Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for First Responders

Police officers, firefighters, paramedics, corrections officers and military members train with us every week. Grappling teaches you to control a resisting person safely, protect yourself on the ground and stay calm under pressure, the skills your job asks of you when a call turns physical.

Most physical confrontations on the job end up in a clinch or on the ground. Jiu Jitsu and Judo are built for exactly that.

• Control without strikes: pins and positions that let you hold someone safely until help arrives.
• Protect yourself on the ground: escape bad positions, get back to your feet and keep your equipment away from grabbing hands.
• Calm under pressure: live sparring at a safe pace trains your breathing and decision-making when your heart rate is high.
• Fewer injuries: controlling with leverage and position instead of force means safer outcomes for you and the person you're dealing with.

Police and first responder organizations increasingly point to grappling training as a way to make physical encounters safer.

• The U.S. National Sheriffs' Association's grappling white paper calls for frequent, ongoing grappling training for officers, not just once-a-year refreshers.
• In Marietta, Georgia, police officers trained in jiu jitsu were injured 48% less often during forceful arrests, and the people they arrested were injured 53% less often.
• Closer to home, a 2022 Peel Regional Paramedic Services study found nearly half of its paramedics had experienced violence on the job.
• Canadian policing magazine Blue Line has featured officers calling for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as the foundation of use-of-force training.

First responders get 15% off any membership. Early-morning, daytime, evening and weekend classes fit around shift schedules: Friday at 6 am, Tuesday and Thursday at 10 am, weekday evenings and weekend middays.

Your first class is free and no experience is needed. Tell your coach you're a first responder when you sign up and we'll apply your discount. Our coaching team includes IBJJF world champions, and every coach has a police vulnerable sector check and NCCP training.