I was pretty nervous about starting jiu jitsu, as a middle-aged, overweight guy who had never been athletic. My experience at Gracie Cincinnati Jiu Jitsu was nothing short of life transforming. It’s a place where everyone feels welcome, regardless of age or ability. Even as a white belt right off the street you get a chance to train with guys of upper level belts, and they don’t just toss you around to make themselves look good–they love their sport and want you to have a good experience of it and love it too. The health benefits are amazing. Within a year I had lost 42 pounds and no longer felt I needed anti-depressant medication.

It seemed to me like you have to work a long time to earn belts. That might sound like a bad thing, but actually what it means is that when you earn one of their belts it REALY means something. In fact, I came in one day and found the senior instructor actually custom sewing blue belts for his students. After one year of instruction I didn’t earn a stripe or advance to blue belt…but outside the club I ran into a guy once who claimed to have a blackbelt in jiu jitsu. We rolled…I quickly submitted him with an Americana. I attended competitions and watched our guys take home medals. A couple of the guys were successful in actual MMA fights. Seeing their success in competition, and my progress, made me feel that the money I spent genuinely was getting the best quality jiu jitsu instruction available anywhere around.

By far the best part of the experience was the camaraderie and growing friendship with students and instructors. They have a really diverse group of people, men and women, different races, economic levels, worldviews. Everyone treats one another with respect, finds common ground in their sport, and keeps conflict to a minimum.

I had only one negative experience. Another white-belt, an older man with a background in wrestling in high school, was really impatient with my mistakes when we were training. I told the instructor later that I didn’t feel comfortable training with that guy, so they just never paired me with him again.

What made me leave the school was simply a lack of time. With three small kids at home and working two jobs, something had to give. Now we’ve moved to another state. I stay in touch with some of the guys through Facebook. It sounds really cheesy, but I will look back to the year I spent at this club as one of the best of my life. So I’d say, don’t think you’re too old or too fat or would embarrass yourself or anything like that. Just try it. It’s money very well spent.