Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
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Cairns’ premier Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy, with 12 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belts
What is Brazilian Jiujitsu?
Referred to as “The Gentle Art” Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is ideal for men, women and children.
The overall fighting strategy of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is designed to equip a physically smaller or weaker individual with an effective method of defending against a larger and stronger attacker.
BJJ also has the most developed methods of fighting while on one’s back, a position weaker fighters will often find themselves in, when attacked (how many fights end up on the ground?!).
BJJ is very effective and applying the techniques correctly is paramount. It takes time to get the techniques right and this is why BJJ takes so long to get “good at” (typically a black belt in BJJ takes around 10 years to attain with regular training 3 times a week). Brazilian Jiujitsu becomes a way of life and after the first couple of years you realize the journey is a never-ending one which is fun, rewarding, challenging and frustrating. One thing we can promise is … you’ll never be bored.
What to wear to a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class
“Gi” classes are taught wearing a “Gi” sometimes referred to as a “Kimono” and is more sport focused using the gi to perform various chokes and submissions.
“No Gi” classes are taught wearing normal workout type clothing (shorts or tights and a rash guard) and is more dynamic and fast-paced due to the reduced ability to create “holds” without the “Gi”. Shorts and rash guard shirt is ideal to wear, however a normal close-fitting t-shirt can also be worn.
Male and females must wear undergarments with females required to wear sport crop tops underneath their rash guard or Gi.
Females in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
We are proud to have a practicising female brown belt owner, Jeska Maunder, and a large number of female members participating in our classes creating a welcoming space for female BJJ beginners to acclimatize in this male-dominated sport.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a VERY effective self-defence tool as it is a martial art which essentially was created to be able to defend and attack from a supine position (lying on ones back). If thrown to the ground, a practitioner of BJJ would have the skills to render her attacker unconscious or break a limb to injure them so they could not continue their attack. As BJJ was created for the smaller, weaker opponent it does not rely on strength or size to execute the techniques which are highly effective. Don’t waste your time on some “self-defence” course. You need to train regularly, be conditioned to being physically handled so that if you were ever attacked and thrown to the ground you would have the muscle-memory to defend yourself and escape, not FREEZE!
We have female brown, purple belt, blue and white belts plus some amazing juvenile girls coming up through the ranks. It’s a very exciting time for females in this sport and we really encourage all females to join in.
Stop hating exercise and join us to do something that is fun, engaging, challenging and will build your confidence in yourself like nothing else.What to wear to a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class.
FAQs
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When you get a belt with us, that belt is recognised anywhere in the world. You can be confident of your level against other Jiu Jitsu players. We hold gradings every 4 months. If members have attended an adequate number of classes (39) they may gain a stripe on their belt. Once 4 stripes has been reached, members are then considered for their next belt. As a rough guide you can expect to gain a new belt every 2 years if you train consistently (3 times a week).
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For an adult there are 5 belts. White, blue, purple, brown and black.
Everyone starts on white. A black belt generally takes a minimum of 10 years to achieve training 3 times a week.
Belts also have a stripe system and there are 4 stripes per belt. Black belts also get degrees. We have 10 black belts at Fusion! One with 3rd degree, several with 2nd degrees and some with first degrees.
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2 times a week is required to see progress. 3 times a week is ideal.
Our champions train 5-6 times a week.
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We encourage our students to compete as much as possible as it accelerates their progress, provides excellent motivation and builds a lot of confidence, however there is no obligation to do so.
We offer “in-house” competitions to gain the experience of competing in a low-pressure environment, but which is an exact imitation of what an official competition would entail from the registration process to the dynamic match times, referees and points. We also hold 2 official regional competitions a year.
Our team of athletes and coaches also travel regularly to the major competitions around Australia and Internationally.
Kids Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Our mission is to build self confidence, resilience and discipline in your child. bully-proof your child today!
Kids Brazilian Jiujitsu
Brazilian Jiujitsu teaches kids excellent life lessons. Qualities like resilience, persistence and discipline are built here! Kids gain self-confidence and learn self-defence skills which are perfect to deal with bullying situations where students can defend themselves and neutralise a threat without harming or injuring the other person.
We have helped many victims of bullying face their tormentors with several using their jiujitsu skills to prevent themselves being further physically harmed.
We have strict Code of Conduct and students understand that unless they are in physical danger, they are never to use their martial art training outside of the academy.
“Amazing, family orientated, wonderful coaches and very caring. My son has been going there a couple of years now and shines with so much confidence in himself now. He has made incredible friends outside of school. Hands down can’t recommend Fusion enough. If you’re not attending yet you definitely need to sign up!”.
Jessie Povis
4 – 7 year olds – “Little Ninjas”
Brazilian Jiujitsu classes for this age group run for 40 minutes. Students are required to attend twice a week. They are explicitly taught technique on one of the training days with the other day being more focused on positional sparring and free grappling. This creates the opportunity for students to use the techniques they have learnt and apply them, conditioning their muscle memory so that they can actually put what they learn into practise in a live situation.
