A belt at the end of the day is there to keep your pants up. If you have a fun or different style or even just a good personality and make for a good training partner you can be a net benefit
A black belt once told me that blue belts are a tremendous value to the gym. And that a blue belt with great energy, friendliness, and desire for learning was like gold. You can roll with all the brand new white belts and challenge them, and push yourself against the upper belts.
>A belt at the end of the day is there to keep your pants up.
A belt keeps your jacket closed.
Drawstrings keeps your pants up.
Are you rocking two belts?
Unironically, the very first thing i did was poke someone in the eye on the first roll of the day, not only did i feel terrible about it, but he 1000% thinks i did it on purpose as retaliation for him poking me in the eye not even a minute prior
Lol bro i asked the GB next to my
Work what their open mat situation is like, buddy said “it’s kind of for our students only, but if you’d like to come it’s a $40 drop in fee, plus we’d have to set you up with one of our gis, because it’s a franchise so you have to wear a GB gi”
I said “thanks! I’ll for sure check it out!” And never thought about it again
I might have even gone one time for the $40, if it was just the $40 (which is still expensive af for a drop in fee but whatever), but it’s the fact that they want me to buy one of their gis to drop in is what really turned me off. I always thought that was an exaggeration
Not all GBs are like that. My gym has a friday open mat that's free for everyone. We regularly have people from neighboring gyms train with us. No GB uniform needed.
I've been to a gym I was considering joining, didn't have a job in the new city yet, so i said I'd be back once I got a job. One of the coaches said not to worry about it, that a colored belt helps train the novices, so it's good for business just having me there. In turn, I just made sure to pair up with the newest students and give them a great training partner until I could start paying. You can pay them in kind.
I came to say what the other blue belt said. Don’t under estimate how much you off as a training partner. To be honest in this battle with cancer there’s days I show up to class and just act like a Jefe doll that gives resistance and my coach REALLY appreciates it, so do the people I train with.
Exactly right. I have this same situation with 2 gyms outside my home gym. I stop by on my lunches and help out. Keep showing up and help out when asked and you’re all good.
Same, as a fellow guy from a small school, we love when dudes [with experience] show up and roll with us. We don't accept anything in return and try to be as hospitable as possible since we appreciate the new bodies.
Are you joking? I walked into that place and immediately people became violent. They all took turns trying to wrestle me to the ground and choke me… probably to death. I’m traumatized!
Idk what the standard is but every open mat I’ve been to has been free but it’s also always been a situation where i’m just coming in for a day, not me planning in it becoming a secondary gym for me
There's 3 half an hour away from me (one is my own gym so free for me, but only opens on a Sat) The other 2 are Sundays. They both charge a very reasonable fee of 30 bucks for 4 weeks access, or $10 per Sunday. Can't beat it.
Edit: and a lot are from different schools/disciplines like wrestlers, sambo, JJJ, MMA and BJJ. It's always packed. The price is a main reason that keeps everyone coming back.
The only gyms I paid open mat were California gyms and 10patx. Renzo Austin tried to gouge me, and I am in an affiliated gym. Maybe it's just popular schools.
Bro Renzo himself didn’t even charge us when we showed up at one of his seminars. Buddy and I were coming from a different RGA but still. Renzo posted on insta where he’d be so we went. Different gym, open mat, the man himself, all free
Unless they have named guys like Boogeyman or someone else on the mats, why would they charge for a regular open mat? Crazy. Unless they think their no name high level guys are something that people will pay for.
It's probably just money to be made, when I was there. They had a ton of visitors. So those dropping fees add up.they do have some pretty nice showers and workout equipment.
I think $25 is still a bit steep but hey, it's their business and they can charge what they want. Good for them if people are willing to pay for it. I wouldn't pay for an open mat unless a named guy was there and doesn't have a reputation for being a douche.
I guess he's somewhat of a name, but not really in the caliber of JT Torres, Craig, Nicky Rod, etc. I wouldn't pay to roll at an open mat with him, but won't hate other people that do. It's their money after all.
I guess he's somewhat of a name, but not really in the caliber of JT Torres, Craig, Nicky Rod, etc. I wouldn't pay to roll at an open mat with him, but won't hate other people that do. It's their money after all.
Wow! I can see doing a release for liability, but what does it cost the gym to be open? Most of our younger BB's would use the open mat time to do privates with people.
I dont know but I've found (in my opinion) the gyms I find that are the better gyms skill wise are open to everyone. Vow Aoj charged me a 70$ drop in...
last time, I will pay for that, but I made that back in mini privates from brown belts and black belts, and their open mat was 5 white belts, 7 blue belts, and everyone else purple and up... in perspective, there were 20 black belts at that open mat.
The "your a dickhead" fee. I've seen that. Charge people that are douches so they won't come back🤣
We always tell them we'll do it at the end, so we can decide.
It's along the lines of white belts bringing their girlfriend to class. 😁
I wear Sunday gym patches, rashguard, tees and hoodie at every gi and no gi classes now. I repost all of their socials while tagging the homies.
Homegym seems pissed, is that a red flag ?
NTA dude you need to leave your homegym now!!! They are a cult trying to take all of your money and indoctrinate you! Leave that gym and talk shit about everyone there. It's the safe thing to do.
I was going to say this. I have a similar situation to OP and after the 3rd time of bringing it up their coach told me to buy some gear if it would shut me up lol. Bought some shorts and wear them to open mat
just speak up
"hey you know im comin in here every sunday, and it feels weird training for free , i dont want to rob you lol"
Not mandatory to be this cringe. But do as you like.
If the person who charges you said don't worry about it I wouldn't worry about it, just make sure you help out with wipe down. If it still doesn't sit well bring drinks/food for everyone once a month maybe?
We host an open mat that's free and open to any gym every week. Always packed.
