Q: “What is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?”
A: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a competitive grappling sport that focuses on ground fighting and utilizes leverage and human anatomy to submit your opponent.
Q: “So Karate?”
A: No, while erroneously used as an umbrella term for all martial arts, Karate is a specific martial art from Japan that focuses on punching and kicking.
Q: “What is Team Renzo Gracie?”
A: Team Renzo Gracie is an affiliation of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu schools under Renzo Gracie!
Q: “What makes Spectrum Jiu Jitsu different from other schools?”
A: Great question! Our focus at Spectrum is to provide the highest quality BJJ instruction in the best possible environment. If you’re not having fun you’re doing it wrong! Our beginner program is lead by university certified educators who know how to convey information and create a systematic curriculum (we don’t make up our curriculum on the drive over to the academy). We don’t waste your money and time teaching you things that don’t work - all of our coaches are active competitors and our academy has produced multiple state champions! We implement the latest concepts, pedagogy, and teaching methodology so you can learn BJJ in the most efficient way possible! Check out some of our testimonials here!
Q: “What is a typical beginner BJJ class like?”
A: In our Core program a typical class starts with everyone lining up and the coach greeting each student individually. After bowing in we begin with a live warm up consisting of a drill to help contextualize the week’s module, a drill to help increase gross motor skills and movement, or a review of a previous technique.
Don’t worry, you won’t be doing a ton of useless calisthenics or things that don’t actively improve your Jiu-Jitsu.
After this, the instructor will teach a lesson in line with the weekly curriculum module which systematically branches off from a previous lesson. This will help you contextualize your Jiu-Jitsu and understand the underlying concepts instead of just learning a random assortment of moves. After the lesson students will drill the techniques as coaches move between groups to offer assistance and feedback. Question? Please ask! Our coaches love questions and are at your service. You will only learn one or two techniques per class so as not to overwhelm you and to give you ample time to drill. All of our curriculum is on our YouTube channel!
Finally, you will finish by rolling. Rolling is the act of applying your techniques against a resisting partner. A free roll is where you start on your feet and don’t stop until one partner submits. In the beginning you will focus mainly on specific training. This is where the coach has you start in a specific position with a singular goal. This will help focus your training and allow you to start making broader connections between techniques. You will take turns with your partner starting in opposing positions and eventually rotate to a new partner to try the same drill against a different opponent!
…And that’s it! No frills, just a class purely focused on making you as good at Jiu-Jitsu as possible!
Q: “Do I need to lose weight or reach a certain fitness level before participating in a class?”
A: No! Our Core program is designed for absolute beginners of all body types! The best way to get into shape is to train!
Q: “I’m afraid I’m going to get hurt. Is this dangerous?
A: No! We don’t throw beginners into full sparring or dangerous situations. You will drill and positionally roll in a safe environment with constant coach supervision! If ever you are put in a position where something hurts, just tap and your partner will immediately stop!
Q: “What do I wear to my first class if I don’t have a gi?”
A: We recommend you wear clothes you can move comfortably in. We can provide you with a fresh loaner gi for your first class. Then you are provided with your own when you sign up!
Q: “I’m a smaller person, will I be crushed by bigger training partners on my first day?”
A: No! We have individuals of all sizes at our academy!
Q: “Am I too old to train?”
A: No! That’s the beauty of a sport like Jiu-Jitsu. It can be tailored to your own goals and intensity level. We have students of all ages!
Q: “Am I too injured to train?”
A: Probably not! We have some individuals with pretty serious injuries (not from Jiu-Jitsu) who still train all the time! You can tailor the intensity of your training to your ability level!
Q: “Do women train?”
A: Absolutely! We have lots of women who train at our academy. In fact, BJJ is growing in popularity with women due to its fitness and self-defense benefits! Plus you learn how to beat up people bigger than you! We even have a women only class on Fridays at 6:15pm!
Q: “I probably won’t be very good because I’m not aggressive, competitive, athletic, fast, flexible, etc.”
A: Neither are some of our coaches! Don’t worry, while strength helps technique is far and away the most important attribute in Jiu-Jitsu. It’s much more of a strategic game than you may think.
Q: “Do I have to compete?”
A: No! While we strongly recommend competing it is completely optional!
Q: “I want to compete. How long should I wait before I do my first competition?”
A: You can compete as soon as you’d like, but we recommend 2 months unless you have experience in another form of grappling or competitive sports just so you have a decent understanding of competitive Jiu-Jitsu and how to stay safe.
Q: “How often should I train?”
A: As often as possible! For beginners we preach consistency over intensity. This means you should train as often as you can to absorb as much information as possible, but don’t kill yourself in training to avoid getting injured. If you’re injured you can’t train. If you can’t train you don’t get better at Jiu-Jitsu.
Q: “What is nogi? Can a beginner do that?”
A: Nogi refers to grappling without the gi. Stylistically this tends to be a little faster paced as there is less friction. Absolutely! We recommend wearing a compression shirt (called a rashguard) and grappling shorts. We can provide these for you. Our Core Gi class has a nogi counterpart directly afterwards.
Q: “What are stripes and how do they work?”
A: Stripes are a tool coaches use to gauge a student’s time spent at each belt. For our youth students stripes are awarded every 20 classes. Adults tend to earn a stripe after roughly 50 classes, but this can vary due to skill, prior training, competitive experience, and commitment. Generally you will receive 4 stripes on your belt before being promoted to a new belt.
Q: “How the heck do I tie my belt?”
A: Here you go!
Q: “As a beginner what should I focus on first?:
A: Consistency in your attendance (come to class as much as possible) and guard retention.
Q: “Can I just watch a class first?”
A: Of course! Come on in any time!
Q: “What do I do when I come in for my trial class?”
A: You will need to fill out some paperwork first and get your loaner gi so stop by the office by the front door. If a coach is busy, have a seat on the bench outside of the office and we’ll be right with you!
Q: “How much does it cost?”
A: Check out our memberships here!
Q: “I’m ready to try a class! How do I do that?”
A: Woohoo! You won’t regret it! Just fill out a free tryout form here!