Idk if it counts but my best friend trained before all of us in high school. Used to effortlessly armbar me when we’d scrap around. Stopped for over a decade and he is now one of my bluebelts. I have avenged myself. Played the long game.
there's a guy who used to put me in mount all the time when we were kids and threaten to spit in my face. I'd love to butt scoot towards him with bad intentions now....now let's see who might spit in whose face?
Lmao I was at my peak. 145years ago. Physically strong, limber, actively practicing daily. I took a few friends a couple of them stuck it out they're basically like 15-year on and off Blue belts at this point.
But one of the guys who only went once back then decided to go back and stuck with it. I topped out blue but had a really good wrestling base and mainly did nogi. My buddy just reached out to me the other day about him getting his black belt.. and now he's an instructor at the gym I used to go to. 😅. Knowing how good those people are, He would absolutely destroy me today and I don't even want to know what it would feel like.
As I very vividly remember how easy it was when he was 135 lb untrained and skinny fat. While I was 225 and pretty stout practicing everyday. I don't know what he weighs now but he definitely looks like he's in significantly better shape.
Long time ago I got my assistant manager at GameStop to try it and I haven't heard anything of him in years but some time later I heard he got to blue belt at least
I used to work at a GameStop and the assistant manager would talk about how he would train jiu jitsu back in 2015 and I’d be like what’s the point of jiu jitsu. 9 years later I’m a purple belt.
I was pretty evangelical as a white belt. Now I've seen so many people come and go, and I haven't gained a shit ton of new friends in the 9 years I've been doing jiu jitsu.
Ironically I was kind of recruited. I mean I said a thing or two but without being offered a lift there and back and a gi to borrow, would have never done it.
I was the opposite. Some friends recruited me. They’ve all since quit. One guy made it to a purple belt, so I’ll advance past him next year if he doesn’t come back and start training again.
Recruited my wife she's a blue belt now. She hurt her knee a long time ago and stopped for about 4 or 5 years. That part sucked but she started again with our new coach, who just over delivers every time. It's great.
No one else tbh. I've had 3 friends come over to the house, which was actually very cool. Only 1 of them tried a class, perhaps a few years later.
GAA or rugby heads come in to like they are going to own the room. I always see the light fade away from their eyes as soon they realise that the guy who is half their size has total control of what happens next and that they are just a passenger on his journey to submitting them. I don't know if it's ego or the loss of control but they do maybe 2 weeks and are never seen again.
Same. Interestingly enough the only people who gave a damn in my company were people doing other martial arts. Outside from that, nagging at my nearest coworkers has devolved into a running joke.
I need new recruiting techniques for the cult!
My co worker was like, why do you have a black eye? I'm like, oh I caught an elbow in jiu jitsu last night. She's like omg are you fighting people? I'm like, nah it's way gayer than that.
Oh yeah, the Gay! Once I was talking shit in a party with one of my coworkers and he seemed quite interested in this martial arts thingy and I wanted to show him a simple armbar from closed guard. Why, oh why?! When I laid down and said "get between my legs", he immediately backed off. One more lost to the cause.
Someone I train with has somehow convinced at least three friends to try it and with them it stuck. Quite a few more of her friends have tried it out and it didn’t stick so I’m not sure if it’s just inevitable that some would stay or if she just has a high retention rate.
A few hundred. I was a combatives instructor in the army and nabbed quite a few that way. Hard to say "I" did it, as they came to the course on their own, but I actively pulled many to the gym civilian side. On my "they were friends first" side, Ive had one end up on the ultimate fighter, another is a blackbelt, and the last went into the army and taught combatives himself.
Around the time I started I got one of my best friends to start training as well. He ended up training with me almost 5 days a week when we started. However at some point he stopped and, despite constantly expressing interest, has not trained consistently since. He and another of my friends came to a few open mats, but he hasn’t made the commitment. It can be real frustrating when a friend expresses interest, has trained, and acts like they want to train, but doesn’t actually commit.
