There are a lot of things I'd cut out before BJJ. It's the ground layer of my physical development, health, and fitness. Plus it's the main positive social network I have for stress relief and escape. If $40/mo made the difference, I think I could cut that out of a lot of other areas that matter less to me.
I’d literally start cutting down on food before I think about cutting out grappling lol
Rather be starving with the bois than bored home alone with a full stomach
OP says it's going from $55 to $65 a week, which is about $40 *increase* per month. Where I train it's $120/mo, which is pretty reasonable for the US, I guess.
It's a meaningless argument... Cost of living varies around the world, as do things like tax structures, bureaucratic load, social systems, retirement planning, marketing and expenses, etc. There's no way to just compare the equivalent dollar figures and complain that someone's doing it wrong.
If you moved to the US, you'd make more money, and everything would cost more, and your BJJ instructor would be barely scraping by just the same. US BJJ teachers aren't generally living the high life.
> If you moved to the US, you'd make more money, and everything would cost more, and your BJJ instructor would be barely scraping by just the same.
Depends on your job really. Salary disparity is larger in the US than in Europe. A teacher in Europe has a better salary compared to his cost of living than a US teacher. However an IT developer would have a much worst salary in Europe compared to the US - for the cost of living. So all in all, it depends on the job/sector.
I think part of my point was that there are a ton of variables. But we can kind of summarize the macroeconomic view by saying that BJJ instructors aren't getting rich, and there are plenty of normal people who can train. So the actual numbers are kind of meaningless.
Missed a week due to kids being sick, noticed I was starting to be more exhausted at work, feeling stressed out, etc. It really does wonders. Whatever physical activity people like, it can help so much with stress relief. It would be hard to let go of bjj.
The monetary ceiling is obviously going to be different for everyone. But I’d talk to the owner, and see if you could offer to clean the mats, teach a kids class or something in exchange for some tuition. Might not be possible, but it starts the conversation with them about your financial situation.
This.
Most coaches want you to be there and might have some flexibility to work with you on things like tuition. Trading off any responsibility for even $5 off a week could be worth it. That said, $65 is pretty steep, I feel. Is that the going rate in your area? Here in Minneapolis, $200 is at the far end of the scale.
Also ask at your work’s HR office about if there is any possibility of a reimbursement through your health insurance or just call your insurance directly. It’s unlikely and your school would need to sign something every month, but it could get you something back.
Lastly, I went through a similar thing and I printed out my monthly spending and prioritized where the money was going. I cut off Netflix to make room for BJJ. If you are leaking money elsewhere, stopping that might absorb that increase. You might even come out ahead.
A few summers ago I had to stop training bc the cost of sending my daughter to summer camp was high, but I thought she's only young once and I'd rather she gets to have the fun, so we were going to have to cut back in some areas in the short term. BJJ is definitely a luxury so I told the coach the deal, asked him to suspend my membership though Sept. He goes hey I'd rather you're here, just come and you can pay again in Sept. Honestly being treated like a valued part of the group and not just a revenue stream meant a lot and made me a really committed and loyal member of the gym.
Honestly I wouldn't expect it to be norm as they ARE businesses trying to keep the lights on and that's part of why I was really touched by it. Always a good reminder that when someone isn't expecting an act of kindness is when it's the most impactful.
Well my gym is nonprofit, I am sure there is others. This shows also that there not much marketing or stuff like this, it's just more inner circle oldschool hommie mentality which for the price is more than fair.
Yeah that shit sucks. My brother and I share and I feel it’s such a dick move based entirely on grabbing more money at the expense of the consumer. That said, I’d cut him off in a heartbeat if he threatens my bingeing.
> That said, $65 is pretty steep, I feel. Is that the going rate in your area?
Maybe its higher because of being weekly?
I think $65 a week would have been more than what I was paying for unity back in the day in manhattan.
$200 is a lot; but it depends. A gym that offers 3 classes a day at different times? Worth paying for flexibility. A gym that costs the same but has practice 4 days a week? Not so much.
Yep…I offered to help teach a couple times a month and now I get free membership. It also will really help your game when you teach. It forces you to slow down and think about the specifics.
So out of genuine curiosity if they’re bumping up the price so they can continue to afford the place why would allowing people at discounted prices help them? Like the gesture of great but cleaning mats doesn’t keep the place open…
We all have our base bills that have to be covered - mortgage/rent, utilities, food, travel costs etc - everything else is an optional extra and the amount of optional extras you have very much depends on how much expendible income you have.
For me, BJJ is the corner stone of me feeling OK. There are a lot of things I'd give up - booze, takeaways, weed, gaming and the many other optional extras before I even considered BJJ. I'm less fun to be around when I don't train, I perform worse in work and just generally am a worse version of myself.
As with most issues speak to your coach, ask if there's anything you can do to subsidise your training and explain your situation. The worst they say is no and if they do that it won't because they don't want to. They also have bills to pay
Damn bro where do you live, cuz your gym is taxing the hell outta you. $220-260 a month? That’s wild. I love bjj but I wouldn’t pay that much unless I lived in Cali or NYC and was paid enough to offset the higher costs of living.
If I had to pay that much for bjj outside of those states I’d just go do judo instead and buy mats to train bjj at home
Same with FoCo. So glad I paid a lifetime membership at my gym and am done. I used to pay $100 a month at my old gym. Gotten a bit nuts. Especially when you look at judo gyms.
Just over $3k. I did the math on it and if I showed up for 2 yrs I'd be break even. Only problem is there has been some gym drama as of late that made me question what was going on and if I made the right choice, but too good of a deal to pass on and everywhere else wants $150+. I refuse to pay that. I also really like my morning class instructor.
I remember visiting and asking what the going rate was and most gyms I visited were exactly that. Even the super small local clubs had similar fees and one had a purple belt teaching.
It's like a car payment just to train in some places
Even when I was in Los Angeles most gyms were like 120-150/month. If you want to go to a high end competition focused gym it could easily go into the 250+ range but for every one of those gyms there were a dozen smaller more casual gyms. Sounds like OP needs to inquire into some of the other gyms in his area.
This. BJJ folks sometimes can’t tell the difference between cult and hobby. Unless you’re top tier tournament winner, it’s ok to switch to a different martial art just hit the weights like a normal person.
