Just busted my cherry on BJJ Monday. I rolled with someone almost as equally inexperienced as myself (maybe 4 classes in ahead of me) and wasn't going into this blind so no real surprises. Ran some confusing ass strength training exercises where I flailed on the mat for the classes entertainment as a warmup, then drilled full guard into Triangle for about 40 minutes. I have rolled here and there at the gym before, but never officially took a class until this week.
I'm probably going to take BJJ classes twice a week now for the forceable future. I've been focusing on, kickboxing at a local MMA gym (Tiger Shulmann's MMA) since last June, but need to work on BJJ to move up so trying two BJJ classes a week for now until they start making me pay (I'm only shelling out for 3 classes a week, not 5 currently). My gym isn't an official BJJ gym, but offers beginner/intermediate/expert classes for both striking, and BJJ (no gi). We're pretty well known in MMA, but not really known for our grappling. Our gym has always been MMA focused, and incorporated BJJ into it's program in the late 90's when the UFC made it clear you at least need to be able to defend large joints/chokes.
If I get into it enough which is a distinct possibility, I'm considering taking classes at a Renzo Gracie academy close by. Don't know anyone going there myself currently but it seems legit. For now just trying to get slightly familiar with the basics at my gym. Our beginners BJJ classes are just focused on running drills for the basics, and from what I understand that's a good thing for beginners. By the time I start actually rolling it might be better to just focus on kickboxing at my gym, and try to earn strips/belts in an official BJJ school.
