Questions from a New Head BJJ Instructor – Nick Albin

I recently got a question from my buddy Beau who is a newly minted Head Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor at his gym.

I’ve talked to Beau several times over the last year and he’s been helping teach Brazilian Jiu-jtisu at his gym for a while. With the leaving of his Black Belt coach. He, as a brown belt, was the next in line for the job.

We’ve spoken through emails several times about questions regarding the idea of a BJJ / MMA gym business and being a head BJJ coach and still progressing.

As I shared with him. I became the head BJJ coach at my gym back in 2009 and I have a soft spot in my heart for him. It can seem like such a huge task ahead. And it is. And I had all the same questions he did back then.

So I was looking forward to doing this video. Although, I had to be careful not to make it too long. I’m pretty sure I could make a whole YouTube channel on just being a Brazilian Jiujitsu coach and running a BJJ gym business.

In this video I share two ideas. Concerning being the BJJ coach everyone likes as well as continuing your progression even as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor. This is necessarily on the business side, but it definitely impacts the business.

1. Always keep the improvement of those under as the dominant guiding force.

The idea in my mind, is that if I enrich others, they will in turn enrich me. If I make people better and give them my all. They’ll in turn be driven to continue their training at my gym.

2. The drive to improve will always be there. But since he is no longer under a Brazilian Jiujitsu black belt it can seem a daunting task to learn new techniques.

When you teach, you really get a deeper knowledge of BJJ. It’s more of a conscious effort. Rather than the passive idea of watching and mimicking someone else. But by taking moves from videos, seminars and training sessions and then working on them actively to show the students. You get a much more thorough knowledge of what you’re doing.

If you’re a new BJJ coach and you’re searching for what to do. I hope this video is helpful.

I know I didn’t get into the specifics. But I believe the foundational element and guiding principles have to be there first. The specifics will only find their spot if that is in place.