The War Room
“Perhaps the heart is the size of a fist because we were built to fight for what we love.” – Beau Taplin
The Professor
It’s hard to verbalize the intangibles of what sets The War Room apart from any other jiu jitsu school in a way that does not sound highfalutin or generic.
So I’ll start with the Owner/ Founder/ Operator, Professor Jose Garcia. My heart. The backbone of the school. This is the man you and your children will be learning from.
You don’t dedicate your life to martial arts to make money. Professor Jose has never sought riches; just a stable living pursuing his passion. He’s all in and it shows. He quit his job of 16 years the day after he opened the doors to the school because he wanted to be fully dedicated to its success. Everyone who has been to the school can attest that he is there every day. EVERY. DAY. I can count on two fingers the only times he took the evening off: the day after he had his lower abdominal injury and one evening recently when he was completely burnt out.
The role of being a Professor and an influence in your family’s life is one that he holds in the highest regard and with the utmost seriousness. He is a god-fearing, honest, hardworking man who has fought and endured through hardship to be where he is today. Forged from a lifetime of hard knocks and disappointment, he has bloomed into a grounding force, a first degree BJJ Black Belt, and a successful business owner.
He is unwavering in his integrity. I’ve seen him do the right thing, even when it costs him and even when it hurts. He is respectful, but ruthless in his loyalty, which goes both ways. He operates under these principles: Do no harm, but take no shit. Own your mistakes. Treat people the way you want to be treated. No half measures. Seek peace, but prepare for war.
The War Room
The facility itself is a rare gem: A standalone building with vaulted ceilings. The giant panes of glass let in ample natural light and offer a view of the mountains. Sliding doors are reminiscent of a classic Japanese style dojo. In aggregate, all of these features make for a traditional twist on modern architecture. A place that invokes a feeling of serenity and structure.
The interior is clean and minimalist. No distractions. The floor is 90% mat space.
Jiu jitsu is a marathon and our mats promote comfortable training as well as body preservation. Most people, myself included, dread practicing takedowns because we’ve been conditioned to fear the impact from training on sub-par mats without proper shock absorption. Well, you’re in for a treat!
Professor Jose brags about these mats like it’s his prized pony at the county fair- and rightfully so! He invested a lot of money in the best 4-inch mats: 2 inches of high density foam beneath 2 inches of seamless Dollamur. Emphasis on SEAMLESS…won’t be getting your toes stuck/broken here!
Mats and floors are cleaned every day.
The Teaching Styles
Every student receives Black Belt instruction.
It’s common place at most schools to see Blue, Purple and Brown belts teaching classes and sometimes it’s just the teacher handling an entire room of students.
Our kids program is not just a glorified baby-sitting hour. They are taught a solid foundation of takedowns, submissions, how to take direction and the building blocks of good character, from a Black Belt, even in the little kids class.
Professor Jose strives to have 1 coach for every 5-7 students on the mat so everyone gets attention and coaching while they are trying to learn the technique. Our coaches are some of our most respected adults and fiercest competitors in the adults class. Most are also parents themselves, so rest assured, your kids are in great hands.
Professor Dan is a lifelong martial artist and is the perfect complement to Professor Jose. Professor Dan’s style is smooth and highly technical. He has developed a style catered to smaller practitioners who need to survive from white belt to black belt against larger opponents. Professor Dan embodies leverage and superior technique over size and strength.
Professor Jose's style is high pressure and very aggressive because his mindset is self-defense by being offensive. His goal is to eliminate the threat as quickly and efficiently as possible. If BJJ is considered the “gentle art”, his unorthodox style definitely leans more to the savage side.
When War Room students step onto the mat, most other schools aren’t equipped to deal with the type of energy they bring. Speaking of which…
The Vibe
Your vibe attracts your tribe.
The atmosphere is thick with the warm fuzzy feeling you normally get at a Thanksgiving get together with your family. But unlike the holiday, we have the pleasure of getting together almost every night and you get to choke your family over here =P
The kids class are a lively bunch of coconuts, counting warm ups with enthusiasm and drilling techniques like the rambunctious little munchkins they are. But make no mistake, they turn up the heat during competitions and live rolling. Most of the parents agree, there are few things more entertaining than watching these tiny gladiators grappling.
Professor Jose views and treats the War Room kids as his grandkids. He teaches them to be fighters, but most of all, good, respectful, hardworking, responsible kids. He’s had multiple parents threaten their kids outside of school with, “You better behave and fix your attitude or else I’m going to call Professor and tell him!” Lmao, they shape up after that.
We are a family school, and for the adults class, we usually have 6-8 kids in the periphery playing with each other and running around while the adults are training. Sometimes they even wander onto the mats. We work around them or give them cuddles. I’ve never been to another school where this is standard, or even allowed.
We have a solid group of strong, loving women, which is not always a given at a martial arts school. Our men are respectful savages, learning how to balance strength with technicality. Agros and Egos get shut down and straightened up real quick over here. Ladies coming to the War Room can feel safe knowing we’re all going to take care of them.
Our adults are a scrappy bunch of goobers, more rough around the edges than clean cut, but sharp if you catch my drift. We have some champions in the house who consistently compete and win. We have spazzy and apprehensive but excited newbies who learn quickly. We have a handful of higher belts to build up the lower belts. We have flow rollers just riding the wave and some other people who prefer beast mode all day, every day. We have a nice mix of styles and everyone is cool with everyone.
The Value
If you shop around for a BJJ school (as you should), you’ll find: We aren’t the cheapest but we aren’t the most expensive either. Cheapest isn’t always best. You get what you pay for, but with the War Room, you get a lot more:
Family Plan- From the beginning, Professor Jose made family plan so 3+ people in a family can affordably train for a reasonable rate. Bring your kids, bring your wives, because we training everybody up in here!!
No contract- We want people who want to be here. We don’t feel like taking BJJ classes should be the same financial obligation as buying a house. Sometimes life happens, like losing a job or moving away. We don’t think anyone should be obligated beyond a 30 day notice to cancel something that is extra-curricular.
Variety- We teach Brazillian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, and Yoga at this school. We have classes for competition preparation, lunch, morning, evening, kids, adults and live rolling. You will become a well-rounded martial artist if you are willing to take all we have to offer.
Our Family- We’ve attracted a really good group of people who support and care about each other. We have whole families training with us instead of sitting at home watching TV. As an adult, how many opportunities do you get to hang out with your friends, bump fists and simulate murder on them every night…then laugh about it, chit chat and do it all over again?
And you get to do ALL that at an elite facility, under top notch instruction from First Degree Black belts and trained coaches with big hearts, good character and family values.
We’re not the type of school to beg you to come or stay. We’re not trying to lure you in with discounts and a website full of stock images or dazzle you with a bunch of medals (though we do have them). Honestly, we’re doing great. It’s hard work, but we’re successful. A new student won’t make or break us.
But if you’re interested in learning a martial art, if you feel out of shape or just want to stay in it, if you want to bring your family closer together and have a good influence for your kids, if you need to change your life in a positive way but don’t know how, or maybe, you’re lonely and want to make some new friends with good people…
We welcome you to stop by The War Room. Hang out with us for a week and see what we’re about. You might find a new home.
We are looking forward to meeting you.
Love,
The War Room