Brothers Launch Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Club at Augusta University for Students Seeking Fitness and Self-Defense

Two brothers at Augusta University started a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club in January. Lukeman and Adam Chadli created the club after noticing the campus lacked a BJJ option, giving students a place to train in martial arts, build strength, and learn self-defense.

The club gathers every Sunday at Terra Guerra Jiu-Jitsu at 266 Bobby Jones Expressway from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Sessions cover basic moves and techniques. Sparring happens at the end. All students can attend without paying, and experience doesn't matter.

"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, per Augusta CEO. The fourth-year accounting student in the Hull College of Business worked with the student life organization to set up the group.

The martial art uses chokes, holds, and joint locks to make opponents submit. It challenges both mind and body.

"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 club has about 15 to 20 members who show up each week. Ishika Dantuluri, a first-year student at the Medical College of Georgia, joined about a month ago after hearing about it from a classmate.

"I have always been interested in martial arts," 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."