I met a 69 year old man at my school the other day. He walked in timidly, but obviously wanting something. He’d had a scary confrontation with someone a week or so ago, and he thought jiu-jitsu might be useful.

He’d done his research and decided jiu-jitsu was what he needed. Before visiting me, he checked out another school. It was a sport school about five minutes away from mine. It’s an affiliate of a big name. I’d been by it before, and we had the same first impression. It was dark, sweaty, and intimidating. He watched the class from outside and was afraid to go in, so he left.

He started his 10-day free trial with me. I don’t know if he’ll enroll as a full member yet, but I’ll be sure that his ten days will be productive.

I thought about what schools want their image to be. We teach jiu-jitsu to everyone, but I know we’re not the right school for a certain demographic. That’d be the 18-30 year old, athletic male, interested in competing in MMA or sport BJJ. I look at my student list, and I have kids, aged 6-11, a couple of teens, one mid-20s guy, and everyone else is 30 and up. Less than five have expressed interest in competing in a BJJ tournament.

When you think about your school, what’s the student body look like? Is it a school for everyone?

Is it a school for you? Do you see yourself training there forever?