HOW CAN I CHECK OUT A CLASS ?

Anyone is welcome to come view a regular class - if you would like to talk to the coach please arrive 10-15min early

If you would like to attend a regular class - please follow the sign up process here

Once we are aware of your intentions you will get a student info form and an online waiver to complete (both sent via seperate email)

WHAT DO I BRING FOR THE FIRST CLASS ?

Clean loose fitting clothing, general gym attire (dry fit shirt or compression top) with board shorts (no short shorts or footy shorts please). If you have a judo or jiu-jitsu gi you can wear that also.

Thongs (Flip Flops), Water Bottle and Towel

The fundamentals does include controlled positional sparring although many experienced people never wear mouthguards - its up to you.

Try to arrive 10-15min early for your first class to introduce yourself and go over the gym etiquette/rules etc.

Try not to eat a large meal within 60 minutes before the start of class.

WHY SHOULD I DO BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU ?

It is a fun, mentally stimulating way to stay active, socialize and learn a practical martial art.

It's a lifelong activity that can be enjoyed from 5-75+, men and women which can be easily tailored to your age and goals - you can push yourself as hard as you want.

Many people find jiu-jitsu to be a great stress reliever due its requirement for mental focus. Rolling (sparring) or learning a new technique require the mind to be just as engaged as the body - which means any other stresses (work,home etc) are quickly forgotten about.

Community: You will meet people outside of your common social circles. It is very common to find people training togetheron jiu-jitsu mats that would never otherwise have crossed paths.

One of the biggest benefits of jiu-jitsu is the ability to solve dynamic problems under stress - which obviously is very applicable to life in general.

IS IT GOOD FOR SELF DEFENSE ?

Yes and it's effectiveness has been proven time and time again. Essentially the Gracie family from Brazil were taught a raw form of Japanese Jiu-Jitsu and went about testing its effectiveness in real situations (think the scientific method - applied to martial arts) and the end result was the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu we have today.

One punch laws: These laws passed in 2014 and essentially say that if you strike someone in the head and this results in a fatality you can be liable for a 15 year sentence, so the unintended consequences of throwing punches, regardless of your intentions, are extremely high. The beauty of Jiu-Jitsu is that you can learn to defend yourself without throwing punches.

Women's Self Defence: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is perfect for women's self defence because it relies on superior leverage and technique over size and strength to survive and defeat a much larger opponent. Most of the development of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by the Gracie family consisted of them taking on much larger opponents.

ANXIOUS BEFORE STARTING, MAYBE I SHOULD GET FITTER FIRST ?

There is always going to be some fear of the unknown when starting a new activity (especially one with cool chokes and joint locks) but rest assured we are here to help and countless other people have gone through the same process as you will - the feeling after the first few lessons is generally "I should have done this years ago !"

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is unlike almost any other fitness activity except for other grappling sports such as judo or wrestling. BJJ involves efficient movement on the ground which is a learned skill - so generally all beginners start with highly inefficient movement which leads to them being exhausted very quickly - in our experience this is true no matter what your general fitness level is.

Take it easy the first few classes and your fitness will build as your learning a new skill.

IS IT GOOD FOR WEIGHT LOSS  ?

Yes, once you are comfortable with the basic positions and begin sparring (rolling) you can expect to burn up to 1000 calories per class (1.5hrs)

Jiu-Jitsu also works the entire body both in regards to strength and flexibility.

From a fitness perspective it would be similar to high intensity interval training involving your entire body (and mind), except it's fun and you're learning how to defend yourself.

IS BJJ SAFE ?

To be clear: the Agoge is not an MMA fighters gym. We believe the people who can benefit the most from BJJ are everyday people, hence all classes are focused around these students where training partners are there to help us learn, not to injure us.

Having said that, BJJ is still a full-contact extremely close quarters activity so there is always an element of risk but out of all the martial arts proven effective in the UFC - Jiu-jitsu would have to be the safest, as the emphasis is on ground grappling and not high impact throws or strikes.

In this article they found BJJ to be statistically safer than Rugby, Track, MMA, Gymnastics and Wrestling.

DO WOMEN ATTEND YOUR CLASSES ?

Absolutely - in fact women generally learn faster than men because they are less inclined to rely on strength and often adapt to the efficient techniques of Jiu-Jitsu very quickly. Also, given that Jiu-Jitsu is designed for a smaller person to survive and defeat a larger person it is perfect for women.

IS BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU POPULAR ?

Yes - in most major cities around the world you will find a BJJ academy to train at so its the perfect activity for people who travel a lot. The main hubs for Jiu-Jitsu are of course Brazil and the US (especially Southern California and New York), it is also growing very fast in Europe and the UK. In Australia, Melbourne has the most academies with Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast growing every year.

Did you know the following celebrities train in BJJ: Kelly Slater, Anthony Bordain, Vince Vaughn, Ed Oneil, Ashton Kutcher, Eve Torres, Usher, Naomi Watts, Keanu Reeves, Maynard James Keenan, Time Tebow, Guy Ritchie, Jason Statham, Demi Lovato, Tom Hardy.

Another lesser known fact is that today almost all NRL football teams employ a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu coach to assist with the technical details of take-downs (tackles) and controlling your opposition on the ground.

Nowadays it is quite common for people to refer to jiu-jitsu as a "lifestyle". To support this you can now find BJJ inspired clothing, diets, books, documentaries and a plethora of online forums, blogs and videos. You can even go on a Jiu-Jitsu cruise if you so desire. The great thing is the whole family can be involved in a physical activity for their whole lives.

Warning: Jiu-Jitsu can be addictive.

HOW DO I ACQUIRE A GI ? (JIU-JITSU UNIFORM)

Once you decide Jiu-Jitsu is for you, we recommend buying a Gi (BJJ Kimono) which is specifically designed to withstand the rigors of training.

Please go to our checkout pages under Join Now to purchase any of our Gi’s Rashguards or Shorts.

ARE YOU AFFILIATED WITH ANY OTHER CLUB ?

Yes - the Head instructor Justin is ranked under Professor Anker Fuglsang from Arte Suave Academy.

We are also an affiliate of BJJ Globetrotters a community of Jiu-Jitsu travellers against jiu-jitsu politics who encourage open training with everbody.

We welcome all people curious or actively participating from all academies - our common bond is our love for Jiu-Jitsu.

HYGIENE: ARE YOUR MATS CLEAN ? I DON'T WANT TO GET ANY INFECTIONS ETC

  • For regular mat cleaning we use StaBiotic commercial cleaner which has the following benefits:

  • The problem with regular disinfectant is it kills ALL germs which creates the layer of bio film for more harmful bacteria to grow.

  • We also have a fairly strict code of conduct regarding hygiene for our members.

WHAT DOES THE AGOGE (A-GO-GE) MEAN ?

Professor Justin got the idea for the name of the Academy from the movie 300. The Agoge is an ancient greek term and describes a place where Spartan boys were taken to be trained to become soldiers, citizens and the defenders of Sparta.