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“Great family environment with excellent people! Very knowledgeable Instructors, that you can tell truly love what they do! Look forward to my classes each week!!”
Academia Rocian Gracie Jr
GMA Family
The Rocian Gracie Jr. method taught to ages 6–12 — confidence, discipline, and real self-defense in a structured, supervised class. Safe Sport Certified, background-checked instructors.
Kids Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is grappling — no striking, no punching, no kicking. Children learn to control a bigger, stronger opponent using leverage, position, and technique, which makes it one of the safest martial arts for young students and one of the most useful in a real situation.
Our youth classes teach the Rocian Gracie Jr. method, the same system passed down from Carlos Gracie, the founder of Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Rocian Gracie Sr. Classes are grouped by age and size, and every live round is supervised.
Beyond the mat, parents tell us the change shows up at home and at school — better focus, more patience, and the quiet confidence that comes from knowing you can handle yourself.
A complete, age-appropriate grappling education built on the Gracie system.
Mount, side control, back control, and guard — how to get to a dominant position and keep it.
The first thing every child learns: how to stay safe and get out from underneath a bigger opponent.
Chokes and joint locks taught progressively, with strict rules about which techniques are allowed at which age.
How to take an opponent down safely — and just as importantly, how to fall without getting hurt.
Repetition disguised as play. Movement games build coordination, timing, and mat awareness.
Bowing in, listening, training safely with partners. The discipline side of the art carries off the mat.
Jiu-Jitsu works because technique beats size. That makes it a fit for almost any child.
No experience needed. Most kids start here with zero background and are training in their first class.
Control-based skills give a child real options that do not involve throwing a punch — and the confidence that usually ends it earlier.
Balance, body awareness, and grip strength that carry directly into wrestling, football, and every other sport.
Structured, repeatable, and demanding of attention. Parents consistently report improvement at school.
Certified, background-checked and Safe Sport trained. Classes here are taught by Professor Spillmann, his sons and his grandsons.
50+ years in martial arts. Received his BJJ Black Belt directly from Master Rocian Gracie Jr. on December 12, 2000. He and Master Rocian grew up together and have worked side by side for over 30 years.
Kukkiwon / GMA / IBJJF certified. Trains across multiple disciplines and brings energy and patience to every class — especially with younger students.
Multi-discipline martial artist and BJJ coach. Brings technical precision and a calm teaching style to both adult and youth classes.
Coaches on the Jiu-Jitsu mat and works closely with new students. Trained in the Rocian Gracie Jr. curriculum alongside the GMA fight team.
BJJ uses separate belt tracks for kids and adults. Every belt below black carries four stripes, earned through mat time, technique and instructor evaluation before promotion.
Depending on program length and number of classes per week
“Great family environment with excellent people! Very knowledgeable Instructors, that you can tell truly love what they do! Look forward to my classes each week!!”
“You won't find a school around here that offers better training. Most schools nowadays are just black belt farms — they hand out black belts like candy. GMA is definitely the real deal, and I'm glad that we are a part of it.”
Your first class is free — no commitment, no pressure. Just show up ready to learn and our instructors will guide you through everything.
509 Garnet Ct, Ste 200, Gallatin, TN 37066
info@gmagallatin.com · Walk-ins welcome