Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) is a martial art that focuses on grappling. In a self-defense situation, it involves gripping an attacker, taking the attacker down, and/or defending yourself after being taken down to the ground. BJJ focuses on defending yourself on the ground because many attacks end up with one or both people on the ground. BJJ allows you to defend yourself against punches, kicks, and other attacks while you are on the ground.

BJJ is not targeted at a particular age range, size, or gender. BJJ is designed for people of any size. It allows a smaller person to defend himself or herself against a larger attacker. You do not need strength or cardiovascular fitness to get started on training jiu-jitsu. Training BJJ helps to build strength, flexibility, and coordination. Training is generally safe as long as you and your partner are following the instructor’s methods, and you and your partner are paying attention to each other and your surroundings.

We recommend as much training as possible! In addition to classes, we encourage everyone to spend time on the mats during open mat. During open mat, you and your partner can apply the lessons learned in class and integrate various concepts and moves by practicing. The more rolling you do and the more classes you attend, the more easily you will be able to apply the concepts.

Please bring your gi, a water bottle, and flip flops.

For adults, the order of belts is as follows: white, blue, purple, brown, and black. At each color level, we award 4 stripes before someone can move on to the next color belt. Each stripe represents progress towards the next color, and is awarded based on your application of the concepts presented in class. Like adults, kids also have a belt order. The colors are as follows: white, yellow, orange, and green.