Judo in Chapel Hill, NC

I am posting this to see if there is an active Judo community in Chapel Hill, NC.  I am considering starting a club for kids and adults, both beginners and experienced judoka, and would like to guage interest.  

Thanks,

Justo Torres

jtor2173 wrote:I am posting this to see if there is an active Judo community in Chapel Hill, NC.  I am considering starting a club for kids and adults, both beginners and experienced judoka, and would like to guage interest.  

Thanks,

Justo Torres

There is a Judo club at UNC. It is not just for students only.

Yeah, I visted them a few months back (I actually work at UNC). I think they are better suited for adults. I was looking for a place for kids and adults.

I am willing to start it if I can generate enough interest.

jtor2173 wrote:Yeah, I visted them a few months back (I actually work at UNC).  I think they are better suited for adults.  I was looking for a place for kids and adults.

I am willing to start it if I can generate enough interest.  

I’m sure your heart is in the right place but I’m curious to know, are you looking to have a club you can run on the side without the pressure of earning an income or are you looking to do this as a money making business? Having seen the struggles of opening and maintaining a Judo club second hand (a friend of mine did this) I think you need to set forth your expectations well in advance. In other words, if you’re doing this on the side expect to be paying a lot of money out of pocket for rent, utilities, mats, ect… and paying this monthly for years. If you want to run this as a business and make money you also have to consider advertising costs, maintaining accounts, chasing people for their club dues, ect…. My comments have only scratched the scratch on the surface of all the issues surrounding the opening of a Judo club.

There is no a demand for Judo like there is for BJJ. That's just the way it is unfortunately.

Dave,

I appreciate the advice. You are correct. I have practiced Judo since I was 11 years old. I would be a fool to open a club for the money. In fact, even breaking even is rare.

jtor2173 wrote:Dave,

I appreciate the advice.  You are correct.  I have practiced Judo since I was 11 years old.  I would be a fool to open a club for the money.  In fact, even breaking even is rare.

Best of luck to you, Justo. If you are looking for places to actually run a Judo club out of don't forget about looking into local recreation centers. They can sometimes offer high visibility with relatively little out of pocket with the exception of mats and such, especially a rec center that also functions as an after school care. I don't know how things are in NC but in Florida in my area the county rec centers are used as after school care.

Obviously I have been off the forum for too long. There is actually an active dojo in Durham--Bushido Judo School. You can google us. We'd love to see you! And we're rather struggling right now, so an infusion of fresh ideas (and business sense!) would be a welcome thing.

Erika

Hi Justo,
I sent you a private message about the UNC Judo club.

Thanks Erika. Let me know your practice times and I will try to stop by.