What happens in your first BJJ class?

A first BJJ class covers a short warm-up, one or two techniques taught step by step against a cooperative partner, and light supervised practice - not sparring, not being thrown to the wolves. The intensity people picture beforehand almost never matches what actually happens on the mat.

Am I going to lose a lot and look bad when I start?

Yes, probably - and that's the actual design of the class, not a flaw in it. Being submitted teaches far more than submitting someone else, because it forces you to feel exactly where your position broke down, which a win never shows you. Every student in the room, coaches included, spent years losing constantly before any of it clicked. Fundamentals paces practice specifically so early losses happen safely, not to avoid them.

Do I need to be strong or flexible to start?

No. BJJ is built around leverage and positioning, not raw strength - the art's own founder was still controlling much larger training partners into his 90s. Strength and flexibility help at the margins, but neither is a requirement to start or to be effective on the mat.

Start with Gi. The extra fabric gives both training partners more to grip, which slows exchanges down and makes it easier to learn control and positioning as a true beginner. No-Gi is faster and more athletic, and it's easy to add once a Gi foundation is in place.

How long does it take to get a blue belt?

Around 2.3 years of consistent training, based on large practitioner surveys - a realistic expectation, not a slow outlier. Training frequency matters more than natural athleticism, and a program promising a dramatically faster timeline is a signal worth questioning, not celebrating.

Adult Fundamentals | VIA Jiu Jitsu Academy

Adult Fundamentals

The starting point. Every belt belongs here.

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What You'll Train

Position Before Submission

BJJ has one organizing principle everything else builds on: secure position before you ever attempt to finish. Most beginner mistakes come from chasing a submission out of a bad position, then losing that position entirely when it fails. Fundamentals class teaches the actual, correct order the art is built around - survive, escape to neutral, advance to a dominant position, and only then look to finish. That's why this class rarely opens with submissions on day one. It's not a watered-down version of BJJ for beginners. It's the real starting sequence every belt above white still returns to. Once that sequence is second nature, All Levels class is where it gets stress-tested against a partner who isn't cooperating - Fundamentals teaches the order, All Levels is where the order gets pressure-tested. Most students run both in the same week once they're a few months in.

White → BlackOne Class, Every Belt

All belt levels welcome - white through black. No experience required. The fundamentals never stop mattering.

Why We Train This Way

Safer Training Builds More Skill, Not Less

In the late 1800s, Judo's founder Jigoro Kano made a discovery that still shapes how Fundamentals class is run today: removing the most dangerous techniques from training - so students could spar live, at real speed, against a partner who's actually resisting - produced better fighters than drilling "deadly" moves against a cooperating partner ever could. A smaller set of safe techniques, trained under real pressure, consistently beats a larger set of dangerous ones only ever rehearsed in the air. That's not a hunch or a modern safety trend. It's been independently rediscovered across nearly a century of combat sports history, including the tap-out rule that let Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu prove itself in the earliest UFC events. It's also the exact reason this class controls the pace instead of putting beginners straight into hard sparring: the safety isn't a beginner accommodation bolted onto the real training. It's the actual mechanism that makes the skill real in the first place.

One mechanism, independently rediscovered across nearly a century of combat sports history.

What To Expect

What A Class Actually Looks Like

No surprises on day one. Every Adult Fundamentals session follows the same real structure.

Warm-Up

Light movement prep, not a fitness test - shrimping, bridging, and basic drilling that get your body ready for what's coming. It looks strange the first time and makes sense fast.

Technique

A coach breaks one or two techniques into clear steps - an escape, a control position, a basic submission - then you drill them slowly with a partner while getting corrected on the details.

Live Practice

A short, controlled round applying what you just drilled, paced to your level. Nobody gets thrown into hard sparring on day one.

Coaches & Schedule

Who's Teaching, When

Multiple sessions per week - see the full schedule for exact days and times.

Kubi Demirhan

Co-Founder & Youth Program Director

Jessen Ramcharan

Head Coach (No-Gi) / Woman's Program Director

Wednesday

6:00 PM

Kubi Demirhan

All Levels

Thursday

6:30 PM

Jessen Ramcharan

All Levels

See every class, every day. Adult Fundamentals is part of the full weekly schedule.

View the Full Schedule

It's the real starting sequence every belt above white still returns to.
— VIA Jiu Jitsu Academy

Who It's For

Real Talk, No Gatekeeping

All belt levels welcome - white through black.
No experience required.
The fundamentals never stop mattering.

Common Questions About Adult Fundamentals

What happens in your first BJJ class?: A first BJJ class covers a short warm-up, one or two techniques taught step by step against a cooperative partner, and light supervised practice - not sparring, not being thrown to the wolves. The intensity people picture beforehand almost never matches what actually happens on the mat.
Am I going to lose a lot and look bad when I start?: Yes, probably - and that's the actual design of the class, not a flaw in it. Being submitted teaches far more than submitting someone else, because it forces you to feel exactly where your position broke down, which a win never shows you. Every student in the room, coaches included, spent years losing constantly before any of it clicked. Fundamentals paces practice specifically so early losses happen safely, not to avoid them.
Do I need to be strong or flexible to start?: No. BJJ is built around leverage and positioning, not raw strength - the art's own founder was still controlling much larger training partners into his 90s. Strength and flexibility help at the margins, but neither is a requirement to start or to be effective on the mat.
Gi or No-Gi first?: Start with Gi. The extra fabric gives both training partners more to grip, which slows exchanges down and makes it easier to learn control and positioning as a true beginner. No-Gi is faster and more athletic, and it's easy to add once a Gi foundation is in place.
How long does it take to get a blue belt?: Around 2.3 years of consistent training, based on large practitioner surveys - a realistic expectation, not a slow outlier. Training frequency matters more than natural athleticism, and a program promising a dramatically faster timeline is a signal worth questioning, not celebrating.

Ready to Feel the Difference?

Come try a real Adult Fundamentals class at VIA - no experience required, every belt welcome.

Book a Free Trial Class ← All Classes