Who’d have thought I’d fall so quickly in love with the first gym I found and yet here we are.
After getting to Kaiserslautern I thought to myself, “this tiny city as a gym too? wow, hmm let’s see what it’s about.” and boy let me tell you. They have a gym!
Just slightly outside of the Stadtmitte (City Center), on the corner of Mannheimer and Donnersberg Straße, this little gem of a gym is located slightly off and opposite from the Warmfriebad park located there on DonnersbergStraße. Easily reached by riding the 101 bus from Stadtmitte heading towards Ruhefrost, you simply get off on the Freidhof stop which will place you on the above mentioned corner, a quick walk south from the corner and in less than 5 minutes you’ll find yourself at the entrance of Matrix BJJ.
As I walked there my first day I came across their entrance, peeking inside I saw a fairly large and open mat space. The grey mats combined with white walls helped keep it looking lightly lit even with the lights being off. When I returned later that day for the youth class, entering in I found that with the lights on it had an even greater glow inside.
While their minis (4-6 years) group class was going on I took a quick walk around the gym. A fairly spacious and open room next to the front entrance, opposite of the mats had a couch and couple of seating options. Photos, medals, fridge, I’m sure membership information, etc. A toilette located there and between the entrance and changing room with signs for proper foot attire before entering was definitely appreciated. The changing room was spacing but a bit dark (though if I’m being honest it was probably because I didn’t know where the light switch was).
Once I got my Gi on I went on to speke with the two leading coaches in class Mr. Mark and Mr. Jean about possibly jumping in and providing assistance with the kids class which they both were game with. It seems Mr. Jason, my host had already let them know and so it wasn’t a super big surprise for me to join them. Before class we went over the lesson plan for the day, what techniques we’d go over and drills for learning them. Classes started with a bit of takedown drills, some passing work, followed there after with a bit of open grapples. Class ended as soon as it had begun, wrapping things up with a little bit of play. We cheered out and the little ones cleared out.
Now it was time for the BIG KIDS.
And this is where I messed up big time and took absolutely z-z-z-zeeeeero photos with any of the people that I actually grappled with. Wunderbar!
So instead you’ll have to do with this other photo of the Kids class on another day.
Anyways the Fundamental class was a nogi class and so after getting changed up I met with one of the co-owners and Head Coach of the Matrix Kids and Teen Program, Mr. Andreas Resch. He was an absolutely splendid man to talk with before class. Again making you feel quite at home at their gyms. Going over the final week on a series of back attacks and such, we went through various hand fighting and trapping sequences to get the final Rear Naked Strangle in place.
Class was taught in a beautifully smooth and detail oriented manner. Drills done with intention where everyone was on point with what was being taught. My partner Mr. Mark and I had a great time drilling together as we went through movements and shared some laughs along the way. Coach Andreas made his way around to every student on each drill and provided details or help when necessary. Even with this though the drills never seemed like it went on for too long, perfectly time and managed through the allocated period and with position specific sparring rounds fitted within lesson plan. After class finished up we all bowed out and shook hands, following that the room opened up to open rounds for which a good deal of students still stuck around to grapple again.
Finishing up the day I stuck around and spoke with a few of the remaining students and got to know them a bit better. A young blue belt Mr. Mark spoke with me about striking while Mr. Merus, who’d just qualified to compete at the ADCC Worlds in L.A., joked with me about dancing, movement and whatever else came our way. We laughed, danced, grappled some more, and later went onto grab a Döner (a subject which requires it’s own blog) for a meal before heading home.
After getting home I had a huge smile on my face and a warm feeling in my heart.
This wasn’t just a gym, it felt like home.
What more can I say?
The next day I got to jump into the MMA class taught my Coach Kai and Mr. Jason, which again was another fantastically structured class. Everyone was paired up and we slowly built up reactionary strikes and counter strikes. As we reached the half way or so mark the gear switched over to creating combinations as we worked up in complexity. What was great about this class though was that it didn’t feel like complexity for the sake of complexity. Each new piece that was added built upon the previous piece in a thought out and tactically sound manner. A led to B, B led to C. Beautifully executed.
A Nogi class followed the MMA class which was taught by co-owner and Head Coach Mr. René Becker, a black belt under Aaron Milam who himself is a black belt directly under the famous DDS Coach John Danaher of Renzo NYC. For my Portland, Oregon homies Aaron Milam may sound familiar, he runs the Renzo Gracie Portland gym.
Back to the Nogi class, Coach René ran us masterfully through a class on the Head & Arm choke from Cross-Side. We looked at details of the strangles, how to lock, tighten and squeeze, we went over context within which we would employ it and how exactly we’d enter into the position. We also went over aspects of countering defense and escapes. Just as Coach Andreas had done so the day prior, Coach René was able to get to each and every group and provide assistance or extra details when necessary and never felt overwhelming. The pacing of the class never felt off and before you know it we were moving forward into the positional sparring bit. OH! and before I forget to mention, what was probably the most impressive aspect of it all? These classes were done in both English and Deutsch.
Bravo!
I really can’t speak highly enough about Matrix BJJ, Both Coach René and Coach Andreas have done an outstanding job in creating an environment where people of all levels come in, feel welcomed and good about what they’re learning. Plus their leg locks really were next level!
There is still so much I wish to say about Matrix BJJ that honestly would take far longer than I have time for right now so I’ll leave you with this.
If you are interested in some of the best Nogi Jiu Jitsu, visit Matrix BJJ.
If you are interested in rock solid leg entanglement and attacks, visit Matrix BJJ.
If you are in Kaiserslautern, Homburg, or Saarbrücken, visit Matrix BJJ.
Bottom line:
Visit Matrix BJJ.
If you enjoyed this post you may be interested in the following:
The Wandering Ways 
4 thoughts on “Enter the Matrix.”