San Lorenzo Brazilian Jiu Jitsu — Local services in San Leandro

San Lorenzo BJJ (SLZBJJ) is a very warm and welcoming jiu jitsu school. The students are very respectful to each other and guests. They make sure to acknowledge everyone who comes through the door, which can be a huge relief when you’re doing drop ins or trial classes because you instantly feel like you belong there. This hospitable nature may very well have been learned from Professor Manny, the proprietor, who always greets his students and guests. SLZBJJ is more of a hobbyist gym, rather than some gyms that are heavily competition focused. This doesn’t mean that the students don’t roll hard, but there’s less emphasis on podium placing.

Professor Manny has a keen memory for faces and names, he seemed to have learned my name immediately, which I found surprising, especially given how many people pass through the doors of SLZBJJ. Professor Manny is also very humble and understanding, he doesn’t foster a harsh culture that some schools have. Professor Manny is in the center of the spectrum of traditions, having students line up by rank and bow before and after class, but not so traditional that he has people bowing to portraits of masters or handing in attendance cards. He also incorporates less traditional practices too. He teaches a lot of no-gi and techniques that are less traditional like heel hooks, etc. He’s very understanding accommodating to the fact that we all have different lives. This is apparent by the fact that he offers an early morning class in addition to evening classes. Moreover, he is understanding when people arrive late or need to leave early.

Professor Manny is an excellent teacher of BJJ, he has great attention to detail, offering explanations on why particular body positioning is important in terms of strategy. However, despite the wealth of knowledge that he instructs with, his humility reveals itself again in that he understands that for the uninitiated, getting the basics, the broader points of body position and movement are more important, and that finesse will come with mat time. Moreover, his passion for teaching and his humility has also been demonstrated by offering to teach me techniques at open mat when I wasn’t even one of his students. While Professor Manny is a relatively knew black belt to the sport, it doesn’t mean that he’s not a good teacher. On the contrary, I have trained under several different professors and he is definitely one of the best. This is also probably because he is a student of one of the greatest in the sport, having received his black belt from Caio Terra.

SLZBJJ recently moved to San Leandro to a larger facility. There is ample mat space to train. Professor Manny keeps the mats very clean. With the move the facility now has two changing rooms and two bathrooms. Unfortunately the space does not feature showers. However, Professor Manny has introduced new amenities with the new space, such as a squat rack and bench, a stationary bicycle, a bow flex machine, and a massage chair. These amenities are included with the cost of your membership. Professor Manny also provides free bottled water to members that have forgotten to bring their own. Professor Manny also has several different sizes of gis available for purchase, but he also has some set aside as loaners for walk in or for students that have forgotten theirs. Parking can be tricky during afternoon and evening hours because the facility shares a parking lot with several nearby businesses including a supermarket. However, there is plenty of street parking nearby. Professor Manny offers free open mat Friday mornings, Saturday afternoons, and Sunday evenings. Additionally he frequently offers free seminars, however donations are recommended. Lastly, Professor Manny has a policy of allowing visitors to train for free up...

So I been doing Jiu jitsu for already 5 plus years now except during the time covid hit. I took off the entire 2020 and early 2021. I was giving the ok to start training at end of 2021 so I was in search of a new school . I went on Yelp and found this place. What drew me to the school was reading the comments in the review section that Professor Manny got his black belt from Caio Terra down in San Jose. If you know anything about Jiu jitsu, you know of Caio Terra. So I reached out to Professor Manny Via Instagram. we connect and come to find out Manny is not affiliated with any school so I was kinda hesitant to come being that my mind was set on Caio. Anyway I decided to just go ahead and try out a free class that they offered here and man I have to say that I wanted to sign during that free class. I felt the love and humbleness from not just Professor Manny but the rest of the guy’s and girls that train there. The school all together is solid. I’ll tell you from experience that I’ve been to so many schools that I felt as if the owner/instructor only saw me as a Dollar sign. Professor Manny cares as much about me as he does for all his students. I never feel any negative feeling here. The opportunities we get here as students are dope and it helps us to better our jiu jitsu with classes in the morning and at night as well as open mats Friday,Saturday and Sundays so thats a ton of mat time for all of us. Every now and again they bring in different black belts to teach so it’s like you have a seminar and I think thats hella dope. Manny teaches the basics but also keeps up with the Evolution of jiu jitsu. Lastly there is no Brazilian politics like a lot of the schools out there. So in my opinion this is one of the best Jiu jitsu schools here in the bay area. If you don’t believe me come see for yourself and try out a class. I promise you...

I'm a devoted jiu jitsu practitioner and competitor from Longmont, Colorado. My family lives here in the bay so I come to visit at least 3 times a year. This past holiday I was searching for a gym to train at while I was in town and San Lorenzo Bjj was the only academy who offered me drop-ins free of charge. I knew it was a newer school in the area but when I went to the weekend open mat I was blown away not only by the amount of students on the mat but by the welcoming and kind environment that has been fostered here. I immediately made connections with everybody I met and was stoked to come back and visit. I'm currently back in the area for spring break and was welcomed back in as if I hadn't left. I seriously can't say enough good things about Manny and the community he's created and in such a strenuous time for many martial arts schools. His generosity to let me train anytime I'm in the bay has inspired me to bring the same pay it forward philosophy to my home academy in Colorado and I can't thank him enough. San Lorenzo Bjj has quickly become a staple of my travel plans and I look forward to future trainings! If you live in the bay or are just passing through and are looking for high quality jiu jitsu and a welcoming community...