"Finding Your Jiu Jitsu!!!"

The past, nearly, two years have been a test for my family and I, literally!!! So many obstacles and some many disappointments, but through the divine guidance of God, we’ve survived and continue to do so.

You’ve heard me mention on several occasions that I’ve gone to several Jiu Jitsu academies and trained under as many coaches. Finding a Jiu Jitsu Academy and Coach is like anything else worth-wild. “Why can’t I train where I feel comfortable for me?” If you are interested in Gracie Jiu JItsu and want to join a school, academy, gym, facility, or center, you should do in-depth research first.

1.    Finding Jiu Jitsu in Your Area: Today, in 2011, Gracie Jitsu isn’t that hard to find. Someone, somewhere near you has a training facility with a group of guys/gals training. Go to you search engine and Google “Jiu Jitsu” in your area.

2.    Making Contact: Most Jiu Jitsu academies don’t mind for you to drop in. actually, they welcome it because that’s how they catch most new recruits. Introduce yourself to the students and coaches and ask to watch a class or two. Don’t make your decision on watching the class. Although, you get to see the coaches interact with the students, you still have work to do in choosing if this is the academy for you or not.

3.    What Do You Want From Jiu Jitsu: Many people coming into Jiu Jitsu want to train to strengthen their ground game for MMA. MMA is only one aspect why people train. Some people want to compete in grappling/Jiu Jitsu tournaments like Grapplers Quest or NAGA. Others don’t want to compete and want to train “strictly” for self-defense. You should know this before even researching. What do you want from Jiu Jitsu?

4.    What Does This Academy Offer: Today, you have what I call super-academies popping up and have multiple focuses such as; Jiu Jitsu, Mauy Thai, MMA, Combat Cardio-training, etc. These are cool!!! Some academies are Jiu Jitsu only, which is cool, too!! Where ever your academy offers make sure it’s what you need. Do they offer a family rate? Is there a kid’s program?

5.    How Much Does it Cost: Jiu Jitsu academies charge higher fees than Karate and Tae Kwon Do academies. I don’t know why, but they do. Maybe because Jiu Jitsu is the new art and new kid on the block. With the number of coaches and academies teaching Jiu Jitsu, you can find an academy in your cost range.

6.    Who is the Instructor: There are 3 factors to look at when searching for an academy about the instructor you should pay focus to. What rank is the instructor? You should be looking for a Black Belt instructor, but nothing less than a Brown Belt. Is the instructor an active-competitor? You need to find a coach that is battle tested. I mean what can a person tell you about baking cakes if they don’t bake cakes anymore? Is the guy a douche? Many guys out there are cocky, thinking they know everything and never listening to other instructors’ opinions. Find a coach who you can become friends/family with and whom you are very comfortable with.

I’ve traveled a long hard road and finally, I’ve reached my first stop. Now, I reassess myself and create new long and short term goals to reach my next goals.

Today is only the beginning!!!