Okay. I've tried multiple free classes at multiple schools. Here's my take.
Picking a BJJ School
Street vs sport:
Decide on what you want: street or sport Jiu Jitsu. Sport is more sport like with emphasis on competition and tourneys. Street is more self defense oriented. The problem with this is that due to the two camps on the Internet, this issue is treated as binary. Problem is, most Jiu Jitsu schools that are worth attending have a mix of both. There's certainly those schools that have a lopsided approach on each style but most schools are going to split it.
In my opinion, if you can, find a school that teaches both but at the very least teaches some self defense: You should be learning base 1, base 2, technical stand ups, safe falls and more. That's the self defense aspect. My school has both and mixes them seamlessly so that when you're learning sport you're also learning street. We also have days where we dedicate and drill specific street situations but at its heart it's still a sport school.
Feel free to ask the school what their focus is.
Do they have a curriculum?
Seems like a good question but most fresh new white belts aren't going to think about that kind of shit and why should they? They just want to learn Jiu Jitsu but they haven't factored in what the best way they personally learn Jiu Jitsu is.
Some schools have no curriculum. They do stuff depending on who makes it to class. The professor/coach will notice who is there and cater to that weakness in those present. Some have a curriculum that lasts day to day or even week to week like an actual school program. This also depends on your affiliate. Some affiliates are learning the same moves during the same classes at the same times around the world. So if you're in another city and you visit your affiliate school you'll get the same tech you would have learned while at your home gym.
This is important because as a white belt you're learning all this crap. Some schools lay it on thick and you're learning 3-5 techniques a class and you can't remember a thing. Some schools with a curriculum work on one technique a week and build upon on it with more and more details each class, so you're building up on the thing you worked on last class.
Some people prefer an onslaught of information of retain that information and get bored by training the same move in new situations, some (like me) like to lay down building blocks in an analytical manner and prefer that because they're intimidated by 4 moves per class.
Which is your learning style? This is why it's best to see a school across multiple classes and not just one before signing up. You'll get to see how their classes progress through the week.
Again, feel free to ask about this. It's highly important because it factors into how fun learning bjj is, which will impact your longevity in the art.
How do they treat the white belts?
As a white belt this is among the most important things. Do they kind of ignore you? Do they do nothing but smash you and don't offer suggestions other than "keep showing up?" Or do they mentor you and take you under their wing and coach you while you roll? Do they put you continuously into bad situations (mount for instance) so you can practice getting your muscle memory to work on that situations? Or do they just say,"suck it up newbie" and go 100 all day every day? Do they make you feel a part of the team immediately? Do they have an atmosphere where everyone contributes to making it positive and this comes from the top? Or is it a situation where it's dog eat dog and you need to earn their respect? Do they treat you like shit during the free trial in an apathetic "fuck, another white belt, they won't last" way or are they like "sup? What's your name? I don't know what you know so let's start from the beginning! This is base..." Do they let white belts squirm or do they dedicate time to teaching the white belt their secret sauce?
As you can see, there are different ways different schools handle white belts. Make mental note of this. Which factors into...
How safe are they
Do they go over basic moves with their white belts? How they treat white belts is the most important factor in picking a school. If your school is doing stand up takedown practice and they aren't making sure if their white belts can do a proper breakfall yet then that's a red fucking flag, bro. At my school, coach comes over and seperates newer white belts as the more experienced people do their thing. Coach will go over basic Jiu Jitsu moves: bridging, hip escapes, base, base 2, technical standup, breakfall, and then start a flow roll with them and make sure they do these moves before they are put into a roll, where they apply the moves they just learned in actual spar situations. So if we're drilling a move that requires breakfalls, if you can't do breakfalls, you're being seperated from the rest and you're going to practice your falls before you practice that move. Do they have people who go way too hard and the coach/professor doesn't bat an eye? Watch out for that. Some other schools do not give a shit. As a 40 yo dude, this should be a priority.
As always, ask and be conscious of this while picking a school.
How clean are they?
They should be sweeping and mopping the mat regularly. If they aren't....run. Another benefit to visiting the same school over multiple visits. Again, ask. And as a courtesy, volunteer to clean up if possible after a free class. Honor and respect are a big thing in bjj and you will show your professor/coach that you want to be part of the team in an earnest manner while making friends.
MMA vs BJJ school
As said earlier, MMA schools tend to attract dudebros with chips on their shoulders who are there for only one class and never show up again. BJJ schools tend to be more chill. Granted, this isn't always true. But for the most part it proves to be true, at least in America. This also factors into tech taught. BJJ only schools tend to teach base and technical stand ups. I highly suggest a BJJ school over mma but many mma schools are BJJ schools with mma in the name. It's not black and white, but you have been warned. If it has MMA in the name, it's not necessarily a red flag, but depending on what kind of training environment you want you might not find it there.
Extra shit
- Do they allow you to go to open mats elsewhere? Remember that if you do that you're representing the squad's name on the back of your gi. Always be respectful. Some professors may not want you to because injury is a possibility. Which seems reasonable. But maybe they'll let you go to open mats if you ask if you're allowed to. Others have a no open mat policiy 100%. Watch out for those.
- always check your professors credentials and lineage to see if he/she is legit.
- contracts? A six month contract when you first sign up is normal because BJJ has high turnover so it's not necessarily a sign of a McDojo. But be careful of contracts.
- if there's a BJJ school 10 minutes away from your house but the one 20 minutes away is better, I suggest going for the one that's 20 minutes away. They will likely be safer, you'll have better training, and it'll pay in the long run.
- you might think that a fundamentals class is required because you're new but it really isn't. Some schools have fundamentals classes, some require that you get X amount of stripes before you can roll, some have no fundamentals classes and every class is mixed, some have an "advanced" class it's really just a regular bjj class, others have advanced classes and you'll think you'll die before the class is over. Absolutely none of this I've found makes or breaks how well they teach bjj and seems to come to personal preference of the student. At Gracie Academy they don't let students spar until a year in. At some you spar on day one. Go with what makes you comfortable, but don't convince yourself you'll be get better just sparring with white belts in a fundamentals class.
