Brazilian jiu-jitsu
BJJ
There are no strikes in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The whole contest is about controlling position and arriving at a joint lock or a choke. That makes it one of the gentler forms of contact training.
The sport rests on leverage and on who takes the better position. That is why people of very different builds and fitness levels can train together on one mat and it still makes sense.
Sessions run in the gi or without the gi, depending on the group. The two are different enough that it is worth knowing from the start which one you are coming to.
- Age range
- 15 and over in the beginner and advanced groups
- Who teaches it
- Times
- Check the schedule
- Next stage
- Intermediate group
Who it is for
- People looking for a contact sport with no strikes
- People who value technique and repeatable, orderly work
- MMA trainees who want to deepen their ground game
- People of different builds and different fitness levels
What we work on
- Positional control, meaning holding an advantage once you have it
- Guard and half guard
- Guard passing
- Sweeps
- Escapes from bad positions
- Joint locks and chokes
What you can learn
- To recognise which position gives an advantage, and what follows from it
- To escape control instead of struggling by force
- To finish with technique rather than physical advantage
- To spar safely, with a clear signal to stop
How to start
Before your first session, check with the coach whether the class at that time runs in the gi or without it. What you need to bring depends on that.
What to bring
- A gi, the uniform for Brazilian jiu-jitsu, for gi classes
- A rashguard or a close fitting sports shirt and shorts with no zips, for no gi classes
- A water bottle
- Flip flops for moving around off the mat
The Academy does not lend out gis. You need your own, which is all the more reason to check with the coach in advance which kind of class you are coming to.
Hygiene on the mat
We train in close contact, so these rules apply to everyone without exception.
- Clean kit for every session
- Fingernails and toenails cut short
- Flip flops off the mat
- Cuts and grazes covered
- With contagious skin conditions or while ill, we stay away from training