“Why I Quit BJJ After 4 Weeks”

[@utubepunk]

*Rener's eyes light up.* "You guys... Welcome to the Gracieverse™"

[@TheMartinBishop]

Hahaha, my man, Rener's eyes light up, His enthusiasm is just spectacular

[@bruhinthewild]

Creating a curriculum was the best thing Rener and Ryron did for BJJ.

[@iorekby]

100%. Suddenly other BJJ schools started coming up with curriculms. BJJ badly needed structured learning and teaching. Props to Rener and Ryron for leading the revolution.

[@humann5682]

I not even a CTC member but visited a CTC once. I'll say this: if every BJJ school had the quality and culture of Gracie CTCs, there would a lot less drop outs in BJJ.

[@HellooBoston]

Totally agree guys. I hear it all the time. Points! Points! You HAVE to escape from the bottom (even though the guy on top isn’t doing anything & just focused on maintaining the top position). I had the honor of training at THE Torrance Academy (for almost 10 years). Still training at more of a “sport” JJ school-but a VERY GOOD one (Cassio Werneck affiliate) which is a pretty good blend of sport/defense (especially when you cut your teeth at THE Academy) so I can say I sort of had the best of both worlds. I prefer the pure “defense” learning, but you have to go where you live & unfortunately, most schools out there (99%) stress JUST the sport aspect-which will get you beat up if you think you can take that mindset in a self-defense situation. Great work Rener!

[@mizfit32]

This is my exact story in Corpus Christi. I’m here working and while drilling the other white belt was actively trying not to get swept a d landed on my face breaking my nose. I’m about to go to work in Waymouth Mass and am going to try your school there.

[@jeffdj1975]

Gracie Jiu Jitsu is the best way to learn the art.

[@Alexism.1999]

Reasons I think about quitting bjj. Expensive, germs, risk of infections & Injuries, mostly sport oriented & no weapon self defense, big ego's/drama. Oh and even if you are into bjj for sport. The competition registrations are always like $100 plus

[@iorekby]

And a lot of BJJ gyms can be cultish which always weirds me out. 150lb 3 stripe white belts who can't hit any sort of take downs acting like they are Royce. It's just weird and delusional.

[@pippenf.5111]

Love you guys, I'm a 51 year old women , I'm not in this for competition.

[@oshu1146]

*Woman

[@ClassicRollPlayer]

@@oshu1146 *woman

[@terriblycleverchannelname5620]

How do you find a good self defense Jiujitsu place? The places by me are heavily toward competition. I love my professor but I’m not as interested in winning a competition as I am in surviving a violent encounter

[@humann5682]

Gracie/Machado schools (or any other old school BJJ school) are normally good. Even Gracie Barra spends the first 6-9 months basically just teaching nothing but "self defense" as its their curriculum. Outside of that, go to a BJJ in an MMA gym. Don't go to BJJ in a BJJ gym. MMA gyms have to deal with people trying to punch and kick them, so their BJJ programs are usually tailored to that. Even if you don't do MMA, the BJJ in an MMA gymwill have a focus on trying to not only stop submissions, but stop strikes too. Not always the case but, BJJ in MMA gyms just has a different focus compared to the garden variety BJJ schools. Also, you could also start a Gracie Garage if you know a few friends and have some space.

[@seamac7564]

I train at a Gracie school, and I feel blessed that I was able to find a nationally ranked coach that runs a gym where everyone is family. Initially, I went there with my brother, who coincidentally, was visiting from Saudi Arabia, for some private lessons. It started "Why do I want to want to watch some guys in pajamas wrestling?" Professor Ricardo was amazing and empathetic, he asked me what I did...blah blah blah, and he said, "you should come in and try it." I did...and 5 years later I still love the sport, the people, and the growth, mentally, that I experience. It's not easy, I've been hurt but I want to live my live with the pain of discipline, not the pain of regret. Great sport, go try it. No regerts.

[@miguelpagan8436]

55 years of age, will make 3 years next month in a BJJ school, blue belt 2 stripe. The competition scene is not what I want, but I had no choice to join a BJJ school. After trying close to 12 schools. I found one were I felt comfortable at least. I digress here’s my opinion. In 3 years I have seen so many people leave the school were I train, and it is so sad because JJ is great. Now I stayed because I am one of the few That is willing to take a chance, only cause I am very athletic for my age, I am also a realistic person, no one in a street fight is going to berimbolo, flying triangle, and all those fancy moves that are only conducive to the sport aspect and young men and woman. Now all the basic and slightly advance move, can be shown as self defense in both BJJ/JJ. I will never as of now do competition, and I will continue to train JJ, and what ever my Professor decides to do with that it’s on him. So the point of my story/ opinion is, there is no structure in BJJ, how can any school feed the white belt to the wolves and make a commitment like “ don’t worry you’ll get it “, that is horrible. It’s wrong and sad, JJ is a great martial art. BJJ athletes are amazing with the things they do on those mats and competitions, I have witness that to, but it is the wrong approach to retain students and to keep the other side of JJ pure and that is self defense. Happy holidays to everyone and God Bless🙏.