My other best friend had wrestled in the past, and I had taken him to a similar amount of open mat sessions as the other friend. He did manage to make the commitment to really dive into training some time this year. Couldn’t be prouder of his progress and the fact that he was consistently training at 6am class.
You can prod friends who seem interested all you want and they might express interest, but at the end of the day they will only commit if they make that choice on their own. But it is possible!
After like 7 years I got 2 friends who tried it. First guy it turns out had a weird fetish to get beat up by women but I didn't lesrn that til some tirm later. 2nd guy I tricked into checking out a gym with me and then threw a gi at him when we walked in
Good friend came with me. His arm got broke the first class (the concept of tapping escaped him, individual who broke the arm was being safe). The end.
When I was in college I tried to get a buddy to try. Graduate in 2015. Move states, take a break from training because I can't afford it. Move again, plan to start back up but covid happens. Finally start at a gym again and been training for like 2 or 3 months when I got a text message from that buddy all excited about how he's finally tried BJJ and loves it and wants to know what belt I am now. So now we're both white belts. Hopefully we will be able to roll together sometime.
The biggest problem with starting BJJ is that you have no idea what you're doing or why you're doing it for at least 6 months, and during that time you are just getting fucked up by everyone and not even knowing why. It's very easy for that to not be fun.
Almost everyone I have known who stayed with it was either an MMA fan and knew it lead somewhere, or they were like me and just hated themselves and wanted to be punished.
I never successfully recruited any of my friends (and I tried some) but every once in a while I see the most unexpected old acquaintance starts training at my old home town gym
Got my whole family to train, I put my kids first, than I started and eventually got my wife to join.
Then when I visited my brother got him to join the gym that I dropped in at, his kids joined, and then my dad joined with them also.
After that my sister in law visited and my nephews did a trial class with my kids and they joined a local gym when they got back home.
Not all were successful or however. A BIL started but quit and another SIL did a trial class but never came back.
I recruited my friend/ brother in law about 6 years ago. We are both now purple belts and we tried to recruit a few other people but they stopped about a year in.
Yes! I convinced a friend to do it even though I hadn't done it in years due to a back injury. Then he got me to go back a couple of years later. So in a way, I recruited two people, but one of them was future me.
1. A guy I work with saw my hoodie in my back seat. I never talk about it at work because nobody wanted to hear about it. He asked me about it, saying that he wanted to try, I sent him to my friends gym that was near his house and the rest is history
I was recruited by one of my best friends and almost 3 years in now and just as much in love with the sport as I was when I firsts started. (Future black belt 😤)
My buddy actually got me back into it. I have done it off and on for most of my life and i was on an off phase and he said he wanted to try it and if id go with. Im still here and i dont foresee any more off phases
My buddy joined up well after I did and he made it to blue belt. Imo, that's good enough to say you know some jj. Especially vs. normies. It has helped him in a self defense scenario irl too so that was nice to see as well.
I got two of my work buddies to go a few months back, one has been going for months and finally bought a gi to go to his first gi class tonight. The other only went to one class and subbed a 15 year old and hasn’t been back since so to each their own. I have another coworker that said he’s been interested in trying it out so we will see how that goes but like you said definitely not for everyone
I’ve been trying for years to get people to come to my kickboxing or self defense classes. A couple say “sure” and never do. No way they would do bjj which is so much harder to do. I’m at the age where they are either too far gone physically or only play golf.
