443 - Twenty-seven Red Flags to Avoid When Picking a BJJ Club

Telltale traits of toxic schools by Stephan Kesting, a BJJ black belt for 20 years. Did he miss any red flags? RED FLAGS 01:24 No cross-training 01:41 Separating you from friends and family 02:30 No trial classes 03:35 No talking to current students 03:55 No watching classes 04:14 Instructor's name + SA = positive 05:19 "Master" 06:27 No sparring till blue belt 07:27 No questions in class 09:07 Poor hygiene and dirty mats 10:48 High-pressure sales tactics 12:53 No talking in class 14:27 Gravy Seal bootcamp 15:24 "Every other school sucks" 16:13 Instructor chronically dates students 17:18 Financial-medical-astronomical-astrological advice 17:27 No competition / in-house tournaments only 20:22 Peaked in high school 22:57 Focusing only on top competitors 23:20 Focusing only on hot women 23:45 Focusing only on their phones 24:55 Can't pause your membership 25:41 "We don't tap to THAT here..." 27:26 Mat bullies are tolerated ORANGE FLAGS 29:46 Mandatory and expensive uniforms 30:52 Ranking and promotion fees 32:19 I see dead people (and bow to them) 33:30 Instructor doesn't roll 35:01 No colored belts (or women) 35:21 "Professor" (see video below) RELATED RESOURCES The infamous "Don't Call Me Professor" video - Grapplearts instructionals in streaming and app formats: My best-selling book: Perseverance, Life and Death in the Subarctic: My book co-written with BJJ black belt world champion Brandon Mullins: Nonstop Jiu-Jitsu:

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443 - Twenty-seven Red Flags to Avoid When Picking a BJJ Club is an episode from The Strenuous Life Podcast with Stephan Kesting / Grapplearts Radio by Stephan Kesting.

This episode is 39:02 long.

This episode was published on Feb 24, 2026.

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