Shopping for a BJJ school. Tips?

Hello again,

I'm finally in a financial position, after two years of waiting, to pursue BJJ in earnest. I have some time to research and choose the right place to train and I want to make the right choice.

I live on the East side of the West side of Washington State (Redmond-ish). There are no 10th Planet schools, moons or hotboxes that I'm aware of near me. A brief survey of the landscape has two classes of school that I can try:

1) Traditional BJJ (they seem to have a very modest commitment to no-gi). Elite BJJ seems pretty alright. There's a Gracie Barra school fairly close by as well.
2) MMA gym. There's an AMC Pankration near me that has a black belt teacher.

Now, I could tell you *my* thinking on the subject but since I'm asking for advice, that seems a bit stupid. No-gi /10th planet technique is where I want to land long term. I've got years to make this work. I just want to play my cards right.

Anybody have tips for shopping for a decent BJJ school that doesn't hate on Mr. Bravo?

And hey, if you can link me to a definition of what exactly a hotbox or a moon is, I'd be appreciative. :) I'll look around and try to answer my own questions.

Unfortunately, with my work/education I've had to move around a lot. I've got some experience with finding the right school when you move. I would say its hard to say one school is better than the other, I think the way to think about it is every school has a different purpose. I think the first step is to identify your purpose/goals for training. If you are a busy professional who is just looking to get in shape, I think a traditional gi jiu jitsu school is a great option. Talk to people when you try a class, figure out what their goals are as a school and as individuals. In my experience, mma schools tend to be better for people who are more serious about competition or mma. You might finder a younger, more athletic crop of training partners.

Without knowing more, AMC pankration has a phenominal reputation, and I think there are a lot of people who would jump on the opportunity to train there.

If you are interested in being involved in mma, I would be very cautious of training at predominately gi school

btw man, congrats on putting yourself in a financial position to train. That's always a battle. When I first got out of school I really struggled with that. I think one aspect of success in bjj is arranging your life so you can train consistently. It's not easy, but in the end, I think its a battle well worth fighting

Thanks for responding Viviano,

I'm not interested in MMA for now. I feel that BJJ is a good place for me.

That said, I detect a certain ultra-orthodoxy in BJJ that rejects new ideas like 10th planet brings to the fore. The insistence that the best way to go no-gi is to practice in the gi is a good example: it's hard for me to conceive of how that could possibly be true. Blind orthodoxy is repulsive to me.

I don't see that being as likely in an MMA gym where you do what works because if it doesn't work you're going to get punched in the face for 15 minutes. I feel confident that an MMA gym is likely to be happier with no-gi JJ.

But that's all very theoretical. I'm a noob and even pure gi training has to be better than no BJJ. So I figured I would be humble, ask the noob question and hope I didn't get ignored or shouted down for disrupting the small talk. ;)

One thing that encourages me: there's a local grappling tourney for the Northwest called Subleague. Last year I was very interested to see how Elite BJJ did against the wizards from 10th Planet Portland and Spokane. Turns out that the 10th Planet team acquitted themselves very well. But Elite BJJ was in the top 10. And Miriam Cardoso seems to know her stuff. 5-time world Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion? If I can't learn something from her and her team I'm hopeless.

"btw man, congrats on putting yourself in a financial position to train. That's always a battle. When I first got out of school I really struggled with that. I think one aspect of success in bjj is arranging your life so you can train consistently. It's not easy, but in the end, I think its a battle well worth fighting"

^^
Oh my gosh, this.

Graduated college, got married, couldn't break into my industry for five years. Finally broke in, started having kids and my income barely kept pace. It's taken me another 5 to be ready. Some folks look at that and say "well, do you want it or not?"

Ain't that simple when you have a wife and kids.

So thanks for your understanding. I didn't want to start something I couldn't finish. I've waited long enough. :)

IMO, check lineage up front to make sure you're not paying for hack. I'd rather learn from a blue belt with a lineage teaching proper technique than a self promoted black belt teaching trash.

Second, check their schedule and make sure it fits yours. Don't get yourself into a situation where you're constantly missing classes. It's money down the drain and time off the mats.

If all you can find is a solid gi school, do it. Mat time in the gi is better than zero mat time. Plus, I mean, if you're a white belt, your first year is really all about getting solid fundamentals anyway.

Thanks David. I was thinking along the same lines. Maybe I'll get some good fundamentals and hope to find likeminded folks who want to form a hotbox or something. One thing at a time. :)

You wouldn't buy a car without a test drive. Go watch a few classes in each gym and see which coach/students would be a better fit

Definitely check each place out. You may be surprised which one has the best feel. Don't make any decisions hastily, training is an investment, so don't let anyone push you into signing up right away, they should know if their product/instruction is good, then you'll come back. It may be nice to learn some gi, but always have your 10p4L tricks up your sleeve until your fundamentals are sound enough to open a hotbox or until someone else does! Learn the rules before you break them kind of thing lol. Before Eddie went full retard control he did compete in gi..... Food for thought.