SweepEm, Glad you enjoyed your trip.
Did you get a chance to train with both Tim Shears and Marcus Soares? I'm eager to join a BJJ school here in Vancouver and I'm having trouble deciding between these two guys!
Marcus Soares appears to have an incredible resume...7th degree black belt, grew up in Brazil and trained under Carlson Gracie, 35 years of BJJ experience, etc...I've heard him referred to as the 'Encyclopedia of BJJ.' This guy sounds really badass, and it seems like it would be a real feather in my cap to be able to train under such a decorated BJJ instructor. Am I making too much out of this?
Tim isn't as experienced, but is a black belt in his own right, trained under Carlos Gracie Jr and Marcio Feitosa. He sounds pretty badass too. Would there be any difference between the two instructors? Like would Marcus be able to teach me that much more than Tim? I know in the beginning I won't be able to tell the difference between even a purple belt and a black belt, but eventually is it best to train under the highest pedigree? The one thing I like about Tim's school is they have a 101 (noob) class and a 201 (advanced) class, so I could start off training with other beginners. I don't think Marcus' school has any distinction like that, so I'm not sure how the the classes would work with all the experienced BJJers and a BJJ-virgin like me training together.
Anyway, if you or anybody else familiar with the Vancouver BJJ scene could give me some feedback, it would be greatly appreciated. Or anybody else...how did you pick your school? What to look for? I have a feeling there is no bad choice, really. They are probably both great schools and I would be happy with either one, which is nice...but would I be missing out in any way if I didn't train with Marcus, since he holds such an impressive rank and has so much experience and knowledge?
Any responses would really help me out. I'm just really serious about learning BJJ and I want the best instruction possible. Thanks.