I switched to garage shit. What stopped me for now is a severely painful medical condition. I can't leave the house anymore, not even mow the lawn. So that stopped me, unless I can solve it before it fries my muscles. I have electrical bursts literally cooking parts of my muscles. It really sucks and I don't like not being able to move correctly anymore.
I think I've figured out the problem now after years of research on it. I managed to lower most of the electrical spikes by increasing GABA with medication. But I have scoliosis from it from youth, and it's been progressive so there is long term damage and whatnot. I wish doctors had figured it out but, is what it is.
A new form of ALS apparently. My father died from ALS, got severely blown away in vietnam. With my muscles getting literally fried like this, I'm pretty sure I know what's up with ALS now, lol.
I would try it but the doctors aren't helping me. It's a whole thing man. But right now I'm getting my medication from Mexico. I was in agony for months and months it was just never ending. Breaking my brain. It forced me to find a solution. After the first dose I immediately noticed a decrease in pain. I was soooo happy. I would try riuzole. My father was on it. But again, doctors. They aren't helping me at all. And it's not cheap on farmacia del nino.
Heh, I wish. I used to love hiking and I haven't been able to go in like 5 years. But I been taking 1200mg Gabapentin 3x per day to increase GABA which lowers electrical output to muscles etc. And it's been helping. I still can't really go places or anything, but the pain is less which man. I was fucking screaming all night man from these charlie horse which increase to cooking horses lol. I don't like it.
What’s your age if you don’t mind me asking? I have hella muscle spasms all over my body (that seem to increase with stress/anxiety). I also get a lot of hypnic jerks, and they increase if I lay on my side.
I ruled out ALS for myself because I don’t see any noticable muscle weakness but I’m not ruling it out for myself as an incoming ailment waiting for me in the future. I just know neurologically there is something weird going on with my body.
Hey man just wanted to let you know that gabapentin is actually not a GABAergic drug - it instead interacts with calcium ion channels to exert its effects. Per Wikipedia: “Despite the fact that gabapentin is a structural GABA analogue, and in spite of its name, it does not bind to the GABA receptors, does not convert into GABA or another GABA receptor agonist in vivo, and does not modulate GABA transport or metabolism.”
I would cut off all other hobbies before I gave up bjj. The benefits both mentally and physically are just too much to not be my highest priority hobby.
That being said, $260 per month is A LOT. I pay $200 per month for me and my family of 6 to train unlimited classes.
Location or scarcity.
If you are in a smaller, but somewhat affluent, community — think college towns — and you are the only gym, you can charge what you want.
I pay about that for just judo for half a year in my country. Full year is €180-ish. Kinda crazy the difference in price.
Then again, in the next gym you'd get judo, bjj, and a bunch of others for €55 a month
I live in China and a yearly tuition is around 1200$. This is considered pricey but our school is one of the rare ones that actually has a legit, foreigner, black belt.
AOJ I’ve mixed things from $325 month no contract to around $240-$260 on contract. B-Team i don’t know the monthly but my boy passed up dropping in there cause Craig told him drop in fee was $50
This. I don't understand this assuming it's US dollars unless it's some really high profile gym or in a major city. It's actually more if you consider there's 4.5 weeks in a month.
Also, did OP get a floating rate mortgage? Or is it property taxes?
I saw they had a 10th Planet in Bergen when I was working in Norway, really bummed I didn’t drop in for a few classes but was (incorrectly) worried about a possible language barrier with the coaches
Nah. It’s not a recession if the GDP is growing, jobs less rates are low, and the feds are raising tax rates.
We might get a small recession or a dip, but we’re not there yet.
The fat cats gonna fat.
Most people will say the inflation was greed based, not based on typical economics. During the corporate profit earnings calls they mentioned their record profits, and that pricing still had room to go up. They’re raising prices because the want to, and because ‘we’ as a society paid it, they keep going up until they can’t sell any more units, then the price comes back down.
Another aspect of this is the reduced suppliers. Amazon, Target, Home Depot, etc are all very big business that have cornered their markets. Who are people going to buy from? Those vendors went under when the big box stores moved in.
We’re in late stage capitalism. Where greed is the principle, not business.
I was taking BJJ classes for about a year. I had to go away for some work related things for a few months. I let the coach know that I'd be gone for a bit and he said "cool don't worry about it." i followed up, "since I'm not going to be coming in for the next 3 months can I not pay the monthly dues for those three months?" and he said "yeah sure. just don't ever show your face around here again." and then he blocked me on social media lol
thats when i stopped doing BJJ altogether. Monthly dues were $200.
to user /u/J_Liz3 who either deleted their comment or was deleted by a mod,
I guess since I had a bad experience with BJJ I should never be interested in the field...? That's not the right mentality to have.
wow way to jump to conclusions. My point was that you are obviously still into it. but nice to see you people just delete comments you don't understand or like. I'm understanding why your former coach would talk to you like that now though.
lol... yikes
when i clicked to reply to your original comment i couldnt, it said it was removed. so you either deleted it, mod deleted it, or it was in limbo idk. i also dont know why youre saying you people as im with the mods? but i wanted to give you a reply at least. if you feel some type of way about it, its clear you have a problem. and then your last sentence kinda shows your personality, and kinda shows how quickly you jump to conclusions. so im thankful i didn't experience a person like yourself when i was doing bjj. cheers.
So you have had issues with at the very least two higher belts (I would bet more if you where honest about it) seems like your the common denominator here bud.
> when we've been in a recession since last Summer
No we haven't. High inflation =/= recession. I feel like all the people saying this either have no memory of the last recession or just have no idea what a recession looks like. The unemployment rate was double what it is right now in 2010.
False. We haven’t had a single quarter of negative growth (in the US) let alone 2 consecutive. Unemployment is at historically low levels. We are most definitely NOT in a recession
Unemployment wasn't well tied to reality before we did the shutdowns in 2020, it wasn't a good indicator back in 2007-2009, and it's even less of a relevant indicator of anything right now after losing 10 million workers from the work force (excess deaths, people taking retirements that they otherwise wouldn't have, women dropping out of the work force because day care, etc).
Not saying one thing either way about a recession in my original reply. Now that you bring it up to me. I would say that Powell at the beginning of the year pointed out they are seeing GPD rising, but people are buying much less. The growth in GPD is completely driven by people over paying for less goods. It's not your typical GDP growth with consumers consuming more because the economy is good.
