At SCJJA, jiu-jitsu is a martial art first. We train it in the gi, without the gi, and against the most common self defence situations, all as part of the same art. That's how Coach Rodney teaches it, and it's why we don't split it into separate programmes.

Why the gi matters

• It's easier on the body. The grips slow everything down, so there's less scrambling and explosiveness, and more technique. It's jiu-jitsu you can keep training for decades.
• There are far more positions. Collar, sleeve and pant grips open up a whole world of guards, sweeps and chokes that simply don't exist in no-gi.
• It makes your no-gi better. Learning to control someone with grips teaches a precision that carries straight over when you take the gi off.
• It's closer to real life. In a real altercation, people grab clothing. Many no-gi-only schools don't allow grabbing clothing at all, because a rash guard won't take it.

That's why at SCJJA you won't be graded to blue belt without the fundamentals of training with clothing grips.

Why no-gi matters too

Without a gi there's nothing to hold, so you learn to control someone with position and body control. Coach Rodney won the 2009 Australasian ADCC trials, a no-gi event, so no-gi is not an afterthought here. Check the timetable to see which classes are gi and which are no-gi.

Why self defence, with resistance

We regularly cycle through training with strikes and the most common self defence situations. And we train them against a resisting partner, because a technique that only works when your partner goes along with it won't work when it matters.

Sport is welcome, but it comes second

Plenty of our members compete, and Coach Rodney competed at the highest level. But competitions are a secondary consideration here. If your only goal is to win no-gi competitions, a sport-focused no-gi gym will suit you better. Who SCJJA isn't right for.

Want the longer version? Read Is jiu-jitsu effective in a real world situation?