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VAI Jiu Jitsu

@vaijiujitsu

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DISCOVER WHAT YOU’RE CAPABLE OF
🇧🇷 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Movement • Mindset • Community
📍 Twickenham | Richmond
💬 DM “VAI” to start your journey

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Everyone meet Lewis! He started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for many reasons — but one of the biggest was community.

As a commercial airline pilot, Lewis talks about how the focus and mindset developed through training also shows up in the air as well as the ground.

What started as physical training became something much bigger: focus, calm under pressure, and genuine connection through the Jiu-Jitsu community.

There’s a million reasons why people start training and why people love Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the fastest growing martial art in the world 💙

Why did you start training BJJ?!

#bjj #bjj4life #community taken in Busen Martial Arts and Sports Trust by @vaijiujitsu

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5 months ago

First stripe is the sweetest 🥋✨

Tom Hardy was introduced to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu while preparing for Warrior in 2011. What began as training for a role became something much more enduring.

Carlos played a formative role in those early years, training Tom from white belt through to purple belt. Tom would often train for hours, almost every day, developing the foundations of a genuine love for the art. Carlos also cornered at his first two REORG competitions.

In 2022, Tom began quietly entering tournaments under his real name, Edward Hardy. He won gold at the REORG Open in Wolverhampton, then competed again in Milton Keynes a few weeks later and won his division there too.

There was no celebrity bracket or exhibition match. He entered simply as another competitor, testing himself alongside everyone else who had turned up to compete.

His relationship with jiu-jitsu also became closely connected to REORG, which uses BJJ and physical training to support military personnel, veterans and emergency-service workers. He remains involved with the organisation as a patron.

As his love for the art grew, Tom spread his wings—training around the world with some of the greatest minds in jiu-jitsu, including John Danaher, Tom DeBlass and Mikey Musumeci.

But the first stripe will always be special.

The OG @carlossantosbjj 🔥

Inspired by a recent post from @mvmntarchive.

First photograph from Carlos Santos’s personal archive. Additional images via @mvmntarchive.

#BrazilianJiuJitsu #BJJ #jiujitsu #thegentleart taken in Richmond, London by @vaijiujitsu

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2 months ago

HRH King Charles with our co-founders Professor @rogergracie and @tiniegram at RGHQ today.

Amazing to see Brazilian Jiu Jitsu getting a Royal recognition for helping transform lives all over the UK and in particular for the brave men and women who fight for our country, supported by the incredible charity @reorgcharity led by @sam__sheriff, please give them a follow, you will be inspired 💪🏽✨

Long live Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and what a pleasure it is to see the sport we all love receive a Royal Osss!

#brazilianjiujitsu #bjj #bjj4life #osss by @vaijiujitsu

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4 months ago

Do you remember YOUR University Freshers’ Week?

Uni opens up into all the things you could try, learn and become! Great to finally meet the students at St Mary’s a place of learning with such a strong sporting culture, (literally just up the road from our dojo).

The campus felt vibrant and incredibly diverse, so a natural fit for VAI. We also met some brilliant leaders from Harlequins, Rugby 7’s and the Hurricanes American Football team, which made the whole day even more fun.

With lots of students curious but completely new to BJJ, we’ve created our VAI Accelerator — a simple introduction to the foundations before stepping into a full class. First 3 Accelerator sessions are on the house.

Big thank you to the St Mary’s Students’ Union for such a fun day doing what we love most — meeting our local community!

Incoming student energy 👀 and we are ready for it!

#vaijiujitsu #brazilianjiujitsu #trysomethingnew
@stmaryssu @hurricanesafc @harlequins taken in St Mary's University, London by @vaijiujitsu

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24 days ago

🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡 we see you 🤍💙💜🤎🖤

📷@sviryd_team taken in On the mat by @vaijiujitsu

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a month ago

As adults, we don’t often get much coaching anymore.

At VAI, good coaching isn’t about someone simply telling you what to do or how to do it.

It’s about paying attention to the person in front of you — how they move, how they learn, where they get stuck, and what might help them progress.

Sometimes that’s technical. Sometimes it’s learning to breathe when things get difficult. Sometimes it’s learning not to panic, not to rush, and to keep going when the answer isn’t obvious.

The mat gives us somewhere to practise all of that.

The lessons start on the mat. But they don’t have to stay there.

Patience. Determination. Courage. Understanding.

#brazilianjiujitsu #vaijiujitsu #health #longevity #calminchaos taken in London, United Kingdom by @vaijiujitsu

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a month ago

Our Wednesday 12.45pm classes are back on 🎉 ‘De La Riva’ s for lunch tomorrow, see you on the mat! 😁

#brazilianjiujitsu #bjj taken in Busen Martial Arts and Sports Trust by @vaijiujitsu

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a month ago

ON THE MAT TONIGHT
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tonight and every Tuesday night • 6.30pm - 7.30pm @vaijiujitsu at the @busen_martial_arts_trust

#letsplay #vai #vaijiujitsu #brazilianjiujitsu taken in Busen Martial Arts and Sports Trust by @vaijiujitsu

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a month ago

WHAT OUR MEMBERS SAY ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“VAI understands Jiu-Jitsu as more than just a sport — as both an art and a science.”

We’re proud to have created a sustainable training environment built around world class coaching, technical detail and intelligent learning from diverse perspectives — including Champion guest coaches alongside our amazing VAI team. Don’t just take it from us go read the many ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reviews for yourself.

Interested in training with us?
DM @vaijiujitsu or email contact@vaibjj.com

#BrazilianJiuJitsu #BJJ #BJJLondon #BJJTwickenham #jiujitsuforlife by @vaijiujitsu

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a month ago

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an extraordinary meeting of minds and bodies, exchanging learning, trust and inspiration. This beautiful shot is from @jiujitsucon - the ultimate celebration of jiu-jitsu, bringing together athletes, fans and industry leaders for an unforgettable experience and new perspectives. It’s a reminder that Jiu jitsu doesn’t only save lives, it allows us to experience it in the most beautiful way possible as we all create our own living art.

📸@of.ourselves 🙏🏽

#brazilianjiujitsu #wearetogether #connected taken in Las Vegas, Nevada by @vaijiujitsu

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a month ago

YOUR BRAIN ON BJJ 🧠🧐

BJJ doesn’t just train our bodies, it does wonders for our minds too - it challenges attention, memory, movement, emotion, decision-making and the way we respond under pressure.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be breaking down 10 ways the brain shows up on the mat — and how understanding them can help us train more intelligently, stay calmer and make better decisions.

Which one do you recognise most in your own training?

#brazilianjiujitsu #mindset #resilience #neuroplasticity by @vaijiujitsu

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2 months ago

“Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a relationship built on trust.”

On the mat we are sharing space, pressure, balance, breath, grips, awkward positions and vulnerability. We have to feel comfortable enough to trust the people we train with, laugh with them, tap to them, help them — and let them help us.

That’s why the relationship we have with our training partners matters so much - and that’s why we cultivate our culture on the mat with care and attention.

Trust. Respect. Curiosity.

We want it to be a place where people can ask questions, make mistakes, learn properly, enjoy the people around us and keep each other safe.

Lessons can come from anyone — a black belt, a beginner, a teenager, a lawyer, someone smaller than you, older than you, or someone who just has a completely different way of moving.

We will always need other humans to get better at Jiu Jitsu.

And understanding that every encounter is a lesson to be learnt is a beautiful thing. That is our vibe.

#trust #bjj #vaijiujitsu #brazilianjiujitsu by @vaijiujitsu

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2 months ago