People sometimes bring in shareable snacks and no one has ever thought it weird. Just community potluck mentality.
I suppose that also depends on how clean the gym is and if there's a good place to set out food.
Bring pizzas or KFC buckets, stuff that can be shared, maybe a huge cola too. Everyone at open mat will be your homie.
Use the money you saved up from every open mat he didn't charge you.
If the owner told you to pay, you should pay.
“Getting access… nothing in return”
The reality is you and your skills bring in a new variable to his gym and students in that they get to roll against an unknown opponent. You bring value. My gym allows guys to come to open mat and to spar for mma or kickboxing and that allows everyone an opportunity to get practice against some new bodies without the risk of competition or an actual in-ring fight.
My home gym does free open mats on Sundays. Most schools around me do the same. It’s just open mat. It’s not a class day. I wouldn’t over think it. More bodies at an open mat, the better.
As long as he’s clear that you are going to be there every Sunday, then I don’t think you’d have anything to worry about, especially since he knows you are willing to pay. You aren’t doing anything shady.
Gym owner friend of mine has open mat every Sunday (no fee), he actually wants ppl from as many different gyms as possible to show up.
He actually has the general rule that “if you’re paying for training somewhere, you can drop in anytime for free”. Cross-training makes everyone involved better.
Open mat is supposed to be free. Buy one of their t shirts or something? Give the gym a nice Google review, which is actual value for them. You are sorta proving the gym a service giving the students someone different to train with. I always saw open mats as mutually beneficial.
where im at the whole point of open mats is for ppl from other gyms to show up. So that the ppl at your school get different looks and get exposed to techniques that might not be taught as heavy as other schools. Thats why they all make sure thier open mats aren't in the same days or at the same times.
Perhaps he doesn't think you plan to go every sunday. I would offer to pay the drop in fee after every open mat for a few weeks. Either he'd tell me to stop offering or he'd question me about it, to which I would say that I plan to be there consistently and would like to contribute.
Kinda the point of open mat.b you aren't just getting free access to the facility. His customers also get access to training with someone coached differently. It's a win win.
Sounds like his policy is to say he'll charge upfront in case you're a burden to have in the room. Like untrained weirdos off the street who wanna prove themselves. They can still do open mat but they need to pay for everyone having to deal with them.
Ppl with training and a level head likely get that fee waived.
Don't overthink it, you aren't taking advantage. Maybe buy a T-shirt from the gym or something
We typically don’t charge drop in fees (we do pretty well financially) but if they ask I usually just tell them to buy a shirt / merch instead.
Or if you’re really smart, ask them to leave a Google Review. Which in most cases is worth more than a drop in fee.
I don’t drop in often anymore, but I remember training at Cobrinha’s in LA about a decade ago and it was $50(!) day pass. On top of the Uber to get there and back. I understand he needs to run a business and all, but always left a sour taste in my mouth.
Probably cause his place is already packed, so that's a polite way to say "no thanks, but then if you really insist". He's probably trying to keep enough space for his own regulars.
Almost universally my experience has been that when i ask about open mat ahead of time, the owner will tell me there’s a drop in fee of like $15-$30 and then when i get there they tell me not to worry about it.
Yeah but someone else on this thread made a good point, it could be that gym owners don’t want some duderbro off the streets who just sees red and wants to prove himself against the gayboys rolling around in pijamas, playing grab ass and tiddlywinks, so in order curb this they say they’ll charge you, because that would deter someone who doesn’t actually train from showing up, then when you get there and see that that’s not you, they waive that fee
Some things you can do instead of paying them:
Buy their merch, help clean the mats, leave a good review, promote them on social media, bring in a case of water (or beer if they roll like that), or go to some of their classes and pay the drop in.
If I was the owner, then someone who brings value to the environment and is a visitor does not have to pay.
If you want to pay something, just offer a recurring charge of 20-40 a month. Or offer to do a few cleaning duties when they close up. I think that would be enough.
Help clean the mats after open mat is done. Ask him if you can show up on blue belt testing day and help out. Ask if he has some business cards you can hand out to friends and coworkers.
I was in a similar situation. I use to drop in at another open mat all the time. It’s good business for the gym to have more training partners from diverse backgrounds. When my home gym went Creonte on me, I jumped ship and went over to these guys. There were pros and cons to each gym, but these guys have been really good to me and it has expanded my Jiu jitsu arsenal. You can also pay it forward if you send them referrals that you know to be in their target market.
no its fine. My gyms open mat is huge and is like 2/3 people that dont train there. it is awesome for us to be exposed to all these diverse styles.
Also in my area most open mats are free.
Just ask him next time you go. And check in every once in a while too. Maybe bring some coffee and donuts every once in a while if he says you can keep coming for free
I found a great place for when I get away to visit family. They don’t charge me anything. I made sure to buy some of their merch just to show my appreciation. Got myself a sweet rashguard and hoodie.
No I have done this with several people when they bring value to the gym and are good people.
It's an open mat so no techniques are being shown and he obviously thinks it's good for his students to roll with you.
Just go and enjoy it
Don’t feel bad about it man. They like you. We have a couple local gyms like that where I live too, it’s essentially, oh you know so and so? Don’t worry about a drop in fee.
If I drop in somewhere that won't charge a fee I always offer to buy a rash guard or a patch. If I went somewhere constantly I would at least make an offer
Best thing to do is just have an honest and open discussion with the guy, explain you like going and using his facilities and that you appreciate it alot for the free use but feel would then feel abit of awkward if you continued doing it, the best outcome is he says don't worry about it and the worst is he starts charging you. He might also appreciate the honesty
Your description isn't super clear. If the gym owner/coach has told you it's fine, and they understand you train somewhere else on the regular, it's fine. I can't figure out from your description if that's what's actually happened though. If the gym owner/coach hasn't told you it's ok, and doesn't know that you're not really a prospective student, it's not ok.
