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What % of people at your gym compete?
6 year(s) ago • 9694 views • 12 replies
AKPurple beltVerified
6 year(s) ago
Following from another thread, straight forward question: What % of people at your gym compete?
My gym covers a range of martial arts, we have ~12 regulars in BJJ and another ~12 who float. 2 of us have competed in BJJ so 16% or 8% depending on how you want to count it. 2 more have competed in Muay Thai and 2 others were serious about competing until they got injured.
I'll post the other replies and it would be interesting to see if we come out with a common average.
My gym covers a range of martial arts, we have ~12 regulars in BJJ and another ~12 who float. 2 of us have competed in BJJ so 16% or 8% depending on how you want to count it. 2 more have competed in Muay Thai and 2 others were serious about competing until they got injured.
I'll post the other replies and it would be interesting to see if we come out with a common average.
AKPurple beltVerified
6 year(s) ago
Gerald Fabrot from Japan. At my gym :
0% of the black belt coaches - out of the competition game. Coach had one match last year, first time in years. (he's a pro referee for MMA matches though. Pancrasse, One FC when in Japan, etc.)
75% of the four active brown belts
75% of the four active purple belts
maybe 50% of the 10 blue belt
maybe 20% of the 20 or so white belt
0% of the black belt coaches - out of the competition game. Coach had one match last year, first time in years. (he's a pro referee for MMA matches though. Pancrasse, One FC when in Japan, etc.)
75% of the four active brown belts
75% of the four active purple belts
maybe 50% of the 10 blue belt
maybe 20% of the 20 or so white belt
AKPurple beltVerified
6 year(s) ago
Can Sönmez from the UK.
You could also go off Smoothcomp. If I look at my club's page ( https://smoothcomp.com/en[...]14/members ), it's currently 26 people on there with profiles, about 6 of whom either stopped training, or just don't train with us these days. Total membership is around 80 (we'll see what it is after lockdown is over), so 20 out of 80 people is 25%
You could also go off Smoothcomp. If I look at my club's page ( https://smoothcomp.com/en[...]14/members ), it's currently 26 people on there with profiles, about 6 of whom either stopped training, or just don't train with us these days. Total membership is around 80 (we'll see what it is after lockdown is over), so 20 out of 80 people is 25%
TPBlack beltVerified
6 year(s) ago
We are a competition-focused gym I guess, when it comes to BJJ. We run a popular competition class. Difficult to say the exact numbers, or even try to assess it, because we are quite big and although I know all the active competitors & the colored belts and there are probably a few dozen white belts who come quite regularly but I don't remember them...
Whenever regular class is split to competitors/non-competitors I think there's about 75% in the competitor side of the mat. (Some like to train with the competitors without actually competing tho.) But I think it's safe to say that out of colored belts, there are only a very few people who have never tried competition.
But on Mondays we have split class "Beginners' tech" and Comp class and typically the first one has more people, 30-40, at least 90% white belt.
Out of our black belts, our head coach recently picked up competing again (used to compete in grappling and some MMA). Another black belt is one of the more active competitors in the country, but he just recently got his BB. The remaining two BBs are very seldom seen at the gym these days, but they used to compete some years ago at brown, but then injuries, life etc. happened.
I'd say we have about a few hundred somewhat active members training BJJ/grappling. A big class is 50 people, a small ~20.
I'd guess:
White Belt → 10-20% have competed
Blue Belt → 80-90% have competed
Purple/Brown/Black → I don't know a single practitioner who hasn't competed
Of course trying competition is different than actively competing. Maybe 50% are active, more when it comes to colored belts and a lot less when it comes to white belts.
Whenever regular class is split to competitors/non-competitors I think there's about 75% in the competitor side of the mat. (Some like to train with the competitors without actually competing tho.) But I think it's safe to say that out of colored belts, there are only a very few people who have never tried competition.
But on Mondays we have split class "Beginners' tech" and Comp class and typically the first one has more people, 30-40, at least 90% white belt.
Out of our black belts, our head coach recently picked up competing again (used to compete in grappling and some MMA). Another black belt is one of the more active competitors in the country, but he just recently got his BB. The remaining two BBs are very seldom seen at the gym these days, but they used to compete some years ago at brown, but then injuries, life etc. happened.
I'd say we have about a few hundred somewhat active members training BJJ/grappling. A big class is 50 people, a small ~20.
I'd guess:
White Belt → 10-20% have competed
Blue Belt → 80-90% have competed
Purple/Brown/Black → I don't know a single practitioner who hasn't competed
Of course trying competition is different than actively competing. Maybe 50% are active, more when it comes to colored belts and a lot less when it comes to white belts.
