Ryan Johnson, MD: “Since my first visit, I knew that I had found a home”

Dr. Ryan Johnson is one of our purple belts at the Mario Roberto Jiu-Jitsu Academy. Here is what he has to say about training at our school: I came to Rochester, MN, as a physician to complete a medical residency in anesthesiology. Since I was 8 years old, I have been involved in martial arts, training in a variety of disciplines for many years (with multiple rankings and a black belt), and I began looking for a martial arts school at which to train. I have always found the martial arts to be a great outlet for the stress and anxiety ...

Ryan Rhodes: “I can’t imagine a better venue for learning self-defense…”

Ryan Rhodes is one of our blue belts at the Mario Roberto Jiu-Jitsu Academy. Here is what he has to say about training at our school: I've trained in a variety of martial arts over the past 15 years, from aikido, to tae-kwon-do to hapkido, and although all those disciplines had their benefits, none have come even close to my experience training in Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) under black belt instructor Mario Roberto. When it comes to real-world, live action, hand-to-hand grappling combat, I can't imagine a better venue for learning the art of self-defense, combined with a stellar cardiovascular work-out, than that ...

Jay Fohr: “Mario has taken a personal interest in trying to get me in better shape…”

[caption id="attachment_186" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="Jay Fohr"][/caption] Jay Fohr is a white belt at the Mario Roberto Jiu-Jitsu Academy.  When I started attending classes at the MRJJA I did not know how lucky Rochester was to have Mario Roberto teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu here. After I started talking to different people who attended other martial arts schools, I realized that Mario's "check your ego at the door" policy was a rare thing. It also came to my attention that having beginners being taught by a BJJ black belt isn't the norm. Over the past two years I have had  to deal with injuries and health problems (non-martial arts related) that did ...

Tommy Speer: “Mario Roberto by far Second to None…”