First off, yes this review is left anonymously because I want to protect my family identity. I am a former parent who use to send my son and daughter to Pablo Silva Jiu Jitsu. I debated whether or not to write this review but if it can help at least one parent from wasting their time and money then it’s worth my time and effort.
I will point out both the pros and cons of the gym for parents to make an informed decision before signing the required 12-month contract to send your children here.
PROS:
-Clean and bright studio: the studio has a modern, bright and clean feel to it. It is very “Instagrammable” which is great for their marketing and advertising and can attract many unknowing parents and students.
-Coach Pablo: he is a very passionate teacher and lives and breath jiu jitsu competitions. I do believe he wants the best for each students despite all the gym issues and shortcomings.
-Culture for competition: this studio is great for students who are already competing in jitsu competitions. It is the culture and identity of the gym and they do win a good amount of competition.
-Obstacle course and work out gym: they have an obstacle course for the little kids (3-5 year old) class and work out gym for older competing students to help build strength which can translate to winning jiu jitsu competition .
CONS:
-FAVORITISM: the coaches favor competing students who will receive extra attention during class time. If your child is already competing in jiu jitsu tournaments then this gym is the perfect fit because they do win many competitions and your child will feel supported by the coaches.
-OVERCROWDED/TOO MANY STUDENTS PER CLASS: The gym is very crowded and has too many students. Beginners or non-competing students often times do not receive enough attention from the coaches to learn and fix their jiu jitsu techniques. Another issue of over crowded class size is students have to sit and wait their turn for their turn on the mat. There’s a lot of sitting and waiting time versus being actively on the mat, learning and sparing with other students because the mat can only accommodate a certain amount of students at a time.
-NOT ENOUGH COACHES: often times there are not enough coaches per class to logistically catch and correct the students mistakes. This is especially problematic for new and beginner students who need more attention to learn jiu jitsu properly. The majority of the non-competing students look super lost and confuse on the mat. Large classroom coupled with not enough coaches and coaches favoring competing and more seasoned students is a lose-lose-lose situation for new and non-competing students.
-REQUIRES A 12 MONTH CONTRACT: You are locked into a 12-month contract once you sign up. This is a bit predatory because it can take a few months to assess if this gym is a good fit for your child and if it’s not, you’re locked into a 12 month contract. A fair middle ground is a 6 months contract considering the gym fail many times to ensure each student is receiving quality jiu jitsu instructions and corrections due to its large crowd size , favoritism of the coaches for more experienced students who are doing jiu jitsu competitions and not enough coaches to instruct and correct the beginner and non-competing students properly.
I encourage every parent to sit in class and observe regularly if their child is receiving adequate time and attention at this jiu jitsu gym and to think critically if you’re receiving the proper return on your investment for your time, energy and hard-earned money. Speak up, advocate for yourself and your children and hold the gym and coaches accountable for any shortcomings you perceive. Do not let them gaslight you or intimidate you. Listen to your gut, intuition and trust your eyes and observations if you see the coaches and gym is not the right fit for your family.
Posted 9 months ago