Academia Rocian Gracie Jr
GMA Family
GMA Jiu Jitsu is Academia Rocian Gracie Jr in Gallatin, Tennessee — a family-operated academy teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in a direct line from the Gracie family. Big, small, young, old, brand new or a lifelong athlete: everyone starts on the same mat.
Konrad "Konrado" O. Spillmann — IBJJF 3rd Degree Black Belt under Professor Rocian Gracie Jr, and the first Black Belt Rocian ever promoted.
Professor Konrad "Konrado" Spillmann started training at four years old, trying to work through anger and childhood health problems. Nothing since has moved him off that path — he has been a full-time professional martial arts teacher since 1979, the only career he has ever had.
He met Master Rocian Gracie Jr in California in the early 1990s. Rocian began teaching Jiu-Jitsu out of Professor Konrado's academy, the two trained together for years, and on December 12th, 2000 Professor Konrado received his Faixa Preta from him — the first Black Belt Rocian Gracie Jr ever awarded. Thirty years later they are still training brothers, and Rocian named his own son Conrado after him.
Before Gallatin he built and ran academies for over 22 years, growing to 12 branch locations across California, Texas, Arizona, Florida and India. Along the way he trained under and alongside Grandmaster Y.K. Kim, TaeKwonDo founder Grandmaster Choi Hong Hi, Muay Thai Ajarn Nelson Siyavong, Wing Chun Sifu William Vardeman, and kickboxing world champion Don "The Dragon" Wilson. He has worked with UFC and professional fighters, trained law enforcement and military units in hand-to-hand combat, and taught seminars internationally.
In 2012 he sold the California academies, licensed out the branches, and moved his family to Gallatin to be near family in Castalian Springs. Retirement lasted about a year. GMA opened that same year and has grown into one of the largest training centers in Sumner County — today the Jiu-Jitsu program runs alongside Global Martial Arts USA and the GMA after school and homeschool programs under one roof.
Everything below is documented. All certificates, medals and trophies are on display at the academy.
The program we run in Gallatin is the Rocian Gracie Jr. Method. This is the man who created it.
Rocian Gracie Jr was born in Teresopolis, Rio de Janeiro, and is the grandson of Carlos Gracie — the founder of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He earned his Black Belt from his uncle, Master Carlson Gracie, and today holds a 6th Degree IBJJF Black Belt.
He was teaching in the United States in the early 1990s when he met Professor Konrado, then a TaeKwonDo and HapKiDo master running his own school in California. Rocian began teaching Jiu-Jitsu classes out of that academy. They trained, competed and traded knowledge for years, and Rocian eventually promoted Professor Konrado to Black Belt — the first he ever awarded. They remain close friends and training brothers.
He returned to Brazil and opened his first academy in Sao Paulo in 1998, where he built the teaching system that carries his name.
That distinction is the whole point of it. Two students can train side by side with the same understanding and the same ease of learning, and one will have the physical and emotional makeup for tournaments while the other will not. A curriculum built only around competition fails the second student. The Rocian Gracie Jr. Method measures knowledge, so both progress honestly.
It is also why the curriculum here is strict. Every coach on our mat teaches the same system, in the same order, to the same standard. Master Rocian teaches from Brazil — classes in Gallatin are taught by Professor Konrado, his sons and grandsons, and the coaches he has certified in the method.
Sixteen-plus Jiu-Jitsu classes a week, Gi and No-Gi, kids from six and adults and teens from fourteen. See the full class schedule.
Every coach on this list is background checked and certified in the Rocian Gracie Jr. curriculum. Several also teach TaeKwonDo, HapKiDo and Kung Fu at Global Martial Arts USA next door.
Grandson of Carlos Gracie, the founder of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and the creator of the teaching method every class here follows. He promoted Professor Konrado to Black Belt in 2000 — the first Black Belt he ever awarded. Master Rocian teaches from his academy in Brazil; our Gallatin classes are taught by Professor Konrado and the coaches he has certified in the method.
All awards, certificates and trophies are displayed at the academy.
509 Garnet Court, Suite 200 in Gallatin, TN. Anti-bacterial matted floors, professional equipment, and a comfortable waiting area for parents.
Our home mat. A dedicated Jiu-Jitsu room with floor-to-wall matting so nobody rolls into a hard edge, kept clean between every class.
The big floor next door, used for stand-up arts and open training. Jiu-Jitsu students often cross-train here for striking and takedown work.
See the martial arts programs
A quieter matted room for one-on-one coaching, competition prep and film review. Available by appointment for Jiu-Jitsu students and every other program.
Book a private lesson
Open to members. Grip, hips and posterior chain are what carry a Jiu-Jitsu game past the first two years, and this is where that work gets done.
A dedicated learning space in the same building. Kids get picked up from local schools, have a snack, finish homework with tutor support, and walk straight onto the mat for class — all in one program. Homeschool students follow the Acellus Academy accredited curriculum through Alijah Academy and Monarch Software.
Learn more about the ASP program