Challenging Martial Arts Studio in DC area

March 31, 2009 10:23 PM

My brother's looking for a challenging martial arts studio in the DC, Northern Virginia area. He's really good at jiu-jitsu, but he's most interested in any studio, no matter what the style, where the difficulty level is extremely high. He doesn't care about getting belts or competing, just about learning through through losing, essentially. Any recommendations?
posted by Football Bat to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

The Aikido Shobukan Dojo would be worth looking into.
posted by watercarrier at 1:39 AM on April 1, 2009

What kind of jiu-jitsu is he already 'really good' at?
posted by Comrade_robot at 5:25 AM on April 1, 2009

You want Capital Jiu-Jitsu in Alexandria, a Royce Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu affiliate. The instructor there, Jeremy LaFreniere, is a great guy. I think they have a couple other locations nearby as well.
posted by Shoggoth at 5:38 AM on April 1, 2009

Seconding Capital Jiu-Jitsu, and Shoggoth's sentiment about Jeremy. All the instructors there are great.

Classes there are an hour of instruction followed by a half hour or an hour (it feels like a long time) of sparring. You will get many opportunities to learn how to lose gracefully.

Only downside is that it's fairly expensive, but you get what you pay for I guess.
posted by Kadin2048 at 7:05 AM on April 1, 2009

Lloyd Irvin has a bunch of affiliates in the DC area. I was at his main school in PG county for a month, and it impressed me. He puts out lots of top notch competitors, which means they trade really hard. If he wants butt kickings, I'm sure there are lots of guys willing to oblige.

Also, the Georgetown judo club, with Sensei Jimmy Takemori, is semi-legendary. Would be worth checking out.
posted by HighTechUnderpants at 3:58 PM on April 1, 2009