“Fusion Fight & Fitness, a great gym with knowledgeable and caring instructors. They not only teach different fighting techniques, but I watched coach Garrett also teach respect and values to the very young ones. A good place to send your kids.”
Jill Spackman
8 – 12 year olds – “Junior Warriors”
This class runs for 1 hour and requires twice a week attendance.
Junior warriors learn technique in a step by step fashion which is very easy to understand. They also get plenty of time to test out the learnt technique within free grappling and positional sparring time in class.
Students are of all levels and abilities and students get “thrown in the deep end” with the other students when they join. New students are coupled with more experience students and given extra attention from coaches. In this way new students get a very swift on-boarding and are very soon able to understand the concepts they are learning.
Once students become Junior Warriors their belt aligns with the IBJJF belting system and is recognised anywhere in the world.
“When my son 12 ,joined over a year ago through strong advise from a close family friend that Fusion was the best martial arts school in Cairns , he was hooked after his first lesson. His words to me in the car home were “ Dad….. can I do that every day?” he’s gone onto loving his BJJ and MMA classes so much he’s doing up to 6 classes a week. Along with also entering competitions locally and down south as a Fusion team member, he has made great friendships and improved so much. It’s even inspired his mum to start. Fusion Fight and Fitness is the premium martial art school in Cairns.”
Gianni De Rose\
In-class sparring and competition
Sparring is where confidence is built and skills are tested in a real situation where your opponent is trying to “submit” you. We are all about building confidence and real, effective skills!
Simply learning technique with no real opportunity to test it is unrealistic and does not benefit the child should they actually ever need to use jiujitsu in a real life situation.
We provide plenty of opportunity for students to test themselves and their techniques. This is done through positional sparring (working from a specific position with set goals of escaping or improving their position) and free grappling (students “roll” until one of them “submits” the other).
Some other mixed martial arts clubs in Cairns mainly teach technique and never sparr or only very occasionally. They also never compete in sanctioned events keeping everything “in-house”. This gives a false sense of confidence and capability as those students have never really put their skills into practice.
At Fusion, we place an emphasis on sparring or “rolling” and test what is learnt in Nationally and Internationally recognised competitions under sanctioning bodies such as AFBJJ (Australian Federation of Brazilian Jiujitsu) and IBJJF (International Brazilian Jiujitsu Federation). In addition to regular sparring during class times, several times a year we run in-house competitions. These competitions are free to members and act as an excellent source of motivation and are excellent for building self-confidence.
In-house competitions are run identical to any large interstate competition, from the registration process to the actual matches on the day!
Juniors Brazilian Jiujitsu Gradings
Gradings are done during class time and on grading week students get two chances to earn either a stripe or their new belt. There is no additional day on your weekend or extra expense to attend a grading!
How long have you been teaching kids?
We have been building confidence in kids for more than 13 years! Our program is overseen and guided by owner and instructors Garrett and Jeska Maunder. They have 4 children of their own (3 boys and 1 girl) and have extensive experience in how to teach children. Jeska Maunder who is also a fully qualified and registered teacher. She holds a Graduate Diploma of Education and has worked with children of all ages and nationalities from kindergarten through to adults with over 18 years of teaching experience.
Our Kids BJJ program is not ONLY about learning a martial art, we aim to coach kids both on and off the mat, teaching them life skills within the BJJ program that they will utilise for the rest of their lives.
The most common feedback received from parents and guardians is that their child has grown in self-confidence and character from participating in our BJJ program.
Advanced Kids Brazilian Jiujitsu Program
Our Junior Elite Team (JET) Program produces State, National and World Champions! This exclusive, ground-breaking program is for students who show they have what it takes to take their training and competing to the highest levels.
The JET program is an “invitation only” program where selected students are chosen to participate in an “Elite” class in addition to their regular training. This class focuses more on competition style training where students delve deeper into techniques, linking submission attempts, gaining positional advantage and point scoring. A high level of commitment is required and the highest standards of behaviour and effort are expected.
Students are not selected solely on their jiujitsu skills and abilities, nor talent or athleticism. The number one quality coaches are looking for is a positive, can-do attitude, determination and coachability. Skills, techniques, even the lack of athleticism are all factors that can be improved with persistence, time and training in jiujtsu.
Elite students attend as many competitions as they are able to and regularly travel to Townsville, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne to compete and gain experience against other top level athletes of their age. It’s not all about work though…there’s plenty of fun excursions sprinkled in along the way!
The pinnacle of this is competing overseas in world class level competitions such as the Abu Dhabi World Youth Championship (United Arab Emirates) or Copa Podio (Brazil). We have 3 current students who have competed and won gold medals at this level through our program and the opportunity it provides.
