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Team Yemaso of West Idaho BJJ officially opened for business on June 2019. They’re located in the small rural town of Star, Idaho. Prior to COVID-19, their academy was growing steadily as they were the only martial arts academy in town. They felt as though they introduced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to so many people and a lot of their members have been waiting to train for years, but have just been waiting for an academy to open up nearby.Tom Steele, the owner of West Idaho BJJ, closed the academy’s do …

Crazy 88 Mixed Martial Arts and I, Julius Park, renewed our lease at our existing location in Elkridge, Maryland at the end of 2019. We were in serious negotiations to relocate, but we ended up staying in the same building. In hindsight, this was a huge blessing. If we moved, we would have been in serious financial trouble with the added construction and moving costs.Maryland shut down gyms on March 16, 2020. We were able to pivot quickly to online classes for different martial arts styles. The …

The last day we had a large group class was on March 16, 2020. It was my birthday and after class, the students had a cake for me and sang me Happy Birthday. With a heavy heart, we decided to close down our facility the very next day on March 17. In the beginning of all this, we knew very little about COVID-19. I think everyone panicked at some point. We lost about 20% of our students during the first week, mostly the new students and white belts. As people lost their jobs, they immediately cont …

May 22, 2020, the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) officially announced the suspension of all their events for the remainder of this year “until conditions are safe to resume competitions.” The federation reassures the Jiu-Jitsu community that they are continuing to work alongside the government, world health authorities and local communities for updates on hospitals, health networks, travel restrictions, and public transportation. Before they decide on resuming the tournamen …

My quarantine life has been an adjustment to say the least. I went from maybe spending 5 hours in my home – to pretty much sleep – to now being confined 24/7. As some of you guys know, I train at both Unity Jiu-jitsu in New York with Murillo Santana and at my own academy, Bones BJJ (located in Clifton, NJ). I wanted to give some insight to how different my life was before the shutdown compared to now during this quarantine.Depending on the day, I’m awake by 5:15 for the 6 AM classes at my gym Bo …

Perseverance, determination, overcoming adversity… These are familiar grounds for many jiu-jitsu practitioners. As the unprecedented events surrounding COVID-19 continue to unfold, these qualities have become more important than ever before. In the jiu-jitsu community, academy owners are among the businesses who are hit hard by this pandemic.Professor Kawika Yoneda and his wife, Jamie, are the owners of Roma Jiu Jitsu Academy, Atos Hilo in Hilo, Hawaii. When COVID-19 made its way to the islands, …

Martial Arts academies, a sanctuary for all fighters alike, has become a source of stress and anxiety instead of relief during these times of COVID-19.Gyms were one of the first to be forced to close up shop when the rise of COVID-19 cases began. It’s been a few weeks now since the shutdown of many states and with the different and ever-changing regulations implemented on each county, it’s been hard to keep up with the latest news for most of us. Derrick Kennington, the head Professor and owner …

Cancelled seminars and closed academies, World Champion Lucas Leite talks COVID & Small BusinessThe affects of COVID-19 and Small Businesses are profound. Empty dinning halls and crowded drive thrus for takeout. Closed Jiu Jitsu Academies and zoom classes behind a computer screen. We recently had a chance to catch up with our long time friend and Half Guard Master Professor Lucas Leite. Lucas had been in the processing of building his Competition Team not only with his US based st …

First off, I would like to thank Moya Brand for giving me the opportunity to address such an important issue that is currently affecting the jiu jitsu community and the world. I would like to point out that even though I'm an MD and a black belt, my recommendations are somewhat limited in that they are solely based off of what I have personally seen/experienced while practicing medicine during the coronavirus pandemic in the state of South Carolina. It is important to note that each state is d …

It’s no secret that major changes have surfaced within all aspects of our communities. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu itself has experienced a sudden pause with the complete cancelation of the 2020 tournament season, which included: the IBJJF Pan Americans and Worlds. As weeks turn into months, questions were raised about how our athletes have maintained a leveled state during these times. For the 25-year-old BJJ black belt, Rolando Samson, this is what we’ve come to find.With the closure of all gy …