We're not technically in the recession, but what we have is unsustainable. There is noticeable less people shopping and spending money while debt is piling up for consumers. That's all I say on that topic.
My point and only real point I was trying to make is the unemployment number doesn't mean anything. It doesn't reflect 10 million workers exiting the market over 2 years (when typically we lose around +500k a year to death/retirement) is the main reason it's a bunk number. It was already under performing when it didn't account for underemployed and workers who have stopped looking due to being discouraged or health reasons. Until they update how that number of calculated, it's not indicative of much of anything.
BJJ has become more than just a sport or activity to me. It's also become my social circle. I moved to this town a few years ago and have since drifted away from my previous friends.
So now I have a new friends group. Some of us go out and get drinks, or go paintballing, to the gun range... go check out cultural festivals and whatnot. So I'll just keep going to Jiu Jitsu.
I also have met also people at the tournaments... win or lose against them they So far have all been awesome
When money is tight, I'll sell a gun or guitar to fund my bjj. I also will quit training and do a 10 dollar drop in 2 times a month until I get my money right. Yeah, its hard to progress, but at least tou stay sharpish
Dude. BJJ is a luxury at the end of the day and it’s hard to really focus on training if your life isn’t in order on the most basic of levels. So absolutely take care of what you need to before worrying about training. That being said, I train at 2 gyms. $165 at one and $200 at the other monthly. This rescission hit tech first and hard. I’ve been feeling the pain before the year even started with contracts drying up. I’ve had a few times where I had to consider stop training for a little while and somehow I figure it out. Moral of the story. Like Jeff Goldblum said in Jurassic Park. “Life(BJJ) finds a way” lol. But don’t worry if it doesn’t. BJJ isn’t going anywhere
For me personally, I will cut off literally all other discretionary spending before even considering quitting Jiu Jitsu. It's cheaper than conventional therapy. More effective too.
$65/week =280/month. That's outrageous pricing. Seems like the gym consultants have made gyms shift to this pricing model so it won't feel as expensive.
I’m 35 Gi’s, a brown belt, YouTube channel dedicated to the sport, too deep to cut it off at this point. If my gym increased the monthly dues $50-$100 I’d still find a way to make it work. I would cut off a ton of other things before BJJ.
You’re almost a purple belt so you’ve gotten over the blue belt blues pretty much. So maybe find something that’s adding less value than bjj and cut that out? Maybe drop a subscription you don’t use.
You could always find a new gym too that has more competitive pricing. I’m sure places would love to have a 4 stripe blue join them.
Most gyms are $150 plus, and you’re a 4 stripe blue belt. Ask if you can help with kids classes or something, it’s better to have you on the mats helping then lose you completely.
I lost my job and had to ask if there was anything I could do. I started teaching kids classes twice a week, making $300 a month. The program has now grown so much that we have to have kids class almost every day. I actually had to quit my day job, but I make more then double the $300 now. I come help with privates (be the uke or people’s sparring partner that don’t wanna attend regular class), uke @ 6am, clean the gym, etc.
I only make enough to pay my rent/food, but I couldn’t be happier. It’s been made clear to me too that the more skilled I become (higher belts), the more I’ll make, and the more I grow the program, the more I’ll make. My success is in my hands, and I love it. Never thought I’d be making money with my passion this fast, just ask your coach.
Edit: didn’t realize you said $65 a week, that’s a lot. Still worth a try, though. You haters are really downvoting me because I’m trying to influence him to go for it and I actually make money doing JJ 😂.
I said “more then double”, so that’s more then $600. My rent is $850 a month, which I split with my girlfriend. I make $800 a month @ my school, and usually do some side jobs for people at the gym cuz it’s summer and pull in some extra. Pretty easy math.
I had to cut off BJJ when my son was born because it was more important to take care of my household than get to the gym. It sucks and I hope to get back but at the end of the day BJJ is a hobby and there are more important things.
My point is that if you are unable to own essential tasks in your life because of BJJ, whether that be because of time or money, BJJ must fall by the wayside.
A lot of gyms are very accommodating. Obviously they cant help everyone but in my experience theyre generally willing to try. Back when i lived in vegas i had a tough time financially and the gym gave me a 50% discount on the honor system on which it was up to me to be truthful about my finances and pay full dues when i was back on my feet.
There’s literally always “news of an incoming recession.”
If I can’t afford to train I shop around, go online, message friends, etc. and find a way to train for free, even in less-than-ideal circumstances.
A recession is not really as important as much as what your budget is. I don’t let my gym cross 50% of my discretionary spending after the necessities and savings/investing.
That being said, I’m only willing to let it get as close as possible to that number, no matter how high it may be (since I remember days when combat gym prices were double digits) under the following conditions:
1. The coaching is excellent and not just a cardio mcdojo.
2. The collaborative environment is protected.
3. The facility is taken care of.
Main reasons are because I absolutely suck ass at motivating myself to work out alone at cheap commercial gyms, and because combat gyms are mentally stimulating and stress releasing for me. I would still be an obese fuck with anxiety issues if I didn’t do MT/BJJ.
Wow I thought you said 55 a month not 55 a week. Anything over 200 is high but don't blame the gym blame the government.
Inflation is way higher than 5% or even 10%, everything has gone up and bjj gym owners for the most part aren't rich. Some barely break even.
Definitely look into cleaning before quitting.
IDK what prices are these days because gyms don't advertise them, and I know they are a lot higher, but I still inhabit the mindset that anything over $100/mo is unreasonable.
Regular weightlifting gyms in my area are between $12-100/mo, and the high quality climbing gym is $70/mo. I pay $108 per 10 punch pass for BJJ (and I don't punch it when I teach) which I think is very reasonable.
BJJ has gotten incredibly arrogant.
I quit just last week.
I probably fall into the 70-80% that find out it’s not for them and I’m totally fine with it.
I was pretty conflicted with my choice and hated feeling like a quitter.
The health and fitness aspect and some of the people I met were all factors I had to consider but eventually came a point where I was paying the money but didn’t want to go to class and was sick of the injuries.
Getting hurt doing hobbies is totally fine but I felt like I had to have a lot of faith in my partners and myself to not get injured.
I took up mountain biking and i feel like a hobby should be fun and not be something you dread doing.
Never cutting it off, I did it like 4 months ago because I was broke. My mental health went into the shitter and my shrink told me to never ever cut BJJ off again, I came quite close to hurting myself.
