Priorities

I have been back in training for a couple of weeks now ( well, on-and-off, really) and have been noticing the numbers dwindling a bit. When I started in May, there was about 15 of us battling for space on the mats, but as the year wore on, the numbers declined. There were the odd days where we would get new people that boosted the numbers but they never stayed that long, for whatever reason they may have. Truly, with the exception of myself and Lanky Rob, the rest of the group at the moment all came from Kevin's Wing Chun school in Croydon. Myself and a couple of the regulars (heh, look at me calling myself a regular, haha)started noticing this and have become a topic of conversation several times. We thought that the school had a great location - Central Croydon, right up near the High Street, and there, to our collective knowledge, no other BJJ school within a 10-mile radius ( well, there is Zenith BJJ, but that doesn't count, as it appears to cater to a specialised few). We then thought that it needed advertising more, maybe flyers, posters, banners, etc. I also asked Kevin the other week about car stickers just to further rep the school. The others say that the numbers would swell up eventually, with people on holidays, etc. That was in August - it's now November, and the numbers are lower than ever.

It might have be due to the current state of the economy. BJJ and I guess, a lot of hobbies, are the the first to go when austerity measures are made. For a lot of people, it just isn't that high up in the priorities scale. I find it interesting when BJJ players are asked what would stop them from training. A lot of them say "Death", or "Nothing - BJJ forever!". While I applaud their dedication and commitment to the art, and probably envious of them, as well, I can't help but think about these people's other priorities in life that seem to pale in comparison with BJJ. I am probably as dedicated to learning the art as much as the next brother on the mat, but truth be told, my family and work come first. If I have the last £50 on my pocket and I have to choose between food on the table and BJJ - well, I'd be at home watching YouTube BJJ videos while my loving wife prepares a nice dinner for us.