[@justincase7224]

My first week of training BJJ I was matched with a guy who just twist me up and taught me nothing. He would have us start from side control or mount and then start. I would tell him straight up, I dont know anything, and then get choked out. Thats when I went to KZbin and found out about the Gracies.

[@iorekby]

Sadly all too common in most BJJ gyms. They want to spar all the time without having any sort of strong foundational knowledge. I remember my old Judo coach went to Japan and visited some of the top Judo schools in the country. He said in all the top schools, pretty much all they did was reps. Active, dynamic reps, sure. But they didn't do much randori (sparring) unless they were doing competition camps. And these guys were elite world-class Judoka.

[@wood1040]

I wish someone would open a Gracie school in Cheyenne Wyoming. This would thrive!

[@humann5682]

Dude there's like 2 Gracie Garages 45 mins from Cheyene. Check there first and open your own Garage. Don't wait for someone else to do it.

[@tomtrader6559]

Instructors playing on their phones: i know that from somewhere!

[@dilly2000]

Love how he is showing this to help his gym owners.

[@whatsyourexcuse927]

These guys cornered the JiuJitsu franchise market. Great job.

[@iorekby]

Doing it better in every way. To echo what someone else said: If every BJJ gym was run like a CTC, there would be a lot less drop outs in BJJ.

[@clardyj]

The Gracie Jiu Jitsu name really means something… If you work in an office stay away from BJJ schools looking for MMA fighters…

[@gozza1993]

Terrible broad stroke comment

[@tjl4688]

Rener is literally an MMA coach. His dad created the UFC.

[@iorekby]

Actually, the MMA gyms are some of the better places to learn BJJ IMO if you don't have a CTC place nearby. First, those folks are fighters and don't want to get injured during training so are more controlled. Secondly, they teach you BJJ to also stop strikes too, which is better for self-defence. If I didn't have a CTC or similar gym near me, next place I'd look is a legit MMA gym with a BJJ class.

[@clardyj]

We all have our stories but the MMA gym injured me in less than 90 days. 15 months recovery. At a Gracie Barra school now. Working out great.

[@jiujitsu94]

Here's the deal. This is the only Jiu jitsu schools that actually has a set curriculum with a measurable chart for promotion and success. Combatives, master cycle, etc. They are very organized. I'd recommend their system to everyone.

[@Trillvil1]

I guess everyone’s experience is different. I’m 5 months in jiu jitsu n I love it. I loved the fact that the guys were trying to kill me my first month of training. I loved that I had to survive getting my ass kicked by purple belts. I wanted that. I wanted to be challenged becuz I always used to run from it. It all depends of course when you’re in your late 30s n 40s you don’t have time for that crap.

[@iorekby]

The guy's main objections weren't that he was being challenged per se, it's that it was aimless beatings instead of being part of a well-strucutured program with clear aims. Getting your a$$ kicked in class to make up for lost time seems great initially, but once the inevitable injuries start piling up trust me, it won't seem as fun then.

[@Trillvil1]

@@iorekby sprained big toe and a grade two ankle sprained and only missed a week of training in only 5 months n I’m loving it. White belt power! It depends where your mind is at. I’m 29 but of course if I was older I wouldn’t want that.

[@philodox7599]

Because bjj is stupid expensive, because sport bjj has ruined the self defence aspect of bjj. Because 95% of schools teach you 3 moves that you are never going remember and then everyone aimlessly rolls around like goobers, because people want to hang out more then they want to learn or get excuse. Because some bjj schools have stupid rules like you have to buy gi from them.

[@kws2520]

Rener, when will there be a CTC in Rhode Island? Cheers!

[@stephaneprevost_1967]

I train at GB in Montréal Québec, I come from a Karaté background. BB in 2 styles (Shotokan et Yoseikan). What I like about Karaté is that it is very structured... You need to do the form correctly of course, but you must also demonstrate that you understand the terms and explain them during examination, all the Kata, score in kumite. etc. You must commit in many areas to grow not just hitting in kumite... With BJJ I hesitated for many years exactly because I could see that it was somehow very very subjective and uneven with belts... Now with GB it is much more structured and that is why I joined, but the belts process still seems very subjective to me from one Sensei to another. (or dojo to another).. I still feel that there could be some more improvement there about structure... I'm not criticizing just an eternal beginner being open about some of the side discussions I ear... Do not get me wrong, I love BJJ. Peace friends. ☮️

[@humann5682]

Teaching and education standards have been lacking in BJJ for a long time, but thanks to the likes of Gracie University and John Danaher, things are becoming a lot more structured in BJJ.