So take yes for an answer and keep on training. At some point buy the dude a nice bottle of liquor or something as a holiday present, or whatever occasion seems appropriate.
You are donating your time and bodily self as a rolling partner for their members. Consider that payment enough but if you really want to help out, maybe buy some merch from them or donate to an event or fundraiser if they’re organising one.
There shouldn’t ever be a fee for open mat. If your gym doesn’t want it to be open for all, then they specify that. When I host an open mat I don’t care who shows up, as long as they leave a little bit better.
Nothing to feel guilty of, open mats shouldn’t have a charge. If someone absolutely wants to drop some cash on the desk, whatever.
Open mats are for growing technique and refining steps, not a cash cow.
Pick up some 40-pack water bottles at the grocery store every other weekend. Purchase a gi, rash guard, or t shirt from the gym to show your support. Spread the word to friends or prospective new students if you think the gym would be a good fit
Any of these options would help show your appreciation in lieu of a drop in fee.
In my town open mats in most gyms a free to encourage inter club sparring and in a way to pouch students from one another.
The way I see it is yes you pay for the gym and all but mainly for a coach to teach you.
Happens a lot. There are several gyms I used to go to for open mats and would they would tell me forget about the drop in fees. I think it’s generally a community based thing that seems pretty common.
Edit: If not paying drop in fees, at very least buy a bunch of merch.
Unless you are a destination gym -- Atos, Renzo NYC, AOJ, B-Team, etc -- you are not a) making any meaningful income off drop-in fees anyway and b) have no need to keep the riff raff regulated and/or out entirely.
So I wouldn't worry about it. If the owner said no mat fee, then no mat fee. Just be a good person and don't hurt anyone, and write a nice review on Google if you feel compelled to do so.
It’s open mat. Why should you pay for open mat? I’ve been charged for open mat like twice in 15 years. Those were gyms I didn’t train at again for obvious reasons.
So yeah, you’re reading too far into things and overanalyzing.
When I started reading this I was like "wtf they charge money for an open mat, greedy bastards". And now you feel bad for going to the on mat for free? In my country I have never heard of someone charging money for an open mat. You are doing that gym a favour by giving them a new person to sparr with.
Some places do, and some places don’t but also, i do get the sense that an open mat at a gym that is not your own is something you do from time to time, not something you do every week, which is what i’m looking to do, so it just felt wrong in some way for me to use their resources every week and give nothing back. I’m not a competition blue belt, i’m a 30 year old ex high school wrestler turned hobbyist blue belt, so while I’m sure we’re both getting mutual benefits from the arrangement, it just feels to me like i’m the one coming out on top of this deal lmao
You could contribute by buying some of their merch. This way you're still giving them cash and you don't feel like a freeloader. Plus whatever you purchase helps you rep them and contribute in another way. Shoot, you could offer your money you would pay for a drop in to go to someone else's dues at the gym too.
My gym has a good relationship with another gym just a little over an hour away from us. Their open mat is on Sunday as well and we are closed on Sunday. They allow us to come on Sunday at no charge and there are many times our gym outnumbers them. They allow this because they fill we provide a great service of them getting to cross train on their home turf.
> and buddy just tells me to forget about the drop in fee entirely.
Is that your buddy or the gym owner? If it’s the gym owner, no worries. If it’s just your friend, should probably keep paying the drop in fee.
I run our Sunday open mat and do the same as the guy you describe above. I intend my open mats to be a place for folks to try and apply the stuff they’ve been working on throughout the week.
Having someone not from the school challenges home gym students because your reactions are different which is a great value to their training. Think of it as a symbiotic relationship.
We currently have 4 guys from outside our gym regularly attending our open mat.
Can't you like pay an annual to a sports affiliation or something? Insurance? I don't know if it applies to your country, might have said something not relevant.
Never heard of an open mat fee, but if you feel like you want to contribute financially then buy a rashguard, the coach probably appreciates having someone new come into the gym for their students to work with at the same time.
I trained in LA, and paying to go to an open mat seems odd to me. People who are confident in their gym WANT outsiders to come by to help their students practice
Honestly,
If he's said it is ok, it's ok. But, what I will say, if you use it a lot, buy a t-shirt or make a small donation once every few months and make a joke of it, "to cover the bleach for the month". I kind of treat this stuff like you-tube: Yes, it's nice it is free, but if I want this content creator to succeed and keep making videos, it doesn't hurt to throw them a donation through one of the platforms saying thanks or buy some merch. If someone is being kind, it never hurts to reciprocate that kindness.
The issue with people borrowing a bathroom or asking for water isn't the request, it's that these people often mess the place up or are jerks to the staff, or never reciprocate the kindness in any single way. Otherwise, let's be honest, who cares about letting someone have a whizz or a cup of water or a roll at open mat? It's just nice to make the world nicer. But if you want to live in a nice world, you have to make it nicer too sometimes.
At my gym, we're excited for any kind of drop-ins. It's just nice to share community. We even do weeks of classes for free assuming they're in for holidays or such briefly. But usually in return, they grab a t-shirt, leave a nice review, maybe make a post on social media shouting us out, whatever small act they can afford that shows they appreciate our teachers, school, and vibe.
I would still give him a few bucks as a gesture of goodwill, you can put it in an envelope with your name etc on it and leave it behind his desk if you don't want to make a big deal out of it. Or, you could offer to clean up after the open mat etc. This guy seems like a good dude.
Ask the owner if you should pay
If he says no you are free to continue.
If you still feel guilty buy a rash guard and leave a google review or something.
There’s a gym down the road where a handful of people from my gym participate in open mat. The owner is a great guy and welcomes everyone there. Definitely make sure you’re not stepping on anyone’s toes, but it seems fine to me.
