So you want to pick a BJJ school?

If you are still reading this page I am going to assume you are either my Mom (Hi Mom!) or you are really interested in selecting a place to try Jiu Jitsu out. Congrats! All joking aside you will love, specifically if you find the right gym that fits your needs.

Master Helio Gracie the inventor of BJJ

There are a few questions you should ask yourself when looking for a gym:

1. Why do I want to train? Are you looking to compete in tournaments? Want to learn for self defense? Want to make friends in the community? 
2. Where do I live? Is it a big city or a small city? Is there a college near you? 
3. How much do I want to pay? Do you have expendable income? \
4. Who is your gym affiliated with?

In my next 3 posts I will address these questions.

Why do I want to train?

It may surprise you that there is a huge difference in the atmosphere of certain gyms. At lot of the variation in atmosphere comes from the level in competition people who attend the gym participate in. This includes BJJ competitions and MMA fights.

The gym I currently train at has a laid back atmosphere. We have several guys that compete in tournaments and a handful of guys who fight MMA. Warm-ups & drilling moves is left to individual participants discretion to work at their own level of intensity. As a result, it is important to pick a partner that is interested in working at your level of intensity. When we roll live it is an altogether different story. We compete fairly hard. Our head instructor has done an outstanding job of cultivating an atmosphere where we are able to go hard but are respectful of each others' safety. If there is one thing every gym should have, it is a culture where everyone's safety is of utmost importance. A gym where people apply submissions without regard for their BJJ buddy's safety is not a place you want to be.

In contrast, I spent a year in Denver and trained at a gym that was heavily focused on competing. The atmosphere there was far different than my gym at home. Warms-ups, drilling, and rolling were conducted with an intensity towards improving technique and cardo for everyone (whether you wanted to train hard or not). In addition, the relationships between members were much more competitive (still friendly, but with a definitive edge that is not present at my current gym).

I think both types of gyms are great, depending on what you want to get out of BJJ. My current gym suits my aspirations in BJJ better then the gym in Colorado, but that is strictly a personal preference. If you want to be successful at competitions and are not someone who independently pushes yourself, you may want to look for a gym more like the one I had in CO. If you want to compete and can push yourself, a gym like my current one may suit you. If you are looking to make friends and learn the art of BJJ a gym like my current one would probably do just dandy (yeah I said "dandy").

It is important to ask yourself what type of training you want to do. Some gyms do not work on self-defense aspects inherent to BJJ, focusing almost solely the competition side of BJJ. Some people like it that way. Others are have a split of self-defense and competition BJJ, and still others focus almost solely on self-defense. I like the split. Self-defense is fun, but getting thrown can get irksome after awhile.

Finally, you should investigate what the schools train in. Some schools wear a GI (I will cover selecting and purchasing GIs in a later post). The GI vaguely resembles the Taekwondo uniform you wore as a kid in Karate. However, in Jiu Jitsu it has much more utility. Some schools train in shorts and t-shirts (or rash guards). Some schools split time.

There are diverging theories on the utility and practicality of the GI. Some schools think it forces students to utilize technique over strength, thus improving their overall game (like running 6 miles to get faster at running 3). Other schools think it is impractical to train in something you never wear in real life. Personally, I think I would be even worse than I already am, if I had not trained in a GI. It forces you to mind your positioning so much more than if you are just wearing a t-shirt and shorts. However, I think it is also important to train without it so you get a feel for the speed not wearing one. Our school trains with and without. My school in Colorado trained totally without a GI. Again a personal preference. However, GIs can get pricey, if you invest in several of them.


Well that is a lot for you to think about. I will let you digest it. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me.

So you want to make friend doing Jiu Jitsu?

One of the best things I have experienced since taking up BJJ is the friendships I have made both in our club. Most of my friends outside of my job at the University are from Cedar Valley Jiu Jitsu. Of course we get together to train, but we also hang out to watch fights, attend each others' wedding and birthday celebrations, and have yearly events.

One of these time honored events is the "Tri De Halsor." What is the TDH you ask? The TDH is a wonderful invention from our head instructor Greg. The TDH is conducted on the first nice day in May. It consists of swimming, biking, and running. However, these events are conducted while drinking (some choose to partake in libations as their form of hydration).

We swim 400 meters then run downtown to several Cedar Falls bars. Cedar Falls has a great downtown and the establishments are usually pretty excited to get such a large amount of business on a random Saturday after college has dismissed for the summer.  After 4 miles of running to bars (this is Greg's measurement, I think it is less), we mount our bikes for 20 ish miles of bike riding.

Hydration is taken seriously, so people pack various drinks (water, Powerade Zero, a camel back of  Captain and coke). This ride takes us around the Cedar Valley trail system. Cedar Falls/Waterloo has some of the best trails in the Midwest. We average 1-2 wrecks a year. This year I teamed with a friend and rode a tandem bike.

Finally, we end up at a restaurant to finish the evening with dinner and drinks. This year was Buffalo Wild Wings, so we could watch the Junior Dos Santos vs Frank Mir fight.

I can safely say that Jiu Jitsu has afforded me far more friends in the Cedar Valley then I would have ever made otherwise. Here is a picture of us all shortly before the ride.

So, you say you want to learn something Jiu Jitsu?

I used to have a blog at graduatemonkey.blogspot.com. I finished my PhD and decided I should be done blogging about grad school. So, I decided I should start blogging about something I enjoy. I decided Jiu Jitsu would be the topic.

I am a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Jeff Curran. I am fairly mediocre at Jiu Jitus and am ok with. I decided most people who think about trying BJJ are worried about all of the small questions (e.g., where should I get a Gi?; how do I choose a school?). They tend not to worry if they will tear people apart on their first night. So I felt I would lend a voice to those "on the ledge" masses, trying to decide if they should give BJJ a shot. Hopefully this blog will assuage your fears and answer your questions.

My first few blogs will cover some of the most common questions I had when I started. After that, I will blog about the day to day things we do at our school. In addition, I hope to coerce some of my BJJ friends to guest blog. 

A typical Saturday practice at CVJJ

Stay tuned!