As you already know I have had to take a break from BJJ for financial reasons (See my post: “Training at Home When You Have No Other Choice”). Its more important to pay the bills and support my family then tap people out with Triangles.
The price of everything seems to be going up these days. I thought I read something on The FightWorks PodCast about the average cost of classes being $100. Where I practice is below that. As I remember the survey done on FightWorksPodCast was some time ago. I could not find it on their site. I wonder what the average is now with the economy in a wreck? For me my classes were part of my “discretionary spending” fund. That has now dried up with adding a mini-van to the family and soaring food costs. What “cut backs” have you had to make? Has the cost of your classes gone up? Maybe you can still afford classes but nothing else. I mean no new gi or rash guard. What you have will just have to do. Maybe it means no seminars or tournaments. Let me know, I’m curious to hear what others are going through in this economy with their Jiu-Jitsu training.
Jiu-Jitsu is Life and Life is Jiu-Jitsu
The classes I take in Chicago are around 140/month. I was at a different academy that was 125/month but I had to pay $2 for parking every time I went. The current place is within walking distance. The biggest affect that the economy is having on my training is that my place of work will be closing soon due to the rising cost of fossil fuels, so I am spending more time studying on things that will help me find a new job than I am spending time training bjj.
Wow! I thought it was difficult with $75 a month for two classes. I’m sorry to hear about your job. I can understand the urgency to spend time looking for a new one verses learning the latest sweep. Have any schools in your area closed?
I’m grandfathered in to a slightly lower fee structure at my school because I started 3 years ago before our rate hike. I pay $130/mo for unlimited training (I can train as many classes, BJJ or striking, as I want, which means at the moment I could do 32 hours a week.) I believe the “modern” rate schedule has unlimited training costing $150/mo. If you only train twice a week (any number of classes per day, but on just two days) I think it’s $60/mo. Four days a week is $80, I think.
I had no idea. Rates are much higher around the country then I imagined. I’m glad to see that loyalty pays. Are you seeing people drop out because of rate hikes, Georgette?
I’m sorry, after I posted my comment I realized I wasn’t fully answering your question 🙁
To be honest, no. There have been a few guys who had to cut back on training (from 3 days a week to 2, for example) when they lost a job, but our school is pretty generous and has allowed a number of people to train without paying. The school where my husband trains does likewise.
I can imagine turnout at seminars is lower, though. And I know some people haven’t entered tournaments because of the entry fee. This is why I keep on preaching that people should work the tourneys as a scorer to cover entry costs 🙂
I’ve noticed this too, that most schools take care of their truly devoted students. It becomes a lot like family. Do you find that being a scorer has any affect on your concentration or game during a tournament?