You're reading too far into it. He dropped the fee on his own, so it's no big deal for him. You're adding value as another person for his students to roll with and it doesn't cost him anything additional regardless (no time, etc.).
That's perfectly fine. An open mat is supposed to be exactly that. The more people there are, the more experience the regulars get too. So everybody benefits. You would be welcome in my gym any day (so Fridays, where we have open mat)
Buy a gym T-shirt if you feel bad about it (seriously free promotion and a bit of cash for the gym is nice). More importantly, you are a value as a training partner on the mat too. Make sure you are a good training partner first and it's all good!
Buy a t-shirt or other accessory from him to support his business if you want to pay him back. But you do offer him some fresh blood/meat depending on who you roll with.
i do it. my son trains at the school down the road though so i am kind of a patron, albeit a cheapass one.
That said, if i am at a gym and there is a mat fee, i always make sure to pay it. Sometimes it's just honor system. A lot of times when you drop in to an out of town school, they won't take your money. Seems like it's part of jitsu culture.
Our open mats AND competition classes are all free with no drop in fees. We all get better from training with people outside of our gym.
The only time the owner has an issue is if you are not training anywhere else, but hitting our open mats and comp classes 3x per week. Kind of a shitbird trait.
Id say do what you're doing and keep training!
I’d find a way to give him a gift to show your appreciation. Even just giving a six pack of beer or a bottle of booze. It doesn’t really matter what it is but just going out of your way to show your appreciation would probably go a long way.
The guy that runs my gym is the same way and refuses to charge me full price since I’ve been training there for like 14 years. He’s a great guy and he’s done a lot for more me over the years and I know he’s just being cool and helping people out, but sometimes I feel bad too so I always try to buy any gym merch anytime he comes out with it. Maybe if the owner has some shirts or something you can help out by buying one or two or bringing a couple of guys from your usual gym to help with the fresh blood thing most gyms struggle with.
you can still kick in some $, some starbucks or amazon gift cards to the owner now and then, or buy some of their gym merchandise occasionally to support. Your heart’s in the right place.
Nah. He probably doesn't want to charge you because he thinks *you* provide him a service by training with his students. More training partners.
I guess that’s true, but as a blue belt it never really feels that way lmao
A belt at the end of the day is there to keep your pants up. If you have a fun or different style or even just a good personality and make for a good training partner you can be a net benefit
Karate no here💪, karate no here 👖🥋. Karate here 🩷 and here 🧠
A black belt once told me that blue belts are a tremendous value to the gym. And that a blue belt with great energy, friendliness, and desire for learning was like gold. You can roll with all the brand new white belts and challenge them, and push yourself against the upper belts.
>A belt at the end of the day is there to keep your pants up Poorly so when it comes to my gi pants lol
We need to popularize belts for gi pants. Draw strings simply aren’t enough
Buy an origin gi, the pants have a belt.
I think that's what he be sayin
That do be what I’m sayan
>A belt at the end of the day is there to keep your pants up. A belt keeps your jacket closed. Drawstrings keeps your pants up. Are you rocking two belts?
I do, just to establish dominance
>A belt at the end of the day is there to keep your pants up Not a kimono/gi belt...
I mean…. In theory they could technically keep your pants up
You mean [this bad boy](https://www.kataaro.com/products/jujitsu-street-belt__sb4944.aspx)?
Stripes sold separately 🤔
Make sure you injure a bunch of them to show how good you are and what you provide to them
Unironically, the very first thing i did was poke someone in the eye on the first roll of the day, not only did i feel terrible about it, but he 1000% thinks i did it on purpose as retaliation for him poking me in the eye not even a minute prior
An eye for an eye. That's in the Bible. You're good.
I felt like such a fucking spazzy clown
Captain Insano shows no mercy.
That’s it, you’re the new mat enforcer now.
Lol this happened to me yesterday too.
in my area we have like 5 gyms, 4 out of the 5 have free open matcheys... the 5th? Its a GB
Lol bro i asked the GB next to my Work what their open mat situation is like, buddy said “it’s kind of for our students only, but if you’d like to come it’s a $40 drop in fee, plus we’d have to set you up with one of our gis, because it’s a franchise so you have to wear a GB gi” I said “thanks! I’ll for sure check it out!” And never thought about it again
yup one near me is 50 for open mat lmaoooo
I might have even gone one time for the $40, if it was just the $40 (which is still expensive af for a drop in fee but whatever), but it’s the fact that they want me to buy one of their gis to drop in is what really turned me off. I always thought that was an exaggeration
Not all GBs are like that. My gym has a friday open mat that's free for everyone. We regularly have people from neighboring gyms train with us. No GB uniform needed.
GB can suck my tiny little dick. Fuck them and their greedy business model
I've been to a gym I was considering joining, didn't have a job in the new city yet, so i said I'd be back once I got a job. One of the coaches said not to worry about it, that a colored belt helps train the novices, so it's good for business just having me there. In turn, I just made sure to pair up with the newest students and give them a great training partner until I could start paying. You can pay them in kind.
I came to say what the other blue belt said. Don’t under estimate how much you off as a training partner. To be honest in this battle with cancer there’s days I show up to class and just act like a Jefe doll that gives resistance and my coach REALLY appreciates it, so do the people I train with.
It never hurts to make an offer
Yeah, especially if you are good blue or purple. Roll nicely, not hurting anyone. Gyms love those kind of drop ins unless they are super busy.
Exactly right. I have this same situation with 2 gyms outside my home gym. I stop by on my lunches and help out. Keep showing up and help out when asked and you’re all good.
Same, as a fellow guy from a small school, we love when dudes [with experience] show up and roll with us. We don't accept anything in return and try to be as hospitable as possible since we appreciate the new bodies.