[@stephaneprevost_1967]

@@humann5682 Yes I agree entirely with you. Peace.

[@suhaibrajab4572]

yess evangelos! thank you for representing us in bahrain!

[@neologian1783]

Getting a little older but intrigued by BJJ for a long time. Found a school nearby, mustered the courage to drive over and say hello and asked to observe a class. All good. Instructor seemed nice enough and suggested I pull the trigger and show up for a free class. Showed up for class a few days later. Shortly after warm ups and maybe 5 minutes of basic instruction on how to escape full guard I'm rolling with everyone else. Helpless as a kitten in a blender. Training partners were nice enough but it felt like being dropped into a stage of the Tour De France without even knowing how to ride a bike. Nice folks.....but that "method" just wasn't for me. Won't be back.

[@hello_world_zz]

Agree. After 7 classes, I broke my right hand thumb tendon after rolling with a tall white belt guy. I am 44 years old.

[@BCcontractor]

Rule number one don’t get hurt

[@sameenjiujitsu2000]

Mr Evanglos!!!!!!!

[@MrHigherPrestige]

I totally agree! My first jiu jitsu class was at one of those "sport" BJJ schools with competitors that make the gym look good. I had no clue what I was doing & the instructor didn't introduce themselves to me. I though to myself, they must be doing something right since there were a lot of people, so maybe BJJ isn't for me. (Side note: I did Muay Thai at the same gym at the time and liked the instructors) Then I went to therapy for unrelated reasons and the topic of getting back into BJJ came up. I told my therapist, "I was interested in learning jiu Jitsu, but..." and come up with excuses such as "I'm not naturally athletic", "I won't progress as fast as the others", "I'll get beat up", "I'll waste my time with slow progress". Then the therapist said that my core belief was "You have to be good at something in order to enjoy it". That statement blew my mind, and I feel that society reinforces this, going back to childhood team sports, and intimates people from even trying new things. The following week, as I searched for BJJ gyms, I managed to find Ricardo Liborio, a BJJ legend, through sheer luck and instantly felt like this is the right instructor. The people were very welcoming and helpful in teaching me, he didn't push me to roll until I got a hold of the basics, and he invited me out to dinner with his black belts. His whole philosophy on where BJJ went wrong lies on focusing on the 3% of competitors and ignoring 97%. He says that 97% will probably get more benefit, coming from the guy who probably trained the top 1% of fighters!

[@antoniostyles]

Are you in Orlando?

[@MrHigherPrestige]

@@antoniostyles Yes

[@pvlapa]

What I've seen from gyms all the damn time: Lack of structure. Especially the basics. No curriculum, just a stupid technique of the day. 2 years in, can't do anything in the closed guard (the most basic guard), specific but no concept based passing, weak grips, posture, base. belt system is suppose to measure progress and they think snail paced belt progression is a good thing. If purple belt level knowledge takes you longer to learn than an actual M.D. then maybe the instructor is not such a good one.

[@iorekby]

100% agreed. IMO it's partly why it takes so long for people to get BJJ black belts: inefficient and wasteful teaching. Seriously, in what other area where you are being taught would you put up with being taught in such an incoherent and slovenly manner as most BJJ schools? People wouldn't put up with it in any other walk of life, yet too many people in BJJ accept it because of "tradition".

[@dilly2000]

The Bahrain Jorge masvedle

[@oshu1146]

5:34 Rener this is exactly my situation I joined for self defense not to compete my coaches only give advice to the competitors when rolling with me.

[@peterdavid1207]

This is a great story... My first time I got destroyed by Blue and Purple Belts for the first four weeks and I felt I was being fed for fodder and ended fracturing my wrist. I want to go back but need to find a school that help teaches me rather than getting smashed on a daily.

[@Jcar1392]

Open a gracie university in Chicago please!!!

[@yannisdim.4924]

Hope you get a certified center in Athens, Greece soon.

[@kristofferager5588]

I wish there was a school in Denmark!!

[@a.chavez3095]

Wow, we just went through this with our son and man we were thinking about quitting this whole BJJ game because that's how this one gym made us feel but we were able to find a great family based school that we feel our kids can learn from

[@juggernaut28]

10th planet "we use white belts as dummies" - brown belts

[@davidelbaze2784]

I totally agree i am looking in France Paris bjj for self defense ans all thé time we speak compétition it is not What i am looking for

[@danijels7737]

Yeah, I'm looking for bjj gym in Paris as well and it's not going too well xD..

