Veteran-Owned Business of the Week: Military BJJ

An Air Force Veteran and a Navy Veteran teamed up to unite the military community with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), by creating Military BJJ. Pop Smoke Media is proud to announce that Military BJJ is this week’s Veteran-Owned Business of the Week.

The founders, Jon and Frank, decided to form the group as a way of proving the benefits that Jiu Jitsu training yields for both Veterans and active duty military. Both of the founders were trained by the affiliates of major figures in the BJJ community.

Jon earned his brown belt from Eric Acha and Professor Gene Folgo who are Jean Jacques Machado Jiu Jitsu black belts. Frank earned his black belt under Mike Codella who is a Renzo Gracie Black Belt.

The two have combined their experiences, both in the military and on the mat, in order to tailor the program for Veterans.

According to the pair, “Our mission is to grow awareness in the military community for the mental and physical benefits of training the art of Jiu Jitsu. Our hope is that more Veterans and active duty military will give the art of Jiu Jitsu a try after seeing their comrades training and enjoying the benefits.”

A glance at any of Military BJJ’s social media accounts speaks volumes of the program. The amount of people who benefit from learning Jiu Jitsu in the context of their service is seemingly endless.

The Connection

This connection between military service and combat sports like BJJ isn’t exactly surprising.

Groups similar to Military BJJ have been quite outspoken about the benefits of strenuous martial arts training for Veterans. One of these is the We Defy Foundation, which is dedicated to advocating for the same benefits as Military BJJ.

According to an article on JiuJitsuTimes.com, there is some interest in research geared towards exploring the benefits that BJJ offers those who have served. The example provided for this sort of research was conducted by Dr. Gino L. Collura, as a dissertation for their Doctor of Philosophy.

Dr. Collura’s dissertation is titled Brazilian Jiu Jitsu: A Tool For Veteran Reassimilation. The gist of the hypothesis that incited Dr. Collura’s research was, “BJJ helps combat veterans with challenges associated with the civilian assimilation process.”

According to Dr. Collura himself, the interviews from the research proved that BJJ does help in the assimilation process. One of the key components for why BJJ is viewed as beneficial is the structure that it tends to afford practitioners.

According to the dissertation, “For veterans in my research, the requirements of having a Gi, respective labels, patches, and appropriate belt color with stripes facilitates a powerful story with no words needed.”

If you’re looking for something new, or simply feel unhappy with your current hobbies, look into Jiu Jitsu!