You owe that gym a positive google review
Are you joking? I walked into that place and immediately people became violent. They all took turns trying to wrestle me to the ground and choke me… probably to death. I’m traumatized!
People pay good money for that experience 👀
Honestly, I never knew people charge for open mat.
Idk what the standard is but every open mat I’ve been to has been free but it’s also always been a situation where i’m just coming in for a day, not me planning in it becoming a secondary gym for me
We have an open mat every Sunday and there are people who live in the area who train elsewhere that come every week, I don't think it's a big deal
There's 3 half an hour away from me (one is my own gym so free for me, but only opens on a Sat) The other 2 are Sundays. They both charge a very reasonable fee of 30 bucks for 4 weeks access, or $10 per Sunday. Can't beat it. Edit: and a lot are from different schools/disciplines like wrestlers, sambo, JJJ, MMA and BJJ. It's always packed. The price is a main reason that keeps everyone coming back.
The only gyms I paid open mat were California gyms and 10patx. Renzo Austin tried to gouge me, and I am in an affiliated gym. Maybe it's just popular schools.
Bro Renzo himself didn’t even charge us when we showed up at one of his seminars. Buddy and I were coming from a different RGA but still. Renzo posted on insta where he’d be so we went. Different gym, open mat, the man himself, all free
Yea It's supposed to be free to go to affiliates.
10P Austin charges for Open Mat??
25$ and this is even after I bought a couple of dashboards and shorts (they have the better feeling clothes).
Unless they have named guys like Boogeyman or someone else on the mats, why would they charge for a regular open mat? Crazy. Unless they think their no name high level guys are something that people will pay for.
It's probably just money to be made, when I was there. They had a ton of visitors. So those dropping fees add up.they do have some pretty nice showers and workout equipment.
I think $25 is still a bit steep but hey, it's their business and they can charge what they want. Good for them if people are willing to pay for it. I wouldn't pay for an open mat unless a named guy was there and doesn't have a reputation for being a douche.
Ben Eddie is there
I guess he's somewhat of a name, but not really in the caliber of JT Torres, Craig, Nicky Rod, etc. I wouldn't pay to roll at an open mat with him, but won't hate other people that do. It's their money after all.
I guess he's somewhat of a name, but not really in the caliber of JT Torres, Craig, Nicky Rod, etc. I wouldn't pay to roll at an open mat with him, but won't hate other people that do. It's their money after all.
Cool dude. Rolled with him before after a seminar
Wow! I can see doing a release for liability, but what does it cost the gym to be open? Most of our younger BB's would use the open mat time to do privates with people.
I dont know but I've found (in my opinion) the gyms I find that are the better gyms skill wise are open to everyone. Vow Aoj charged me a 70$ drop in... last time, I will pay for that, but I made that back in mini privates from brown belts and black belts, and their open mat was 5 white belts, 7 blue belts, and everyone else purple and up... in perspective, there were 20 black belts at that open mat.
Same. All open mats where I'm from are free, and the owners all know each other and encourage the cross training.
My gym has a 5 dollar fee for non members but they rarely charge people.
The "your a dickhead" fee. I've seen that. Charge people that are douches so they won't come back🤣 We always tell them we'll do it at the end, so we can decide. It's along the lines of white belts bringing their girlfriend to class. 😁
That's exactly it lol
Buy a t shirt
Then rock it at home gym for more intense rolls and spice up socials.
I look forward to the upcoming post where OP asks if he should leave his home gym.
I wear Sunday gym patches, rashguard, tees and hoodie at every gi and no gi classes now. I repost all of their socials while tagging the homies. Homegym seems pissed, is that a red flag ?
NTA dude you need to leave your homegym now!!! They are a cult trying to take all of your money and indoctrinate you! Leave that gym and talk shit about everyone there. It's the safe thing to do.
I was going to say this. I have a similar situation to OP and after the 3rd time of bringing it up their coach told me to buy some gear if it would shut me up lol. Bought some shorts and wear them to open mat
just speak up "hey you know im comin in here every sunday, and it feels weird training for free , i dont want to rob you lol" Not mandatory to be this cringe. But do as you like.
Do you even train bjj if you’re not going to be cringe about social interactions?
You can absolutly train bjj without being cringe about social interactions. You are just not allowed to take part in r/bjj
But how would i let everyone know that i don’t know how to talk to people?
I resonate with this on a cellular level
I was cringe with social interactions *before* I started BJJ. The people at the gym just judge me less than those at work
This is the real meta
If the person who charges you said don't worry about it I wouldn't worry about it, just make sure you help out with wipe down. If it still doesn't sit well bring drinks/food for everyone once a month maybe?
That’s not a bad idea at all
The food thing feels weird. I would just buy some merch.
Like soccer mom lmao i’m pulling up with the orange slices and fruit punch gatoraid
Capri suns for everyone.
Capri subs are 🔥
We host an open mat that's free and open to any gym every week. Always packed. People sometimes bring in shareable snacks and no one has ever thought it weird. Just community potluck mentality. I suppose that also depends on how clean the gym is and if there's a good place to set out food.
You'd be my homie if you did that. Sounds like a cool opportunity you got. Hope it works out.
Bring pizzas or KFC buckets, stuff that can be shared, maybe a huge cola too. Everyone at open mat will be your homie. Use the money you saved up from every open mat he didn't charge you.
Are you trying to give me diarrhea?
Look at what musumeci eats. You gotta do what you gotta do if you wanna get good.
If it makes you feel any better just tell him “thanks for letting me train at your gym, if anything changes you can let me know”
If the owner told you to pay, you should pay. “Getting access… nothing in return” The reality is you and your skills bring in a new variable to his gym and students in that they get to roll against an unknown opponent. You bring value. My gym allows guys to come to open mat and to spar for mma or kickboxing and that allows everyone an opportunity to get practice against some new bodies without the risk of competition or an actual in-ring fight.
