Every few months, I bring Michael Jen to my academy in New York and do some intensive training for a few days. This visit was particularly interesting for me because not only did I get to focus on my training, but I was given a lesson on evaluating high ranking students. One of my students is a four stripe blue belt and of course, this means purple belt is right around the corner. I asked Michael Jen to watch him and help with the evaluation. He pointed out that there was a huge imbalance in his game! I was surprised, but the method of evaluation was the only way to reveal these weaknesses. You see, if it were tournament performance alone by which a student was judged, an individual would play only his strengths; many times, not allowing many weaknesses to surface. This is how my student was evaluated in the past by previous teachers of mine. Michael began by placing this student in bad situations and quickly realized that he is usually not there. We quickly discovered that because this student was more competitive naturally, he wasn't allowing people to put him in compromising positions and therefore, lacked an advanced understanding of these positions required to achieve purple belt level. Moral of the story: You must 'give' in order to receive.

In light of this, I wanted to stress the importance of pin escapes and 'letting' your opponents start there sometimes when you train. If you are never there, you will be very surprised when someone finally puts you there.

Brazilian jiu jitsu is not and will never be a sport. The International Olympic Committee will never recognize it and thousands of fans across the world will never be cheering when they hear the names Pe de Pano, Saulo or Leozinho. To be fair, if those guys go into MMA, they might get a few cheers, but as long as they stick with the sport aspect of jiu jitsu or submission wrestling, they'll toil in obscurity as niche athletes somewhere alongside the Jamaican bobsled team and the U.S. cricket team.

Why hasn't this sport caught on? Well, there are a lot of reasons. Some people don't like to watch men in intimate contact. Most people don't understand the techniques involved in practicing the sport. The media hasn't taken a great deal of interest in promoting the sport. All of these are sound reasons why jiu jitsu gets less play than the annual national spelling bee on ESPN. But at the end of the day, there's one big reason that overshadows them all.

Money.

It's not the lack of sponsorship or fear of grappling taking the money away from some other sport, as many contend has been a roadblock to MMA's popularity. It's the money you have to put in to actually enjoy the sport that's keeping people away.

Most people, especially Americans, like sports they can participate in. Sports they can teach their kids the basics of or recreationally indulge in themselves. Jiu jitsu is not such a sport, particularly in America, but I suspect also even in its native country of Brazil. If jiu jitsu were such a sport, luta livre wouldn't exist for the poorer, darker complexioned citizens of Brazil who perhaps couldn't afford a gi.

If it is indeed a sport, jiu jitsu is one of the most expensive ones to enjoy in America. After all, anyone can play basketball, baseball, soccer or football for free. Most everyone knows the techniques involved in these sports, primarily because they've been around so long. I'm far from NBA caliber, but I could teach a kid how to dribble, how to execute a proper layup, how to shoot a jump shot and probably even how to dunk (on a low rim, of course). The kid could, of course, go to a special basketball camp over the summer and learn the intricacies of the game, but why would he do that unless he wanted to pursue it as more than just a recreational hobby?

That said, why does every jiu jitsu school assume that every person who walks through their doors wants to go to Abu Dhabi? I mean, they must assume that if they're going to put potential grapplers through the Hell of their warm-ups and throw them in an uncomfortable (and probably ill-fitting) gi as soon as they walk through the door, only to have a bunch of ambitious white belts lapel choke these hapless visitors a hundred times before the two hour long class mercifully comes to an end.

I never had a day on the court or field that went like that, though I have run into my fair share of people who thought they were Allen Iverson. Nevertheless, I played and enjoyed myself with what skills I had. And I didn't have to pay $25 for the privilege to do so.

But I'm not being fair. Team sports and individual sports are different. Any individual sport requires instruction and usually a special circumstance or setting for it to be acted out. Tennis players need courts. Track stars need tracks. Boxers sometimes even need rings. Equipment and training space costs money and if you're going to shell out even a little money to play a sport, there might just be something more than recreation on your mind. Perhaps a comparison is in order.

At the New York Tennis Club in the Bronx, a sprawling 118 year old club with U.S. professional tennis pros on staff, you pay $825 a year for full playing privileges, a share of ownership and equity of the club, voting privileges and the ability to hold office if you choose. Downtown at Fabio Clemente's BJJ academy, you pay $1,980 per year plus a one time $100 registration fee for unlimited classes, but that's only if you sign a contract.

Anna Kournikova has never won a major international tennis tournament, but she's making a lot more money than Pe de Pano. See where I'm going with this? No? Here:

At the West End Racquet and Health Club (where, when I asked how much it costs to be a member of their tennis club, the friendly manager asked "Have you SEEN our club?") located in Torrance, California with 20 courts, a number of ball machines, and 5 pros on staff available for instruction, you pay a one time fee of $450 and then $89 per month for the rest of your life. So, for your first year, you pay $1,518 and every year after that you pay $1,068. With this, you get unlimited access and usage to the "number one club in the south bay," as it was voted.

At the nearby Gracie jiu jitsu academy, run by Rorion Gracie, for 2 lessons a week, you pay $1,848 per year plus a one-time registration fee of $60.

Becoming a jiu jitsu "star" is just as likely as becoming a tennis star, if you think about it. Rising to the cream of the crop is just as difficult and takes just as much hard work and talent. But tennis pays a lot better and gets a lot more respect and recognition. So, if I'm looking to get my kid into a sport that'll pay off the mortgage, what possible incentive could I have for taking him or her down to Rorion's? How can a sport not truly open to the public be a sport?

