Running a successful small program is fairly easy, if the instructor is (A) Not crazy, (B) Actually qualified to teach, and (C) Wants to produce skilled students (as opposed to just make money).  When there are 50 students in  your program, its easy to keep track of everyone’s progress.  If you need someone to improve their Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, just spend some more time with them.  You know everyone’s weaknesses and strengths and can adjust the training regimen accordingly.

Now, running a successful big program is a little different.  When there are 500 students to keep track of, you better have a SYSTEM because there is no way you are going to effectively apply your time on a one-to-one basis to all 500 students.  The inability to break the link between the head instructor’s time and the effective teaching of the students is one of the main reasons why there is a trend for programs to develop their best fighters at the START of their business. If you think about it, this is very strange because you would expect that with more income coming in (with the larger student base), the later students in the program would be better than the first few; after all, the school probably has more classes, more advanced students, more sponsorship activities, more instructors, more training partners, etc. etc.

Developing this system is very difficult – as evidenced by the number of schools that have seen an inverse relationship between their school growth and “talented” student level. Of course, there are schools that have done it i.e. Lloyd Irvin Camp Springs.  Lloyd had a few good competitors when LIMAA was a small school and as his school has grown, his competition team has not only gotten bigger but also began competing at higher and higher levels (Brandon Vera in the Ultimate Fighting Championships).  Because of the success of his school, he can provide his students with a large professional facility, expansive schedule, and job and sponsorship opportunities so the dedicated students can continue to develop their skills and pursue their competitive goals.

more on this topic tomorrow…

*** REMINDER – Houston International Open Results will be posted to our Crazy 88 facebook fan page as they come in so become a fan if you aren’t already one! ***

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Secondly, every Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Association is different.  The first major distinction is whether the Association accepts new members (schools) who are not trained by members of the Association.  While most teams require some sort of training relationship prior to a business one, some Associations just require a monthly due and a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu ranking of some sort.

To use a hypothetical situation – consider Dan Gable / Iowa Wrestling (probably the highest and most marketable pedigree in the United States for wrestling); only members of the Iowa Hawkeye wrestling program who were coached by Dan Gable can truly say that they can teach that “style”.  Now imagine if Dan Gable decided to allow any wrestling camp or team that would pay him $500 / month to represent “Dan Gable wrestling”.  Those are the two extremes of Associations – one is purely a training pedigree, much like degree from a University, while the other is more of a money for benefits exchange.

Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling and Dan Gable - The Most Marketable Names in Folkstyle Wrestling

So what are these benefits?  Firstly, joining a reputable associations is a good way for the new member to get the recognition and reputation of the association without necessarily being of the same quality.  Imagine a school that does not have any history of producing competitors and also lacks an instructor with solid credentials; the school owner would greatly benefit by joining an association that has those things.  Some associations also offer marketing assistance such as website templates and also training guides such as a consolidated curriculum.  Depending on the reason why the new member joined the association, either of those benefits could be huge.  A seminar blue belt with a karate school would definitely benefit from having a well-constructed Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu curriculum while a struggling MMA school, might need the marketing help.

If you’re considering a school that is associated with someone else, research what was the affiliate’s relationship with the main school / instructor prior to joining the association?  Do not mistake yourself into believing that the affiliate school offers the same training, same philosophy, or overall same quality as the main school if the relationship was formed very recently or if the main association head is very far away.  Evaluate the credentials of the BJJ where you will be training apart from the credentials of the association.  Ask yourself, if the head instructor is in California, how much possible contact can there be between him and his new affiliate instructor in Maryland?  If readily available, look at what the requirements for association membership are and think what those requirements imply about both the association head and the affiliate school.

Hope that helps…

PS – Team Lloyd Irvin Pan Am training camp started this week!  Make sure  you check out the video here.

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Unfortunately, for the individual looking to find quality Mixed Martial Arts training, this is often NOT the case and the quality of a Mixed Martial Arts program can only be determined by also asking…

• What level of competitor has the program produced?
• How many of those competitors has the program produced from scratch?

These questions have to considered in addition to how long has the program been in existence?

A quality training program must consistently produce top competitors.

Why competitors? Because that provides proof and a point of comparison with other schools. Never judge a school based on the # of colored belts it has because every school has different standards; a Black Belt at one school might be the equivalent skill level of a Purple Belt at another.

Why consistently? Because any school, given time, will eventually run across an athlete that has the genetic and societal background that will make him good. When I wrestled in high school, each high school always has that one kid that is good despite the rest of the team sucking. This kid usually came from a family wrestling background and comes in with years of basement and garage wrestling experience. This kid’s performance is in no way indicative of the school’s wrestling program however. Look the program that has ALWAYS been putting up good competitive numbers.

Why is the level of competition important? Lots of people can coach Championship Little League teams. Fewer can coach Championship High School Teams and once you get into the collegiate and professional levels, there are only a few programs that can coach that level of athlete. The same goes for Mixed Martial Arts schools. Nowadays, there are lots of little schools where you can roll around with your friends and shoot the breeze afterward. But if you want to be a UFC fighter or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion (or an athlete competing at the highest level in any sport), look for programs that have actually produced that level of competitor. Trust me… if a program COULD produce that caliber of athlete – they would!

Remember that the numbers of competitors and titles for each school should go UP with each year that the school has been in business.

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“See the interior – just like a Volkswagon Golf!” 
“Yeah, the safety ratings are just like a Volkswagon Golf!” 
“Nice engine huh?  We designed it after the Volkswagon Golf!”
etc. etc.

*** I FOUND THE COMMERCIAL ON YOUTUBE ***

Now I don’t know if VW Golfs are good are bad but the point is made – if everyone seems intent on just copying something -  there must be something to the original!

For an example right from our BJJ school - ever notice how every gi is compared to a Koral (the original “luxury” gi) and every light gi is compared to Vulkan (the original gi sold on virtue of its lightness)? 

Anyway, with the success of Crazy 88 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Team Lloyd Irvin (most of the marketing I use is derivative of my mentor Lloyd Irvin’s), I’ve noticed quite a lot of “flattery” from other martial arts schools in the area. 

So far I’ve noticed…

• More and more local MMA / BJJ school switching over to the 30 Day Free Trial
• Google adwords campaigns with a single word (usually location) changed
• “Fake” prospective students coming in to experience the new client tour / 30 Day Trial
• Website text directly cut and pasted
• New website designs copied; we are always putting up new websites to test what google likes and the successful ones get copied a few months later… LOL!

Anyway, I guess its true that its not IF your competitors copy you, but WHEN and also that we must be doing something right if everyone wants to copy us. 

PS – I will give a free sweatshirt to any current students who can find a direct example of any of the above.  Email me your submissions!  I am keeping a list!

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BJ Penn - UFC Champion and 3 year BJJ Black Belt

In Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, there are only 4 belt ranks; these levels are blue, purple, brown, and black.  Because there are so few promotions, each one becomes much more important to the student.  Unfortunately, focusing on the color of the belt usually implies that the student has taken his eyes off the prize, which was to develop the skills that are represented by the belt color. These skills are sometimes best developed by the coach promoting the student a little early and having them struggle at the next belt, and other times these skills are best developed by holding the student back in pursuit of consistency and psychological / mental development.

A good coach should be able to “read” his students enough to figure out when a promotion would be most helpful in a student’s development.  This “bespoke” approach for each student is the mark of all good coaches and why schools that focus on seminar promotions or video promotions will never be able to match the quality of old-school hands-on programs.   It’s also why answering the question can sometimes take a very long time…

Ronaldo Jacare - Had to win the Worlds 2X at Purple and 2X and Brown to be Promoted

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