David “The Rock” Jacobs BJJ Academy
First Glance:
I got to experience
David Jacobs’ BJJ Academy for a month from a Groupon I saw on FB. When I first entered…. there’s a small reception area where you’ll find the main restroom (unisex). a water fountain, vending machine, a couch (usually with an exhausted student on it) and the entrances to the ‘separate but equal’ ladies and men’s changing area. There’s no lockers but a few dozen or so cubby holes to place gear and an area to hang of cloths. If you have valuables that you need to lock up, leave those things at home or in the car and stop showing up at BJJ class like a pimp…unless you’re a pimp and if you are, I think your stuff will be safe at
Dave’s school. On the other side of the changing rooms is a large & newly matted area, roughly 50 feet x 35-40 feet. The mat is the dollamur-type mat with the bamboo-finish …if you’re are not familiar this finish it can be a little abrasive if you drag a callus-free body part across it but its nothing serious…side-note… if mat-burns are the sort of thing that bothers you, maybe Jiu Jitsu isn’t for you OR you should check around for a full-body rash-guard with feet on them. Everything was clean, well ventilated, air conditioned and well kept. There’s a wall-long bench right off the mat were everyone keeps there flops and bottles of water and sit during breaks. Most people bowed in before getting on the mat and greeted whomever the instructor was before class started. Those that came in late just joined in and greeted the Professor when there was a break. (Note: I would not plan to attend any BJJ school late unless you contact them ahead of time. Its just matter of respect.)
Schedule:
There are classes everyday of the week. Monday through Friday there’s evening classes for gi and no-gi. There are lunchtime classes on Tues and Thurs for those that need that midday grappling fix….like me. The are early morning classes on Saturday, which are followed by an open mat. At least one Saturday a month the open mat is a community- open mat which means all-schools are welcome to visit and roll. There’s something usually happening there on Sundays but the Sunday sessions seem to alternate between rolling and conditioning. There’s also a wrestling/grappling class on Sunday but I wasn’t fortunate enough to attend that class.
Lineage:
David Jacobs is his lineage. In fact several of the people at the school are self-described “misfits” or leftovers from schools that closed or misunderstandings with former schools/instructors. There many people that have been with
The Rock BJJ for many years but if you’re looking for a particular lineage of BJJ instruction then this may not be your place but you could probably find every lineage represented throughout the ranks…so maybe this is your place. Between
David and his instructors you will learn just about every perspective on Jiu Jitsu that vary between the various lineages.
Class Structure:
Classes are pretty standard with a really good attendance each time I was there. Classes started with BJJ movements/exercises and class instruction on a portion of the particular week’s sequence that tied into a month-long curriculum. After the class’ technique was taught we drilled it with a partner then switched partners until everyone had an opportunity to feel the technique on several different body types and then we live-action drilled the movement with various partners for a specified time each round. The evening’s technique was followed by some rolling for those that were still able to function with the level of fatigue from the full-speed drilling of the class technique. The classes at David are stacked classes, meaning one class after another, but I never stuck around to see what really happened in the classes after mine because…you guessed it, I was wiped out. Great class structure…the movement was …well…drilled into my brain. I still remember the classes in those classes.
Professor/Coaches:
Most of the classes I attended were led by Garrett “Vaji (VA-gee),”a superb black belt under Dave Jacobs. He’s from the DC area but was a professor in Abu Dhabi for over a year. He taught the Tuesday & Thursday noon and no-gi classes of which I mainly attended. His style of fighting is very smooth, deliberate with wheelbarrows full of patience and calmness. Rolling with him was like trying to dry off in a shower, the guy’s all over you and just setting you up for more opportunities to learn…learning is what I like to call tapping out. He didn’t even seem to break a sweat during classes. There is also Prof. Abmar Barbosa. He’s another legendary black belt teaching at the academy, however, I miraculously seemed to miss all the classes he taught, but heard many students sing his praise about “the class last night when Abmar….” David Jacob also teaches classes in the evening and is usually present at the dojo assisting the other professors leading class. My Saturday classes were led by another Dave Jacobs’ black belt, Brennan. The two Saturday classes I attended were great because Brennan asked everyone in class with what they were having issues or what they wanted to learn …I wanted to learn “the 5 fingers of death” and I was told to try to stick more within the curriculum. He then proceeded to break us into groups of two so that we could drill the questioned-technique with someone and then return the favor as the other person drilled their desired technique. I felt like half the class was solely dedicated to me as a semi-private lesson. It provided an opportunity to really focus and go over that ‘particular’ technique that I just couldn’t seem to grasp before moving on to the following sequence in next week’s classes.
Each of the classes I was fortunate to endure were awesome. The conditioning was thoroughly challenging and the instruction always stayed professional and on the topic of BJJ. There was camaraderie and joking going on but this place was about Jiu Jitsu and the class stayed focused and forwarding moving, Every one was helpful and patient with my old bones moving slowly or my injuries. I loved that the classes structure seemed a little different each time I went. There were always the basics but the instructors mixed it up sometime just to prevent monotony in training. After attending class for a week, I started my second week thinking, “ok, I know the routine here, lets get it started” but was confronted with a 20-minute roll to warm up versus the status-quo jogging around the mat, calisthenics and stretching. There was always something to keep me on my toes and thinking rather than falling into a routine. Yup, always a little discomfort to grow on.
Being at
David Jacobs was great because I came into contact with many other BJJ athletes throughout the area and traveling fighters passing through because David is so well known in the sport and everybody has to stop by
David Jacobs’ academy. Its like going for deli in NYC and not going to Katz.
Music:
The music was ok. Between the professors I heard a little of everything (no country) and I have an eclectic taste in music so I’m good with almost anything, but the music was never really that loud so I didn’t have time to focus on it. I do remember hearing a song from Rocky one time which made me chuckle …(Prof. Isaac July). Plus, I was just coming off injury and was too fatigued to listen to the music over my heartbeat, heavy breathing and my subconscious asking me to slow down or die.
Water:
There’s a vending machine in the reception area with the coldest damn water, Gatorade, juice and soda and talk about ‘hitting the spot’ after rolling with the monsters there. There’s also a water fountain to refill your bottle if necessary.
Attendance/Women in BJJ:
There was always a good mix of body types, ages and several females in attendance. Not once did I attend class with the feeling of being the only older dude or not seeing or drilling with a female at some point.
Locations:
Located on the edge of downtown Tysons Corner… about 25 mins from Washington DC, 15 mins from Maryland and 5 minutes from the 495 US Highway and about a 12 mins walk from nearest the Metro subway station.
