Frequently Asked Questions

If you’re comparing jiu-jitsu to other martial arts, then you should start with this question (click to read FAQ)

But if you’ve decided that jiu-jitsu is the style for you .. and you’re now looking for a jiu-jitsu school, what do you do if there are several close by and you’re wondering which one? What’s the difference?

Well, if you haven’t read the answer to the question “Is jiu-jitsu effective in a real world situation?” then that would be the next article to read, as some schools focus more on sport, and others on self defence and actual fighting.

Finally, if those articles don’t help, then chances are it comes down to an academy like ours, SCJJA, or one of the Gracie schools.

So what’s the difference between SCJJA and the Gracie Schools in our area?

Well … it’s kinda like McDonald’s and Burger King, or Coke and Pepsi. We’re essentially teaching the same thing, but just with some slight tweaks. And which one is preferable is no doubt an individual choice.

To begin with, you have to understand just how big the Gracie Family is. The main characters to learn are Carlos Senior, and Helio, who between them had over 30 children!

Carlos’ oldest son was Carlson. Carlson was the family champion for a while (until like all of us father time defeated him). He is credited with grading over 100 black belts, one of whom is Andre Pederneiras . Dede, as he is known, is the man who graded me to black belt.

Carlos had another son he named Carlos Junior. And Carlinhos (portuguese for Carlos Junior) created the Gracie Barra academy, and franchises.

Over on the Helio side, one of his sons is Royler Gracie. Royler is essentially the head of what was known as Gracie Humaita, who now legally own the name “Gracie Jiu-Jitsu”.

Confused? Well, there are plenty of YouTube videos and other articles to explain this in more detail. But at least from this summary, you can get a feel for how we came to be.

So … moving on … what the differences in our clubs/teams today?

The first one is that we are not a franchise.
Nobody tells me how to run my club. I can choose my team colours, club name etc …
The Gracie schools on the other hand are franchises. Everything from their club name, to their uniforms is standardised worldwide.

I’m not saying this is good or bad, it depends on your perspective.

From this then flows into the culture of the gym. I strive to make my club the same as Dede's was when I was training there from the 1990s through to 2009:

• We do not bow, for us a simple hand shake is our form of respect.
• I am ok with you wearing any colour or brand of gi that you wish. The Gracie clubs (as far as I am aware) force you to buy their uniforms.
• I do not force you to call me Professor (teacher) or Master. I am ok with you calling me Rodney or Hodge (nickname), just as I refer to Andre as Dede.
• No belt testing, nor grading fees. For a grading I’ll just walk over in the middle of class and change your belt .. the same way I got mine.

And finally, this is probably the biggest one for someone who is tentative at starting...
And I’m not 100% sure what the Gracie Schools’ policies are, because they’re not transparent … but we do not have 2 year contracts.
All our prices are publicly visible all of the time.
Plus, as you train longer with us, the cheaper your fees get! There are no black belt clubs, nor special seminar weekends or any of that. After 12 months of continual membership and you’re paying a max of $150 per month!

And that includes the weights room and other benefits.

If you have any more questions on what makes us unqiue, please shoot us a message from the Contact Us page.