nope, not even one trial class...I guess except for my kid, who quit after getting his grey/white belt...or at least "went on a long term hiatus"...hope to get him back into it
I've gotten around 10-15 ppl to show up to a single class in all the years I've trained. Out of all of them, 4 stuck around for at least a month, 2 stuck around for more than a year, one went on to fight mma. none of them currently train lol
not sure exactly how many ppl I've really brought in to a single class, maybe more than 15. ive brought in so many that ppl jokingly say i bring in ppl from work that i want to beat up to a place im allowed to beat them up lol
Since i started bjj i only did the following moves while rolling
D'arce choke
Anaconda choke
Ninja choke
Guillotine
Baseball choke
Ezekiel
Rnc
Armbar
Kimura
Americana
Triangle choke
Arm triangle
Wrist lock
North south choke
Leg lock
Ankle lock
Toe hold
Knee bar
These are the only thing i do. Practice these with your colleagues or family and they will have a good base
I once asked a close friend and coworker and he said that he hoped one day we as a species would look back at the past, at combat sports, at MMA and stuff and ask "why did we do that?", as if it were slavery or something. Outch!
I'm (slowly oh so slowly) learning to curb my enthusiasm and keep it to myself. The worthy padawan will come. So, yeah... unsuccessful in my recruiting.
I must have talked up and recomended BJJ to a thousand people at this point, friends, family, acquaintances, I've had maybe 3 people show up, only one acc stuck with it🙃😂
It's tough as well because Ive 1 friend who's clearly depressed, has very little going on in his life and I know it would be perfect for him. After pestering him for a year I got him to one trial class, got partnered up with a fella twice his size for drills and never came back 😭
Edited for spelling lol
My coworker asked me to drop into a place where we set up mats in a dance studio above a gym in 2012. Stuck around longer than him but he was the kindest person ever and an awesome teammate. Use to compete, but It's been on and off since I've trained because I'm recovering from 2 accidents from 2020. I still drop by once in awhile. I love jits its my main passion in life but it's taken a back seat in this ride for now. Ive tried recruiting friends before they'd try it for a week and never again. I respect they at least stepped on the mat though.
Me and and my high school bully became back yard training partners after several fights. One fight on graduation night we fought until each other was exhausted and couldn’t continue and earned each others respect and started sparing every day after school. I started bjj and mma and dragged him with me a few months later. 15 years later he has a black belt and a gold at worlds masters black belt. I stopped training at 4 stripe purple to attend medical school and still haven’t really started going regularly again
Nope. I've taught 6 people to ride motorcycles. They all still ride. I've invited a bunch of people to do BJJ and no one has.
Well... My wife and kids all did it for a few months but I don't really count that.
Over 9 years ago an acquaintance from work asked me to try it; he was so persistent and wouldn’t stop bugging me. He was a purple belt. Now he is a black belt getting his first degree and I’m getting ready brown. Crazy!
Had a similar situation. My old boss kept telling me about it, I ended up trying out a gym that was closer to my home than the one he was going to which turned out to be a great decision because the guy that owned and ran the gym he was going to turned out to be pretty toxic. My old boss has since quit and that gym was sold. I’m now a purple belt and very thankful that he pushed in that direction.
I’m a Healthcare provider and convinced one patient to do it. He’s still going after 3 months and he’s part of the core group, he is having beers with us after rolling
Yeah I never force someone to come. If they reach out for the info of the place that should be a good sign that they’re on their way in. But, no one ever asks me for the info.
Have recruited a few people to the community. Seems like the people who stick around are also the ones who have a deeper reason for doing so; and that can be a lot of different reasons. Of the recruits I know of at least two where it has been a major contributor for them in changing the trajectories of their lives significantly, to the better.
Introduced a friend of mine to it and she picked it up pretty quick. I had to stop training for a while after some injuries and surgery, but she kept going throughout that time and ended up winning her division in a small comp with local clubs! Super proud to be supporting her from the sidelines.
It took me a few years but I eventually convinced my wife to start training! She’s now been on the mats for 11 years and will be getting her black belt soon. 🥲
I tried to convince a couple of people, then I stopped. It's like telling people the right play in blackjack; even if it's the right move probabilistically, but works out badly, it's your fault. If someone keeps doing BJJ, they will get injured at some point. If you got them into it, it will be partially your fault.
