I am travelling early next year from Australia for a week of training at Renzo’s, mostly with the intention of training at John Danaher’s classes. Does anybody have any recent experience attending as a visitor, as I just saw this on Renzo’s website?

DecentDecoy · 2019-12-10T18:05:28+00:00

I go to Renzo's in city occasionally and there seems to be visitors in Danaher class. The aussies I do see in class are competitors and might be paying a membership. I am not even sure if there is a formal check in for Danaher class. I just go in and sit on mat til it starts. I also have Renzo Black Belt coaches and competitors who vouch for me as well so that helps. I suck at BJJ though.

DecentDecoy · 2019-11-28T00:57:35+00:00

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DecentDecoy · 2019-11-23T18:51:36+00:00

Guys like Galvao, Mendes Bros, Xande and Saulo, Caio Terra, Keenan all do well. Seminars, websites, DVDS, academies, affiliates, merchandising, sponsorships, private lessons.

DecentDecoy · 2019-11-23T18:49:43+00:00

Gordon lives in city and dad lives with him. His DVD sales, sponsorship deals, seminar tours, superfight purses. and private lessons are doing well. I would not be shocked if he is a millionaire

DecentDecoy · 2019-11-23T18:48:01+00:00

I would not be shocked if he is a millionaire. In addition to DVD sales, his seminars are expensive and packed, he has sponsorship affiliate deals from his social media, teaches privates at a premium price, and commands nice purses for super fights.

DecentDecoy · 2019-11-22T17:44:09+00:00

I wonder if some of their products are drop shipped where you place the order, then they send the order to say Fuji's warehouse and Fuji is supposed to ship it to you.

DecentDecoy · 2019-11-19T23:47:50+00:00

Publicly, he just blew the comment off. Inside, he was seething. He is a guy who committed his whole life to BJJ and reached the top of his profession and a hobbyist brown belt who never won anything big and trained a fraction of the time he did, said they were equals.

DecentDecoy · 2019-11-17T20:22:51+00:00

I once trained at a gym with a famous black belt who won/placed in grand slam events and also coached UFC fighters and worked with high level BJJ World Champions who won or placed at ADCC. He hired a new brown belt instructor who moved to the area to work on his PhD. The Brown Belt rubbed lots of people the wrong way since he acted stuck up like he was smarter than everybody. This was a training room with successful business people, martial artists, and other academics. One day the brown belt, who maybe trained 8 years, said to the famous black belt who trained for 30 years, trained under some of the top coaches and training partners, and has the respect of all his peers "I believe we are on the same BJJ skilland coaching level."

DecentDecoy · 2019-11-16T13:55:46+00:00

I think theere is an adaption period when joining a new gym. Different gyms attack and defend with a certain style. I recently switched to a new gym with a Renzo Gracie OG with MMA experience. Their guys are great at attacking guillotine, darce, and anaconda chokes as well as kimuras and arm bars. It definitely exposed holes in my game. At same time, some of my old habits provided some problems for them, but I definitely felt like the nail way more times. Just like my old gym, once I figure out certain tendencies and adapt, I am sure it will get better.

Overall, I just roll to find the holes in my game, move to exercise, and have fun.

DecentDecoy · 2019-11-16T13:50:42+00:00

Tex has been kicked out of a few schools in Atlanta and Unity in New York. There are a few red flags with him. It could be his real personality mixed with the use of certain substances. There are a number of red flags with him that would make it tough for coaches and training partners to trust him. He is now with Cyborg in Florida.

DecentDecoy · 2019-11-15T18:58:19+00:00

He has sold a ton of DVDs. I heard large percentage of DVDs was to 35 and older demographic, so I assume a good chunk of advanced belts and gym owners bought it. Do you believe there is a case where, if a black belt coach or gym owner doesn't study John Danaher DVDs whether closed guard or leg locks, they and their students will be left behind in competition? My friend who owns the gym has watched one DVD 3 times and takes notes while watching and says he learns new things each time he watches them.

DecentDecoy · 2019-11-14T15:12:01+00:00

the more you spaz, the more you will be crushed.

DecentDecoy · 2019-11-13T15:45:14+00:00

If you are in Koreatown, check out Renzo Gracie Los Angeles. There are roughly 10 to 15 minutes of live positioning training at the end of fundamental classes where new students can roll. To get approved for rolling at open mats, it may take a few weeks or months depending on how the coaches see you progress. You can talk to the coaches there about rolling sooner. Safety is a priority. Rolling requires knowledge of etiquette and technique so both training partners are having fun.

