Mma classes

[Kickboxer101]

So at the local main mma gym in my area it's a Gracie barra school so it's mainly a jiu jitsu club but they have mma training as well Ive never trained there but I have it liked on facebook as it's keep it uo to date with fight announcements etc but I noticed something lately for the mma classes they have an announcement saying that the mma classes are for full members of jiu jitsu program only and you can't just drop in. Personally I feel that's a but unfair as some may not want to do just pure jiu jitsu and want to do mma but they can't because you have be part of the jiu jitsu program to train in it. Personally I'd have no interest in doing just jiu jitsu and if I did train there it'd be the mma class but obviously I couldn't.

What are other people's thoughts on it?

 

[Tez3]

There's a lot of things that determine what classes can be offered. How many instructors and when they can teach if they have full time jobs, what room is available, how popular classes are likely to be etc. They may have too many wanting to do MMA so have to cut down the class to a manageable size and in this case they've chosen to just take those who are students already as they feel this is fairer on those who already train with them.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

There's a lot of things that determine what classes can be offered. How many instructors and when they can teach if they have full time jobs, what room is available, how popular classes are likely to be etc. They may have too many wanting to do MMA so have to cut down the class to a manageable size and in this case they've chosen to just take those who are students already as they feel this is fairer on those who already train with them.

I agree, and they may have had a lot of folks coming in to train "MMA" without the requisite background. If their MMA training assumes a solid basis in good groundwork at a certain level, then someone trying to come in without that will muck up the MMA sessions. It's just easier for them to require folks be in the BJJ classes. It may also have to do with costs. If they built the fee structure around the BJJ with MMA as an add-on (or free), then they may be losing money if someone only does the MMA. Mind you, that last one could be fixed easily enough, so I suspect that's not the issue.

 

[Buka]

He who runs the gym makes the rules. You and I may do it differently than they do, but we would be running the gym....and making the rules.

 

[Tez3]

The best thing is to actually go in to ask if you can do MMA separately and if they say sorry, no, they may tell you why to satisfy your curiosity.

 

[KangTsai]

It's weird that they lock the all-round stuff behind BJJ experience. My classes just alternates ground and standup, although standup is more common thanks to a healthy amount of fitness emphasis.

 

[kuniggety]

although standup is more common thanks to a healthy amount of fitness emphasis.

I'm missing the correlation between stand up and fitness emphasis.

@OP: It could be the way they teach the MMA class. It could be designed around being complementary to their BJJ classes with them not teaching ground work in the MMA class. It could instead be a focus on striking and clinch work for the lessons with anything goes in the sparring.

 

[Tez3]

It's weird that they lock the all-round stuff behind BJJ experience.

It's a BJJ place so not at all weird, their focus is on BJJ and they probably just added a MMA class for the BJJ students who wanted to do MMA which might be a lot as I said or there might actually only be a few so they just have the class for them as they don't want to expand it taking the focus away from the BJJ. Also as a BJJ place if they do have anyone who wants to fight MMA they want to make sure their BJJ is good so their own students only. If they took non BJJ students in who fought under their banner it wouldn't be good if their jits were rubbish.There's lots of very good reasons why they could have done it.

 

[KangTsai]

It's a BJJ place so not at all weird, their focus is on BJJ and they probably just added a MMA class for the BJJ students who wanted to do MMA which might be a lot as I said or there might actually only be a few so they just have the class for them as they don't want to expand it taking the focus away from the BJJ. Also as a BJJ place if they do have anyone who wants to fight MMA they want to make sure their BJJ is good so their own students only. If they took non BJJ students in who fought under their banner it wouldn't be good if their jits were rubbish.There's lots of very good reasons why they could have done it.

Yeah and also, budget for grappling equipment (light headgear, a wrestling dummy maybe) would be much lower than striking equipment (a myriad of protective gear and striking targets). The gym could be limited by this.

 

[KangTsai]

I'm missing the correlation between stand up and fitness emphasis.

Striking is great cardio.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Yeah and also, budget for grappling equipment (light headgear, a wrestling dummy maybe) would be much lower than striking equipment (a myriad of protective gear and striking targets). The gym could be limited by this.

You forget the cost of mats - usually the largest expense for a grappling program start-up.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Striking is great cardio.

So is rolling.

 

[Tez3]

So is rolling.

Very much so, we have very fit people training with us and they can struggle with groundwork. It always takes them by surprise.

Headgear in MMA, unlikely. People would have their own if they were to wear such a thing.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Very much so, we have very fit people training with us and they can struggle with groundwork. It always takes them by surprise.

Yeah, I'd argue there's much more "core" work in rolling (by maybe 1000%!), and more different muscle groups involved. My comparison:

If I took a standing-work class that moved really consistently and kept us sweating and breathing hard, my arms, shoulders, and legs would be sore the next day.

If I went to a BJJ class that was rolling with some intensity and kept us sweating and breathing hard, everything would be sore the next day (though probably a bit less in my arms and legs).

 

[Kickboxer101]

Something I should've added as well it didnt used to be like that. Before you could just drop in I know as some friends used to just go to the mma classes but now suddenly it's members only. But they've also just moved to a bigger location with more equipment and now have more instructors and coaches

 

[Tez3]

Something I should've added as well it didnt used to be like that. Before you could just drop in I know as some friends used to just go to the mma classes but now suddenly it's members only. But they've also just moved to a bigger location with more equipment and now have more instructors and coaches

Well it is entirely up to them, it's not a government organisation that you can protest about. It's what works for them, being fair or unfair to outsiders who aren't members isn't an issue.

 

[WaterGal]

Yeah, I'd argue there's much more "core" work in rolling (by maybe 1000%!), and more different muscle groups involved.

Yeah, or at the very least, different core work. Certainly not less. Striking works your core in quick bursts, while doing stuff on the ground seems to engage your core more continuously.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Yeah, or at the very least, different core work. Certainly not less. Striking works your core in quick bursts, while doing stuff on the ground seems to engage your core more continuously.

Agreed. And I'd say that with bridging and such, rolling almost certainly requires a higher strength level, even when it's in bursts.

 

[drop bear]

my club doesn,t. Walk in, do mma on your first class. I prefer that. I also like the mma bjj tourism. where people from around the world just drop in on their holidays for a session.

you get some good guys.

 

[JowGaWolf]

So is rolling.

lol.. as well as standing grappling. All of it sucks (meaning it's good but I hate doing it) striking and grappling in terms of breathing and muscle endurance. . A person is guaranteed to be out of breath within a few minutes of going at it. Those who have been doing it a while have a talent for knowing how to conserve their energy and only using it when it's needed. The good thing is that the more it's done the less is sucks and the better the body is able to handle the activity.