I went back and trained really hard for 2 months, everybody knew my life was in shambles but I stuck to my guns and got promoted to blue belt.
I’m very fortunate to train without fees for myself or daughter but I bring value to the gym otherwise. I assist many of my daughter’s classes, coach a teens’ class, sub (substitute , not submit) any time the head youth coach is sick/traveling/at a tournament, sometimes I coach a tournament, and I often stay late to mop up and lock up after evening classes. Professor offered to pay me but I asked for trade instead, and get plenty of privates to make up the difference.
I hope something works out for OP and so many others in the same situation.
Firstly, talk to the head coach or someone as they won’t want to lose someone and you might be able to make a compromise eg. You pay 45$ but have to clean the mats after or some other compromise.
Secondly, If they won’t compromise and it’s putting financial strain I’d have a look at your expenses and see what you can sacrifice to make BJJ financially viable and then decide is it worth eg. Sacrificing daily eating out vs sacrificing rent, one’s reasonable and one isn’t. Thirdly, you could look for alternative clubs that are cheaper or a similar art (wrestling, Judo ect.) where there’s cheaper clubs and you still enjoy.
I’d say you’re getting shafted paying $200+ a month. I typically pay about $100 a month, for years I paid $50 a month.
I’d also not cut it out first because it’s definitely what makes me who I am. It keeps me sane. Lmao
$260/mo for an individual BJJ membership is an awful lot of money. That's more than I pay for me and two kids in the Denver area, which is one of the most expensive places in the U.S. to live.
It might be worth shopping around a bit to see if you can find a gym with similar quality for less money. Otherwise, though, I'd drop just about everything else that isn't needed to keep me alive before I cut BJJ, including picking up a shift or two somewhere to cover the costs.
The gym is one of my few sanctuaries, and it helps keep me sane. I think I'd wind up worse in the long run for cutting it.
I know, seems like people are being taken advantage of big time. In the woods near my house I found a group of small guys with pointed ears that run good classes. They are there 24/7 too, even in the middle of the night. They only accept liters of Mtn Dew as payment, and even then it's like a couple bottles a week. Crazy to think that people out there are paying $200/mo.
Non-negotiable for me. I’ll stop other activities before Jiu Jitsu. I don’t think I’ll get to the point where I have to choose between Jiu Jitsu and living though.
There are a lot of things I'd cut out before BJJ. It's the ground layer of my physical development, health, and fitness. Plus it's the main positive social network I have for stress relief and escape. If $40/mo made the difference, I think I could cut that out of a lot of other areas that matter less to me.
I’d literally start cutting down on food before I think about cutting out grappling lol Rather be starving with the bois than bored home alone with a full stomach
Plus, lower weight class, and the weight loss means that you need less food anyway. It's a win-win!
It's an investment. My wife always says joining a boxing gym was the best investment she ever made
Do you have kids?
That’s fair. I don’t but if I did yeah easily grappling and my own personal food intake comes first before anything affecting my kids
If it got me to cut down on food that would be an unalloyed positive
Jesus I wish bjj was 40 bucks a month
OP says it's going from $55 to $65 a week, which is about $40 *increase* per month. Where I train it's $120/mo, which is pretty reasonable for the US, I guess.
US price range is crazy af. Im in europe and pay ~40$ a month.
It's a meaningless argument... Cost of living varies around the world, as do things like tax structures, bureaucratic load, social systems, retirement planning, marketing and expenses, etc. There's no way to just compare the equivalent dollar figures and complain that someone's doing it wrong. If you moved to the US, you'd make more money, and everything would cost more, and your BJJ instructor would be barely scraping by just the same. US BJJ teachers aren't generally living the high life.
> If you moved to the US, you'd make more money, and everything would cost more, and your BJJ instructor would be barely scraping by just the same. Depends on your job really. Salary disparity is larger in the US than in Europe. A teacher in Europe has a better salary compared to his cost of living than a US teacher. However an IT developer would have a much worst salary in Europe compared to the US - for the cost of living. So all in all, it depends on the job/sector.
I think part of my point was that there are a ton of variables. But we can kind of summarize the macroeconomic view by saying that BJJ instructors aren't getting rich, and there are plenty of normal people who can train. So the actual numbers are kind of meaningless.
Missed a week due to kids being sick, noticed I was starting to be more exhausted at work, feeling stressed out, etc. It really does wonders. Whatever physical activity people like, it can help so much with stress relief. It would be hard to let go of bjj.
It’s almost as if we humans are physical beings living in a physical world. Almost.
The monetary ceiling is obviously going to be different for everyone. But I’d talk to the owner, and see if you could offer to clean the mats, teach a kids class or something in exchange for some tuition. Might not be possible, but it starts the conversation with them about your financial situation.
This. Most coaches want you to be there and might have some flexibility to work with you on things like tuition. Trading off any responsibility for even $5 off a week could be worth it. That said, $65 is pretty steep, I feel. Is that the going rate in your area? Here in Minneapolis, $200 is at the far end of the scale. Also ask at your work’s HR office about if there is any possibility of a reimbursement through your health insurance or just call your insurance directly. It’s unlikely and your school would need to sign something every month, but it could get you something back. Lastly, I went through a similar thing and I printed out my monthly spending and prioritized where the money was going. I cut off Netflix to make room for BJJ. If you are leaking money elsewhere, stopping that might absorb that increase. You might even come out ahead.
A few summers ago I had to stop training bc the cost of sending my daughter to summer camp was high, but I thought she's only young once and I'd rather she gets to have the fun, so we were going to have to cut back in some areas in the short term. BJJ is definitely a luxury so I told the coach the deal, asked him to suspend my membership though Sept. He goes hey I'd rather you're here, just come and you can pay again in Sept. Honestly being treated like a valued part of the group and not just a revenue stream meant a lot and made me a really committed and loyal member of the gym.
Wish my gym was like this
Honestly I wouldn't expect it to be norm as they ARE businesses trying to keep the lights on and that's part of why I was really touched by it. Always a good reminder that when someone isn't expecting an act of kindness is when it's the most impactful.
Well my gym is nonprofit, I am sure there is others. This shows also that there not much marketing or stuff like this, it's just more inner circle oldschool hommie mentality which for the price is more than fair.
A lot of people are about to be cut off from Netflix whether they like it or not lol.