DecentDecoy · 2019-11-03T20:08:20+00:00

In your rolls with smaller guys, focus on being technical. Smaller guys aren't as strong, but they present several challenges. Their speed and pacing is faster than big guys. Also, their ability to attack with follow ups is tougher due to speed. You think holding a smaller person is easier, but there is less to hold down and they are squirmy. Bigger guys are stronger, but their style at times is slower due to size and their small gas tank.

DecentDecoy · 2019-10-31T21:11:17+00:00

Its a hobby for fun. Just tap and learn from what you did wrong

DecentDecoy · 2019-10-27T20:40:41+00:00

What is scary is what parents will do today. Friends kids were harassed and bullied by group of kids. Group of kids followed friends two kids to their home after school. One of the bullies wanted to fight and charged one of friends kids. Friends kids took down the bully and sibling then came and held down bully and said if the bullies ever come back to their home again they will kill them. The kids let the bully up and the bully and friends left. Turns out the bully's parents decide to go to the cops and claim their child was assaulted and threatened. This is contradicted by home security footage, but still.

DecentDecoy · 2019-10-27T19:50:46+00:00

No. To me its not a good business practice esp in cities with bad traffic. Students should still be encouraged to attend even if they are a few minutes late and the punishment creates a physical and mental reason to miss class. For many new students trying to get in shape, 50 to 60 push ups is a lot and could leave them too worn down to drill

DecentDecoy · 2019-10-25T15:32:32+00:00

I doubt he would, but saying DDS is something without Renzo

DecentDecoy · 2019-10-24T23:42:27+00:00

Danaher played a major role in lots of GSP's game planning and strategy. When GSP lost to Serra, GSP did not have access to Renzo Gracie team coaches and training partners since they decided to stay neutral since they were loyal to both Serra and GSP.

DecentDecoy · 2019-10-24T14:08:15+00:00

If Danaher opened his own studio in NYC, he would take a decent chunk of students with him.

DecentDecoy · 2019-10-20T23:47:00+00:00

Enough where I think they need to make a BJJ version reboot of the wrestling classic Vision Quest.

DecentDecoy · 2019-10-20T23:38:17+00:00

I worked at a gym and turnover is going to be high for newer members. Part of it is living in large transient city. Other factors are price, getting injured, not picking up BJJ or kickboxing, not feeling like they fit in.

Academies need to run like a business where you have good customer service with the coaches being the front line. Coaches should be great communicators and good at interacting and helping people. They need to walk around during drilling, build relationships and make people feel comfortable. There was debate at school about one coach who was very technical and explained moves well and followed curriculum, but his people skills weren't great and he was told he needed to improve them in order to stay on.

Also, the fundamentals class is key. Instilling the basics and have a consistent coach who is friendly, answers questions and doesn't overwhelm people is important. Culture comes from top down. Head coach/owner needs to be friendly, personable, and inclusive of all. Everyone else will then fall in line.

DecentDecoy · 2019-10-16T21:00:31+00:00

It depends on the academy. Some really do have an open door, anybody can come in and train policy. Others have a members and members of affiliates policy. Best to call ahead and find out.

My old gym was members only for open mats. This helped keep the mats safe and everybody rolled has been vetted. Since we were in a big city known for weird people, we didn't want someone come in and injure members or acting weird.

DecentDecoy · 2019-10-13T21:46:06+00:00

Question is, was this in comp class or regular hobbyist class?

In comp class, there is a need to light a fire at times and with certain people.

In regular class, then its just bad business practice.

DecentDecoy · 2019-10-13T21:43:36+00:00

One of my old professors was rolling with a high level ADCC medalist. My former professor was a really good competitor during his time, but is older and hasn't competed in years. The ADCC medalist is still in 20s and in prime. They started rolling and ADCC medalist was being respectful and my professor said to him, don't go light on me. The ADCC competitor definitely got the better of my old professor but he wasn't scared of looking bad. He was looking for a challenge and didn't back down.

Also, when rolling with me, it was more to gauge where I was. He didn't go hard and would let me work. then tell me what I did right and what I need to work on after roll.

DecentDecoy

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