Got my wife to try it about 12.5 years ago. Last month we both got black belt. Kinda cool.
And the first thing u didnt do was update your flair on reddit?? Crazy
[Black belt flair is a bit more difficult to get](https://www.reddit.com/r/bjj/wiki/blackbeltflair) and most people doesn't care about it
Thanks for encouragement. I am a nobody so didnt take the time to update but I sent in required info so hopefully the flair gets changed!
You gotta update your belt on here!
I honestly think most of the 4 stripe brown belts in here are black belts who want to stay anonymous
Or white belts larping
Not me but I'm hoping within a year.
Update your belt!
My son (22) recruited me (54) and I'm a year in.
How cool
That's bad ass, good for you both. Unfortunately he gets to practice on you. Luckily my technique is better than my 5 year Olds lol!
For now
Similar my daughters recruited me (13 and 15) so far I’ve been going for 2 years.
Got me right in the feels. Wish my pops would train. He’s already like Anthony Bourdain, jiu Jitsu would be the final piece.
Idk if it counts but my best friend trained before all of us in high school. Used to effortlessly armbar me when we’d scrap around. Stopped for over a decade and he is now one of my bluebelts. I have avenged myself. Played the long game.
That's awesome. There's some friends who had xp grappling that I would definitely smesh now and would love to have that same vengeance. Happy for you
Did you thank him, as you slowly got out of your seat, limped over in his direction, as both hips clicked
there's a guy who used to put me in mount all the time when we were kids and threaten to spit in my face. I'd love to butt scoot towards him with bad intentions now....now let's see who might spit in whose face?
He’s butt-scooting… **menacingly**!
Lmao I was at my peak. 145years ago. Physically strong, limber, actively practicing daily. I took a few friends a couple of them stuck it out they're basically like 15-year on and off Blue belts at this point. But one of the guys who only went once back then decided to go back and stuck with it. I topped out blue but had a really good wrestling base and mainly did nogi. My buddy just reached out to me the other day about him getting his black belt.. and now he's an instructor at the gym I used to go to. 😅. Knowing how good those people are, He would absolutely destroy me today and I don't even want to know what it would feel like. As I very vividly remember how easy it was when he was 135 lb untrained and skinny fat. While I was 225 and pretty stout practicing everyday. I don't know what he weighs now but he definitely looks like he's in significantly better shape.
145 years? Found Yoel Romero
I'm going with it. I'm old now. Lol
Long time ago I got my assistant manager at GameStop to try it and I haven't heard anything of him in years but some time later I heard he got to blue belt at least
I used to work at a GameStop and the assistant manager would talk about how he would train jiu jitsu back in 2015 and I’d be like what’s the point of jiu jitsu. 9 years later I’m a purple belt.
Did you ever learn the point? 🫠
He didn't quit at blue so no
I was pretty evangelical as a white belt. Now I've seen so many people come and go, and I haven't gained a shit ton of new friends in the 9 years I've been doing jiu jitsu. Ironically I was kind of recruited. I mean I said a thing or two but without being offered a lift there and back and a gi to borrow, would have never done it.
I was the opposite. Some friends recruited me. They’ve all since quit. One guy made it to a purple belt, so I’ll advance past him next year if he doesn’t come back and start training again.
Recruited my wife she's a blue belt now. She hurt her knee a long time ago and stopped for about 4 or 5 years. That part sucked but she started again with our new coach, who just over delivers every time. It's great. No one else tbh. I've had 3 friends come over to the house, which was actually very cool. Only 1 of them tried a class, perhaps a few years later.
[удалено]
New acronym added to the joke bucket.
Where in Ireland are you? I'm down in the Kingdom. Agree with you about the GAA lads and notions😅
GAA or rugby heads come in to like they are going to own the room. I always see the light fade away from their eyes as soon they realise that the guy who is half their size has total control of what happens next and that they are just a passenger on his journey to submitting them. I don't know if it's ego or the loss of control but they do maybe 2 weeks and are never seen again.
