Brabo Academy

Small Grappling Industries tournament, but a productive weekend for the team.

We had a few kids and adults competing for the first time, and that’s always exciting to see. Even with just a small group of kids, we still managed to take 🥈 in the Youth Team standings.

Every tournament is a chance to learn. Now it’s time to bring everything we learned back to the academy, fix the mistakes, sharpen our game, and make everyone better.

Huge thanks to all of our coaches and parents for the support and encouragement.
On to the next one!🥋🤼

Jake Stremmel Doug Stambaugh JayJulio Javier crewsfam_bjj Marissa Worsley cam :o Sean Anderson
Sean Andersony

What a weekend for our team at the IBJJF Virginia Open! 🥋🤼

We had competitors on both Saturday and Sunday, and we had an absolute blast on the mats!
Saturday – Adult Gi:
🥇 Kyle Knox
🥇🥇 Jacqueline Knox (division & absolute champion)
🥈🥇 Darlene (silver in her division, absolute champion)
🥈 dannarose_ (first tournament ever, stepped up two weight classes to compete!)
🥉 Tim

Sunday – Kids Gi:
🥇 Kiera
🥇 Kayden
🥈 Yeva
Adult NoGi:
🥇 Sean Anderson (3x Virginia Open champ)
🥇 Kyle Knox
🥈 Jacqueline Knox
🥈 cam :o

Super proud of every single athlete who stepped on the mats this weekend!
Next stop: IBJJF Pan Kids, the biggest kids tournament of the year, followed by Master Worlds in September!

A huge thank you to all of our coaches and parents for your continued support. We couldn’t do it without you! 🙌🏻

Marissa Worsley Jake StremMarissa WorsleyrJake StremmelJChristina CrewsbJayJulio Javier Doug Stambaughy

IBJJF Pan Kids is officially in the books, and what an incredible weekend it was!

With nearly 2,900 youth athletes from all over the world, this year’s tournament was one of the toughest yet. Brabo Academy was proud to have 10 competitors representing our team. After countless hours of training, dedication, and hard-fought matches, we’re coming home with some hardware:

🥇 Olivia – Mighty Mite 2, Grey Belt Champion
🥈 Kiera – Junior 1, Light Feather
🥉 Kira – Junior 2, Yellow Feather (earned by default)
🥉 Clair – Junior 1, Yellow Middle (earned by default)

We’re proud of every single one of our athletes. Wins, losses, and lessons—every match is part of the journey, and we’ll continue learning, improving, and coming back stronger.

A huge thank you to all of our coaches, training partners, and especially the parents for your endless support throughout the season. We couldn’t do it without you.

Now it’s time to recover for a day… because Grappling Industries is up next! 💪🏻🥋🤼



Marissa Worsley crewsfam_bjj cam :o Sean Anderson Jake StremmeSean AndersonuJake StremmelaDoug StambaughnJayJulio Javier

Yesterday we had the privilege of hosting another PAL Camp (Police Athletic League) organized by the Norfolk Police Department 🥋🚔

We introduced the kids to some basic Jiu-Jitsu techniques, and they had an absolute blast learning something new while building confidence and having fun.

A big thank you to all of the coordinating officers for your trust and for making this event possible. We truly appreciate the opportunity to be a part of such an awesome program. We can’t wait to do it again🙌🏻💪🏻

Summer Belt Ceremony 2026 🥋☀️

After an awesome week of belt testing, several of our students leveled up! We also welcomed a new black belt to the team, congratulation to our 6am coach… oh, sorry, Professor Doug Stambaugh 🥴

It’s amazing to watch our students grow through their hard work, dedication, and passion for Jiu Jitsu. All of that effort pays off—not just on the mats, but off the mats as well.

Congratulations to everyone who earned a new belt! Keep working hard, because this summer is going to be a busy one! 💪🔥

A special thank you to our coaches for dedicating their time, energy, and passion to helping our students achieve their goals:
Adult classes- Jake Stremmel
6am crew- Doug Stambaugh JayJulio Javier
Tiny ninjas, Little Grapplers, Youth BJJ- Marissa Worsley crewsfam_bjj
Youth Wrestling- cam :o Sean Anderson

📸 Irene V Sean AndersonboacaIrene V Aquinobeach

Help us wish a happy belated birthday to our very own Coach crewsfam_bjj, who celebrated his birthday yesterday! 🎉🥳

A full-time pastor, devoted husband, and proud dad of four, Coach Mark pours his heart, energy, and passion into coaching and teaching every time he steps on the mats. We’re incredibly grateful to have him as part of the Brabo family.

We hope you had an amazing birthday, Coach! Wishing you many more years filled with love, happiness, good health, and countless blessings. Thank you for everything you do! ❤️🙏🏻

Last weekend, we had a few students competing at Virginia Beach. For our adults, Josh and Justin, it was their very first competition, and they both came home with some hardware! 🥇🥈

Our kids also had an awesome day, bringing home medals, belts, and even a few swords 😅🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥈

A huge thank you to all of the parents and coaches for their support, and a special shoutout to .kyle_l and for helping coach and cheer on the team throughout the day🙌🏻

This week is belt testing, and I can’t wait to see everyone’s progress and how much they’ve learned over the years. Good luck to everyone testing—we’re excited to see you take the next step in your journey! 💪🏻🥋

This past weekend, our team traveled to Atlanta to compete at ADCC. With nearly 1,300 competitors and a very high level of competition, it was an amazing experience for everyone involved!

Our Brabo girls had a great run, and bringing home three gold medals:

🥇 Coach – Advanced Heavyweight Champion
🥇 Kira – Advanced, girls 9-10
🥇 Mady – Intermediate, intermediate 6-7

A huge thank you to all of our coaches and parents for their support, dedication, and encouragement.