing gym to gym.

 

[NateTx4112]

A ten k sq ft club like la fitness etc. I read that as a gym. That is what I based my post off of.

Cost of living is higher in sd than Tampa. Dfw I believe is lower than both but I could be wrong.

 

[Waldorf]

No doubt BJJ is expensive, but I don't think most instructors are making a killing off of it. At say $125.00 average a student, how many students does a school need to be able to pay advertising, the lease, utilities, repairs, equipment, insurance, billing services, asistant instructors, and make a decent living? I don't have a lot of expierence with Judo, but I know in Aikdo for example, the head instructor usually has a day job, and other instructors are often unpaid. In BJJ there seems to be more full time instructors, and as a reuslt I think there is also an improvement in the quality of instruction.

Competitors aren't raking in the gold, very few tournaments offer cah prizes, and they aren't going to make you wealthy. But when I go to a NAGA and start doing the math in my head- I think if your going to strike it rich in grappling, Kipp's got the model.

 

[curb1850]

BJJ is often expensive because many BJJ academies have full-time instructors who teach 6-7 days a week. Judo clubs meanwhile are usually open just two or three nights a week, and the instructors all have day jobs and only charge enough to cover the rent and utilities for the facility.

But I used to train at a BJJ academy where the instructor had a full-time day job and he only charged $75 a month. There are cheap places to train, you're just probably not going to have access to a black belt six days a week, morning and evening, if you're paying less than $100/month.

Thats basically it. We have blackbelt teachers and 3 or 4 classes a day.

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

So you think that the instructors in San Diego could be forming a cartel? Where they basically agree on what price they should charge, and they don't compete with each other? I doubt that's the case, and it would even be illegal if they were agreeing on prices as competitors.

.

Illegal ??? LOL

With all due respect, you think regulators give a rat's ass about "price fixing" practices of a little group of uneducated immigrants who provide recreational sport services ?

This is what you get for hanging out on Sherdog too long. BJJ doesn't exist outside of BJJ / MMA circles.

Sorry if harsh, but let's put things in perspective.

With regard to topic, I just think it's a very simple case of supply and demand. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe that the high price is warranted by high costs. It don't see any rational reason why it should be more expensive to run a BJJ gym than a MT / Boxing gym all else being equal. Nor that average BJJ instructors are more qualified than average MT / Boxing instructors.

BJJ is more expensive due to demand being higher than supply, as is typical of a growth market. As more and more BJJ joint open, the market will reach equilibrium and start competing on price. I don't believe that BJJ instructors are organised enough to engage in price fixing.

And I agree with the idea that you can't compare subsidised judo with unsubsidised BJJ.

 

[An end for]

Not sure what it was about but I thought Anderson Silva was from Chute Box.

If I'm not 'tarding out, he used to be a Taekwondo fighter before, because it was cheaper.

 

[irc]

I pay alot for BJJ, no doubt about it. But I take into consideration what I get for it.

Between the two locations of our school that I go to I could literally do jiu jitsu as a full time job. Seriously 30 classes a week between Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu. That's 120 classes a month!

So am I gonna piss, bitch and moan for having to pay $1.50 for an hour with a BJJ champion? I think not...

Ya. You pay $1.50 for an hour.

 

[StranGold**]

well, people charge as much as they can. not much more. it is this thing called free enterprise.

 

[nerraw]

It's interesting to hear the Brazilian perspective on this.

I think the price for training at the academy is worth it since I'm there generally three times a week. I do, however, think that tournament fees are way too much. I resent paying that much to people who have a monopoly on the activity and have in no way helped me to get better at this sport.

I think as more Americans are promoted to black belt and start their own schools, the market price for lessons will drop.

Question for the Brazilians out there - I've heard that a lot of people there just train and don't compete. Is this true? Here it seems like you have to compete a lot in order to make brown or black belt. In this way the successful students are marketing the product that the instructor sells.

I personally pay 50 reais a month for training, and I know it's pretty much the exception and I consider it an insane deal, both for the amount of classes and the price. There's definitely not a school in every corner, at least not in where I live.

I understand that some schools can really be expensive, both regarding money and regarding the amount of classes you get from it, but it really depends on the area. From what I can tell, jiu jitsu is always more expensive than other martial arts on the same area, although definitely not as large as the difference between BJJ and Judo on your area.

Labeling jiu jitsu a sport for "rich kids" is wrong, in the sense that sports as a whole are something that most of the population just don't have access. They aren't taught in schools, they aren't practiced in any way that could actually lead you somewhere, and unless the local government has some kind of sport program, get ready to shell out cash for any kind of training. It's just like it is.

Also, a good way to explain a good part of why jiu jitsu is expensive is that, while some guys are making a living out of it, tournament holders and associations are definitely making a profit out of it, and a huge one.

 

[outonbail]

I pay around 28$ a month for bjj classes here in belgium, ( training every day)

i was shocked when i saw the prices in the USA first

 

[Crazy Legs]

supply and demand

 

[Jinzumkei]

actually I feel like BJJ is one of the least expensive hobbies imo. What's it cost? $150 a month and the cost of a gi?

All the other shit I'm into golf, cars, video games, that shit is expensive.

 

[Hellboy31]

Life Lesson number 1 - You get what you pay for.

Want to learn a martial art for cheap? Take up TKD... Lots of good deals going on at Tiny Tigers right now.

 

[Jagcorps_esq]

actually I feel like BJJ is one of the least expensive hobbies imo. What's it cost? $150 a month and the cost of a gi?

All the other shit I'm into golf, cars, video games, that shit is expensive.

Amen.

I could spend $500 a month or more golfing, or $200 a month on BJJ (that's averaged out with gis and tournaments throughout a year).

 

[Jumpy]

some places are $130 for two classes a week which is INSANE.

the reason why i'm not training under paul creighton.

 

[Slithers]

some places are $130 for two classes a week which is INSANE.

it works out to $16.25 per class. that is not crazy.
go check prices on a yoga class or something like that. I am sure they are like $20 per class.

hey, gotta make a dollar...

 

[MMABullrider]

BJJ is really pretty cheap all things considered. I pay $80 a month, but I also go to 6-8 classes per week, so I really only spend about $2.50 per hour for class.

A fitness gym membership might run $50 a month, which doesn't include ANY instruction. Personal trainers (MUCH less qualified or experienced than a blackbelt BJJ instructor) run $50-100 an hour for every session.

Plus, having "high" fees keeps people out of the weeds. I don't know many guys dumb enough to spend $80 a month on something and not use it.

Then consider the flip side... From the instructor's perspective...

Operating a business costs a lot more money than you'd think. Things like rent, insurance, water, electricity, natural gas, trash service, equipment to operate ANY business (computers, paper, printers, etc etc), cleaning supplies, mats, heavy bags, boxing rings/cages, "loaner" equipment (boxing gloves), catch mitts/thai pads, advertising, phone/internet, merchandise, etc etc all adds up, let alone paying instructors all adds up in a hurry. Paying for the things you'll need JUST TO OPEN THE DOORS every day (rent, utilities, phone, etc) can easily be $20k+ per year.

Then consider what you're getting from instructors. A blackbelt in BJJ takes 7yrs or more of dedicated training, an accomplishment that parallel's a doctoral degree in any other field. Then operating the gym is essentially a full time job, aren't they due something for their time?

Long story short, quit bitching. Either it's worth it to you or it's not.