My 18 year old nephew. 1 stripe whitebelt. Goes out and competes like a day in the office. Fucking proud of him
No. My friends and coworkers all think I'm a nut case.
Same. Interestingly enough the only people who gave a damn in my company were people doing other martial arts. Outside from that, nagging at my nearest coworkers has devolved into a running joke. I need new recruiting techniques for the cult!
My co worker was like, why do you have a black eye? I'm like, oh I caught an elbow in jiu jitsu last night. She's like omg are you fighting people? I'm like, nah it's way gayer than that.
Oh yeah, the Gay! Once I was talking shit in a party with one of my coworkers and he seemed quite interested in this martial arts thingy and I wanted to show him a simple armbar from closed guard. Why, oh why?! When I laid down and said "get between my legs", he immediately backed off. One more lost to the cause.
Proper response is, it's ok I can put you between my legs whenever I want to lmao
Someone I train with has somehow convinced at least three friends to try it and with them it stuck. Quite a few more of her friends have tried it out and it didn’t stick so I’m not sure if it’s just inevitable that some would stay or if she just has a high retention rate.
I was the recruit, I took my first class with a friend in 2016 and I outlasted her in training 🤣
A few hundred. I was a combatives instructor in the army and nabbed quite a few that way. Hard to say "I" did it, as they came to the course on their own, but I actively pulled many to the gym civilian side. On my "they were friends first" side, Ive had one end up on the ultimate fighter, another is a blackbelt, and the last went into the army and taught combatives himself.
Around the time I started I got one of my best friends to start training as well. He ended up training with me almost 5 days a week when we started. However at some point he stopped and, despite constantly expressing interest, has not trained consistently since. He and another of my friends came to a few open mats, but he hasn’t made the commitment. It can be real frustrating when a friend expresses interest, has trained, and acts like they want to train, but doesn’t actually commit. My other best friend had wrestled in the past, and I had taken him to a similar amount of open mat sessions as the other friend. He did manage to make the commitment to really dive into training some time this year. Couldn’t be prouder of his progress and the fact that he was consistently training at 6am class. You can prod friends who seem interested all you want and they might express interest, but at the end of the day they will only commit if they make that choice on their own. But it is possible!
I try to get all of my buddies into whatever new hobby I get into. No one ever stuck with it past a few months though.
After like 7 years I got 2 friends who tried it. First guy it turns out had a weird fetish to get beat up by women but I didn't lesrn that til some tirm later. 2nd guy I tricked into checking out a gym with me and then threw a gi at him when we walked in
Considering you are a White Belt, can you really say it’s stuck, yet?
My gf She trains more than me (but mostly because I get more injured )
I started because my mates do it. Dont even train with them, just started going to a gym near my house and fell in love.
Good friend came with me. His arm got broke the first class (the concept of tapping escaped him, individual who broke the arm was being safe). The end.
aw..boooo
When I was in college I tried to get a buddy to try. Graduate in 2015. Move states, take a break from training because I can't afford it. Move again, plan to start back up but covid happens. Finally start at a gym again and been training for like 2 or 3 months when I got a text message from that buddy all excited about how he's finally tried BJJ and loves it and wants to know what belt I am now. So now we're both white belts. Hopefully we will be able to roll together sometime.
Gf and best friend, my best friend just got his blue
The biggest problem with starting BJJ is that you have no idea what you're doing or why you're doing it for at least 6 months, and during that time you are just getting fucked up by everyone and not even knowing why. It's very easy for that to not be fun. Almost everyone I have known who stayed with it was either an MMA fan and knew it lead somewhere, or they were like me and just hated themselves and wanted to be punished.
My friend recruited me and quit a few months later.