[@adelnadheer1940]

MY MAN EVANGELOSSSSSS

[@cunn1n6ham]

So major! Haha love it 🥋🔥🚀

[@alenavideospace9457]

He is so expressive 😂❤

[@danielmp-007]

I am first👍

[@Bushcraft242]

BJJ is the best

[@artkingofwholefoods74]

It’s gotta be your OWN head space. How are you going to apply this in REAL life. I had the same experience in Kendo. Why wouldn’t you emphasize sport??? Your REALLY gonna use the katana for self defense? Me: Maybe… Depends… My Jiu Jitsu am class is oriented around self defense. The night class is emphasized on sport. I feel more comfortable with the PM class. I use the skills I learn at night, and imagine applying them in a real fight. It’s really up to you, and how you want to perceive, or approach it. The sport aspect will eventually come regardless of whatever. You will start to learn the process, and the rules by default.

[@lachlanburtenshaw1543]

I don’t train bjj for self defence at all,I guess it comes with the mat time but I train purely for the fun of jiujitsu vs jiujitsu

[@kalikop]

When will the new updated combatives program be released?

[@safetactraining6487]

Where can I get that coin holder? I’ll send coins for the answer!

[@jpjp3873]

I'm moving to clarksville Tennessee and there's only Gracie barra and Renzo Gracie academy. Which would you reccomend for an older guy?

[@iorekby]

It will depend on the coach, not the affiliation. Recommend going to both if it's safe to do so, checking out how many older students they have, gym culture (e.g. is it friendly and supportive, or competitive etc...) and like I said the coach. Both of those places will teach you "self-defence" stuff especially at the start though.

[@daviesmarkc]

If a place makes you roll on the first day that is a huge red flag.

[@oshu1146]

Not really bro 😕

[@mmor7380]

Bryan Ortega vs Alexander breakdown, why did his submission didn't work ?

[@MissMusicNerd14]

There's a few factors that played in when Brian was attempting to a lot of the time you didn't have a proper base and as well he didn't have position before you went for the submission you have to have a position before you go for the submission if you go straight to submission without a position you're automatically going to lose submission

[@3_7s777]

Money grubbers

[@victorcharles27]

6th

[@WestCoastIrk]

i actually had a similar experience at gracie academy in Torrance. The staff was great but after the 1st lesson you partner up and the dude i partnered with was way too aggressive and literally would knock the wind out of me constantly and kept saying "lets go hard" after 2 days i quit

[@tinahale1471]

Why quit ?? say something for him to be displined Of his actions I'm so sorry for your bad experiences 😔 I'm very sadden to hear this kinda of thing 😪

[@HellooBoston]

I agree with Tina Hale! Just one guy (your first partner?) made you quit? Maybe give it two or three classes? I mean, having trained at Torrance and probably 10 other jiu jistu schools, if you had this happen at Torrance, you are GUARENTEED to have it happen everywhere else (unfortunately). Torrance by far has the most "systematic" teaching method where they are HYPER-SENSTIVE to people getting "smashed" when they first start. Doesn't mean it can't happen here and there (the instructors can't watch every corner on the mat at all times), but there are always "those people" and you just have to avoid them (if nothing else, for your safety). I remember a few years back (at Torrance) having a VERY rambunctious wrestler (newer student) come to Torrance (when I was a blue belt). Got paired up with him, he got mounted and did a very unorthodox "mata leão" ("rear naked" neck crank-only he delivered from the FRONT/TOP!). I tapped to save my head from getting detached from my neck! Royce (who was teaching the class-yeah, a while back) slowly walked over to us and said to dude (sarcastically), "Hey, that was a REAL cool move you did there." (Dude) "Uh...thanks?" (Royce) "Did you learn that here?" (Dude) "Uh...no..." (Royce-in a very serious tone) "Then DON'T....do it...AGAIN." (Dude)"Uh...sorry..." Royce-nicest guy in the world...but don't screw with or abuse his students! So you WILL get "them" everywhere. And the good schools (like Torrance) will square those people away quickly...but you have to give the school a chance! Sometimes, jiu jitsu attracts the "MMA" crowd who want to use their training partners as training "dummies." Avoid those people, or schools who allow that mentality.

[@tjl4688]

At Torrance? At Rener's school, aka Jiujitsu Heaven? I don't believe you, dude; if it was your second day you DON'T get to spar at Gracie Academy. There's no going hard at all at that period in your training.

