Before you commit to a Jiu Jitsu gym long term, I highly recommend you spend some time upfront to choose the best gyms to try. I’ve written previous articles detailing some things to look for when choosing the right gym initially. You can the series of articles here:
How to Start Training Jiu Jitsu a Step-by-Step Checklist
The Complete Guide to Picking Your First Jiu Jitsu Gym
Once you’ve tried out a few Jiu Jitsu gyms you should attend classes regularly for a couple of months and then decide if you want to commit long-term. The best way to choose the right long-term Jiu Jitsu gym for you is by doing some deep reflection on what the most important gym aspects are to you and how well the gym, its members, and its leader/leaders fulfill your wants and needs. If you’ve done your due diligence when looking for your first gym you should have compiled a list and reviewed typical Jiu Jitsu gym attributes. Here is a list of some of the most common things to look for in a Jiu Jitsu gym:
- Community: A feeling of community amongst members is an attribute that many gyms strive for. In a gym with a community focus members are often friends off the mat and a feeling of a family can permeate throughout the members.
- Competition: Some gyms focus on winning competitions and producing champions. Here you will find competition-oriented classes and typically heavy training sessions with timed rounds and competition strategy.
- Cleanliness: To protect its members, gyms should be clean and have frequent and established cleaning routines. Skin issues and infections are common in grappling sports and can be serious and widespread amongst members if cleanliness is not kept up with.
- Lineage: Lineage is important to many to ensure that technique is close to the source roots of Jiu Jitsu or proven through past performance in competition. Close lineage to the Gracie family or a world champion is often sought after in a gym.
- Training partners: Good training partners are often an overshadowed benefit of a gym. Good training partners will be there to help you with your technique and be safe to train with.
- Self-defense: Jiu Jitsu was born from self-defense and many people want to gain the ability and confidence to protect themselves and others in unpredictable situations. Many gyms will incorporate the self-defense aspect in the teaching of their technique or even offer a separate self-defense class or curriculum.
- Other class types: (wrestling, judo, muay thai, yoga, etc.): Some gyms have Jiu Jitsu complimentary classes which can be nice to focus on and incorporate into your Jiu Jitsu toolbox like wrestling to help with scrambles and takedowns.
- Facility (sauna, weights, showers, etc.): Additional facility amenities can be a big bonus for Jiu Jitsu gyms including free weights, cardio equipment, saunas, and even just having showers can be a big positive in Jiu Jitsu gyms.
- Safety: Another often overlooked attribute of a gym is safety. You can be seriously injured practicing Jiu Jitsu and without a culture of safety, the probability of injury exponentially increases.
- Location: Location is often one of the first constraints in picking a gym. A gym too far adds cost and commuting time to the equation. Typically the farther the gym the higher the probability of a practitioner skipping a class.
- Affordability: Compared to other sports Jiu Jitsu generally requires less equipment, but monthly membership costs can vary greatly between Jiu Jitsu schools.
The above list should be used to consider what gyms you want to try and which gym initially feels like the best fit. To choose a long-term gym that is right for you, I would suggest training at the initial best-fit gym for 1-2 months and then reassessing your feelings towards the gym. You may find that what you initially thought was important to you in a gym has changed or even that your initial impression of an attribute changed the longer you trained at the gym.
To pick the right gym for you, reassess your list and try to narrow it down to 3-5 of your top 5 priorities, and then deeply reflect on how the gym is meeting your expectations. If the gym is not meeting your expectations consider starting the initial process over at another gym if there are options in your area. If there are no options or you want to try and stick it out, consider adjusting your expectations or discussing it with your coach/leader of the gym.
When I decided on a long-term gym I tried out 4 gyms, reflected deeply after each experience, and chose my long-term gym after considering my wants and needs and how the gym met them. I was surprised to see that my pre and post-considerations changed and I was open to compromises after training with the instructor and gym for a couple of months.
After spending a couple of months of consistently training at my current long-term gym the most important factors that stood out to me were excellent training partners, a close lineage to the root of Jiu Jitsu, and open-minded culture to training including cross-training, experimentation, and gear, and a good kids program that allows Jiu Jitsu practicing parents the option to coach. I did make some large compromises with the biggest being location. I commute 70 miles or about 70 minutes one way in a car to get to my gym. The gym had to shine among my top priorities to make this commute as it costs me both time and money. When I reflected deeply on my top priorities, here are some of the insights that stood out to me.
