Adult Jiu-Jitsu Classes (age 15+)

No prior martials arts experience is required. Our classes are designed to be accessible to individuals of all backgrounds and fitness levels. We welcome newcomers and provide a supportive environment to help you get started.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is effective for self-defense, fitness, and personal growth. If you’re interested in building self-confidence, improving physical fitness, and learning valuable life skills while enjoying a supportive community, this could be the perfect fit for you. But there’s only one way to find out…you have to try it!

Solarte stands out for its professional instruction, structured curriculum, welcoming community, and holistic approach to well-being. Our focus on individual growth, both on and off the mats, sets us apart from other martial arts schools in the area.

Safety is our top priority. Our instructors are highly trained to ensure a safe training environment, and we teach techniques with a focus on control and injury prevention. We also provide guidelines for safe and responsible training.

Consistency is key to improvement. We recommend attending classes at least 2 times per week to experience steady progress. However, you can adjust your training frequency based on your goals and schedule.

We have a very informal training environment. We don’t bow and your don’t have to ask permission as you enter or leave the mats. You’re welcome to take breaks at any time. Some instructors have people circle up at the beginning and end of class, but it’s mostly to let students know that the class is starting/ending.

Most classes begin with a warm up. It’s usually an easy going game or skill-building exercise that develops grappling skills while getting your mind and muscles ready.

After that, we usually teach a series of games and skill-building exercises that focus on:

• standing (both people standing)
• escapes and attacks from grounded positions (versus a kneeling or standing person)
• movement, pinning and attacks from the top/back control positions

ATTACKS include sweeps (going from bottom to top position), taking the back (controlling from behind) and submissions such as chokes and join locks (both from the top and bottom positions).

You will play the games with different amounts of resistance. Always talk with your training partners to set a pace that works for you. The games can get VERY TIRING, especially if you’re worried about winning. Don’t. If you play to have fun and solve problems, you’ll learn a LOT more quickly. You’re welcome to go slower and work steadily. You have no obligation to “go hard” (which doesn’t help you or your training partners anyway.)

If you’re new to jiu jitsu, the games also get you used to the close contact and pressure you’ll experience during “rolling” (sparring). Training sessions usually end with rolling, which are 5- to 6- minute timed rounds of sparring. There is no kicking or punching during sparring, but chokes and joint locks are in play. You DO NOT have to roll if you don’t want to, especially if you’re brand new. All students, whether new or experienced, can use the rolling time to work on skills or play games. Eventually, all students do roll because it allows you to tie together all the skills you learn from playing the games.

Please bring footwear such as slides or crocs that are easy to slip on/off. For no gi classes, whatever active wear you’ve got is perfect. Eventually, you might want to invest in a rash guard—long or short sleeves—and leggings specifically for jiu-jitsu.

For the gi classes, we have gis available to borrow (though it might not be a perfect fit). A well-priced, good quality starter gi is the Elite Gi which comes with a white belt. We do not have a specific color so pick whatever you like! Club patches can be purchased directly from Jenn.

For the comfort and safety of your training partners, please do NOT wear jewelry or watches, nor strong deoderant or scents.

No. You don’t have to do anything you’re uncomfortable with. However, sparring in jiu-jitsu (called “rolling”) is a key part of your training and development. You learn a LOT about timing and strategy that you can’t get from just rote drilling.

Most students do not compete and it is not required. We do have a competition team for people who love the learning opportunities and challenges of competition!

The instructors at the club are NOT gods, Yoda or secret wisdom keepers. It doesn’t matter if they’re wearing a black belt. They’re just human beings who love jiu jitsu and want to share this sport with you. If you want to call them “Coach” feel free, but most feel way more comfortable if you just call them by name.

Traditional martial arts tend to make the instructors into kings. That can lead to serious problems including abuses of authority, weird culty behavior, and worse. Solarte BJJ stands against that type of creepy power dynamic. Our instructors tend to think of themselves more as jiu jitsu facilitators. We are here to help you discover and develop your own jiu jitsu. Period.

At Solarte, you choose whether or not you want to participate in our striping/belt promotion program. You are not automatically “in the system”. We respect the fact that not everyone cares about getting belts and stripes. Keep in mind—in the modern sport of jiu-jitsu, traditional belt ranks are NOT standardized. They are often bestowed arbitrarily or based only on attendance rather than actual skill. At Solarte, we have developed a system for those who are interested in “belting up” in a more meaningful, useful way:

At white, blue and purple, up to four stripes can be placed on the black bar that’s on your belt. At Solarte, we’re evaluating four skills:

• Guard Retention/Recovery & Escaping Pins/Submissions—staying safe on the ground. Preventing/escaping negative bottom positions and submissions.
• Guard Passing, Top/Back Pinning Control & Submissions—passing the guard and keeping top/back control. Submissions from top/back control.
• Guard Attacks: Sweeps & Submissions—From the bottom position, attacking sweeps, back takes and submissions.
• Standing Work—When both people are standing, developing the timing and controls to take your opponent to the ground OR pulling guard effectively.

The stripes don’t necessarily correspond directly with a specific skill set. For example, a student who is evenly developing all four skills may get one stripe or two depending on the amount of progress. On the other hand, a student may have a breakthrough on a certain skill and can, indeed, get a stripe for “Guard Retention”. Students will also sometimes skip stripes and jump to the next belt level if they’ve made a big jump in development. We allow for flexibility since every student learns at different rates.

Traditionally, there are different colored belts as students rise up the ranks: White > Blue > Purple > Brown > Black

IMPORTANT NOTE: At brown belt, we are no longer doing stripes. Most brown belts are working on the last refinements before getting to black belt. There’s really no point in striping at this level unless someone just really likes getting stripes.

ABOUT STRIPING/BELT CEREMONIES: We rarely have belt promotion or striping ceremonies. Usually, stripes and belts are given spontaneously during classes. Occasionally, if several people at once are leveling up or it’s a brown or black belt promotion, we may set a date for a ceremony.

Absolutely yes! At any time, adult students can ask for an assessment to help them better understand what skills they’ve made progress in and which ones need more work.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR ALL STUDENTS: We realize there’s some benefit to students when they receive an external marker of achievement. HOWEVER, we’ve noticed that students—both kids and adults—generally make more progress and have more fun when they have an internal drive to learn and grow. Trying to prove oneself to someone else often causes burnout and increases the chances that a person will quit. Enjoy the journey and have fun—that’s the most important thing!