Input on my kids new gym.

[Jeremy]

Hi all,

I just signed up with the hopes of getting some info from some people that know more about BJJ/MMA gyms than I do.

My son is 10 years old and has been doing martial arts for 4 years now. He started off with 2 year of Taekwondo then switched to a MMA school that was owned by a BJJ black belt, was he was a brown belt when we started.

His school that he was at for a couple years recently closed and we have been at a new school for 2 months. They have all the credentials that you could ask for, IBJJF, ABA boxing, and AWA wrestling. The owner name is Niall Yamane and he seem to be have trained under very respected members of the BJJ community.

Now my concern come in a few areas.

1. This school has been open for just over 1 year and they do not have the kids rolling. They do some drills like different guard passing drills, escapes and what not but never do they get more than 20-30 seconds. just drill and restart.

2. It seems to me way to much of the class is talking. I understand that things have to be demonstrated but really in a 1 hour class I would say 40 mins is talking and 20 mins is doing.

3. The pace that they learn seems very slow to me. I get he want them to learn good fundamentals but it is it a bit excessive? Example, that have been working on a double leg take down recently. So far they have they have spent 4 classes going over this take down but have not actually completed the takedown once yet. They practice the shooting in, but just stop and reset and shoot again. They have not let them finish it yet.

4. They have a rule that in tournament they do not allow their students to compete against each other. If they do meet in a tournament setting the gym owner just decides which one gets to advance. I am pretty sure the adults also do this.

5. No submissions. This is not that big of deal to me because I know there are school that do not teach subs to kids.

6. No stand up sparring at all. They train some stand up but they do not spar in class at all. I dont know what other place do in this area but our old school was always light contact sparring.



We do have another school in the area that just opened but the teacher is purple belt under my sons old teach and it is hard for me to take him away from a black belt instructor and go to a purple belt but I have so many concerns over his teaching style I am really considering it. Would just like a few other opinions before I make that decision.

Thanks for reading this long post and for any input you may give.

[David Rosado]

My head instructor is a 10th planet brown belt and i wouldnt trade him for any black belt in my city. So it's not about the belt. It's about the quality of instruction.

What matters is customer satisfaction. Doesnt seem like you're satisfied.

Trust is another issue. Do you trust him even though you might disagree with his methods?

Communication is important too. Have you raised your concerns? Maybe this is his tried and true method of getting them ready for competition. Maybe he's afraid of the kids getting hurt and having angry parents. Either way, I'd suggest talking to the instructor. Maybe suggest that they roll for positions/takedowns only. No subs. That sounds safe and productive.


If I were you, I'd at least bring this up with the instructor, maybe speak to the other guy to get an idea of where his head is at, and make a decision. You need to be an informed customer.

Good luck with the whole thing.

[Jeremy]

Thanks for the input!

I have not talked to him about it yet but I do plan to.

I really want to find out if this was normal of most other kids programs and our last school was the abnormal one first or if seemed a little strange to anyone else that may be pretty familiar with other youth programs.

I dont really think he has a tried and true program yet. From what I know this is his first gym, he opened it after retiring from his law practice, and he has only been open a little over a year.

We have actually gone to try a class at the other school but the biggest problem right now is that they just opened so they dont have any kids signed up yet and my son will not even consider a switch if they dont have anyone he can train with.


Thanks for your input

[Greg W]

We have some 13 yr olds @ my gym and they train BJJ with the adults as we don't have kids classes. They learn and roll right along with us. We all realise they are kids and roll accordingly. They have yet to be injured. I do keep close eye out for anything exceedingly dangerous and don't let them roll with new people only they regulars. They also do mauy thai workout with the adults and I think light sparring.
As for the double leg, thats the name of the game in wrestling, practice the shot 1000 times before you move on to the actual takedown.
I might also suggest getting some mats, and buying Gracie Bullyproof CD's and you and him working through them together at home for the next year or two if you can't find a gym to your liking. It is great father son time and you can go at your pace fast or slow!!!

[Jeremy]

We actually have those DVDs. We have not been doing them that much lately but maybe its time to work them back into our normal routine.

I guess the thing that has really bothered both me and him is the no rolling. I think the drills they do are really good and help them get a lot of reps on certain techniques but when do they get to put it all together?

Thanks for the input

[David Rosado]

Thanks for the input!

I have not talked to him about it yet but I do plan to.

I really want to find out if this was normal of most other kids programs and our last school was the abnormal one first or if seemed a little strange to anyone else that may be pretty familiar with other youth programs.

I dont really think he has a tried and true program yet. From what I know this is his first gym, he opened it after retiring from his law practice, and he has only been open a little over a year.

We have actually gone to try a class at the other school but the biggest problem right now is that they just opened so they dont have any kids signed up yet and my son will not even consider a switch if they dont have anyone he can train with.


Thanks for your input

Oh ok. Well, from what I know, this is not typical. Every kids program I've heard of lets the kids roll. In some cases they only roll for position, but they still roll. I've never heard of a kids class that didn't even complete a takedown until now. You have valid concerns, in my opinion.

[Chris Herzog]

Jeremy to answer your questions, that is not the norm. You have some very valid and have some questions that need to be answered, before moving forward.

[Chris Herzog]

We have some 13 yr olds @ my gym and they train BJJ with the adults as we don't have kids classes. They learn and roll right along with us. We all realise they are kids and roll accordingly. They have yet to be injured. I do keep close eye out for anything exceedingly dangerous and don't let them roll with new people only they regulars. They also do mauy thai workout with the adults and I think light sparring.
As for the double leg, thats the name of the game in wrestling, practice the shot 1000 times before you move on to the actual takedown.
I might also suggest getting some mats, and buying Gracie Bullyproof CD's and you and him working through them together at home for the next year or two if you can't find a gym to your liking. It is great father son time and you can go at your pace fast or slow!!!

Greg you own a School named US Mauy Thai? You do know is spelled Muay Thai right?

[Tony "The Goods" Garcia]

Greg you own a School named US Mauy Thai? You do know is spelled Muay Thai right?

Is Muy thai acceptable for for the vatos? :-)

[Jason Morgan]

Like Chris said I agree that this is not the norm. 40 minutes of talking!? Kids need to be moving and getting exercise in gym, and no way are you keeping their attention and getting through to them w/40 minutes of talking.

And being a black belt does not make you a good instructor. I've been through a few instructors, one an extremely accomplished bjj black belt and UFC fighter from brazil who was my worst instructor. My current instructor, 10th planet brown belt John Salami, is amazing. None of the other instructors I've had even come close. I hope to train under him for the rest of my life. It's all about finding the right instructor. Good Luck!