I train at the Marcio Simas school in Orlando. The school didn't use to be like that but BJJ has been growing in popularity so fast the school can't handle the growth. It's moved to bigger locations twice in the last year already and it's already at capacity again. I think that's why they are taking more of a straight business approach to it as opposed to the wine and dine your customer approach most places would take.
Marcio is a 5th degree black belt and the school itself has about 15 black belts that train regularly so almost every class has 2-4 black belts in it that you can grapple with. If enough people don't show up to a class which happens from time to time it's like getting a private lesson for free and several of the black belts have won national championships like Anthony Tolone was the Naga U.S. National Champion.
The school also has Muay Thai taught by Bobby Robare, the best Muay Thai instructor in the area so the school attracts a lot of people. In the 2 years I've been there we've had 5 UFC fighters training out of the school and from the research I've done, it's really cheap in comparison to other schools of similar quality. It's about $100 a month for unlimited BJJ and Muay Thai classes for people joining now.
For the most part, the school has a monopoly on most of the BJJ talent in the area so they kind of get to do what they want. |