In the thirty years since a youthful Royce Gracie demonstrated to the world how effective Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was at the first Ultimate Fighting Championship in 1993, Jiu Jitsu as a sport has grown from a fringe martial art based sport rarely seen outside of Brazil, to a worldwide phenomena.
There are literally thousands of people who not only do the sport, but dream of making a living inside it. This series is designed to give some insight as to how that might happen for you.
Why Am I the Jiu Jitsu Insider?
My name is Alex Wright, based in Northumberland, England. Since the early 2000’s I’ve been involved in both doing the sport of Jiu Jitsu, and also in the business world that surrounds it.
Since putting on the Gi (and taking it off for MMA) I’ve travelled both the UK and the world training, I was part of the first ever UK based MMA brand, I’ve written for several well known Martial Arts magazines (published and digital), been part of tournaments both as a competitor and as a promoter, built several businesses in the sport and even previously owned a gym.
Twenty years on from my first steps onto the mat, a seven year break due to injuries and a lot of good times and bad, I’m now a Jiu Jitsu Black Belt and have been the brand director of REVGEAR sports for the last decade.
If you haven’t heard of them, Revgear are an American martial arts brand that has been around almost the entire time that the modern martial arts arena has existed, almost growing up alongside the MMA phenomenon.
The Martial Arts Journey
My personal martial arts journey has taken me all over the world, allowed me to meet some incredible people and given me the opportunity to work with some of the most famous names in the sport, from Royce & Robson Gracie, Urijah Faber, Stipe Miocic, Dan Hardy, Jimi Manuwa to name but a few. So If you ever wanted to get deeper into the world of Jiu Jitsu, perhaps become part of the fabric that builds it, then this series might just be for you.
In the coming articles I’m going to show you how the sport ticks, how you can get ahead in the game, how to get sponsored, grow a brand or get into the business. Maybe we should start by taking a look at why we all are so obsessed with this sport.
But first let’s take a look at what drives this obsession we have.
Why Does Jiu Jitsu Change Us?
Every year, many thousands of people step on to the mat for the first time and start a journey that changes their lives for the better, forever.
Jiu Jitsu so often becomes a riddle we must solve, the mental focus that holds our attention in a way few other things do in this fast paced digital world we live in. For many, BJJ becomes an obsession that injects purpose and meaning into our day to day lives, breaks us apart from the humdrum and gives us something that binds us.
Jiu Jitsu encourages us to take good care of both our physical wellbeing, eat better, work out more and push our limits both mentally and physically. The discipline of the martial art strengthens our mental health, it humbles us every day we step on to the mat and demonstrates truths often ignored in modern society. Jiu Jitsu encourages us to follow the code of ancient warrior philosophy, explore our inner being and face our fears, overcome our weaknesses, and become strong where we were not.
It’s More Than Just A Uniform
On the mat we build quality relationships that are so hard to find in the modern workplace or local sports hall, we take what we learn in the gym and wear it everyday in our lives.
In turn many dream of becoming a well known competitor, a black belt and maybe one day running their own Jiu Jitsu academy. Others start blogs, travel the world to train with great teachers, meet new friends and find the same brotherhood everywhere they go.
Indeed that is true, when you put on a Jiu Jitsu Gi, you wear more than a uniform to train in, you have become part of something bigger. You are accepted into a worldwide club.
The Global Brotherhood Of Jiu Jitsu
If you are lucky enough to have trained Jiu Jitsu in another country then you will know that when you step onto the mat anywhere in the world, everything is somewhat familiar. I’ve trained Jiu Jitsu in my native England, Brazil, America, Portugal, Holland and many other places but my first training experience outside of my country was in Italy.
In my first year of doing BJJ I travelled to Italy and stayed in the centre of Rome. Prior to my arrival I’d found a club on the outskirts of the city. One of only two in the entire region at that time.
The team was called Tribe Jiu Jitsu run by the amiable Frederico Tisi. I was welcomed by both the instructor and the team alike as if I was a long lost relative.
I wasn’t charged a penny to train and the very fact I made the effort to find them was enough.
More importantly I met a guy who went on to became a lifelong friend and brother in Jiu Jitsu, and now also BJJ black belt, Valerio Poscia.
Different Destination, Same Story
I returned many times to Rome to train, moving across to a new team near the river. Valerio came to my native North East England training with my team here, again instantly accepted and welcomed like I was one of the family.
So, I could recount every trip ever taken including the amazing experiences training in the mountains in Brazil or the sweat boxes of Los Angeles but the vibe was always the same, the experiences similar, the generosity and welcome equal no matter where I went.
Jiu Jitsu is truly a global brother(and sister)hood where only your will to improve and share your knowledge, attitude and character matters. If you have the opportunity to travel and do Jiu Jitsu I would heartily recommend it, the friends you make may change your life.
What’s In A Gi?
Without a doubt, I’m going to end up having to write about Gi’s….. Funny thing is that in a way I find them both interesting and boring at the same time. In 2017 I started designing what is now REVGEAR’s first true BJJ line with four gi’s which I had the pleasure (and pain) of building from the concept through to releasing them in late 2018.
I possibly know more about fabrics, weaves, patterns, pant gussets and BJJ Gi sizing than it is reasonable for any man to know. When I think back to getting my first Gi, brought back in a suitcase from Brazil, I remember how proud I felt of owning an original Koral Gi.
Now many of you reading this will probably never even have heard of the many old school original, Brazilian Made Gi brands but here’s a list to check out and compare against the modern versions:
- Keiko Raca
- Koral
- Vitamins and Minerals
- Hunter
- Atama (Still around in Europe!)
And of course an honourable mention must go to the original Badboy brand.
Badboy, the one I saw in Brazil, was a sports brand involved primarily in motocross. They appeared to replicate the branding of American sports brand NO FEAR .
Their Wiki page appears to say they were started in San Diego but I believe the brand was bought by an American firm and originated in Brazil. They sponsored many of the top Brazilian MMA fighters of the 90’s and early 2000’s before being licensed firstly to an American brand (more in a moment) and then to an English company a decade later.
My First Fight Store…..
Funnily enough this Badboy link then comes directly to me. I started UK brand Fightstoremma (Now fightstorepro.com) in 2009. When I first started the company we had only four brands on sale. The original Tapout (from the USA) Topking from Thailand, Hayabusa and BADBOY….
We searched out Badboy’s worldwide distributor, a company called REVGEAR based in Los Angeles, which was the start of an amazing journey. So here I am today, still in the business with Revgear Sports.
So what’s inside the Jiu Jitsu Insider and why should you read it?
So throughout this series I’ll take a look at aspects of the Jiu Jitsu business that perhaps you didn’t know about, I’ll talk about some of the famous brands and their influence on the sport today, how the business affects the sports and how the various players have changed the face of modern Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
If you ever wanted to get more involved, spend more time in the sport and less at the office, build a career in any area of Jiu Jtisu then this blog is definitely for you.
We’ll do some interviews, make some connections and take some suggestions on what you want to hear, but Jiu Jitsu Insider starts here!
Customers receive 10% OFF ALL ORDERS when promo code REVGEAR10 is entered at checkout!
