PORTLAND, OR — Head instructor and sole proprietor of Apex Ground Dynamics BJJ, Coach Derek Finholt, announced Tuesday that this month’s fourth mandatory seminar is “definitely the last one for a while,” citing the strong personal development opportunity it represents for all paying members who have not yet canceled their membership.
The seminar, scheduled for May 24th from 8am to 3pm, features a visiting brown belt from a gym two hours away who “has a really interesting approach to the single leg that you’re going to want to see.” The $65 seminar fee is separate from monthly dues. Gi required. No-gi practitioners should bring a gi.
“I feel like people are getting so much value,” Finholt said, reviewing his whiteboard calendar from the doorway of his back office. The whiteboard showed four hand-written seminar blocks in May, two in April, and what appeared to be a third scheduled for early June with a question mark next to a dollar sign.
Current members recall that when they signed up in January, the seminar situation was described as “a couple times a year, totally optional, just a bonus.” The April 6th seminar — mandatory — covered guard retention. The April 19th seminar — also mandatory — covered the same guard retention concepts with a different visiting instructor who had a slightly different accent. The May 3rd seminar, described as mandatory due to “a unique opportunity,” covered grip fighting with a competitor who finished third at a regional tournament in 2022.
“I asked if I could skip this one,” said blue belt Marcus Osei, who has now attended six mandatory seminars in 60 days. “Derek said it was mandatory. I said I understood that but asked what would happen if I didn’t come. He said it was mandatory and that I should really come. I’m going.”
Finholt confirmed that regular Tuesday and Thursday evening classes will continue as scheduled, pending any seminar conflicts that have not yet been announced.