Another example: At the sprawling and highly exclusive Cherry Creek Links country club in Long Island, New York for $2,500 you get unlimited golf, plus $500 credit to be used in the pro shop or restaurant. A half-hour away, at Kioto Brazilian jiu jitsu, you pay $2,400 a year for just 3 classes per week. So jiu jitsu's a little cheaper, but golf has historically been one of the most exclusive "sports" in the country. Still, even Annika Sorenstam makes a lot more in one tournament than Dean Lister did for winning the absolute class at Abu Dhabi (though Sheik Tahnoon does give a pretty penny) and every other tournament he's ever won.

Brazilian jiu jitsu and submission grappling, while petitioning the I.O.C. and cable networks for respect, continue to govern themselves like martial arts and not sports. Why should ESPN care about martial arts? True martial arts are about mysticism and self-improvement. In that case, competitors are more than welcome to achieve nirvana in the obscurity of their own homes. Karate school X may feel justified in selling the enlightenment of bushido for $2,000 a year, but people without such illusions who just want to become good at a sport shouldn't have to pay that much money. Bottom line: BJJ needs to decide what it's going to be, sport or spiritual exercise. If it goes for the latter, yoga is still a more economical choice.

Even if a BJJer makes the seemingly logical step to MMA, they're still not going to make back the money they've put into their BJJ education for a long time. With promotions out there paying $200-$500 for fighters these days, most people are better off boxing. After all, the fabled Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn, which produced fighters like Riddick Bowe and Arturo Gatti, only wants 840 of your dollars per year to use their facilities and train with the greats. Din Thomas recently pointed out in a Fight Sport article that this may be the reason why there aren't many minorities in MMA. Who from the hood can afford to buy a $150 gi and then pay thousands of dollars to get to an advanced enough level to earn $500 at a no-name show in New Jersey? Or worse, to drop $80 to compete in Grappler's Quest and get nothing but a trophy for your troubles. I'm from the hood and I'll tell you right now, I can't.

As long as jiu jitsu stays firmly out of the financial reach of most people with real lives and very real bills, it will never become a real sport that everyone can appreciate and enjoy. I respect the right of any man or woman out there teaching BJJ to earn a living, but let's be realistic: This is not a martial art. We've taken great pains to make sure of it, so we can't go back now. This is where the CBJJ or even CBJJO needs to step in and do something to make sure its instructors can make a living while keeping prices affordable. If BJJ is going to be an entrepreneurial franchise, let it have standard prices like McDonalds. Otherwise, only the suburban kids will be able to afford black belts, and we all know they're not as talented.

Diami J. Virgilio
October, 2003
kneeblock@yahoo.com

Date:	Saturday, October 4, 2003
Venue:	Green Run High School 1700 Dahlia Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Entry:	$40.00 competitors $5.00 spectators (kids 12 & under free)
Weighins:	Friday, Oct. 3@ time and place TBA Saturday, Oct. 4@Green Run High School from 7:00-9:00

Rules meeting @ 9:30. Competition begins @10:15 on three mats. Divisions: White, blue, purple, brown, women. Weight classes: CBJJ weight classes for white through purple (135, 148, 160, 174, 187, 201, 214, over 214); brown belt and women's weight will determined based on entries. Rules: CBJJ Rules.

Awards to the top three finishers in each division. Gi's to the absolute winner in each belt level and women's absolute(provided by JiuJitsuProGear).

Concessions will be provided by the Green Run Wrestling Club.

Directions: Take I-64 to Norfolk/Va. Beach. Take I-264 East to the Independence Blvd-Princess Anne exit. Stay in the left lane of the exit, putting you on Independence Blvd. When Independence forks, stay right. Green Run will be on the left a mile ahead. Instead of parking in the student lot, go to the light at Independence and Dahlia and go left, parking in the faculty lot. If you get lost or might be running a little late, call Bill ASAP @757-685-6010

THE ULTIMATE SUBMISSION SHOWDOWN™

When the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was developed, the idea was to create a venue where the effectiveness of different martial arts styles could be measured. It became clear that the advantage of the grappler was tremendous. Eventually, everyone started focusing on the importance of ground fighting and so the original concept of comparing styles became obsolete. Now, in the current NHB arena, everyone trains in some form of grappling as well as striking-it's become a comparison of athletes more than a comparison of styles. Event coordinators, now, in their determination to keep their audiences entertained, try to keep the rounds shorter and the fighters off the ground. As a result, more often than not, you have events consisting of overgrown athletes relying on punches and kicks to pummel their way through victory. Fans today will rarely see a match end with a classic submission move. History has shown us, however, that in a true no-holds-barred scenario, the knowledge of submissions is what determines who the best fighter truly is.

This event is not for everyone. Only eight of the top grapplers in the world will be invited to participate in this best-of-the-best confrontation. There is NO TIME LIMIT. Competitors can choose to wear whatever outfit they want. Wrestling singlets, a Jiu Jitsu/Judo Gi, or fight shorts. ALL grappling styles are welcome, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, judo, sambo, shoot-fighting, submission-fighting, etc. In addition, ALL finishing moves will be permitted whether it's chokes, neck-cranks, arm-locks, knee-locks, ankle-locks, foot-locks, takedowns, etc...

IT'S TIME TO PUT UP OR SHUT UP!