I've been incredibly fortunate to find this academy.
Joe Rogan podcasts, especially with Navy Seal Jocko talking about Brazilian jiu jitsu brought me here. I too wanted "superpowers." I haven't really needed much self-defense knowledge in general. I have been fortunate to be a suburban gangster most of my life. But I once read that a person needs three hobbies. One to make money with, one to be creative with and one to stay fit with. I've always loved sports and played competitively in school so hey, why not learn one of the most bad ass martial arts to ever hit the world? Jiu jitsu cut through all the fluff from aikido to karate to all the other bullshido out there. As an art and science, jiu jitsu is rooted in self-defense and practical application. You drill and spar. Nothing but empiricism and reality. Anddd it was gentle enough to allow for a lifetime of training which you can't exactly say about the striking disciplines.
So I went searching for a school.
I checked out all the surrounded jiu jitsu academies and came to call Marco Nascimento's academy as my new jiu jitsu home.
He had the biggest facility (and that was before this new, even bigger, location in Foster City), best schedule with daily lunch and evening classes (and now 6:30am too!) and such a depth of high belts (purple and browns) that spoke to Marco's deep devotion to cultivate an incredible arena of team-oriented practitioners.
40 and 50 year old guys don't have time for bs and as a young buck, I respect that they have stuck around with Marco and brought their kids along for the journey.
Also, Christina and Marco are both an incredible team which is also very unique. They made me feel tremendously welcome and as a new white belt who started this summer, it's made the difference in choosing a place to train and grow.
This week, everyone's training for Worlds in Vegas (Aug 2017) and fine tuning their competition game plan, running calorie deficits and quietly preparing for war. If you're looking for competition, there's high belts of all ages who can test your mettle. Many folks have incredible wrestling, judo and other martial disciplines.
I've really enjoyed my progression and had a friend start in SF the same time as me. We recently sparred and it was amazing to not be submitted at all while inflicting submissions left and right. I was blown away at the effectiveness of my fundamentals at only a month of training. I've had great instruction from Professor Marco and fantastic training partners who have helped me progress immensely.
I could honestly write a book here. Not enough can be said to how much I've enjoyed the last three months. While it's humbling to be on the bottom of the competency totem pole, I've loved climbing up the rungs one position, submission, sweep and session at a time.
For checking out this school, the free week trial is great and straight forward pricing transparency makes it an easy decision. Advanced belts and beginners have their own dedicated curriculum.
For the ladies, there's a regular squad of girls from teenagers to bad ass mommies who can all grapple. There's now a dedicated ladies class on Sunday too.
In summary, I've really enjoyed my time here. I understand how hard it is to be a teacher, run a school, operate a business and stay sane. I feel incredibly fortunate to be train here and hope to enjoy the next several decades of a jiu jitsu lifestyle.
I'm also honored to continue the Reddit BJJ tradition of an apprentice presenting a pineapple to his master.
Have fun and roll!