Featured affiliated academy: Grappling Cooperative / Brighton BJJ School
Where is the gym located?
Brighton, UK. Not to be confused with all other Brightons ;)
How many people train there?
We have about 20 people training regularly over the week, and then some people people coming from time to time. All together about 50.
Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
Yeah, there is slow, steady growth as we are becoming more established.
What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
We are majority white and blue belts here, with one purple and one brown belt as well.
When did the gym open?
The beginning of April 2021 as a permanent location, but some of us have been training together as a group for a while in other locations.
Some facts about you:
Name: Tom
Age: 42
Belt: Purple
Profession: Security guard / doorman
Years in BJJ: 4.5
Other martial arts: Boxing for a few years, a little bit of Muay Thai
Currently living in: Brighton
Originally from: Poland
Grappling Cooperative / Brighton BJJ School
Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence
After I left my previous gym due to internal conflict, a decent group of us continued training together in hired spaces (or on the beach during the summer). At some point it became painfully obvious that we needed our own space, as we were getting tired of always working around someone else’s schedule and relying on other venues for our training. Sure it’s cheaper to rent space by the hour, but you often deal with venue owners that can be slow to respond, difficult to deal with and so on. I started looking for the place and sent an email to the owners of the building where we are now. I initially forgot about it and it turns out my email went under the radar for a bit. Three months later they responded and we started talking. Things got delayed a bit because of the pandemic and lockdowns, but we eventually got everything going.
Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
We have a good mix of people – quite a few students as Brighton is a university town, but also working class folk etc. We have labourers, office workers, hospitality industry workers, we have a lifeboat operator, baker, teachers, a club DJ, a couple of social workers and a few more. Definitely a nice mix!
Why do they train?
Guess everyone is different, but we are mainly hobbyists rather than professional athletes, so people do it because they really enjoy it. Of course that doesn’t mean we don’t have some good Jiu Jitsu here amongst our club members! We have significant crossover with the local traditional Jiu Jitsu club, who initially just wanted to cross train a bit and now they enjoy BJJ on their own and form a big part of our club.
What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general, and in your area specifically?
Let’s just say there are still a fair bit of BJJ politics present, which I wasn’t aware of that much when I was just a student. Also, there are a lot of gyms in this area, so it’s a pretty saturated space, which can be an issue if you are trying to run a business. Luckily for me I didn’t design this gym as a business to live off, so I don’t have as much pressure. As to general challenges – well, you have to learn a lot of stuff about admin, bureaucracy etc.
How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
It’s growing and becoming more popular, and the Brighton BJJ Open tournament is quickly becoming a well-known event, so I think the future is bright.
What’s the best thing about your gym?
It’s probably a bit of a cliche, but really, it’s the people that train there. We have a good bunch here, with quite a good female representation as well, and I think we really created safe, inclusive atmosphere. We have a strong set of values that we stick to and we pay big attention to having a good, positive gym culture without any toxicity, macho bullshit, and other questionable things that are unfortunately still very present in a lot of places.
What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of Grappling Cooperative / Brighton BJJ School?
If you like clubbing you definitely won’t be disappointed, as Brighton is a party town. Otherwise there’s not a HUGE amount of stuff to see, but you should check out the Laines area and the seafront, and if you like nature a walk around South Downs or a trip to nearby Seven Sisters cliffs is definitely recommended.
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