Edited 6 year(s) ago
AKPurple beltVerified
6 year(s) ago
We are a competition-focused gym I guess, when it comes to BJJ. We run a popular competition class. Difficult to say the exact numbers, or even try to assess it, because we are quite big and although I know all the active competitors & the colored belts and there are probably a few dozen white belts who come quite regularly but I don't remember them... Whenever regular class is split to competitors/non-competitors I think there's about 75% in the competitor side of the mat. (Some like to train with the competitors without actually competing tho.) But I think it's safe to say that out of colored belts, there are only a very few people who have never tried competition. But on Mondays we have split class 'Beginners' tech' and Comp class and typically the first one has more people, 30-40, at least 90% white belt. Out of our black belts, our head coach recently picked up competing again (used to compete in grappling and some MMA). Another black belt is one of the more active competitors in the country, but he just recently got his BB. The remaining two BBs are very seldom seen at the gym these days, but they used to compete some years ago at brown, but then injuries, life etc. happened. I'd say we have about a few hundred somewhat active members training BJJ/grappling. A big class is 50 people, a small ~20. I'd guess: White Belt → 10-20% have competed Blue Belt → 80-90% have competed Purple/Brown/Black → I don't know a single practitioner who hasn't competed Of course trying competition is different than actively competing. Maybe 50% are active, more when it comes to colored belts and a lot less when it comes to white belts.
I'd guess white belts who compete are more likely to go on to be blue belts. I wonder if most the blue belts competed first at white or blue...
TPBlack beltVerified
6 year(s) ago
I'd guess white belts who compete are more likely to go on to be blue belts. I wonder if most the blue belts competed first at white or blue...
Yeah.
I'd say most have started at white, but not too long before turning blue.
Our coach also doesn't hand out belt too easily, which I think is kind of a fault too with a big gym like ours, so I believe the motivation for some to start compete in "late white" state is to get noticed. (I was a white belt 3+ years for example... and competing the last year+.) But it's definitely not a requirement for a promotion.
Biggest factor for people turning into competition is the dedicated comp class with good atmosphere. I had zero interested in competing, but after attending the class a few times, being part of the comp team & training for a goal quickly started to have appeal.
I'd say most have started at white, but not too long before turning blue.
Our coach also doesn't hand out belt too easily, which I think is kind of a fault too with a big gym like ours, so I believe the motivation for some to start compete in "late white" state is to get noticed. (I was a white belt 3+ years for example... and competing the last year+.) But it's definitely not a requirement for a promotion.
Biggest factor for people turning into competition is the dedicated comp class with good atmosphere. I had zero interested in competing, but after attending the class a few times, being part of the comp team & training for a goal quickly started to have appeal.
Edited 6 year(s) ago
DBlack beltVerified
6 year(s) ago
We're a pretty big school. Active competitors is around 10%. A lot more have competed but are now retired from comp or just not currently in to it.
MBrown beltVerified
6 year(s) ago
The focus of our gym isn’t competition, but we roll of course on a regular basis. We are more recreational, to shake the stress off and to be self defense ready.... so we can’t provide competition training.
AMBlack belt 1st degreeVerified
6 year(s) ago
One of the places I used to train at (Final Round in Ann Arbor, MI) is a competition gym (mma, muay thai and jiu jitsu). Don't know the percentage of competitors but it's probably between 20 and 40% if I had to take a wild guess.
BWBlack belt 1st degreeVerified
6 year(s) ago
I'd say probably 80% have competed
Only a couple of adults compete regularly
We've got about half a dozen kids that will compete regularly
Only a couple of adults compete regularly
We've got about half a dozen kids that will compete regularly
JMBlack belt 2nd degreeVerified
6 year(s) ago
My gym is adult only.
I would say about 30-40% of BJJ group has competed.
MMA group - much less, maybe 5% has competed.
I would say about 30-40% of BJJ group has competed.
MMA group - much less, maybe 5% has competed.
BNPurple beltVerified
6 year(s) ago
My gym is mostly people who do jiu jitsu for fun, although most people tend to compete once a year or every other year (I would put the number at probably around 70%). This is largely centered around Tap Cancer Out, as they host a big tournament around 70 mins from my gym each year that is a very supportive and low-risk environment to "try it out"
From there things drop off considerably. Two of my friends are definitely our "lead competitors" in terms of trying to compete 10+ times a year and doing big tournaments like Worlds, Euros, and Pans, etc. (one of them won blue belt Euros this year and the other got bronze at Worlds in 2019 as a purple belt). Outside of them, there are a few now-purple belts (me included) who like to compete between 3-6x a year depending on work scheduling, etc.
I would say that kinda underscores the fact that most people train more for fun/fitness than to "be the best".
From there things drop off considerably. Two of my friends are definitely our "lead competitors" in terms of trying to compete 10+ times a year and doing big tournaments like Worlds, Euros, and Pans, etc. (one of them won blue belt Euros this year and the other got bronze at Worlds in 2019 as a purple belt). Outside of them, there are a few now-purple belts (me included) who like to compete between 3-6x a year depending on work scheduling, etc.
I would say that kinda underscores the fact that most people train more for fun/fitness than to "be the best".
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SJBlack belt 1st degreeVerified
6 year(s) ago
Can Sönmez from the UK. You could also go off Smoothcomp. If I look at my club's page ( https://smoothcomp.com/en[...]14/members ), it's currently 26 people on there with profiles, about 6 of whom either stopped training, or just don't train with us these days. Total membership is around 80 (we'll see what it is after lockdown is over), so 20 out of 80 people is 25%
Based in the UK, important distinction! Not from the UK, zero UK blood in my body and wasn't born there either. :P
