Academy Performance Benchmarks: How Do You Compare?

A 30% gold rate sounds good — but is it? Without context, raw numbers are meaningless. That's why Jits.gg calculates segment benchmarks that let you compare your academy's performance to the relevant baseline.

Benchmarks are calculated per segment: belt level + age division + gi/nogi + region. This means your grey belt gi results are compared to other grey belt gi competitors in your state, not to orange belt no-gi competitors nationally.

Currently, Jits.gg tracks 2,597 total academies of which 1,349 have 5 or more fighters — enough data for reliable benchmarks.

Here are the national benchmarks for academies with 5+ fighters:

Fighter count measures roster depth. More fighters means more training partners, more competition entries, and more data to stabilize your Moneyball Score. But size alone doesn't determine ranking — efficiency matters more.

Golds per fighter is the most direct measure of competitive output. The national average of 0.52 means the average competitor earns about one gold for every two tournament entries. Top 10% academies more than double that.

Retention rate measures competition culture health. A 40% national average means 60% of youth BJJ competitors only compete once. Top academies break this pattern by creating environments where kids want to come back.

Submission rates provide context for how your fighters are finishing matches compared to the national average at each belt level:

If your academy's sub rate at a given belt is 10+ points below the national average, your fighters may need more submission-specific drilling at that belt level. If it's above average, your finishing instruction is working.

Sub rate increases from white (48.0%) to orange (63.3%) as fighters develop technique. The slight dip at green and blue suggests opponents become harder to finish at higher belts — the best defense catches up.

Competition opportunities — and the competitive landscape — vary significantly by state:

California and Texas alone account for over a third of all tracked academies. If you're in a high-density state, your competition for both students and tournament podiums is fiercer. State-level benchmarks on Jits.gg account for this — a top 10% academy in California is competing against a much larger pool than a top 10% academy in a smaller state.

On your Jits.gg academy profile, the Performance section shows:

• Belt-by-belt breakdown: See how each belt level performs against the benchmark
• Outperformance indicators: How much above or below the segment average you are for each metric
• Sample size context: Small sample sizes are flagged so you know where data is thin
• Moneyball Score: Your overall composite score (0–100) combining all metrics

Common patterns to watch for:

• Strong grey belt, weak yellow belt: Often indicates good fundamentals teaching but a gap in intermediate curriculum
• High sub rate, low gold rate: Your fighters finish but lose close ones — may need better points management and game strategy
• High gold rate, low sub rate: Your fighters win strategically but may benefit from more submission drilling
• Strong in gi, weak in no-gi (or vice versa): Most academies skew one direction. Top programs work to balance both

No academy is strong everywhere. The goal is continuous improvement in your weakest segments.