A unique new club – fit for anyone interested in martial arts, fitness, wellness and self defense – has made its way onto the Augusta University campus. 

The AU Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Club meets every Sunday at Terra Guerra Jiu-Jitsu at 266 Bobby Jones Expressway from 2:30 to 4 p.m. to go over BJJ fundamentals and techniques, with sparring sessions included toward the end of class. It’s free of charge, and all students are welcome regardless of experience level.

Brothers Lukeman and Adam Chadli, both Augusta University students, started the club back in January as a way for their fellow students to not only learn more about the martial art, but also take their minds off their studies and learn how to defend themselves if need be. 

“My brother and I noticed there wasn’t a club for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at AU, and so we were like, ‘Why not make one?’” said Adam Chadli, a fourth-year accounting student in the Hull College of Business. “We got in touch with the student life organization, they put us through the steps to make the club and now here we are.” 

BJJ incorporates chokes, holds and joint locks to force an opponent to submit or “tap out.” It can be looked at as a game of chess for your body, being just as much a mental exercise as it is physical. 

“It’s a huge stress reliever – if you have anything going on that’s stressful, you can come here and solely focus on Jiu-Jitsu because if you don’t, you’re at risk of getting tapped out,” Adam explained.

The Chadlis have been training Jiu-Jitsu for about four years now and believe the benefits are endless.

“It’s very analogous to real life where you’re consistently under pressure, and you have to be able to calm down, take a few breaths and then just think through how you’re going to get out of the bad position,” Adam said. “Probably the biggest attractive factor of Jiu-Jitsu is that it’s 100% applicable to real-life situations. It trains you how to handle yourself if you’re ever in a dangerous situation and gives you a new kind of confidence.”

The club has roughly 15 to 20 members who show up for training each Sunday, and the brothers have already seen positive changes in them in the short time the club has been around.

“You can see them come out of their shells a little bit when they realize it’s not as serious as it may present itself to be,” said Lukeman Chadli, a fourth-year computer science student in the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences. “The newcomers come in a little bit shy and don’t know what to do or ask, and eventually, they’re a full-blown part of the training sessions. They’re not afraid to raise their hands and ask questions. They’re intrigued, they’re actively trying to learn, they’re talking to their training partners more. It’s been nice to see them build up that confidence.”

Ishika Dantuluri is a first-year student at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University who joined the AUBJJ Club about a month ago after hearing about it from a classmate. Despite having a slight background in karate, she is new to Jiu-Jitsu and appreciates the club’s respectful environment and effective beginner training.

“I have always been interested in martial arts. I read a lot of fantasy books and have always seen the protagonists being these strong, skilled women, so I’ve always wanted to learn a martial art – I just didn’t have the time to do so,” she said. “But now that it’s just an hour and a half out of my day on the weekends, it’s actually really nice to take a break from studying, come here and just work it out on the mat.”

Dantuluri also noted Jiu-Jitsu has heightened her spatial awareness and boosted her confidence in a self-defense aspect.

“I’m one of the few girls who consistently comes to training, so a lot of times when I’m on the mat, I’m grappling with guys who are much bigger than me. Being able to get out of their grip, especially when they’re trained, gives me a better sense of being able to defend myself if I’m ever in a position where I need to because I’m already doing it here.”

Her sentiments for other girls who are interested in joining: “I would love for there to be more girls on the mat. It’s really fun, and the trainers have always been really respectful and never expect you to know anything coming in. They’re really good at walking you through things, and if you’re struggling with something, you can flag them down and they’ll walk you through step-by-step. Compared to my first class, I now have a better idea of the positions I need to be in, so even if I don’t necessarily know the move, I’m able to keep up because of consistent practice.”

A big name in the professional mixed martial arts world has also attended AUBJJ Club sessions as a guest instructor. Malcolm “The Machine” Wellmaker, an Augusta native and pro featherweight MMA fighter in the UFC, came to a recent session to help teach techniques and spar with the students.

He said it’s important to him to introduce others to the sport he’s fallen in love with that has given back to him in so many ways. 

“One of the things I was most surprised about when I started training martial arts was how much I got out of it. The amount of community you gain from being friends and almost family with people in the gym. The amount of things you learn, not just physically, but as far as being humble and coachable, learning to be social, breaking through all these barriers that most people have. I wasn’t the same person I am today eight years ago when I started training, and I feel like martial arts helped me find myself in so many ways. So, I think it serves many more purposes than just learning to defend yourself, and I encourage everybody to try it at some point.”

Wellmaker met and became friends with the Chadli brothers through MMA. He said the skill of the students in the club exceeded his expectations, and he attributes that to Lukeman and Adam’s dedication.

“I think everybody did great. I was actually very surprised. I rolled with a couple guys and a couple ladies, and I would ask them how long they’ve been training. A lot of them said only three or four sessions,” he recalled. “It’s incredible for them to have made as much progress as they have as fast as they have. The level of Jiu-Jitsu that’s available today is very, very high and Adam and Lukeman do a really good job teaching it.”

Lukeman credits Wellmaker for being an example of what someone can achieve through MMA if they’re determined enough to excel.

“Malcolm started training at around 22, and it’s just cool to have someone from Augusta make it to such a high professional level. We just wanted to introduce him to everyone and show them that this is something that’s serious, and if you enjoy it that much, it can become a life and a career for you if you’re interested in that,” he said.

Although both the Chadlis will graduate in May, they want to see the club thrive even after they’re gone.

“That’s definitely a plan of ours. We don’t want it just to be us teaching everybody – we want the art of Jiu-Jitsu to be a part of Augusta University. Yes, it started with us, but we want to keep it going even long after we graduate,” Lukeman expressed.

To join the AUBJJ club, you can follow and send a direct message to its account on Instagram, @au.bjj.