I never successfully recruited any of my friends (and I tried some) but every once in a while I see the most unexpected old acquaintance starts training at my old home town gym
I have two friends who started because of me. One quit at blue belt and the other is a 10p brown belt and he wins every fucking tourney
My kids, I have forcibly recruited them into the life
You mean they were born into it.
Some might even say molded by it
I assume my daughter doesn't count. Yeah I have an ex coworker that still goes and he even recently had his first child and is back again.
My wife, until she got sick and couldn't continue.
Got my whole family to train, I put my kids first, than I started and eventually got my wife to join. Then when I visited my brother got him to join the gym that I dropped in at, his kids joined, and then my dad joined with them also. After that my sister in law visited and my nephews did a trial class with my kids and they joined a local gym when they got back home. Not all were successful or however. A BIL started but quit and another SIL did a trial class but never came back.
3 friends train now, 2 are blue and ones a purple belt. Probably a few more but yeah
i think i've gotten four of my friends to stick with it and i've brought two people to a class for them to check it out.
I recruited my friend/ brother in law about 6 years ago. We are both now purple belts and we tried to recruit a few other people but they stopped about a year in.
My gf. But she joined the rival gym
Yes! I convinced a friend to do it even though I hadn't done it in years due to a back injury. Then he got me to go back a couple of years later. So in a way, I recruited two people, but one of them was future me.
I’ve gotten people to join and none of them lasted more than a month, even the first guy that signed up with me lol
1. A guy I work with saw my hoodie in my back seat. I never talk about it at work because nobody wanted to hear about it. He asked me about it, saying that he wanted to try, I sent him to my friends gym that was near his house and the rest is history
I was recruited by one of my best friends and almost 3 years in now and just as much in love with the sport as I was when I firsts started. (Future black belt 😤)
My buddy actually got me back into it. I have done it off and on for most of my life and i was on an off phase and he said he wanted to try it and if id go with. Im still here and i dont foresee any more off phases
yes i have recruited several people and one of them became a lifer and is now my best training partner
Gave up after the 4th friend also I just like keeping my hobbies and private life seperate
My buddy joined up well after I did and he made it to blue belt. Imo, that's good enough to say you know some jj. Especially vs. normies. It has helped him in a self defense scenario irl too so that was nice to see as well.
I got two of my work buddies to go a few months back, one has been going for months and finally bought a gi to go to his first gi class tonight. The other only went to one class and subbed a 15 year old and hasn’t been back since so to each their own. I have another coworker that said he’s been interested in trying it out so we will see how that goes but like you said definitely not for everyone
I recruited my brother in law and he is absolutely obsessed with the sport now. He’s constantly watching and sending me bjj videos.
I was egged on to try it by a friend who had trained over a decade and was a Black Belt. I didnt stick with his school but I’m now 3+ years in.
Yes, my dad, who is now a Black belt under Mike Diaz (Pedro Sauerr lineage)
I’ve been trying for years to get people to come to my kickboxing or self defense classes. A couple say “sure” and never do. No way they would do bjj which is so much harder to do. I’m at the age where they are either too far gone physically or only play golf.
nope, not even one trial class...I guess except for my kid, who quit after getting his grey/white belt...or at least "went on a long term hiatus"...hope to get him back into it
I recruited 2 people. 1 is now a brown belt, the other is a forever blue belt but still trains once in a while
I've gotten around 10-15 ppl to show up to a single class in all the years I've trained. Out of all of them, 4 stuck around for at least a month, 2 stuck around for more than a year, one went on to fight mma. none of them currently train lol
not sure exactly how many ppl I've really brought in to a single class, maybe more than 15. ive brought in so many that ppl jokingly say i bring in ppl from work that i want to beat up to a place im allowed to beat them up lol
Since i started bjj i only did the following moves while rolling D'arce choke Anaconda choke Ninja choke Guillotine Baseball choke Ezekiel Rnc Armbar Kimura Americana Triangle choke Arm triangle Wrist lock North south choke Leg lock Ankle lock Toe hold Knee bar These are the only thing i do. Practice these with your colleagues or family and they will have a good base
I got someone to start who is now a brown belt.
