Monroe Jiu Jitsu - Monroe, Michigan

Monroe Jiu Jitsu - Monroe, Michigan Monroejiujitsu.com ABOUT:
Monroe Jiu Jitsu founder 3rd degree Black Belt Todd Williams is a Monroe, Michigan native that made his name through distance running.

He was a state champion, All American at Monroe High School(1987) before moving onto even greater things where he made two United States Olympic teams in 1992 (Barcelona) and 1996 (Atlanta). After retiring from professional distance running in 2002 he immediately started Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and self defense training. After 6000 hours and 8 years of hard work he received his black belt and certific

ations in self defense from Legendary Coral Belt Luiz Palhares January 22nd 2011. At this point Todd created RunSafer.com and began teaching runners, joggers and walkers how to be safer while out exercising. He has conducted over 400 safety workshops in 31 states as well as instructing students in Jacksonville, Florida at the Luiz Palhares Academy . He also had the opportunity to instruct law enforcement as well the National Guard. Todd has trained and learned from some of the best in the world including 16 world champions; Marcelo Garcia, Bernardo Faria, Wellington "Megaton" Dias, Andre Galvao, Saulo Ribeiro, Xande Ribeiro, Augusto Tanquinho, Helio "Soneca" Moreira, JT Torres, Lucas Lepri, Tainan Dalpra, Josh Hinger, Mikey Musumeci and the list continues to grow. Todd wants Monroe Jiu Jitsu to be a great place to learn a great martial art that can change lives

08/20/2026

We get this question all the time:

“Why don't you offer No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu at Monroe Jiu Jitsu?”

As far as regular instruction goes, Monroe Jiu-Jitsu is a GI-ONLY academy.

Can our students train No-Gi? Absolutely. At open mats, extra training sessions or if you want to visit other academies feel free to take the gi off and roll.

The fundamentals of Jiu-Jitsu—position, pressure, escapes, control, timing, leverage and most of the submissions—cross over.

I personally trained No-Gi for 15+ years, so I have plenty of experience with both. Today, I choose to train and teach strictly in the gi at Monroe Jiu Jitsu.

Why?

For one, I simply believe the gi is a cleaner and more comfortable way to train.... especially for new students trying the art for the first time. You have a barrier between you and your training partner instead of constantly dealing with skin-to-skin contact and sweat everywhere. Anyone who has been on a packed No-Gi mat knows how slick that mat can get and 🤢🤮

But more importantly, the gi teaches Jiu-Jitsu.

Learn to control somebody in the gi. Learn position. Learn leverage. Learn escapes. Learn how to stay calm when somebody has grips and is controlling you. Take the gi off, and those fundamentals don't disappear.

There are plenty of great No-Gi schools out there....so if that's what you're looking for go for it and enjoy that. We simply choose to be different.

Monroe Jiu-Jitsu is proud to be one of the few academies around that remains committed to the GI ONLY 🥋

Clean. Technical. Traditional. Effective.

🥋 MONROE JIU-JITSU — WHERE THE GI ONLY HAPPENS.

08/19/2026

After close to 25 years of training jiu-jitsu, this is what I believe its true purpose is.

Jiu-jitsu is about SURVIVAL.

The sport side is awesome. Competition is awesome. Takedowns are important. Striking is important. Every martial art has something valuable to offer.

But at its core, jiu-jitsu prepares you for a very specific worst-case scenario:

Someone grabs you unexpectedly.
Someone attacks you from behind.
Someone bear hugs you.
Someone tries to punch you.
Someone knocks or throws you to the ground.
You end up flat on your back with another person on top of you trying to hurt you.

What do you do now?

If you don't have a weapon and the attacker doesn't have a weapon, and you are forced into a physical confrontation—especially one that ends up on the ground—you need the ability to protect yourself, stay composed, improve your position, escape, get back to your feet, and survive.

That's why I love the name of my good friends' academy in St. Augustine, Florida: Fighting Chance.

Because that's exactly what good jiu-jitsu gives you.

It doesn't guarantee you'll win a fight. Nothing does. Size, strength, numbers, surprise, weapons, environment, and countless other factors can completely change a real-life confrontation.

But proper training can give you a better fighting chance when something has gone terribly wrong.

We train from underneath people. We train escapes. We train when we're uncomfortable. We learn how to control another person. We learn how to remain calm when someone is putting pressure on us. We learn how to protect ourselves and work our way out of terrible positions.

And whenever escape and avoiding the confrontation are possible, that's the goal.

Because real self-defense isn't about proving you're tougher than somebody else.

It's about making it home.

That's the true essence of jiu-jitsu to me.

Not winning. SURVIVING.

Every month we add another mother/daughter duo to the ladies class...it's awesome to see Coach Linz Mjj working with so...
08/19/2026

Every month we add another mother/daughter duo to the ladies class...it's awesome to see Coach Linz Mjj working with so many ladies/girls and helping them learn how to be safer....from safety tips to techniques....every little thing is important!

MJJ LADIES GROWING👍🏼

Great job Coach Linz!

Tuesday 6:00 pm Ladies Only

When kid's class is about to begin and you ask a student "where are your pants?!"😂
08/18/2026

When kid's class is about to begin and you ask a student "where are your pants?!"😂

08/17/2026

Warm up before mount entries to submissions..... MJJ rolling!💯

08/13/2026

Monroe Jiu Jitsu Kids warming up!

Love seeing the kids getting stronger!

08/11/2026

🥋 A SHOUT OUT TO ALL THE OLDER GRAPPLERS & HOBBYISTS

A quick shout out to all the older grapplers out there—and really, all the hobbyists who keep showing up and putting in the work.

These are people with normal jobs. Some have families. Some work extremely long hours. Some deal with a ton of stress in their everyday lives.

But they still walk through the doors of the academy.

They sweat. They grind. They get smashed. They fight through injuries, aches and pains. They keep trying to learn more technique, stay healthy, improve and challenge themselves as they get older.

And the crazy thing is, they're doing it for absolutely no other reason than they love the challenge.

Nobody is paying them. There's no championship or big prize waiting for them. They just want to see what they're capable of and continue to level up.

That's a pretty small percentage of people—especially as you get older.

So a big shout out to every grappler who works all day, handles their responsibilities, deals with life's stresses and still finds a way to get on the mats and push themselves as hard as they can.

I appreciate that Monroe Jiu-Jitsu has so many students just like this.

Keep showing up. Keep working. Keep learning. Keep leveling up.

🥋 KEEP IT ROLLING.

Coming up soon! Paul Butterfield Butter Roll at Monroe Jiu Jitsu Never Forget!
08/03/2026

Coming up soon! Paul Butterfield Butter Roll at Monroe Jiu Jitsu

Never Forget!

Address

11 East 2nd Street
Monroe, MI
48161

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