[@WestCoastIrk]

@@tjl4688 we werent sparing. We were doing simple drilling self defense techniques but the dude i was paired up with was way too amped up. I was invited by a blue belt at the time (now a purple belt) who was much more of the 'playful' attitude the academy is known for. But some the other white belt i was partnered with was the opposite

[@iorekby]

@@WestCoastIrk You don't get paired with another white belt in Torrance on your first week. I call BS. A simple way to prove it: What was the monthly fee you were quoted?

[@AJ-ds5gf]

The problem with BJJ is that the people who do BJJ have only one personalty: "I do BJJ".

[@iorekby]

It's sadly a cult in too many places and full of delusion. I've seen 160lb blue belts who can't do any sort of takedown against even small students with no grappling experience, and who have zero clue how to stop punches, seriously talk about how they'd just "double leg Tyson Fury and choke him" in a street fight 🙄 They are on another planet.

[@BK-wm1tg]

When is it going to be a Gracie jujitsu university in Portland Oregon

[@pontus3018]

Very Specific and that's very hard for them to say because they have the whole world to pick from.

[@ifthatthenthis3797]

When riots don't occur yearly

[@darrenpoulianakis9556]

There is one in Portland. Check the Gracie university website.

[@هذاأنا-ذ3ث]

Matt Thornton in Portland, OR is a Rickson Gracie black belt. If you don't know him, check out his videos on KZbin.

[@facial210]

My son goes to Relson Gracie JJ San Antonio. We signed up for it all and we got it. There is a difference with JJ, BJJ, and Even the Gracie's have sport and defence based teaching. Relson isn't too much into sport but it is there. His first match in NAGA 12-0 and defended himself spectacularly. Many thanks to the Gracie family and to Joshua Lauber.

[@ZRMvoice]

This dude has no clue... He trained for 4 weeks, probably during a time when the school was already in training for a competition, and complains about structure and not knowing where he is with progress. You're nowhere. There's no first day of jiu jitsu. It's hard to retain information because you know nothing and need to learn everything. It takes a long time to learn especially with no base in martial arts because your body has no idea what to do. Any school you go to, there's going to always be a tremendous amount of info thrown at you all the time and it wasn't until my 4th or 5th year that I could learn a single move at a time because I already had a base and understanding of what it takes to achieve the position, how my opponent needed to react, how to get my opponent to react that way etc. This dudes expecting way too much for how little he's put in. I'm sorry, that's bullshit.

[@iorekby]

I would somewhat disagree. Yes, 4 weeks is no time, but the thing with CTC is they have structured learning for every single level from white belt to black belt. Even down to the stripes. BJJ historically has had a really poor culture of education or organisation. It's why it takes so long to get a black belt IMO; teaching is too incoherent in many schools. Many BJJ black belts who took 12 years to get a black belt could've gotten it training the same amount of hours per week over 8 or 9 years if they had better-structured learning. Plus if a gym is in a competition cycle, and don't have a designated beginners program, that's a failing of the school IMO. Was this guy supposed to wait for like a 3-month window in the year when the school could better accommodate beginners? That's not realistic. I don't think people should put up with substandard teaching practices in BJJ just because "that's the way it's always been in BJJ". It doesn't have to be that way and this guy is ultimately a customer, he doesn't owe any gym his patronage. He found a much better gym with a better culture for beginners and far superior structured learning and it suited him more.

[@HunterK723]

This guy is talking about ARES bjj

[@The_YouTube_Critic]

The fake gasp when mentioning points. Fact is, a competition blue belt will wipe the floor with your "self-defense" blue belts. Any day of the week.

[@darrenpoulianakis9556]

All part of the same team bro! I’ve trained GJJ and sport and I liked both. I’ve done it all, Gi and no gi with striking

[@graciejiujitsusayville7108]

It's not us vs. them, I promise you the focus is different in the beginning, our students invest entirely on street self defense, every aspect is about the attack how to stay safe from punches, not getting knocked out, distance mgmt for punch block protection drag the fight to the ground. I promise I will never say anything about points but promise you that from every position I will work on defending against strikes and building Jiu Jitsu around that concept. It's the foundation of everything we do, competition Jiu Jitsu is legit and respect to everyone who tests themselves like that.

[@ututheavenger]

@@graciejiujitsusayville7108 I agree...do you know if Gracie JJ in Torrance is now open to physically train not just through the computer....and what about masks do we have to wear them?

[@JKDMan2000]

Haha.. your didn't even start training.. one month man.... pretty lame

[@ronaldinho5860]

I tell you what Rener is one great salesman making every academy seem like Fight to the death. Maybe the people being interviewed are a little sensitive.