Brazilian jiu jitsu is the reason most people find Ground Level, and it is still the heart of what happens on our mats. It is a grappling art built on leverage, position and timing rather than size or aggression, which is exactly why it works for a 24 year old athlete and a 48 year old office worker in the same class.

We run both gi and no gi. Gi training slows the pace down and sharpens your grips, control and technical detail. No gi speeds everything up and forces you to rely on body position and pressure instead of cloth. Training both is what makes your game complete rather than one dimensional, and you are welcome in either from your first week.

Rank in jiu jitsu follows IBJJF standards, the global benchmark for the sport, and it is earned on the mat rather than handed out on a timeline. Worth knowing if you plan to train both of our grappling programs: judo and jiu jitsu carry different ranks. We follow the IJF and USJA for judo and IBJJF standards for jiu jitsu, because they are two different sports with two separate belt systems, and a belt in one does not carry over to the other.

Class follows the same shape every time so you always know what you walked into: a guided warm up, a technique of the day broken into pieces, drilling with a partner, then live rounds at whatever intensity you are ready for. Nobody is going to throw you into hard sparring on day one, and nobody is going to hold you back once you want it.

If you have trained before, you will find partners who can push you and coaching that gets specific. If you have never set foot on a mat, you will find out fast that the hardest part was deciding to come in. Beginners in Murfreesboro, Smyrna and La Vergne start here every month and most of them wish they had come sooner.