ABOUT 313 BJJ
Here at 313 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy, our goal is to provide a safe, supportive environment to learn and train self-defense.
In the fall of 2015 Fabio Lima and Zander Heinen opened the first Brazilian jiu jitsu school in Detroit, when the two long time practitioners took a leap, walking away from the renowned Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu Academy in New York City. Seeing a need for a Jiu-Jitsu academy in Downtown Detroit, Fabio and Zander opened the academy with the express permission of Marcelo Garcia himself. 313 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy is the only official Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu Academy Association in Michigan.
Having received their black belts from Fabio Lima, Zach Mabey and Steve Pauley became instructors and took over management of the business in 2023. We are proud to continue the legacy of building a strong community environment and a welcoming place to learn martial arts.
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WHAT IS BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU?
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting. Brazilian jiu-jitsu was formed from Kodokan Judo ground fighting (newaza) fundamentals that were taught by a number of individuals including Takeo Yano, Mitsuyo Maeda and Soshihiro Satake. Brazilian jiu-jitsu eventually came to be its own art through the experiments, practices, and adaptation of judo through Carlos and Hélio Gracie (who passed their knowledge on to their extended family) as well as other instructors who were students of Maeda, such as Luiz Franca.
BJJ promotes the concept that a smaller, weaker person can successfully defend against a bigger, stronger assailant by using proper technique, leverage, and most notably, taking the fight to the ground, and then applying joint-locks and chokeholds to defeat the opponent. BJJ training can be used for sport grappling tournaments (gi and no-gi) and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition or self-defense. Sparring (commonly referred to as "rolling") and live drilling play a major role in training, and a premium is placed on performance, especially in competition, in relation to progress and ascension through its ranking system.
Meet the Team
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Zach Mabey
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STEVE PAULEY
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JUAN ZAVALA
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JESSE LOWE
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Byron Barnard