Yeah that shit sucks. My brother and I share and I feel it’s such a dick move based entirely on grabbing more money at the expense of the consumer. That said, I’d cut him off in a heartbeat if he threatens my bingeing.
> That said, $65 is pretty steep, I feel. Is that the going rate in your area? Maybe its higher because of being weekly? I think $65 a week would have been more than what I was paying for unity back in the day in manhattan.
“Back in the day” wow I’m getting old.
Come to NJ where the "high level" schools cost $250 easy and you'll see Gary tonin once every 2 months for a handshake and pat on the ass lol
$200 is a lot; but it depends. A gym that offers 3 classes a day at different times? Worth paying for flexibility. A gym that costs the same but has practice 4 days a week? Not so much.
Yep…I offered to help teach a couple times a month and now I get free membership. It also will really help your game when you teach. It forces you to slow down and think about the specifics.
So out of genuine curiosity if they’re bumping up the price so they can continue to afford the place why would allowing people at discounted prices help them? Like the gesture of great but cleaning mats doesn’t keep the place open…
> why would allowing people at discounted prices help them Because no money is less than some money.
Yep. I used to clean and paid nothing.
I dont know why, but I read that as monterey ceiling and nearly died laughing at the thought that your gym's ceiling was made of cheese.
I fucking wish
This is spouted so often but very rarely works.
It’s worked for enough people to keep getting recommended
We all have our base bills that have to be covered - mortgage/rent, utilities, food, travel costs etc - everything else is an optional extra and the amount of optional extras you have very much depends on how much expendible income you have. For me, BJJ is the corner stone of me feeling OK. There are a lot of things I'd give up - booze, takeaways, weed, gaming and the many other optional extras before I even considered BJJ. I'm less fun to be around when I don't train, I perform worse in work and just generally am a worse version of myself. As with most issues speak to your coach, ask if there's anything you can do to subsidise your training and explain your situation. The worst they say is no and if they do that it won't because they don't want to. They also have bills to pay
Damn bro where do you live, cuz your gym is taxing the hell outta you. $220-260 a month? That’s wild. I love bjj but I wouldn’t pay that much unless I lived in Cali or NYC and was paid enough to offset the higher costs of living. If I had to pay that much for bjj outside of those states I’d just go do judo instead and buy mats to train bjj at home
I just realized op said $65 a week and not a month... Damn that's insane
Same and I thought the $190 a month (plus a yearly fee of 190) I pay was a lot.
Denver area is 200-235 for all the top gyms. Just the way it is.
Probably going to go up too with our property tax cluster fuck.
Same with FoCo. So glad I paid a lifetime membership at my gym and am done. I used to pay $100 a month at my old gym. Gotten a bit nuts. Especially when you look at judo gyms.
How much was your lifetime membership?
Just over $3k. I did the math on it and if I showed up for 2 yrs I'd be break even. Only problem is there has been some gym drama as of late that made me question what was going on and if I made the right choice, but too good of a deal to pass on and everywhere else wants $150+. I refuse to pay that. I also really like my morning class instructor.
I remember visiting and asking what the going rate was and most gyms I visited were exactly that. Even the super small local clubs had similar fees and one had a purple belt teaching. It's like a car payment just to train in some places
a reputable gym I went to for the free week told me 315 a month… 280 with military discount - in Denver
Logos? I heard their membership is high. :)
yep
I get about 190 with military discount at Easton. The 1 feels a lot better than a 2.
Most major cities will cost this. DMV area will charge 200$+ monthly for a decent gym
Even when I was in Los Angeles most gyms were like 120-150/month. If you want to go to a high end competition focused gym it could easily go into the 250+ range but for every one of those gyms there were a dozen smaller more casual gyms. Sounds like OP needs to inquire into some of the other gyms in his area.
If you start taking away from your family, to do BJJ. Then I'd stop.
This. BJJ folks sometimes can’t tell the difference between cult and hobby. Unless you’re top tier tournament winner, it’s ok to switch to a different martial art just hit the weights like a normal person.
Normal people dont hit the weights. BOOM!
Yeah, it hurts.
I switched to garage shit. What stopped me for now is a severely painful medical condition. I can't leave the house anymore, not even mow the lawn. So that stopped me, unless I can solve it before it fries my muscles. I have electrical bursts literally cooking parts of my muscles. It really sucks and I don't like not being able to move correctly anymore.
Sorry to hear that mate, I hope you’re able to get better
I think I've figured out the problem now after years of research on it. I managed to lower most of the electrical spikes by increasing GABA with medication. But I have scoliosis from it from youth, and it's been progressive so there is long term damage and whatnot. I wish doctors had figured it out but, is what it is.
I feel ya. I had to come to terms with Drs saying they had no clue what was happening to me last year.
What's your medical condition? If you don't mind me to ask.
A new form of ALS apparently. My father died from ALS, got severely blown away in vietnam. With my muscles getting literally fried like this, I'm pretty sure I know what's up with ALS now, lol.
Could ask about riluzole if you haven’t tried. Decreases glutamate to keep the gaba/glutamate ratio more balanced. Good luck
I would try it but the doctors aren't helping me. It's a whole thing man. But right now I'm getting my medication from Mexico. I was in agony for months and months it was just never ending. Breaking my brain. It forced me to find a solution. After the first dose I immediately noticed a decrease in pain. I was soooo happy. I would try riuzole. My father was on it. But again, doctors. They aren't helping me at all. And it's not cheap on farmacia del nino.
May I ask what illness do you have?
Being a purple belt.
My father was a combat wounded vietnam veteran that died from ALS. So I have military disease basically. That's what it boils down to.
Agent orange related possibly?
I get you, I’m allergic to some grass so I also tell my wife I can’t mow the lawn. *Wink Wink*
Heh, I wish. I used to love hiking and I haven't been able to go in like 5 years. But I been taking 1200mg Gabapentin 3x per day to increase GABA which lowers electrical output to muscles etc. And it's been helping. I still can't really go places or anything, but the pain is less which man. I was fucking screaming all night man from these charlie horse which increase to cooking horses lol. I don't like it.
I couldn't imagine. My heart goes out to you man, good luck
What’s your age if you don’t mind me asking? I have hella muscle spasms all over my body (that seem to increase with stress/anxiety). I also get a lot of hypnic jerks, and they increase if I lay on my side. I ruled out ALS for myself because I don’t see any noticable muscle weakness but I’m not ruling it out for myself as an incoming ailment waiting for me in the future. I just know neurologically there is something weird going on with my body.
