FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Adults
• When training Jiu Jitsu, you should be able to commit a minimum, two 75 minute training sessions plus a shower, per week.
• When you contact us, we are very happy to discuss how to structure your first few weeks of training based on your specific attributes and schedule.
Our program is what you secretly know you need. We actually welcome sissy noobs because we love transforming sissy noobs into Jiu Jitsu machines. It will not be comfortable. We will not coddle you. And it will be hard work. But you’ll feel fucking great about yourself. You can also rest assured that everyone on the mats knows what it was like to have started at zero, that they will have your back and be happy to help you on your road to becoming a non-sissy noob.
Our goal is to have all our students get better as quickly as possible. In our ten years teaching folks Jiu Jitsu, we have found a great way to see that this DOESN’T happen is to put a whole bunch of beginners in a class with a whole bunch of other beginners and teach them only beginner shit day after day. In our experience, the best way for everyone to progress as quickly as possible is to have a variety of skill levels to spar and drill with. When you’re new, you’ll work personally with a coach on the side to develop a solid foundation. But you’ll also have the benefit of seeing the more advanced technique that you’ll be working on yourself in the coming weeks. You’ll also have the benefit of drilling and sparring with more advanced students who, uinlike other beginners, know how to give you the proper feeback. Additionally, the greatest likelyhood of injury occurs when beginners are sparring with other beginners. We like to avoid injury.
You wont have to. You get to! At the end of the day, live sparring is what sets apart effective martial arts from the fake ones. Sparring during class is a fundamental component of why Jiu Jitsu works in a real fight. And it is critical in order to know that the techniques you’re drilling actually work in real life. The absence of live sparring is why martial arts like Krav Maga tend to be a bunch of garbage.
We encourage most students to spar from day 1. But a Coach will not have you spar until we are are confident you won’t hurt yourself. We won’t pair you with someone who wil hurt you by accident. And there’s no one on the mats at The Mill who will hurt you on purpose.
Injury prevention is our TOP priority. But as with any sport, there is always the possibility of injury. However, BJJ has been proven to work so well precisely because it is specifically designed to minimize the chaos and likelihood of injury in a combat scenario. If you are injured, you’re less likely to win a fight. And the whole point of Jiu Jitsu is to win a fight.
You can count on the coaches to ensure not only a safe training environment, but that you are never paired with a training partner who hurt you by accident. And there’s definitely no one on our team who will hurt you on purpose. The best thign you can do to remain un-injured is to manage your own intensity. So if you remain smart and controlled yourself, the likelihood of injury is minimal.
Our only uniform requirements are that you and your gear be clean, that you wear a rash guard under your Gi top, and compression pants or shorts under your board shorts (No Gi). Being on the receiving end of a Triangle Choke is never fun, but it sucks even more when your opponent isn’t wearing any compression pants.
We have quality gear for sale at very affordable prices, and we certainly appreciate the support But you are not required to purchase from us. As far as we’re concerned, Jiu Jitsu is very much about self expression. So express yourself. We won’t make you rent or purchase our uniforms so that we can milk you of all your hard earned money.
Yes we do. We offer a single, $35 paid trial class. Click HERE for details.
We don’t offer free trials primarily because it compromises the integrity of our program for our coaches to be trying to enroll free trial members at the expense of cultivating our paying and committed students.
A $35 trial fee shows us that you are sufficiently committed to the team and to the process for our coaches to take their attention away from our paying and committed students to ensure you have a kick ass trial experience.
Please visit our PRICING PAGE for details, and be sure to check the bottom to see if you are eligible for one of our many discounts!
Kids
We have not seen a single instance where our program has made anyone more aggressive. In fact, we typically see the opposite. There are two primary reasons for this: 1) Sparring is a fundamental component of BJJ and sparring is likely the single best outlet for stress, aggression and anxiety. Folks are typically more relaxed in general when they train BJJ on a regular basis. 2) As students develop their skills and utilize them in sparring at the gym and in competition, it becomes perfectly evident the power of what they are learning, and so the need to prove to themselves that they are capable of handling a physical confrontation in the school yard or at a bar diminishes entirely. Instead they’re able to use judgement.
Focus is a critical element to success with any endeavor, and the development of focus is a critical component of our youth program. In certain situations our coaches may single children out in order to both encourage and discourage certain behavior including focus, respect, hard work and technique. However, we understand that the development of these skills takes time and so our Youth Program is structured in such a way that no one student would ever hold back a group of more experienced students in the same class.
We start out our 3-4 y/o’s training once per week, our 5-7 y/o’s twice per week and our 8-12 y/o’s two to three times per week. Students are encouraged to train more, once they choose to do so on their own accord. For our 5-7 y/os, this is typically not before a year of training, if at all. For our 8-12 y/os, it is typically not before four month of training. The majority of our 5-7 y/os train twice per week. The majority of our 8-12 y/o’s train 2-3 times per week. For students aged roughly 5 and up, additional training comes at no additional cost.
Yes, for students aged 5 and up. Studies have shown that twice per week is the bare minimum training required to achieve meaningful growth in any technical skillset, let alone Jiu Jitsu, which requires not only technical skill but character development and mental resilience as well. Indeed, we consistently achieve the best results when students adhere to the twice per week minimum. Anything less has proven to be insufficient to make progress and build the self image. In fact, we have never had a child over the age of 5 train less than twice per week and remain in the program long enough to achieve meaningfull results.
We consistently achieve the best results when kids start out training the prescribed amount for their age. Our program is difficult, and all but the most resilient, athletic and gifted kids will likely burn out if made to train more at the outset. We want Jiu Jitsu to be a discipline that kids learn to love for the long term and we have found that starting out between 2 and 3 times per week depending on age is the best way to achieve that.
Please see our student pricing page for details.
Absolutely. Please see our student pricing page for details.
Yes we do. We offer a single, $35 paid trial class. Please see our Trial Page for details
However, it’s important to bear in mind that although our program is fun, it is also challenging. And in training, there are great days, and there are hard days. Most kids will quit challenging and difficult things given the opportunity, especially after a hard day. We’ve found that the parents who achieve the most meaningful results with their kids, are the parents who aren’t relying on their kids to want to train every class, in order to keep them in the program. So in that respect, a single trial class may not be the best indication of whether or not our program is a good fit. And you may prefer to just schedule a class viewing at no cost.
We don’t offer free trials primarily because it compromises the integrity of our program for our coaches to be trying to enroll free trial members at the expense of cultivating our paying and committed students.
A $35 trial fee shows us that you are sufficiently committed to the team and to the process for our coaches to take their attention away from our paying and committed students to ensure you have a kick ass trial experience.
We will provide a uniform upon your child’s first class, which is included with six month programs, or otherwise payable ($95) upon the second month of training if paying tuition on a monthly basis.