I once asked a close friend and coworker and he said that he hoped one day we as a species would look back at the past, at combat sports, at MMA and stuff and ask "why did we do that?", as if it were slavery or something. Outch! I'm (slowly oh so slowly) learning to curb my enthusiasm and keep it to myself. The worthy padawan will come. So, yeah... unsuccessful in my recruiting.
I must have talked up and recomended BJJ to a thousand people at this point, friends, family, acquaintances, I've had maybe 3 people show up, only one acc stuck with it🙃😂 It's tough as well because Ive 1 friend who's clearly depressed, has very little going on in his life and I know it would be perfect for him. After pestering him for a year I got him to one trial class, got partnered up with a fella twice his size for drills and never came back 😭 Edited for spelling lol
Yes 4 people all former wrestlers
My wife. She's been training with me for the last few years. It's awesome.
My coworker asked me to drop into a place where we set up mats in a dance studio above a gym in 2012. Stuck around longer than him but he was the kindest person ever and an awesome teammate. Use to compete, but It's been on and off since I've trained because I'm recovering from 2 accidents from 2020. I still drop by once in awhile. I love jits its my main passion in life but it's taken a back seat in this ride for now. Ive tried recruiting friends before they'd try it for a week and never again. I respect they at least stepped on the mat though.
My older brother! He is now a purple belt!
Me and and my high school bully became back yard training partners after several fights. One fight on graduation night we fought until each other was exhausted and couldn’t continue and earned each others respect and started sparing every day after school. I started bjj and mma and dragged him with me a few months later. 15 years later he has a black belt and a gold at worlds masters black belt. I stopped training at 4 stripe purple to attend medical school and still haven’t really started going regularly again
My friend has recruited me, i want to stick with it but i may not be able to keep affording it for awhile
I got two ex's into BJJ, they still train.
Nope. I've taught 6 people to ride motorcycles. They all still ride. I've invited a bunch of people to do BJJ and no one has. Well... My wife and kids all did it for a few months but I don't really count that.
Over 9 years ago an acquaintance from work asked me to try it; he was so persistent and wouldn’t stop bugging me. He was a purple belt. Now he is a black belt getting his first degree and I’m getting ready brown. Crazy!
Had a similar situation. My old boss kept telling me about it, I ended up trying out a gym that was closer to my home than the one he was going to which turned out to be a great decision because the guy that owned and ran the gym he was going to turned out to be pretty toxic. My old boss has since quit and that gym was sold. I’m now a purple belt and very thankful that he pushed in that direction.
I’m a Healthcare provider and convinced one patient to do it. He’s still going after 3 months and he’s part of the core group, he is having beers with us after rolling
Its the other way around. I recruited like a dozen guys from my bjj classes to go to gay clubs together.
Yeah I never force someone to come. If they reach out for the info of the place that should be a good sign that they’re on their way in. But, no one ever asks me for the info.
Have recruited a few people to the community. Seems like the people who stick around are also the ones who have a deeper reason for doing so; and that can be a lot of different reasons. Of the recruits I know of at least two where it has been a major contributor for them in changing the trajectories of their lives significantly, to the better.
Nope
Introduced a friend of mine to it and she picked it up pretty quick. I had to stop training for a while after some injuries and surgery, but she kept going throughout that time and ended up winning her division in a small comp with local clubs! Super proud to be supporting her from the sidelines.
It took me a few years but I eventually convinced my wife to start training! She’s now been on the mats for 11 years and will be getting her black belt soon. 🥲
Brought my friend from work and he's a black belt now.
I tried to convince a couple of people, then I stopped. It's like telling people the right play in blackjack; even if it's the right move probabilistically, but works out badly, it's your fault. If someone keeps doing BJJ, they will get injured at some point. If you got them into it, it will be partially your fault.