Taiwan BJJ Academy 台灣巴西柔術學院
Taiwan BJJ is the most well known and established BJJ school in Taiwan. It can be said that Taiwan BJJ has truly contributed to the development of BJJ here in Taiwan. Personally, I also share some great memories with this institution. In 2009 I was a member of the Taiwan BJJ team that competed in the 2009 Bangkok BJJ International Open. The team was made mostly of members of Taiwan BJJ Academy, Evolution MMA and Tough MMA. We did an excellent job at the tournament. I personally won bronze in my division. Although the team was made of mostly members of Taiwan BJJ Academy, we were a cohesive team that trained and coached each other throughout the tournament.
Facility:
The school used to be located near Taipei city hall and just like every other gym back then, it had only the bare essentials: mats……and that’s about it. The school back then was small and potentially dangerous to train at if too many members were there at once. The new gym however can only described as sexy. It is located in a huge basement with plenty of space, lockers, a shower room, changing rooms, front counter and a small shop. It has full-time staff at the front you can talk to instead of talking to the instructor and interrupting the class.
Coach:
Professor Makoto Ogaswara is truly humorous fellow but takes his BJJ craft very very seriously. Professor Makoto Sensei is a first degree black under Wendell Master Alexander and André Pederneiras Nova União. Professor Makoto compete frequently internationally and he is also a true leader within the BJJ community here in Taiwan and I had personally receive many helps and instructions from him. In addition, professor Makoto ‘s Chinese has significantly improved compare when I first meet him. He can now communicate fluently in Chinese and also teach BJJ in Chinese.
Impression:
The overall impression of the member’s fighting style is that they are very tight. Their movements are precise and more cautious compared to North American fighters. It also means there is less chance for you to attack. Some of the guys also have excellent stand-up game. This is not very common in the BJJ world. The bottom video is one of their athlete I had the pleasure to roll against.
During my short stay and rolling with their members, I did not see lots of De La Riva, or X-guards among their members but I only roll with about 2 purple belt, several white belt 4 strips, 2 blue belts……etc. Taiwan BJJ, as its title says, is a BJJ school. Their grappling style caters more to sports BJJ competition and less to MMA application. Generally speaking, different schools have different applications – some cater to BJJ competition like Budo MMA (Scott Boudreau, 4 times world champion and Mike Hansen 2014 NAGA Champion), Clinch MMA ( Sal Ram, champion makers of some the finest MMA fighters and top OneFC fighters in Asia, like Typhoon Paul Chen ) or a more self defense approach like Gracie Jiu Jitsu.
Overall:
I would recommend anyone who is visiting Taiwan to train at Taiwan BJJ. It is professional, friendly and in some ways this school still has a pioneer spirit as the first serious BJJ school in Taiwan. It is just a bunch of people who like to roll and train.
Contact Info:
Website : http://taiwanbjj.org/en/taipei/
Address: Jilin Rd., #12-3, B1, Taipei, Taiwan
Tel: 02-2531-7383
Email: contact@taiwanbjj.org
Nearest MRT Station: Songjiang-Nangjing, Exit 3