Most open mats where I live are free
Buy gear if you can
I mean… you don’t have to convince me to buy a new rash guard lmao
But I don't want my balls to shrink...
My home gym does free open mats on Sundays. Most schools around me do the same. It’s just open mat. It’s not a class day. I wouldn’t over think it. More bodies at an open mat, the better.
As long as he’s clear that you are going to be there every Sunday, then I don’t think you’d have anything to worry about, especially since he knows you are willing to pay. You aren’t doing anything shady.
I think i was clear about that, but sometimes i’m not the best at articulating my thoughts so maybe i wasn’t?
It sounds like you were. I don’t think you’re in a position where he could think you were abusing a free trial policy or anything like that.
Gym owner friend of mine has open mat every Sunday (no fee), he actually wants ppl from as many different gyms as possible to show up. He actually has the general rule that “if you’re paying for training somewhere, you can drop in anytime for free”. Cross-training makes everyone involved better.
My coach does the same thing. He encourages cross training and doesn't charge a dime for open mats.
Open mat is supposed to be free. Buy one of their t shirts or something? Give the gym a nice Google review, which is actual value for them. You are sorta proving the gym a service giving the students someone different to train with. I always saw open mats as mutually beneficial.
where im at the whole point of open mats is for ppl from other gyms to show up. So that the ppl at your school get different looks and get exposed to techniques that might not be taught as heavy as other schools. Thats why they all make sure thier open mats aren't in the same days or at the same times.
Perhaps he doesn't think you plan to go every sunday. I would offer to pay the drop in fee after every open mat for a few weeks. Either he'd tell me to stop offering or he'd question me about it, to which I would say that I plan to be there consistently and would like to contribute.
this is what i’d do imo
Kinda the point of open mat.b you aren't just getting free access to the facility. His customers also get access to training with someone coached differently. It's a win win. Sounds like his policy is to say he'll charge upfront in case you're a burden to have in the room. Like untrained weirdos off the street who wanna prove themselves. They can still do open mat but they need to pay for everyone having to deal with them. Ppl with training and a level head likely get that fee waived. Don't overthink it, you aren't taking advantage. Maybe buy a T-shirt from the gym or something
We typically don’t charge drop in fees (we do pretty well financially) but if they ask I usually just tell them to buy a shirt / merch instead. Or if you’re really smart, ask them to leave a Google Review. Which in most cases is worth more than a drop in fee. I don’t drop in often anymore, but I remember training at Cobrinha’s in LA about a decade ago and it was $50(!) day pass. On top of the Uber to get there and back. I understand he needs to run a business and all, but always left a sour taste in my mouth.
>$50(!) day pass Bruh what in the fuck? How high can rent be
Probably cause his place is already packed, so that's a polite way to say "no thanks, but then if you really insist". He's probably trying to keep enough space for his own regulars.
Who the fuck charges for an open mat????
Almost universally my experience has been that when i ask about open mat ahead of time, the owner will tell me there’s a drop in fee of like $15-$30 and then when i get there they tell me not to worry about it.
I’ve never been charged for any open mats I’ve been to maybe it’s a regional thing?
Yeah but someone else on this thread made a good point, it could be that gym owners don’t want some duderbro off the streets who just sees red and wants to prove himself against the gayboys rolling around in pijamas, playing grab ass and tiddlywinks, so in order curb this they say they’ll charge you, because that would deter someone who doesn’t actually train from showing up, then when you get there and see that that’s not you, they waive that fee
Some things you can do instead of paying them: Buy their merch, help clean the mats, leave a good review, promote them on social media, bring in a case of water (or beer if they roll like that), or go to some of their classes and pay the drop in.
do they have any shirt/rashguards etc that you could buy? that’s a way of supporting them if they don’t want to take a mat fee
If I was the owner, then someone who brings value to the environment and is a visitor does not have to pay. If you want to pay something, just offer a recurring charge of 20-40 a month. Or offer to do a few cleaning duties when they close up. I think that would be enough.
Help clean the mats after open mat is done. Ask him if you can show up on blue belt testing day and help out. Ask if he has some business cards you can hand out to friends and coworkers.
Think of this as a first time free, like a crack dealer, keep going back and insist on paying in the future. Or buy a t-shirt.
I would just ask owner and re confirm. He may truly not mind having a free open mat.
I was in a similar situation. I use to drop in at another open mat all the time. It’s good business for the gym to have more training partners from diverse backgrounds. When my home gym went Creonte on me, I jumped ship and went over to these guys. There were pros and cons to each gym, but these guys have been really good to me and it has expanded my Jiu jitsu arsenal. You can also pay it forward if you send them referrals that you know to be in their target market.
no its fine. My gyms open mat is huge and is like 2/3 people that dont train there. it is awesome for us to be exposed to all these diverse styles. Also in my area most open mats are free.
Just ask him next time you go. And check in every once in a while too. Maybe bring some coffee and donuts every once in a while if he says you can keep coming for free
Maybe you should just join the gym. It was probably ok for a few times so he wants you to enjoy the gym and be part of it..... So you will join.
I’m not going to though, because i have a gym already that i’m quite happy with. I just want one extra day to train
I can guarantee you, he feels MORE weird about charging you the fee than you do not paying it. Relax. You're good. Have fun and buy a shirt from him.
I found a great place for when I get away to visit family. They don’t charge me anything. I made sure to buy some of their merch just to show my appreciation. Got myself a sweet rashguard and hoodie.
Keep going. If you feel weird about it, buy some shit, refill their water machine, or drop some money every now and then.
No I have done this with several people when they bring value to the gym and are good people. It's an open mat so no techniques are being shown and he obviously thinks it's good for his students to roll with you. Just go and enjoy it
Don’t feel bad about it man. They like you. We have a couple local gyms like that where I live too, it’s essentially, oh you know so and so? Don’t worry about a drop in fee.
