“Hey there, long time follower of the page and a huge fan. (Jiu-jitsu Times “Thank you!”)
I have two questions that I wanted to ask that I’m confused over:
1) I’m looking for a new academy and am torn between two. The first one is a school with a great vibe and a lot of higher level belts.
I would easily join them except…my city (Seattle) is in the works for a new 10th Planet and I regularly would cross train with their Portland location.
The 10P Portland brass wants me to join the future 10P Seattle obviously, except for the fact that the competition level is very low.
Most grapplers there have not been doing it for a year and are really self defence oriented.
I am strictly interested in winning medals and tournaments.
Based on these facts, which school would be more appealing?
By the way, the 10th Planet Seattle is slated to open sometime in a year from now.”
Jiu-jitsu Times: A year is a LONG way off and most businesses miss their opening deadlines (the delay can be several months!) due to unforeseen delays.
So you have a minimum of 12 months before you have to make the decision on which school to train at.
In the meantime you should do what is best for your own training situation and goals.
There are multiple factors involved in choosing which school to train at:
– How convenient is it to get to? For example: An hour commute each way will kill your enthusiasm and contribute to missing at least some training sessions
– Is it compatible with your jiu-jitsu goals? You have already mentioned that you are not interested in self defence and one of the schools is focused.
Will not take long for you to become discontented.
– Do you like the people running the schools? Regardless of the affiliation logo on the door, do you feel a connection to the head instructor? Do you like the vibe in the class?
– Level of training partners is also significant. If you are a purple belt and want to win tournaments, then doing headlock escapes in a beginners class is not going to be very helpful.
You need to be tested and pushed by other competitors of a similar of not higher level.
My advice would be to go with the 1st school you mentioned – which seems a solid match for your goals and requirements in a training environment.
After 1 year when (if??) the other school actually opens, then reevaluate at that time.
on Jiu-jitsu Times: Reasons You Left Your Old Bjj School
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