Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, particularly No-Gi, is a fast-paced grappling combat sport with many similarities to wrestling, placing a strong emphasis on ground control, submissions and positional dominance.
Originally popularised by the Gracie family in Brazil, BJJ rose to worldwide prominence through the early success of the UFC. Today, it is one of the fastest-growing combat sports in the world, drawing heavily from wrestling while continually evolving through innovation at the highest levels of competition.
Bath Uni BJJ began in the 2022/23 academic year when a small group of students training outside the university started running sessions together under the Bath Active scheme before becoming a sub-group of the Japanese Jiu-Jitsu Society. Following rapid growth, the club became an independent society in the 2024/25 academic year and has continued to go from strength to strength.
The 2025/26 season was our most successful yet. We defeated the University of Bath Judo Club in an interclub event, won our first-ever Varsity against the University of Exeter, and celebrated countless regional and national medal-winning performances from our competitors throughout the season. In July 2026, our Head No-Gi Coach, Ryan Brinkley, made club history by competing on Polaris Pro, one of Europe's premier professional grappling events.
As one of the largest and fastest-growing martial arts clubs at the University of Bath, we look forward to continuing our growth, developing athletes of all levels, and building one of the strongest university BJJ programmes in the UK.