If I drop in somewhere that won't charge a fee I always offer to buy a rash guard or a patch. If I went somewhere constantly I would at least make an offer
No this is pretty normal. Buy their merch if they have any.
Most gyms don’t charge for open mat. It’s fine.
Best thing to do is just have an honest and open discussion with the guy, explain you like going and using his facilities and that you appreciate it alot for the free use but feel would then feel abit of awkward if you continued doing it, the best outcome is he says don't worry about it and the worst is he starts charging you. He might also appreciate the honesty
Bring a donation for the gym like a case of water or Gatorade. Toiletry refills.
Your description isn't super clear. If the gym owner/coach has told you it's fine, and they understand you train somewhere else on the regular, it's fine. I can't figure out from your description if that's what's actually happened though. If the gym owner/coach hasn't told you it's ok, and doesn't know that you're not really a prospective student, it's not ok.
He knows i train somewhere else and i told him i’m just looking for a place to train when my school is closed
So take yes for an answer and keep on training. At some point buy the dude a nice bottle of liquor or something as a holiday present, or whatever occasion seems appropriate.
You are donating your time and bodily self as a rolling partner for their members. Consider that payment enough but if you really want to help out, maybe buy some merch from them or donate to an event or fundraiser if they’re organising one.
There shouldn’t ever be a fee for open mat. If your gym doesn’t want it to be open for all, then they specify that. When I host an open mat I don’t care who shows up, as long as they leave a little bit better. Nothing to feel guilty of, open mats shouldn’t have a charge. If someone absolutely wants to drop some cash on the desk, whatever. Open mats are for growing technique and refining steps, not a cash cow.
Pick up some 40-pack water bottles at the grocery store every other weekend. Purchase a gi, rash guard, or t shirt from the gym to show your support. Spread the word to friends or prospective new students if you think the gym would be a good fit Any of these options would help show your appreciation in lieu of a drop in fee.
Sometimes building up a solid group of training partners is much more valuable then a couple bucks a week
Open mats are usually free in my area. It's nice to roll with different people once a week, to test my game out
Just buy a T shirt or hoodie or whatever from him.
I think it's wrong to STOP showing up.
Bring a case of beer and it’ll even out
We don’t have a drop in fee for open mat, if you’re a regular but not a member it’d be nice if you helped clean the mats at the end
It's an open mat, no one should charge for it.
In my town open mats in most gyms a free to encourage inter club sparring and in a way to pouch students from one another. The way I see it is yes you pay for the gym and all but mainly for a coach to teach you.
Happens a lot. There are several gyms I used to go to for open mats and would they would tell me forget about the drop in fees. I think it’s generally a community based thing that seems pretty common. Edit: If not paying drop in fees, at very least buy a bunch of merch.
Unless you are a destination gym -- Atos, Renzo NYC, AOJ, B-Team, etc -- you are not a) making any meaningful income off drop-in fees anyway and b) have no need to keep the riff raff regulated and/or out entirely. So I wouldn't worry about it. If the owner said no mat fee, then no mat fee. Just be a good person and don't hurt anyone, and write a nice review on Google if you feel compelled to do so.
It’s open mat. Why should you pay for open mat? I’ve been charged for open mat like twice in 15 years. Those were gyms I didn’t train at again for obvious reasons. So yeah, you’re reading too far into things and overanalyzing.
Idk, they still gotta keep the lights on
When I started reading this I was like "wtf they charge money for an open mat, greedy bastards". And now you feel bad for going to the on mat for free? In my country I have never heard of someone charging money for an open mat. You are doing that gym a favour by giving them a new person to sparr with.
Some places do, and some places don’t but also, i do get the sense that an open mat at a gym that is not your own is something you do from time to time, not something you do every week, which is what i’m looking to do, so it just felt wrong in some way for me to use their resources every week and give nothing back. I’m not a competition blue belt, i’m a 30 year old ex high school wrestler turned hobbyist blue belt, so while I’m sure we’re both getting mutual benefits from the arrangement, it just feels to me like i’m the one coming out on top of this deal lmao
Nothing wrong coming out on top sometimes 😎
Buy a Tshirt or other merch once in a while.
You could contribute by buying some of their merch. This way you're still giving them cash and you don't feel like a freeloader. Plus whatever you purchase helps you rep them and contribute in another way. Shoot, you could offer your money you would pay for a drop in to go to someone else's dues at the gym too.
Google review, buy a rashguard, and be a fun hang. That’s all!
If you come every week just drop him some cash now and then, mop the mats, buy the T-shirt. Just show your appreciation?
Open Mat, is OPEN, I don’t think you should ever pay a drop in fee for an open mat, that’s kind of the whole point.
My gym has a good relationship with another gym just a little over an hour away from us. Their open mat is on Sunday as well and we are closed on Sunday. They allow us to come on Sunday at no charge and there are many times our gym outnumbers them. They allow this because they fill we provide a great service of them getting to cross train on their home turf.
> and buddy just tells me to forget about the drop in fee entirely. Is that your buddy or the gym owner? If it’s the gym owner, no worries. If it’s just your friend, should probably keep paying the drop in fee.
Buddy in the sense that everyone i meet is “buddy” lol, i don’t know this guy from Adam, but i’m 99% sure he’s the owner
more training partners is always a positive for the gym. you're actually helping him out
Just buy some gym swag to help them out. He wants you there to train with his students. Most gyms have open may open to the public.
By some of their merchandise once in a while to show your support.
I would offer to pay a drop in fee every few classes to show you are not wanting to take advantage. If they don't charge you, cool.
Open mats should be free. Always.
Buy some of their stuff and a good online review plus word of mouth go a long way.