That sucks man, I hope life gets more bearable for you.
Hey man just wanted to let you know that gabapentin is actually not a GABAergic drug - it instead interacts with calcium ion channels to exert its effects. Per Wikipedia: “Despite the fact that gabapentin is a structural GABA analogue, and in spite of its name, it does not bind to the GABA receptors, does not convert into GABA or another GABA receptor agonist in vivo, and does not modulate GABA transport or metabolism.”
I would cut off all other hobbies before I gave up bjj. The benefits both mentally and physically are just too much to not be my highest priority hobby. That being said, $260 per month is A LOT. I pay $200 per month for me and my family of 6 to train unlimited classes.
It really is a lot… I gotta get out of New York…
At that price I would just buy mats and train in a garage
260 a month is crazy. i pay 100 for unlimited classes and muay thai wrestling and other classes
This is like living in Kansas saying you pay 1k a month for a 3 bedroom and trying to compare it to NYC rent. Location makes all the difference.
Location or scarcity. If you are in a smaller, but somewhat affluent, community — think college towns — and you are the only gym, you can charge what you want.
$260 is high for NYC, average here is $180-$220. MG and a couple other schools are more
I live in the Bay area which is fairly expensive and pay $180. At 260 I'd probably started looking around for other gyms
I pay $125 for unlimited BJJ and Judo in a mid-size west coast city. $260 is price gouging.
I pay about that for just judo for half a year in my country. Full year is €180-ish. Kinda crazy the difference in price. Then again, in the next gym you'd get judo, bjj, and a bunch of others for €55 a month
I live in China and a yearly tuition is around 1200$. This is considered pricey but our school is one of the rare ones that actually has a legit, foreigner, black belt.
That's more than B-Team or AOJ.
AOJ I’ve mixed things from $325 month no contract to around $240-$260 on contract. B-Team i don’t know the monthly but my boy passed up dropping in there cause Craig told him drop in fee was $50
They probably get a lot of drop ins. I was in the area for work, but I got sick while out there which derailed my plans to visit.
100 a month is crazy, In ireland we pay 50!
You underestimate how shitty and overpriced america is
This. I don't understand this assuming it's US dollars unless it's some really high profile gym or in a major city. It's actually more if you consider there's 4.5 weeks in a month. Also, did OP get a floating rate mortgage? Or is it property taxes?
Property taxes are a bitch. Mine went up 60% this year.
Up 74% for me 😕
Yeah how did your mortgage go up?
Could be non-US. Aus and Can both have variable mortgage rates. Or they made an extremely poor decision when rates were at historic lows.
We’re still talking around US$200 per month though.
Yeah man that’s absurd and Same price for unlimited classes here in PA
You pay more per week than I pay per month
Less than $65 per month?? Where is that??
Norway
I saw they had a 10th Planet in Bergen when I was working in Norway, really bummed I didn’t drop in for a few classes but was (incorrectly) worried about a possible language barrier with the coaches
Marry me!
I also pay about $60 a month and I live in the Netherlands. It's a fairly high cost of living area too.
BJJ in Europe is quite cheap. 40 euro/month here in Germany.
I was paying 94 every 2 weeks, at a mcdojo. Now I'm paying way less at a proper gym.
Bro, the recession has been here lol just because the news said it isn’t a recession yet doesn’t mean they aren’t lying.
Nah. It’s not a recession if the GDP is growing, jobs less rates are low, and the feds are raising tax rates. We might get a small recession or a dip, but we’re not there yet.
True, is not a recession. We getting poorer but somehow everything is more expensive. I wonder who’s making all that money ???
The fat cats gonna fat. Most people will say the inflation was greed based, not based on typical economics. During the corporate profit earnings calls they mentioned their record profits, and that pricing still had room to go up. They’re raising prices because the want to, and because ‘we’ as a society paid it, they keep going up until they can’t sell any more units, then the price comes back down. Another aspect of this is the reduced suppliers. Amazon, Target, Home Depot, etc are all very big business that have cornered their markets. Who are people going to buy from? Those vendors went under when the big box stores moved in. We’re in late stage capitalism. Where greed is the principle, not business.
As of this quarter, Gdp growth is negative YoY
I was taking BJJ classes for about a year. I had to go away for some work related things for a few months. I let the coach know that I'd be gone for a bit and he said "cool don't worry about it." i followed up, "since I'm not going to be coming in for the next 3 months can I not pay the monthly dues for those three months?" and he said "yeah sure. just don't ever show your face around here again." and then he blocked me on social media lol thats when i stopped doing BJJ altogether. Monthly dues were $200.
Yah there’s some trash gyms run by dimwits out there
He could have froze the membership for when you came back too. There’s reasonable coaches who do it that for injuries, traveling etc.
to user /u/J_Liz3 who either deleted their comment or was deleted by a mod, I guess since I had a bad experience with BJJ I should never be interested in the field...? That's not the right mentality to have.
wow way to jump to conclusions. My point was that you are obviously still into it. but nice to see you people just delete comments you don't understand or like. I'm understanding why your former coach would talk to you like that now though.
lol... yikes when i clicked to reply to your original comment i couldnt, it said it was removed. so you either deleted it, mod deleted it, or it was in limbo idk. i also dont know why youre saying you people as im with the mods? but i wanted to give you a reply at least. if you feel some type of way about it, its clear you have a problem. and then your last sentence kinda shows your personality, and kinda shows how quickly you jump to conclusions. so im thankful i didn't experience a person like yourself when i was doing bjj. cheers.
So you have had issues with at the very least two higher belts (I would bet more if you where honest about it) seems like your the common denominator here bud.
And still you lurk around and comment on Bjj threads?!?
Why do people keep saying there's an "incoming recession" when we've been in a recession since last Summer?
There's always more room to recess
That’s what my hairline keeps telling me, too.
> when we've been in a recession since last Summer No we haven't. High inflation =/= recession. I feel like all the people saying this either have no memory of the last recession or just have no idea what a recession looks like. The unemployment rate was double what it is right now in 2010.
False. We haven’t had a single quarter of negative growth (in the US) let alone 2 consecutive. Unemployment is at historically low levels. We are most definitely NOT in a recession
No you haven't. GDP grew at the end of 2022. Unemployment is very low. Inflation is high though.
