BJJ Begginer Advice

[Evan Peikon]

Hey,
For some quick background Ive been doing crossfit for almost a year now and would consider myself pretty competitive. I did kempo for eight years as a kid, and wrestled all throughout middle school/ high school. Now I'm a college freshmen and am looking to start BJJ a few days a week in aditition to crossfit just for fun/ as a hobby. And if able to id compete a bit too.

So my question is if this is a reputable BJJ school by the looks of the site.
http://www.gblicommack.com/ (WFS)

Not sure how relevant this is but I'm:
19, 5'9, 145lbs

[Mike Piper]

I don't know the instructor there but Gracie Barra as an organization is as legit as it comes when we're talking about BJJ. Try it out and see if you like it, but you should have zero concerns over the legitimacy. That being said you still need to figure out if its a good fit for you in terms of schedule, teaching style, etc. It is a blast though Good luck.

[Evan Peikon]

Originally Posted by Mike Piper

I don't know the instructor there but Gracie Barra as an organization is as legit as it comes when we're talking about BJJ. Try it out and see if you like it, but you should have zero concerns over the legitimacy. That being said you still need to figure out if its a good fit for you in terms of schedule, teaching style, etc. It is a blast though Good luck.

The scheduling there is good and the teacher was very easy to get along with and nice when I met him. I just wanted to make sure it was credible befOre I began. Which now I know it is ( thanks btw), because there are a lot of martial arts schools that aren't the real deal

[George Marrtinez]

The only thing particularly not reputable about a lot of schools is that people purchase their belts rather than earn them to keep the school profitable. Have you ever considered Judo instead?

[Vickie Ellickson]

Originally Posted by George Marrtinez

The only thing particularly not reputable about a lot of schools is that people purchase their belts rather than earn them to keep the school profitable. Have you ever considered Judo instead?

Are you offering judo as an alternative martial art that does not have a cost associated with belt promotions?

Evan, GB is legit. They should give you a free week or so to try it out and see if you'll like it. Since you're a wrestler you'll probably do quite well.

[Camille Lore]

FWIW, my judo promotions cost nothing unless I want to spend $20 to register with the national organization. My blue belt in BJJ cost $150.

[Vickie Ellickson]

It's dependent upon the school, and in some cases I think it's justified. In our case, we're paying for the instructor's time outside of normal class hours for the test. Also, if a school is affiliated with IBJJF, they register the belts and have to pay a fee, which can get passed down to the student.

That said, $150 does seems pretty steep.

[Mike Piper]

That seems very steep. A promotion shouldn't cost as much as a gi.