Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Over 35 Class

Need to train safely and stay injury free because you have a job, a family, and/or adult responsibilities?

My Brazilian Jiu Jitsu over 35 class is the answer!

This class in basic Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is specifically designed with the older grappler in mind. It is for the hobbyist that needs to stay injury free. A class for moms, dads, executives, busy working professionals and people in their mid 30's and up that cannot afford to be injured from what should be a fun enjoyable hobby... Unfortunately, that is not how classes are run at most schools... my class is different.

Who is this class also for? Anyone over 35 (including over 40, 50, or even 60). It is for people who want to stay injury free yet still have fun training. People who enjoy a cooperative learning environment will love this class. Busy professionals that have limited time and need to learn safely and quickly.

Deeply refine your technique in a fun efficient and effective way.

It isn't fun if you have to worry about your own safety every time you go to class and this BJJ class is designed so you will not have to.

Would you like to train in a small class with 10 or less students?

We are cutting the class off at TEN students. Small class size insures you get plenty of time with the instructor to help you refine and perfect your techniques. This way you are not lost in the crowd. As of 1/22/23, only 7 slots remain.

Small BJJ classes also ensure that there is more space on the mats making it safer for practice as everyone has more space to work.

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Not Sure What Adult Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Class is Like?

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a wrestling art sometimes called grappling. It is practiced with both the gi (kimono) and without the gi (no gi). Sometimes it is referred to along with a few other arts as "Submission Wrestling" or "Submission Grappling".

Click the link below if you would like to learn more about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, its history, its techniques, and its benefits.

About Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Page

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is for everyone; BJJ over 35 Class

By John J. Bruno, MS, CSCS, PES, CSS, FMS, USAW - Black Belt Under Roy Harris - 1/22/23

PART 1

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is for everyone, not just for rugged people, tough individuals and/or gifted athletes.

It’s actually quite the opposite; BJJ was designed to allow smaller weaker people a chance to win against bigger stronger people. The problem is, somehow the “old” way of teaching BJJ is still what you see in 90% of the jiu jitsu schools out there. I also find it ironic that this old method of training, that favors the tough and the athletic, evolved from an art that was supposed to help be an equalizer for the smaller weaker less athletic people looking for self-defense skills.

Interestingly, I believe it is the old training methods themselves that have caused this selection.

There's been a strong sentiment, for a very long time, that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training is for some elite minority of the population - the tough, or the gifted, who can hack it on the mats. This is really a skewed perspective and a self-fulfilling prophecy due to the training methods employed at most schools. These methods throw people into competition and live sparring too soon; before most participants even have a complete skillset from all the positions.

The idea that only the tough and the athletically gifted can stay in brazilian jiu jitsu class for the long run and develop into higher belt ranked students is ridiculous thinking. However, the people in BJJ often point to how few of the new students ever make it to intermediate or advanced levels, and they say "See? You have to be made of special stuff." They blame the students for their lack of success. Is this really the case?

Ready for the uncomfortable truth?

It's true that most people who start BJJ classes don't make it to intermediate or advanced levels, but the reason is often because most BJJ instructors don't know how to design a good program! They use the same teaching methods and class structure that their instructor used, and those don't work particularly well for everyone. Most often, class has a warmup, followed by practicing a few new techniques, followed by sparring. There is never enough time allocated to drilling and practicing the new skills. It’s like, “show it, do it a couple of times, now spar with it.” Some people can learn under this scenario, but the vast majority of people will take a much longer time to develop skills this way. This method favors the athletic and tough.

Additionally, young trainees who want to experience grappling - they really just want to spar because they think they will do well and it is more physical and “realistic” in their minds, these students generally also like to spar all the time. They are often the people that accidentally hurt other people. And often instructors pander to these people rather than guiding them away from all the sparing by teaching them how to actually learn jiu jitsu in a faster, safer, more accelerated way.

Thanks for your time,

Bruno

Please see Part 2 Further down the Page

Adult Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Over 35 Class

Stay Injury Free

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Over 35

A class in basic Brazilian Jiu Jitsu specifically designed with the busy professional in mind.

This class is for men and women who cannot afford a needless injury but still want to learn effective functional Jiu Jitsu. This class is for working professionals that want to have a friendly and fun training environment without having to roll hard with younger, more aggressive students. It is for mom's, dad's, executives, and professionals who want to train in the amazing art of BJJ and learn how to defend themselves without having to get roughed up while training.