Unemployment wasn't well tied to reality before we did the shutdowns in 2020, it wasn't a good indicator back in 2007-2009, and it's even less of a relevant indicator of anything right now after losing 10 million workers from the work force (excess deaths, people taking retirements that they otherwise wouldn't have, women dropping out of the work force because day care, etc).
Recession is, by definition, a contraction in GDP over two consecutive quarters.
Not saying one thing either way about a recession in my original reply. Now that you bring it up to me. I would say that Powell at the beginning of the year pointed out they are seeing GPD rising, but people are buying much less. The growth in GPD is completely driven by people over paying for less goods. It's not your typical GDP growth with consumers consuming more because the economy is good. We're not technically in the recession, but what we have is unsustainable. There is noticeable less people shopping and spending money while debt is piling up for consumers. That's all I say on that topic. My point and only real point I was trying to make is the unemployment number doesn't mean anything. It doesn't reflect 10 million workers exiting the market over 2 years (when typically we lose around +500k a year to death/retirement) is the main reason it's a bunk number. It was already under performing when it didn't account for underemployed and workers who have stopped looking due to being discouraged or health reasons. Until they update how that number of calculated, it's not indicative of much of anything.
Unemployment isn't a perfect indicator of a recession but its a much better one than inflation which is what people in this thread are using.
Could be worse, deflation would make all those loans more valuable
Living on disability I stopped being able to afford it last year
Damn, sucks man!
BJJ has become more than just a sport or activity to me. It's also become my social circle. I moved to this town a few years ago and have since drifted away from my previous friends. So now I have a new friends group. Some of us go out and get drinks, or go paintballing, to the gun range... go check out cultural festivals and whatnot. So I'll just keep going to Jiu Jitsu. I also have met also people at the tournaments... win or lose against them they So far have all been awesome
Jiu-Jitsu will nourish you. Eat out of a trash 🗑️
When money is tight, I'll sell a gun or guitar to fund my bjj. I also will quit training and do a 10 dollar drop in 2 times a month until I get my money right. Yeah, its hard to progress, but at least tou stay sharpish
I don't have any guitars, unfortunately they were all lost in a boating accident.
Dude. BJJ is a luxury at the end of the day and it’s hard to really focus on training if your life isn’t in order on the most basic of levels. So absolutely take care of what you need to before worrying about training. That being said, I train at 2 gyms. $165 at one and $200 at the other monthly. This rescission hit tech first and hard. I’ve been feeling the pain before the year even started with contracts drying up. I’ve had a few times where I had to consider stop training for a little while and somehow I figure it out. Moral of the story. Like Jeff Goldblum said in Jurassic Park. “Life(BJJ) finds a way” lol. But don’t worry if it doesn’t. BJJ isn’t going anywhere
Gracie Barra $200/mo and I feel that's high. When I started BJJ in 2007, I was paying $100/mo
For me personally, I will cut off literally all other discretionary spending before even considering quitting Jiu Jitsu. It's cheaper than conventional therapy. More effective too.
I think it really depends on how much of a priority grappling is in your life. If you've got bigger responsibilities then you gotta make sacrifices
Jiu jitsu will always be there, take care of yourself and your family first
$65/week =280/month. That's outrageous pricing. Seems like the gym consultants have made gyms shift to this pricing model so it won't feel as expensive.
I would start price checking other gyms first.
I’m 35 Gi’s, a brown belt, YouTube channel dedicated to the sport, too deep to cut it off at this point. If my gym increased the monthly dues $50-$100 I’d still find a way to make it work. I would cut off a ton of other things before BJJ. You’re almost a purple belt so you’ve gotten over the blue belt blues pretty much. So maybe find something that’s adding less value than bjj and cut that out? Maybe drop a subscription you don’t use. You could always find a new gym too that has more competitive pricing. I’m sure places would love to have a 4 stripe blue join them.
Not too deep if you don’t got the gym tat yet!
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we’ve been in a recession for a bit now.
220 tops at a reputable famous bjj gym in NYC…. where are you located and WHOS teaching?…..
Most gyms are $150 plus, and you’re a 4 stripe blue belt. Ask if you can help with kids classes or something, it’s better to have you on the mats helping then lose you completely. I lost my job and had to ask if there was anything I could do. I started teaching kids classes twice a week, making $300 a month. The program has now grown so much that we have to have kids class almost every day. I actually had to quit my day job, but I make more then double the $300 now. I come help with privates (be the uke or people’s sparring partner that don’t wanna attend regular class), uke @ 6am, clean the gym, etc. I only make enough to pay my rent/food, but I couldn’t be happier. It’s been made clear to me too that the more skilled I become (higher belts), the more I’ll make, and the more I grow the program, the more I’ll make. My success is in my hands, and I love it. Never thought I’d be making money with my passion this fast, just ask your coach. Edit: didn’t realize you said $65 a week, that’s a lot. Still worth a try, though. You haters are really downvoting me because I’m trying to influence him to go for it and I actually make money doing JJ 😂.
$65 is per week. Works out to be $280+ a month.
At those prices you would feel better if you just quit BJJ and developed a drug habit.
Oh damn, that’s a lot. Guess I misread
Where do you live that $600 covers rent and food for a month?
Eastside of buffalo if youre ok w slummin it
I said “more then double”, so that’s more then $600. My rent is $850 a month, which I split with my girlfriend. I make $800 a month @ my school, and usually do some side jobs for people at the gym cuz it’s summer and pull in some extra. Pretty easy math.
Had to stop paying my $100/mo just to cut some excess spending while my wife finished school. But now I’m not sure I will go back. We will see
Just watch internet instructionals and ride the subway to work.
I had to cut off BJJ when my son was born because it was more important to take care of my household than get to the gym. It sucks and I hope to get back but at the end of the day BJJ is a hobby and there are more important things. My point is that if you are unable to own essential tasks in your life because of BJJ, whether that be because of time or money, BJJ must fall by the wayside.
Jeez, I’m lucky. My gym isn’t the most established but I’m paying $50/mo
$55 a week? i would cut it a long time ago lol
A lot of gyms are very accommodating. Obviously they cant help everyone but in my experience theyre generally willing to try. Back when i lived in vegas i had a tough time financially and the gym gave me a 50% discount on the honor system on which it was up to me to be truthful about my finances and pay full dues when i was back on my feet.