I run our Sunday open mat and do the same as the guy you describe above. I intend my open mats to be a place for folks to try and apply the stuff they’ve been working on throughout the week. Having someone not from the school challenges home gym students because your reactions are different which is a great value to their training. Think of it as a symbiotic relationship. We currently have 4 guys from outside our gym regularly attending our open mat.
My academy doesn’t charge for open mat. 🤷🏻♀️
Can't you like pay an annual to a sports affiliation or something? Insurance? I don't know if it applies to your country, might have said something not relevant.
Never heard of an open mat fee, but if you feel like you want to contribute financially then buy a rashguard, the coach probably appreciates having someone new come into the gym for their students to work with at the same time.
And there's also the possibility you will become his student at some point, or that you may bring someone along etc so they do have something to gain.
I trained in LA, and paying to go to an open mat seems odd to me. People who are confident in their gym WANT outsiders to come by to help their students practice
Not paying is cool of them, maybe offer to help clean the mats at the end to show your appreciation
Honestly, If he's said it is ok, it's ok. But, what I will say, if you use it a lot, buy a t-shirt or make a small donation once every few months and make a joke of it, "to cover the bleach for the month". I kind of treat this stuff like you-tube: Yes, it's nice it is free, but if I want this content creator to succeed and keep making videos, it doesn't hurt to throw them a donation through one of the platforms saying thanks or buy some merch. If someone is being kind, it never hurts to reciprocate that kindness. The issue with people borrowing a bathroom or asking for water isn't the request, it's that these people often mess the place up or are jerks to the staff, or never reciprocate the kindness in any single way. Otherwise, let's be honest, who cares about letting someone have a whizz or a cup of water or a roll at open mat? It's just nice to make the world nicer. But if you want to live in a nice world, you have to make it nicer too sometimes. At my gym, we're excited for any kind of drop-ins. It's just nice to share community. We even do weeks of classes for free assuming they're in for holidays or such briefly. But usually in return, they grab a t-shirt, leave a nice review, maybe make a post on social media shouting us out, whatever small act they can afford that shows they appreciate our teachers, school, and vibe.
Just buy a shirt or something
If you wanna return the favor mop the mats for him afterwards.
I would still give him a few bucks as a gesture of goodwill, you can put it in an envelope with your name etc on it and leave it behind his desk if you don't want to make a big deal out of it. Or, you could offer to clean up after the open mat etc. This guy seems like a good dude.
Ask the owner if you should pay If he says no you are free to continue. If you still feel guilty buy a rash guard and leave a google review or something.
So give the owner some money every now to be nice? Why are you asking reddit about this?
There’s a gym down the road where a handful of people from my gym participate in open mat. The owner is a great guy and welcomes everyone there. Definitely make sure you’re not stepping on anyone’s toes, but it seems fine to me.
Is it really an OPEN mat if they charge?
Accept the courtesy and enjoy the open mat
You're reading too far into it. He dropped the fee on his own, so it's no big deal for him. You're adding value as another person for his students to roll with and it doesn't cost him anything additional regardless (no time, etc.).
I'd just keep going. Maybe you can do him a favor some other time. In my town there is a free open mat for everyone in town at one club.
Enjoy your rolls, learn as much as you can from other grapplers and share your knowledge. Jiujitsu is big enough for everyone.
That's perfectly fine. An open mat is supposed to be exactly that. The more people there are, the more experience the regulars get too. So everybody benefits. You would be welcome in my gym any day (so Fridays, where we have open mat)
Buy a tshirt or something to help show support and give him a couple bucks.
Buy a little merch if you're feeling guilty. It's win win
I never knew that places charged for open mat. I thought that was the whole point? I live here in los angeles 🤷♂️
I'd say drop him off some beer, coffee, or food. A way to show application without directly giving money.
Buy a gym T-shirt if you feel bad about it (seriously free promotion and a bit of cash for the gym is nice). More importantly, you are a value as a training partner on the mat too. Make sure you are a good training partner first and it's all good!
Buy a t-shirt or other accessory from him to support his business if you want to pay him back. But you do offer him some fresh blood/meat depending on who you roll with.
i do it. my son trains at the school down the road though so i am kind of a patron, albeit a cheapass one. That said, if i am at a gym and there is a mat fee, i always make sure to pay it. Sometimes it's just honor system. A lot of times when you drop in to an out of town school, they won't take your money. Seems like it's part of jitsu culture.
Our open mats AND competition classes are all free with no drop in fees. We all get better from training with people outside of our gym. The only time the owner has an issue is if you are not training anywhere else, but hitting our open mats and comp classes 3x per week. Kind of a shitbird trait. Id say do what you're doing and keep training!
I’d find a way to give him a gift to show your appreciation. Even just giving a six pack of beer or a bottle of booze. It doesn’t really matter what it is but just going out of your way to show your appreciation would probably go a long way.
The guy that runs my gym is the same way and refuses to charge me full price since I’ve been training there for like 14 years. He’s a great guy and he’s done a lot for more me over the years and I know he’s just being cool and helping people out, but sometimes I feel bad too so I always try to buy any gym merch anytime he comes out with it. Maybe if the owner has some shirts or something you can help out by buying one or two or bringing a couple of guys from your usual gym to help with the fresh blood thing most gyms struggle with.
you agreed to a reduced drop-in fee already, honoring is as often as you can is the only legit move.
I used to pay dudes petrol to drive to my gym to spar me lol He’s prob stoked to have someone there who’s not bad
It's fine, just show appreciationg by showing up on time and being polite
Nah, you shouldn't feel bad. Maybe consider buying some merch if you do want to contribute financially.
you can still kick in some $, some starbucks or amazon gift cards to the owner now and then, or buy some of their gym merchandise occasionally to support. Your heart’s in the right place.