1. The obvious thing
We teach American Jiu Jitsu!
That’s what the sign says on the building. As you can imagine, this can be a little bit controversial for some people.
Some may even be a little bit offended by it.
This is a little bit ironic when you think about it, given the Japanese origins of jiu jitsu.
Still, it was a bold choice on our behalf, but you should know the real reasoning behind it.
We’ll be recording a video soon to explain the reasoning behind that decision, but until then here are a few key examples of why we chose the AJJ moniker…
- Keenan, Andris and all of our instructors are American.
- The gym is one of the most patriotic cities in America.
- Our facility is located on the other side of the fence from a Marine base.
- Keenan’s world-famous lapel guard techniques were created in America, by a group of Americans.
- And a fun little fact: AJJ also stands for Anti Jiu Jitsu, which is a good way to describe said lapel techniques.
Stay tuned for our explanation video, which is coming soon, to learn more about the origins of AJJ.
2. We REALLY want our members to get good at jiu jitsu, FAST
There are many academies out there with head instructors offering some form of online teaching platform.
However, very, very few instructors have 2 platforms of that kind.
Keenan has both keenanonline.com which has helped people all over the globe take their jiu jitsu to the next level and beyond, and in early 2019 Keenan released the highly anticipated lapelguard.com which is an organized continually updated collection of all his world-beating lapel guard secrets.
Other instructors normally have no problem charging their students for the privilege of subscribing to their online platform as well their gym membership fees (which as you can imagine can get a little expensive).
However, here at Legion, every one of our members who signs up on a contract gets access to BOTH KeenanOnline and The Lapel Encyclopedia, FOR FREE, for as long as they remain a member at Legion.
That way, those that want to learn additional techniques at home… or wish to refresh their memory from class… can do so – easily and at no extra cost.
3. Relaxed Uniform Policy
What you read here may shock you, especially if you’re new to jiu jitsu, but the way most academies make extra money on top of their membership fees is by selling uniforms to their students.
Now you may be thinking…
“Yeah, but students need uniforms. Isn’t it nice for the academies to provide them for their convenience.“
Absolutely!
However, that’s not the issue. The real issue is that a concerning number of academies are making this in-house purchase of uniforms MANDATORY!
That way your freedom to buy a kimono or shorts or rashguard from your favorite company goes out of the window.
At Legion, we’ve stood against this tyranny from the beginning.
Our uniform policy is very liberal and you can feel safe knowing that Legion HQ and future Legion Partner schools will never rip you off with their uniform selling scheme.
And that’s a pinky promise: the strongest of all promises.
4. FREE Open Mat
At Legion, we take advantage of our large mat space by opening it up to everyone, regardless of affiliation, on Sundays and holidays.
This is a great chance for our members to bring in their friends who have never trained before or who train elsewhere to hang out and have some fun.
We get a ton of visitors from out of town and you’ll see different ages from six to sixty on the mats: men, women, white belts, black belts, judokas, nogi freaks, the list goes on.
We also have music playing on our sound system, which kinda makes Sunday open mat a big, relaxed party.
We have well over 100 people attending and we’re welcoming everyone who wants to experience what the vibe at Legion AJJ is all about.
Ps. In the case that we get so many people on the mats that it becomes unsafe to train, we will institute a check-in list with a maximum capacity.
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