313 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu — Attraction in Detroit

This is an excellent school. The instructors, curriculum, facilities, lineage and overall experience is 100%. My team mates are respectful and friendly (good atmosphere). I've been a student for about 7 months and attending class is my favorite part of my day-time routine. After 7 months I'm in incredible shape compared to when I first signed up. It's also not very crowded so I get a lot more one-on-one with my instructor.

Curriculum - there is a good balance between self-defense and sport jiu-jitsu. Training is both in a uniform (Gi) and no-gi for more experienced students. Class focus is fairly equally spent on drilling new techniques, sparring and conditioning.

Instructors - two great instructors that have a passion for the art and passing on their years of knowledge. Zander and Fabio have studied under the world's best jiu-jitsu practitioners (Gracie Family and Marcelo Garcia). They are good at explaining the technique portion of the class and correcting bad form until we have it nailed. They've really helped me in deconstructing the anatomy of a street fight from a tangling mess of flailing limbs into a rational system of self-defense

Schedule - multiple classes per day to fit most schedules (including 7:00 am Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

Facilities - parking is great, secured location downtown (it's perfect for me [an office worker]), mats are clean, they have bathrooms and a shower facility.

Intro class - if you are unsure, I would just ask for the free intro/eval class which is designed for someone to walk in off the street and take, no uniform or prior experienced needed. The free intro class pretty much had me hooked. Fabio taught me how to deal with someone who attacks me while I'm sunbathing at the beach. How cool is that?

Downsides? My work clothes don't fit anymore. I have to synch up my belt because I went from size 38...

I have been training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for a few years now and it is undeniably one of the most technical martial arts. In my experience, the best way to describe it is like a slowly blossoming tree, each tree branch representing a move. That move can further be improved upon or can continue to grow into a secondary branch representing the next sequence of the movement. For every move, there is a counter and to every counter, there is another. It teaches you to think ahead and anticipate your opponent’s movements and teaches you how to best respond to those movements. Jiu-Jitsu is a physical game of chess that pushes you to think of all the possible outcomes two or three steps ahead. Jiu-Jitsu has a limitless category of moves you can pick and choose from to build on what works for you. it allows you to develop your own inspired style of game. Fabio and the 313BJJ team do an outstanding job of guiding students through a skill with very detailed and thorough instruction, all while allowing students to develop a fighting style that is unique to themselves. Fabio is the humblest most skilled blackbelt in jiu-jitsu that has built an atmosphere where like-minded individuals can grow. At 313BJJ you can find one of the cleanest and most welcoming environments filled with good people pushing each other to greatness both on the mats...

I met Zander (one of the owners/instructors) in the fall. He told me he was opening a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gym and that I should check it out. I had never heard of BJJ before and when I found out what it was I thought “NO WAY IN HELL AND I EVER GOING TO STEP FOOT IN THAT GYM!” After further discussions with Zander and doing some research on line I was intrigued by the sport and decided to break out of my comfort zone and give it a try. Obviously, I cannot compare them to other gyms but I can say that as a 41-year-old walking in off the street with NO fighting/martial art knowledge, I couldn’t be happier with my decision. First, both Zander and Fabio are extremely friendly and welcoming and the vibe of the gym is not macho at all. They are great at breaking down the moves and teaching them in a way that is easy to grasp. If you’re not catching on to something right way they work with you personally until you’ve got it. They take these smaller moves and build them into sequences replicating real life situations and at the end of each class you feel empowered! The gym is super clean. With unlimited classes, you definitely get your...