As of August 17th and until further notice, classes will be 55 minutes long (with the exception of tiny tigers which will remain 45 minutes). This is a great step in getting closer to our regular one hour sessions. We ask that parents and students assist by quickly exiting the mats after classes to facilitate our cleanings between classes.

Class Ages have been restructured as follows:

Tiny Tigers: Ages 3 – 5

Kids Group 1:  Ages 10-13

Kids Group 2: Ages 6-9

Teens: Ages 14-17

All tiny tigers will need to be accompanied by a parent or sibling. We’ve found this greatly helps their focus and enjoyment of the classes.

Our next age group will be ages 6-9 and those classes will still occur at 5pm on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

Ages 10-13 will occur Tuesday, Thursday and Friday starting at 4pm.

Finally, our teens class will be ages 14-17. Teen classes will resume Monday and Wednesdays at 5pm when members are old enough to age into that program.

Beginning the week of August 17, we will allow students the option of joining a pod. A pod will consist of up to four students and students will be able to practice, drill, and roll with one another in these groups. We will of course make recommendations for you and your pod to ensure that training across belt levels and experience levels best benefits everyone in the pod.

This goes for both adult* and children’s classes.

We know this might not be for everyone so here are some great things to remember:

You DO NOT have to join a pod. Students may still continue to train one on one with a specific partner, solo, or remotely via virtual classes. We are simply and safely instituting another method of training to help students safely continue to improve their skills in the current conditions:

That being said there are some tradeoffs that come with the pods. You will still be required to wear masks and social distance from other pods in your pod.

There will be no switching out. You are married to your pod. Pod members will be subject to temperature checks before each class.

If someone in your pod becomes ill, your entire pod will need to abstain from classes for the next two weeks.

That being said, we encourage members to discuss it over with other potential pod members to make sure that you are all on the same page as far as responsible practices on and off the mats.

Again, we support whichever of the above training options meet your needs best at this time. If there are open spaces and you continue to choose to drill solo or with someone from home, you will still have the option to join a pod later if there are openings.

All students to have a Gi. We are a Gi school and although we show no-gi variations to moves, the Gi is a part of the culture and training style of our school. Students who do not have a Gi at this time will be given a grace period to obtain one. Gis can be obtained through the school or you may purchase one on your own.  Please ask for recommendations if you will be purchasing your own to ensure you are getting a gi made specifically for BJJ as they are different from other marital art uniforms.

Our first change is to ensure healthy and safe rolling for all adults and to ensure that everyone has a minimal skillset to engage in productive rolling. The safest and easiest way to do this is to limit rolling to ranks of Green Belt and above. White belts may continue to drill and work on moves with a partner or in a pod, but will not be permitted to roll until they have achieved their green belt.

Training for Blue Belts and up will become available again in the form of an advanced class again when those classes return later in the phases.

There will be no guest grappling permitted.

Drop in guests will need to be of a green belt or higher to attend class.

Drilling and Grappling Classes will return the week of 8/21 on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-8pm. You will be permitted to drill and grapple within your pod and your pod only subject to the rules outlined above. For new students, drilling specifically means working on the drills or moves from class. Grappling is free form rolling with submissions and not permitted until Green Belt Ranks.

Adults

In House Testing for adults is now available. This means we will be working diligently with the intent to promote so students should work time into their training to focus on drills and know the requirements needed to set goals for their next belt promotion. We want your BJJ game to improve and for you to grow and get deeper into your sport and you should want that for yourself as well! Belt Testing for adults follows the Team Rhino curriculum for fees, requirements, and hours for belt promotion.

Kids:

Children will still be required to have a minimum of 18 hours of instruction since the previous belt testing period.  This is not cumulative over multiple testing sessions.  Meaning, if the previous testing session was 1/1 and it is now 4/1, the 18 hours must be in between that period.  In addition, the student will need to be able to successfully demonstrate 3 moves of their choosing from the curriculum to pass.  For each belt level, an additional 3 moves will be required of the student.  For example:

1st  Belt Promotion:  3 moves

2nd Belt Promotion: 6 moves

3rd Promotion: 9 moves

4th Promotion: 12 moves

There are 72 moves total in the children’s curriculum so this will provide plenty of options for the student to demonstrate based on their age and competency level.  Moves from previous belting session may be repeated for future tests.

After a lot of thought and review we have decided to phase out punch cards. Punch cards will be available for purchase through Sept 1st . Punch card holders should utilize any remaining punches before 10/31/2020.

For our Women’s Class, the rate will be $35 a month for those wishing to attend ONLY the women’s class. For women wishing to take advantage of regular adult classes or open mat times when they resume the standard monthly fee of $70 will apply.

For those who are not able to utilize a monthly membership a $10 drop in option will be available. Drop in members will not have access to the membership portal and it’s benefits.

As we reviewed membership and what we want to offer members now and going forward as the school continues to grow, it became apparent that the easiest way to do this would be to have members on a monthly membership.

This change also comes with some great benefits that we are adding to the program to make sure that everyone is getting the most out of their dues.

We want to see students, both children and adults, progress in their BJJ journey. Members will have access to our new online membership portal with member progress tracking, feedback from your instructor, and new school check-in system. This system will allow you to see your or your student’s attended classes, current hours of training, and any progress notes or recommendations from your instructor.

Once implemented, Students will check in at school with a membership code that is provided to them for ease of digitally logging in at the front desk upon arrival.

It will also allow effortless payments of your membership and ease of seeing when your renewal dates are.

A one time, new member fee, in the amount of $49 will be charged to new members who join after 11/1. Current members will be grandfathered in and not be charged. Students who have been inactive for a period of more than one year will be assessed the fee upon rejoining. This membership fee covers insurance and administration fees for the online membership software.

GFBJJ will now offer four free seminars to current, paid monthly members to cover special techniques and drills not covered in the course of our usual curriculum. These free seminars will be put on and instructed by the school.

Any additional seminars taught by traveling instructors brought in by the school do not fall under this category and will still require a fee and registration.