Welcome to FMA Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Franklin, MA).
We hope this site is helpful in acquainting newcomers to the school, as well as educating visitors to the benefits of Jiu-Jitsu, which include physical and mental health while learning the most effective martial art of self defense.
Our Mission at FMA Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Our goal at FMA BJJ is to teach genuine Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu self defense in the safest manner available. The workouts are geared toward the average person, are informative and fun. The instructors at FMA Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu have years of experience in both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and teaching. They are dedicated to carefully working with you and helping you achieve your personal goals.
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The Martial Art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu focuses on techniques that are easy to learn in a very short period of time. The techniques taught in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are also extremely effective and have been tested on knowledgeable and experienced martial artists who were not cooperating. A small amount of simple but high percentage techniques makes the difference. Brazilian Jiu-jitsu is supposed to be practiced as a martial art where you can use little to no strength to subdue a much larger opponent without causing them harm.
Check our History section to learn more about the how Jiu-jitsu became what it is today. Click here for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu history.
FMA Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is one of the few schools in the area with real BJJ Black Belt Instruction. Most classes are taught by two instructors who each have years of teaching experience. During classes, your safety is our number one priority. Our friendly instructors are trained to lead fun workouts while teaching awesome self defense. Each student is different, with different abilities and most importantly, different goals. The instructors at FMA Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are dedicated to carefully working with you and helping you achieve your personal goals.
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Your first Jiu-Jitsu Class
What to expect
Before Class
Arrive 5-10 minutes early to check out the school, fill out guest waiver and try on uniforms. You do not need to own a uniform for your first class. The school will provide you with one for the class.
Warm Up
Classes begin with a light group warm up that may include running, jumping jacks, push-ups, etc. Class warm-up may also include ground specific drills that will be thoroughly explained and demonstrated by the instructors.
Techniques
Next, the students line up and the instructors demonstrate techniques. You will be paired up with another student of similar weight to practice while the instructors pay close attention. After you try the moves a few times, the instructors will give your group and other groups individual help to better fine tune the techniques.
Positional Drills or Specific Training
Depending on the class, towards the end, you will be able to try the moves against a partner that may be resisting. The instructor will indicate how much resistance students should use according to each drill (Example: 50% resistance or 80% resistance). This is a great way to improve your newly learned skills and an awesome, safe workout.
Sparring (Rolling)
Rolling is always a controlled training session where students practice their Jiu-Jitsu techniques on each other. As a new member of FMA Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, during your first class, you will not participate in any sparring or rolling and will instead watch this part of the class. For safety and other reasons, this part of the class is reserved for students with some experience. The instructors will first teach you specific positions and drills so that over the upcoming weeks you are slowly and comfortably introduced to training live with a partner.
End of Class
Students line up, bow to instructors and shake hands with instructors and fellow BJJ practitioners. After having enjoyed a great BJJ class as a new student, you can speak to staff about enrollment in our school, purchasing a uniform or ask any questions you may have about training Jiu-Jitsu at our school.
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Some historians of Jiu-Jitsu say that the origins of "the gentle art" can be traced back to India, and was practiced by Buddhist Monks. Concerned with self-defense, these monks created techniques based upon principles of balance and leverage, and a system of manipulating the body in a manner where one could avoid relying upon strength or weapons. With the expansion of Buddhism, Jiu-Jitsu spread from Southeast Asia to China, finally arriving in Japan where it developed and gained further popularity.
Jiu-Jitsu Goes To Brazil
In the last days of the 19th century, some Jiu-Jitsu masters emigrated from Japan to other continents, teaching the martial arts, as well as competing in fights and competitions. Esai Maeda Koma, also known as "Conde Koma” or Count Koma, was one such master. After traveling with a troupe which fought in various countries in Europe and the Americas, Koma arrived in Brazil in 1915, and settled in Belem do Para the next year, where he met a man named Gastao Gracie. The father of eight children, among them five boys and three girls, Gastao became a Jiu-Jitsu enthusiast and brought his oldest son, Carlos Gracie, to learn to fight from the Japanese master.
Birth of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
For a naturally frail fifteen-year old Carlos Gracie, Jiu-Jitsu became a method not simply for fighting, but for personal improvement. At nineteen, he moved to Rio de Janeiro with his family and began teaching and competing in the martial arts. In his travels, Carlos Gracie would teach classes, and also proved the efficiency of Jiu-Jitsu by defeating in competition adversaries who were more physically strong. In 1925, he returned to Rio and opened the first school, known as the "Academia Gracie de Jiu-Jitsu."
Jiu-Jitsu, Synonymous With Health
Since then, Carlos Gracie started to share his knowledge with his brothers, adapting and refining the techniques to the naturally weaker characteristics of his family. Also, Carlos Gracie taught the other Gracies his philosophies of life as well as his concepts of natural nutrition. Eventually, Carlos Gracie became a pioneer in creating a special diet for athletes, "the Gracie diet," which transformed Jiu-Jitsu into a term synonymous with health.
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FMA Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu offers FREE Intro to BJJ classes for men and women and regularly host other self defense/self protection seminars. Our instructors have years of martial arts self defense training and a wealth of teaching experience. The intention of the course is to give you the best self defense training available. Our aim is to teach genuine Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills to average people, so that they see significant benefits in a relatively short period of time. If you are interested in attending a FREE Jiu-Jitsu Class or Seminar, please fill in your information below.
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