Excellent training partners
At my gym, there is an excellent mix of beginner white belts and colored belts up to a few black belts. As I’ve practiced more and more Jiu Jitsu I’ve found that excellent training partners are a major key to the development of my skills and abilities. The format of a typical training session at my gym is an open warm-up, the teaching, and drilling of 2-3 techniques, situational sparring, and then open rolling until everybody leaves. Having partners available to roll after class has 2x my Jiu Jitsu skills at a quick pace. As rolling is unlimited after class I’ve often stayed an hour plus after class rolling making one session equal to 2-3 sessions in the length of time. Good partners will roll with you in various ways including all-out, flow rolling, situational rolling, general drilling, and everything in between. My current gym had all of these training partners and because of them, I saw my skill rise rapidly.
Close lineage to the root of Jiu Jitsu
This was a particularly important factor to me. I wanted to make sure that if I put effort into practice, it is going to be real and effective at the end of the day. I also grew up watching the early days of UFC as a teen and Royce Gracie taking the sport over with Jiu Jitsu. It was important for me to learn from a teacher with proven effectiveness and a close connection to the root of Jiu Jitsu. My gym checked this box for me with my primary professor being three steps from Helio Gracie. My gym is also an affiliate of a world-renowned Jiu Jitsu coach who is 1 person from Helio Gracie in lineage. The close affiliation affords the gym the opportunity for regular seminars with the Master Jiu Jitsu professor and connections to other gyms and Jiu Jitsu experts around the world.
Effectiveness was also important to me. My primary professor’s Jiu Jitsu is legit competition proven and I get to experience it regularly as he regularly rolls with his students.
Open-minded culture to training including cross-training, experimentation, and gear
If there is a knock on Jiu Jitsu, it’s that there can be some closed-mindedness and cult-like perceptions/reality at some gyms. This can include not allowing students to cross-train, experiment with techniques, or wear their gear. The gym that I choose long-term checks off all the boxes allowing cross-training, experimentation, and wearing any gear that you’d like. Cross-training is a big one for me. I travel about 70 minutes one way to get to my gym and I live in a place where commuting is not always safe depending on the weather. If the weather is bad in my area, I visit other local gyms to get my training session in. My professor encourages this and I feel getting a mix of new partners and techniques only enhances my Jiu Jitsu game.
Experimentation is also encouraged at my gym. When instruction and drilling are happening you are expected to stick with the curriculum. After the teaching portion of the class and situation rolling, we get unlimited free rolling time after the class until everybody leaves. This allows us to experiment and drill our techniques. I love to watch Jiu Jitsu YouTube videos and instructionals and it is heavily encouraged to bring and experiment with techniques from outside the gym.
Lastly, my gym does not have any restrictions on what Jiu Jitsu clothing you wear except that it is clean and not offensive. Let’s face it, Jiu Jitsu clothing and gear are cool and the ability to choose your own Gi and No Gi kit are important to many and can be seen as another cool perk of practicing Jiu Jitsu. I almost always just wear team-branded clothing, but it is nice to be able to wear other items as I choose.
A good kids program that allows practicing parents to coach
My son practices Jiu Jitsu with me and being able to coach the kids’ class that he goes to has become an important factor for me. With this being an option I could see firsthand his progression through the art and be able to give coaching advice when and where he needs it. It’s become a great bonding activity for both of us. My professor usually teaches his kids classes by himself and there can be upwards of 20 kids and he more than welcomes parents who train to help coach the classes.
Another benefit to helping coach the kids’ class is that it has greatly improved my own Jiu Jitsu skills. I believe that teaching Jiu Jitsu technique leads to a greater progression of skill in your technique. Having to teach kids moves step by step at a level where they can follow and have an interest has led me to better understand the details of moves and to be better able to teach the moves to anyone. It’s also very rewarding to see the technique and new skills click with kids and assisting with the kids’ classes has become one of my favorite parts of practicing Jiu Jitsu.
Committing Long Term
After you’ve done your reflection and readjusted your expectations or clarified areas that are important to you but unfulfilled, you should choose to commit long-term to the gym or start the process over and consider trying other gyms. Committing long-term isn’t an official process, but more of a mindset that says you’re committed to the people, style, and culture of a gym. Some gyms may offer longer contracts at a discounted fee and some are simply month-to-month. It’s a good idea to talk with your coach or professor and let them know your plans and goals for Jiu Jitsu. Committing long-term to a gym also means that you receive rank from the gym and its head professor.
Committing long-term also doesn’t have to be a one-and-done decision. I think it is always prudent to regularly check in with yourself and see if your wants, interests, and needs are the same and how your gym and professor are meeting those. If you find large gaps between the two you may want to begin looking elsewhere or have a discussion with your professor. Jiu Jitsu is a path with many twists and turns and it’s usually a good idea to have a destination in mind and a path laid out to follow.