How to host a BJJ seminar at your gym
· Co-founder of Matpass.
To host a BJJ seminar at your gym, invite an instructor your members want to learn from, agree the fee and travel in writing and set a ticket price that covers your costs. Open sign-ups four to eight weeks ahead with a limited number of places, and check everyone in at the door on the day.
This guide covers why seminars are worth hosting, choosing the instructor, the costs, paying the instructor, pricing the tickets, selling the places, running the day and following up afterwards.
Why host a BJJ seminar at your gym?
A BJJ seminar gives your members a new teacher's view of their game, and it brings people from other gyms through your door. A well-priced seminar also covers its own costs and can leave some money over for the gym.
Seminars are good for the community side of your gym too. Members train with people they don't usually roll with, and a jiu jitsu seminar with a well-known name is an easy reason for a former member or a curious visitor to come back.
How do you choose a seminar instructor?
Choose the instructor your members would pay to learn from, and ask them before you decide. A quick poll after class or in your members' group chat tells you whether people want a competitor, a specialist in one position or someone known for teaching beginners.
Check these before you get in touch:
- Teaching: watch a recorded seminar or ask a gym that has hosted them, because a great competitor isn't always a great teacher.
- Fit: pick a topic that suits your members' level, such as guard retention for a gym full of white and blue belts.
- Gi or no-gi: match what most of your members train.
- Affiliation: if your gym belongs to a team or affiliation, check its rules about guest instructors.
A local black belt from a nearby gym can be a better first seminar than a big name. The fee is lower, nobody needs a flight, and the friendship with that gym often lasts.
How much does it cost to host a BJJ seminar?
The cost of hosting a BJJ seminar is the instructor's fee plus everything it takes to get them to your mat and look after them. List every cost before you set the ticket price:
| Cost | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Instructor fee | A fixed amount, a share of the tickets, or both |
| Travel | Flights or train tickets, and transport from the airport |
| Accommodation | A hotel, or a spare room if the instructor prefers it |
| Food | Meals during the visit |
| Promotion | Posters, paid social posts or a photographer, if you use them |
| Extras | Name tags, water, cleaning after a full mat |
Ask for every amount in writing before you announce anything. Travel and hotel prices change quickly, so book them as soon as the date is agreed.
How do you pay a seminar instructor?
Gyms pay seminar instructors in one of three ways:
| Deal | How it works | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed fee | The instructor gets the same amount however many tickets you sell | Instructors who want certainty, and full seminars |
| Share of ticket sales | The instructor gets an agreed percentage of the ticket money | Smaller seminars and first visits |
| Guaranteed minimum plus share | The instructor gets a minimum, and a share of the tickets above a set number | Big names who might sell out |
Write down what the fee covers: the length of the seminar, whether a private lesson or an open mat is included, who pays for travel and food, and what happens if the seminar is cancelled. A short email both of you reply to is enough for most seminars.
The guide on how much martial arts instructors make covers how gyms pay their regular coaches, and whether visiting instructors count as contractors.
How much should you charge for a seminar?
Charge enough that the seminar covers its costs when it is about three-quarters full. Use this formula:
Ticket price = total costs ÷ the number of tickets you're confident you'll sell
Here's an example with made-up numbers:
- The instructor's fee is $1,500, travel and a hotel cost $600, and other costs are $150, so the seminar costs $2,250.
- Your mat fits 40 people, and you're confident you'll sell 30 tickets.
- $2,250 ÷ 30 = $75 per ticket.
- If all 40 places sell, the seminar brings in $3,000 and leaves $750 for the gym.
Give your own members a lower price than visitors, such as $65 here, and check that the sums still work if most of the tickets go to members. A lower price for early sign-ups helps you see quickly whether the seminar will fill.
In Matpass, each event has a ticket price and an optional member price, and you can make discount codes that work on events, for example for a partner gym's members.
How do you sell the places?
Announce the BJJ seminar four to eight weeks ahead, with everything a visitor needs to decide in one place: the instructor, the topic, gi or no-gi, the date and time, the level, the price and how many places there are.
Set the number of places from the size of your mat. On a busy class night, count how many pairs fit on the mat with room to drill, and use that number.
Matpass gives every event its own public page, where members and visitors sign up and pay. You set the number of places, whether to keep a waiting list and when sign-ups close, and everyone gets a "You're in" email with the details. If the seminar is only for your members, you can close it to visitors.
Share the page with nearby gyms, and ask the instructor to share it too, because their followers are the people most likely to travel for it.
What should happen on the seminar day?
Make the day easy for the instructor and for the visitors who don't know your gym. Plan the timing before people arrive:
- Before: clean the mat, put out water and set up a check-in table by the door.
- Arrival: check everyone in, take payment from anyone who turns up without a ticket, and show visitors where to change.
- Seminar: introduce the instructor, and keep an eye on the time so there's room for questions at the end.
- After: a group photo, a short thank-you to the instructor and to the visitors, and an open roll if the instructor is up for it.
Ask visitors to sign your waiver when they arrive, and make sure your insurance covers people who aren't members.
In Matpass, the event roster shows everyone who has a place. Staff mark people as present, add someone who turns up at the door, and give up a place when someone cancels so the next person on the waiting list moves up.
How do you follow up after a seminar?
Follow up within a day or two, while people still remember the techniques. Send attendees a thank-you with the group photo, and ask what they'd like to learn at the next seminar.
Visitors who enjoyed your mat are the easiest new members you'll find. Invite them to a free trial class, tell them which regular class suits their level and follow up after the trial class the same day.
Matpass can do the first step for you: an automation that starts when someone attends an event can send them a thank-you email, and another can tell a staff member to invite the visitors to a trial class. The events list shows what each event brought in, so you can compare it with your costs.
Key takeaways
- Ask your members which instructor and topic they want before you book anyone.
- Agree the fee, travel, food and cancellation terms in writing.
- Price tickets so the seminar covers its costs when it's about three-quarters full.
- Give members a lower price than visitors, and check the sums still work.
- Set the number of places from how many pairs fit on your mat.
- Sell the places through one public event page, such as a Matpass event, with a waiting list.
- Check everyone in at the door, and follow up with visitors within a few days.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a typical BJJ seminar?
Most BJJ seminars last two to three hours, often with time for questions and an open roll at the end. Agree the length with the instructor when you agree the fee.
Can a small gym host a seminar?
Yes. Start with an instructor from a nearby gym and a fixed number of places that your mat can hold. A small seminar that sells out is a better start than a big name with half the mat empty.
Does this work for other martial arts seminars?
Yes. The same steps work for a Muay Thai, wrestling or judo seminar, or any martial arts seminar. Only the gear list and the way you count places on the mat change.