Becoming an Instructor

[the Lich Samurai]

Osu

[Arman Fathi]

You are a reflection of your investments. Think not about how you can make money so much as what you have to offer as an instructor. People come to jiu jitsu schools for different reasons. Some want to compete, some want to learn self-defense, some want to be nerds and scientists, some may even just want a place to get a little exercise but mainly use the academy as a glorified psychologists office. If you care about your students and cultivate friendships with them, that's one way to gain a following. If you win noteworthy competitions, you'll have leverage with the competition minded folk. If you invest in privates/seminars and the overall science of jiu jitsu, you'll appeal to the nerds. There's no reason you can't offer a combination of these as they are not mutually exclusive. The Gracie Academy curriculum is no joke, it requires considerable time and monetary investment to not only sign up and learn the material, take the tests and ace them, but also the finances to sign up for the instructor program, go to Torrance, and jump through their hoops. It'll take at least a year of dedicated study minimum, PERFECTING Gracie combatives, and committing yourself fully to it. Similarly, if you wanted to open up a 10th planet, you'd have to PERFECT the warm-ups, make your way out to LA at some point (or at the very least be a frequent visitor of a nearby moon), and commit yourself to the 10th planet system. Gracie barra even has their fundamentals curriculum that requires mastery before opening a school. In short, there's absolutely no way around having a baseline technical knowledge to pass on to students. Schools that run by attendance cards may give you a tangible way to track your path to black belt, but it's probably the wrong question to ask in terms of 'how to get one as quick as possible.' It's probably safer to ask that question though on this forum versus at an actual school, where that question might raise an eyebrow or two. Gracie Barra does generally run by the attendance cards and seems to be more adherent to the minimum IBJJF standards than other schools, though this varies from instructor to instructor. I've recently gone through the Gracie Barra instructors program and it takes much, much, much less time to go through than Gracie Academy's. The advantage with both Gracie Barra and Gracie Academy is that they have solid business systems in place that can give you the assistance and back office to accomplish your goals. In exchange for your dedication in learning their system and your financial investment, they can give you a hard, tangible plan to follow. The drawback is obviously the franchise fees and royalty structure, as well as the rigidity of running things EXACTLY the way they dictate. All worth looking into though.

As a blue belt your goal is not going to manifest itself overnight. When I was a white belt, I thought about opening a school but only after becoming a black belt because I knew that I personally wouldn't want to sign up at a school if it didn't have a black belt running it. That's just me though, and that doesn't mean quality instructors don't exist that haven't attained that rank yet.

Invest, find people that have what you want, then go spend time with them. Literally implant yourself within the network of those that have succeeded at what you want. This is the quickest way to gain insight into your goals.

[Eddie Bravo]

I started as a blue belt and I’m thriving
Work your fucking ass off. If you want it you can have it.

AA was one of those baby turtles that got passed the seagulls and crabs and made it to the water. Odds are that if you open a school as a blue belt you’re gonna get eaten.

[the Lich Samurai]

Thanks everyone