Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
The philosophy behind Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu…
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is based upon the fact that over 90% of street fights will end up on the ground. BJJ uses specifically-designed techniques to control your opponent on the feet, and on the ground, if the fight goes there. The techniques of BJJ allow you to control your opponent, and decide the outcome of a physical altercation while equipping you the tools that increase your chances of skillfully escaping situations with minimal damage. BJJ places great emphasis on controlling a dominant situation so you can strike, apply various joint locks, chokes, or escape a bad situation.
The benefits of training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu…
Whether your goals are self-defense, sport competition, weight loss, switching up your workout routine, stress relief, or living a healthier lifestyle, we’re ready to help you with all of it in a fun and positive atmosphere. We take our competition-minded students to the podium, improve everyone’s ability to defend themselves, and take all of our students health, well-being, and confidence to the next level.
A female BJJ Black Belt’s unique perspective
“I’ve never had anything as rewarding and empowering in my life as training BJJ & Muay Thai. It’s also the most challenging thing I’ve done in my life. The kind of goals I’ve set & accomplished, & who I’ve become, make my time on the mats so worth it. I love passing that opportunity onto others.” ~Liz Sussan, Richmond, VA’s first female Black Belt
“A lot of women don’t know their inner strength and they don’t have confidence in themselves. Once they know what they are capable of, they become better as a person not only in the BJJ world, but in their normal life. I know many women who were afraid to be themselves before Jiu-Jitsu and after they started doing it, they changed for the better, they are more confident and stronger physically and mentally.” ~Hannette Staack, 10x BJJ World Champion
We believe that training should be accessible, regardless of gender identity. Our goal is to empower people through training in an inclusive environment, and by actively dismantling barriers to training, but we also hold space for the unique experiences that womxn, trans, and non-binary people may have.
Carlson Gracie makes history, defeating Valdemar Santana in a vale tudo fight in 1956.
Richmond BJJ Academy’s lineage is BJJ Revolution Team/Carlson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
A Brief History of BJJ
In the early 1900’s, a Japanese man named Maeda went to Brazil on a diplomatic mission to establish a Japanese colony in Brazil. Gastao Gracie, a man with clout in local politics helped Maeda in his mission. As a show of appreciation and friendship, Maeda taught Gastao Gracies’ sons the art of Japanese Jiu-Jitsu. Gracies’ sons refined the techniques and changed the art to work with leverage and technique, not strength, speed or size. In the decades following, the Gracie family continued to advance and test their techniques through open invitation challenge matches. The two Gracies that stood out in the earlier days were Helio Gracie and Carlson Gracie. During their primes, both men weighed less than 150 pounds, and would routinely test their skills against men of different arts, often weighing more than the Gracies. Time and time again, the Gracies would leave victoriously.