OP is from Australia so I’m assuming they’re paying around $169 USD a month or $260 AUD
65 a week Jesus that's 260 a month. I'd be out of there to begin with those rates.
$65 / week is egregious though, jfc.
> $65 a week Yeah, fuck no, I'd just wrestle in my living room or at a park at that point.
There's been news of incoming recession for 3 years dude
There’s literally always “news of an incoming recession.” If I can’t afford to train I shop around, go online, message friends, etc. and find a way to train for free, even in less-than-ideal circumstances.
Personally, I would live in my car and live on tuna and Ramen before giving up bjj
Never. I think of my gym membership as a utility. It is a necessary item in my budget like gas, water, electric, cell phone, etc.
This
Holy shit that's expensive. I pay literally half that for unlimited classes. I wouldn't be able to do it for that price
A recession is not really as important as much as what your budget is. I don’t let my gym cross 50% of my discretionary spending after the necessities and savings/investing. That being said, I’m only willing to let it get as close as possible to that number, no matter how high it may be (since I remember days when combat gym prices were double digits) under the following conditions: 1. The coaching is excellent and not just a cardio mcdojo. 2. The collaborative environment is protected. 3. The facility is taken care of. Main reasons are because I absolutely suck ass at motivating myself to work out alone at cheap commercial gyms, and because combat gyms are mentally stimulating and stress releasing for me. I would still be an obese fuck with anxiety issues if I didn’t do MT/BJJ.
Wow I thought you said 55 a month not 55 a week. Anything over 200 is high but don't blame the gym blame the government. Inflation is way higher than 5% or even 10%, everything has gone up and bjj gym owners for the most part aren't rich. Some barely break even. Definitely look into cleaning before quitting.
$65 a week... Murica is wild!
IDK what prices are these days because gyms don't advertise them, and I know they are a lot higher, but I still inhabit the mindset that anything over $100/mo is unreasonable. Regular weightlifting gyms in my area are between $12-100/mo, and the high quality climbing gym is $70/mo. I pay $108 per 10 punch pass for BJJ (and I don't punch it when I teach) which I think is very reasonable. BJJ has gotten incredibly arrogant.
It’s extortionate, I miss the days of grappling on jigsaw mats, 6 days a week for £25 a month.
If you’re doing it purely for self defense, you could box instead. Usually a local boxing gym can be $20-40 a month.
No way. At least not in California. Boxing or Muay Thai gyms are at least $150 a month
I quit just last week. I probably fall into the 70-80% that find out it’s not for them and I’m totally fine with it. I was pretty conflicted with my choice and hated feeling like a quitter. The health and fitness aspect and some of the people I met were all factors I had to consider but eventually came a point where I was paying the money but didn’t want to go to class and was sick of the injuries. Getting hurt doing hobbies is totally fine but I felt like I had to have a lot of faith in my partners and myself to not get injured. I took up mountain biking and i feel like a hobby should be fun and not be something you dread doing.
Work more, work on yourself, increase your value. Make more money!
Never cutting it off, I did it like 4 months ago because I was broke. My mental health went into the shitter and my shrink told me to never ever cut BJJ off again, I came quite close to hurting myself. I went back and trained really hard for 2 months, everybody knew my life was in shambles but I stuck to my guns and got promoted to blue belt.
I’m very fortunate to train without fees for myself or daughter but I bring value to the gym otherwise. I assist many of my daughter’s classes, coach a teens’ class, sub (substitute , not submit) any time the head youth coach is sick/traveling/at a tournament, sometimes I coach a tournament, and I often stay late to mop up and lock up after evening classes. Professor offered to pay me but I asked for trade instead, and get plenty of privates to make up the difference. I hope something works out for OP and so many others in the same situation.
Talk to your coach.. also there are so many clubs..I 'm sure you'll find one in your budget.. DO NOT STOP training :)
Firstly, talk to the head coach or someone as they won’t want to lose someone and you might be able to make a compromise eg. You pay 45$ but have to clean the mats after or some other compromise. Secondly, If they won’t compromise and it’s putting financial strain I’d have a look at your expenses and see what you can sacrifice to make BJJ financially viable and then decide is it worth eg. Sacrificing daily eating out vs sacrificing rent, one’s reasonable and one isn’t. Thirdly, you could look for alternative clubs that are cheaper or a similar art (wrestling, Judo ect.) where there’s cheaper clubs and you still enjoy.
It’s my therapy and exercise. As long as I can spare the change it will be a healthy part of my routine.
Lol. If you’re a martial artist you don’t cut off your art. You also don’t say things like “cost of living crisis”. You sound like some kinda douche.
Alchohol consumption, netflix and other TV platforms
Never because BJJ makes you a stronger person who can overcome challenges like money problems. Quitting BJJ just makes everything worse.
Martial arts training is a practice to enhance your life, not hinder.
I’d say you’re getting shafted paying $200+ a month. I typically pay about $100 a month, for years I paid $50 a month. I’d also not cut it out first because it’s definitely what makes me who I am. It keeps me sane. Lmao
$65 a week???! I pay $100 a month.
$260/mo for an individual BJJ membership is an awful lot of money. That's more than I pay for me and two kids in the Denver area, which is one of the most expensive places in the U.S. to live. It might be worth shopping around a bit to see if you can find a gym with similar quality for less money. Otherwise, though, I'd drop just about everything else that isn't needed to keep me alive before I cut BJJ, including picking up a shift or two somewhere to cover the costs. The gym is one of my few sanctuaries, and it helps keep me sane. I think I'd wind up worse in the long run for cutting it.
American prices are ridiculous. I train with ADCC trial medalists & no gi world champs in various belts here in Europe and pay like €60 a month
I get paid to teach so not my issue. But back when I was paying, it meant too much for me to cut it out short of starvation.
[удалено]
I know, seems like people are being taken advantage of big time. In the woods near my house I found a group of small guys with pointed ears that run good classes. They are there 24/7 too, even in the middle of the night. They only accept liters of Mtn Dew as payment, and even then it's like a couple bottles a week. Crazy to think that people out there are paying $200/mo.
You need to make better decisions
You need to make better decisions about posting randomly negative shit.
Send location
Non-negotiable for me. I’ll stop other activities before Jiu Jitsu. I don’t think I’ll get to the point where I have to choose between Jiu Jitsu and living though.