We have some exciting info to share about the new direction we’re bringing our Jiu Jitsu program in. Please check out the highlights below:
1. We’re now representing Six Blades Jiu Jitsu, which is Xande Ribeiro’s new BJJ association. If you don’t know Xande, he’s regarded world-wide as one the top 10 BJJ competitors in Jiu Jitsu history. His accomplishments include: 7 Blackbelt IBJJF Gi World Championship Golds, 2 Blackbelt IBJJF No-Gi World Championship Golds, and 2 ADCC World Championship Golds. Unbelievable as it may sound, he’s only been mounted 1 time, and had his guard passed 4 times, in competition in the past 31 years (he started competing at age 10 in 1991). To say he’s one of the legends of the sport is an understatement.
We’ve been personally involved with Xande since 2006 and cannot say enough great things about his character, his loyalty, and his honor. Now that we’ve finally partnered with him, we can promise you we’ll be with Xande as long as The Arena is in operation. Baret Submissions was the first BJJ association The Arena ever affiliated with, but Six Blades will be the last. As our student, you’ll be a member of Six Blades for life if you so choose.
Just as we helped build Baret Submissions these past 8 years, we’ll help Xande grow Six Blades into a global BJJ powerhouse. While we work with Six Blades to achieve this success, Xande will in turn be at The Arena frequently to help guide the growth of our Jiu Jitsu program. There’ll be plenty of opportunities to learn from, train with, and one day receive your black belt from one of the greatest BJJ competitors of all time, with a direct lineage to Helio Gracie himself.
The additional advantages of this relationship with Xande and Six Blades are numerous. You will become part of a global brotherhood, able to visit other Six Blades academies around the world, as well as train with other Six Blades members here at our gym. And if you desire to open your own BJJ school one day, being affiliated with an upcoming global BJJ brand like Six Blades will make marketing, sales, and member retention much easier.
2. For those who want it, we’ll be placing an increased focus on competition training so our students can successfully compete at the highest levels. Competition has always been our focus, but we will be strengthening our efforts substantially via increased training, recruitment, sponsorship, marketing, seminars, clinics, and much more. We’ll reveal details of our plans in person to our students as time goes on.
And for our students who want to learn Jiu Jitsu, but don’t have the time required to successfully compete at a higher level, we’ll provide a clear pathway to advance in belt levels without worrying about being required to compete before promotion.
But whether you’re intent on competition success, or simply want the numerous other rewards Jiu Jitsu has to offer, we’ll focus on developing your skill sets by providing the best possible instruction available anywhere.
3. For all those who requested this, Saturdays will now be Open Mat from 10-12. We’ll be inviting students from all over to increase exposure to other Jiu Jitsu styles besides just our own. So please invite your friends who aren’t already training here to come in and roll.
4. Last, but most definitely not least, we’ve brought on Adam Bradley to teach Jiu Jitsu at The Arena. For those who don’t know Adam, he is a tremendous competitor in both Gi and No-Gi. He’s a 4x IBJJF World Championship medalist, 4x American National Champion, Abu Dhabi Grand Slam champion, and was ranked the #1 brown belt in the world by FloGrappling before receiving his black belt from Andre Galvao at Atos.
Beyond his competition success, Adam is a great coach who focuses on teaching the necessary fundamentals required to efficiently progress through the Jiu Jitsu ranks. And for competitors, he offers cutting edge instruction needed to win in today’s ever changing competitive Jiu Jitsu environment. In addition to Adam, we’ll also bring on other high-quality instructors to assist in various specialty classes.
So that’s it for now. These changes are a tremendous opportunity for new growth and achievement. We’re incredibly excited and hope you are too. Always know we will continue to make all our programs better and better, which is what we’ve been continually doing at The Arena for the past 16 years. We hope you continue your journey with us, as we share in this continued progress together.
See you in The Arena.
