MMA / Gracie Barra - Anyone train here? Thanks

[HannsG]

38 years old, achieved black belt in Shotokan many moons ago.

I'm looking for something regards fitness and self defence and general all round health and fitness.

Heads hurting from reading all the pros and cons of both styles. I am leaning towards Gracie as its closer to home and has very good recommendations.

Anyone train here?

Lineage is as follows of the main trainer:
Lineage : Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Carlos Gracie Jnr > Braulio Estima >

Thanks

[BRR]

Looking at the lineage I assume you're referring to GB Birmingham? if so and you're after BJJ there aren't many better places, though with GB you will have to suck up buying their branded Gi's and Rashguards etc which is expensive. Being as you're in Birmingham I'd recommend Renegade MMA / BJJ in Kings Heath, the instructor got his Black Belt from GB Birmingham and they have none of the politics that GB has, plus they have some of the best MMA guys in the country there, it's by far my favourite place to train when I'm in Birmingham

[Herr Schnell]

Braulio's is undoubetdly a great gym but as per BRR Renegade MMA is worth consideration, not just for the avoidance of the GB merchandising model but also because it's far more likely that your class will be taught by Chiu himself and the level of attention to your progresion as a beginner will be better. At GB the instructors tend to focus more on those who've been in the game a while and who are likely to do well competitively.

Also that lineage is not quite the full picture as Braulio trained under Ze Radiola who was GB Head Coach until 2016 when he ditched the system and went out on his own, It doesn't matter in terms of the quality of what's on offer or detract in any way from Braulio's abilities & record but does give you a glimpse into how these things become political which gets to be a p.i.t.a the longer you are in the scene:

https://www.bjjee.com/interview/exclusive-ze-radio...

Edited by Herr Schnell on Tuesday 18th June 18:31

[Halb]

Herr Schnell said:

Braulio's is undoubetdly a great gym but as per BRR Renegade MMA is worth consideration, not just for the avoidance of the GB merchandising model but also because it's far more likely that your class will be taught by Chiu himself and the level of attention to your progresion as a beginner will be better. At GB the instructors tend to focus more on those who've been in the game a while and who are likely to do well competitively.

Also that lineage is not quite the full picture as Braulio trained under Ze Radiola who was GB Head Coach until 2016 when he ditched the system and went out on his own, It doesn't matter in terms of the quality of what's on offer or detract in any way from Braulio's abilities & record but does give you a glimpse into how these things become political which gets to be a p.i.t.a the longer you are in the scene:

https://www.bjjee.com/interview/exclusive-ze-radio...

Edited by Herr Schnell on Tuesday 18th June 18:31

Do you know the good ones across the country HS?

[Tony Angelino]

Just to echo this, GB is more of a money making organization than anything else, I used to train at one and whilst the caliber of the training partners was high, the facilities excellent and spotlessly clean and the head coach/owner an absolute wizard, the downsides outweighed this for me.

Guaranteed progression (stripes and belts) based purely on attendance makes you feel a bit of a fraud
Mandatory GB Gi and even rash guard, all very pricey for questionable quality. Same in no gi (board shorts and rashy)
Owner(s) who compete at high level who understandably may struggle to give as much attention to coaching as training/competing

The coaching timetable has lots of advantages as you get a structured curriculum and it adds to the sense of team/community knowing every GB in the world is learning the same thing at the same time but the downside is the very structured approach leaves less time for other stuff (takedowns, foot locks etc.).


I would wholeheartedly recommend BJJ though, I spent some time doing karate and I really feel like that time was wasted looking back. The whole community is very positive and welcoming and BJJ gym's are generally full of great people and are fantastic environments to spend time in.