With the popularity of combat sports, something has been lost in the enjoyment of training without the pressure of needing to compete and win; Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, like all martial arts, is supposed to be a fun hobby first and foremost. Any more serious pursuits should stem from this. Not everyone coming to BJJ class is interested in competing in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) or grappling tournaments. This class is designed to be effective, safe, and fun while catering to the older more mature student with his/her fair share of life responsibilities and an older body that needs to be treated with respect.

Contact Page

What if you want to participate in sparring?

Some sparring will be available for those that want to include that in their training. It will be optional. It will be conducted in a safe manner with emphasis on learning and getting better. We are not trying to "win practice". People that do that tend to ruin the class for others. We want to focus on helping each other get better as this is really the best way to learn anyway. I will actually be teaching everyone to spar in a safer, less competitive way that will help both parties get better faster.

If you are concerned, but still would like to get your feet wet with some live grappling, as always, you can try grappling with me as I know how to do it in a way that trains you effectively. I will make sure you have a good experience, while still feeling what sparring would be like.

Adult Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class for busy professionals over 35 - Sarasota

By John J. Bruno, MS, CSCS, PES, CSS, FMS, USAW - Black Belt Under Roy Harris - 1/22/23

PART 2

I’m of the opinion that new trainees, especially older people and professionals that don’t have a lot of free time need to focus their training to obtain skill quickly. Beginning students should be guided away from all that sparring in the beginning phases of training. This is probably even true for the younger newbies; it may be fun for them to spar and experience the competitive side of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but it is not the best way to learn. Also, young people tend to shake off injuries and aches and pains much faster than those of us in our 40’s, 50’s and up. So as a result, the 10-15% of students who would have succeeded no matter how bad the learning environment and training methods; these gifted athletes and rugged individuals persevere and make it to the higher ranks. The rest of us average folk, who could have been developed into skilled jiu jitsu players if there was a better system, end up leaving BJJ. These students leave not because they aren't good enough, but because they needed - they deserved - a better experience. Many people that could actually have been really good at jiu jitsu leave before they develop their skills, because no one is teaching them how to develop their skills.

Look at it another way. If you did not know calculus, and I gave you a calculus test, you would probably not do well… unless you were exceptionally gifted. Assuming you’re not the 1 in a million gifted mathematician… if I gave you another calculus test the next day… you would probably not do any better. If on the third day, I gave you another calculus test, but this time, I told you to “try harder”, you would likely start to see a pattern and a flaw in the teaching method (or lack thereof). Maybe it would be better to spend a few days practicing calculus before we test our calculus skills? This analogy underscores the problem seen at most Brazilian Jiu Jitsu schools; not enough time practicing and developing skills, and too much time having novice players spar.

If you signed up for boxing class, would you want the coaches to throw you in the ring to spar on the first day? If you answered “yes” to this question, I bet you are young, in good shape, athletic, and maybe even have practiced on your own a bit. If you are new to boxing and not yet in great shape, more likely, you would prefer they teach you some basic punches, basic footwork, some basic blocking, and some offensive and defensive strategies before you actually get in the ring to test those skills. That would be a better way to teach; develop skills then test the skills. The same holds true in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but often, it is not taught this way in practice.

I'm not here to point fingers. If there's a mistake you can make in teaching, I've made it. But we have to learn and move forward and be better tomorrow than we were today. And the number one thing that BJJ instructors need to do is admit that BJJ program design is unexplored territory.

My instructor, Roy Harris, for decades now has been a rebel against the “old way” of teaching BJJ. He has been the leader in organizing and creating structured curriculum in Jiu Jitsu since the 1990’s. As a student of his for the past 21 years, I can personally attest to the effectiveness of his methods and his impact on BJJ as an artform worldwide. I have endeavored to continue his work and be a contributor; driving it forward by teaching what I have learned from him and through my own experience. The worlds of educational psychology, sports science, cognitive science, and human performance are at our fingertips. Together, let's build a BJJ program that makes everyone succeed.

My Adult Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Class for busy professionals and people over 35 is different than your normal BJJ class. I started BJJ in 1996. I have been a certified grappling instructor under Roy Harris since 2004, teaching Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and submission wrestling classes since that time. I have had 100’s of students and many of them went on to be successful competitors in BJJ and MMA. I have an exclusive BJJ program and teaching methodology that allows for incredibly safe training, while developing skill sets at an accelerated pace. This is an ideal program for busy working professionals that want to avoid injuries and not be subjected to training with people with overly competitive attitudes in practice. It is our goal to onboard new students and get them up to an intermediate skill level quickly and safely. This is a carefully crafted BJJ class designed to supercharge you learning and skill development.

Thanks for your time,

Bruno