Brazilian jiu-jitsu is the world’s premier grappling art, combining skill, strategy, and quickness into a nearly unbeatable mix of submission holds, wrestling takedowns, and reversals. At its best, Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a combination of wrestling and human chess, requiring stamina and fitness but also a sharp mind. It’s unique from other martial arts in its unwavering devotion to form: physical strength is important but not paramount—technique trumps everything, and proper technique and leverage have allowed Brazilian jiu-jitsu masters to regularly defeat opponents two and three times their size. Our teaching style caters to your comfort level: experienced jiu-jitsu players have the opportunity to learn and train with others of similar experience; if you’re new, on the other hand, you can have the opportunity to train with other white belts looking to learn the basics in our special white-belt classes. As a requirement of the discipline, Gracie Barra jiu-jitsu students wear the gi (the thick traditional training robe) as part of their classes and competition. If you’ve never trained in a gi before, it’s definitely an interesting experience; in many ways, the gi is central to learning proper technique. As an alternative, we also offer submission grappling, or ‘no gi’ classes, where we don’t require the traditional kimono.