Jean Petrik and his wife, Camila De Lima, opened Alliance Jiu Jitsu Fort Worth at 9140 N. Freeway, Ste. 316A, on Nov. 1.

The details

Alliance Jiu Jitsu Fort Worth offers both jiujitsu and muay thai classes. Petrik said, while muay thai is more about striking one's opponent using punches and kicks—similar to kickboxing—jiujitsu is more on the self-defense side and uses submission holds to control one's opponent.

Petrik said the business provides classes for both adults and kids, and kids are separated into three age groups:
  • 4-6 years old
  • 7-11 years old
  • 12-15 years old
He said while many of his students learn both disciplines for self-defense or to learn how to compete in tournaments, others join because of the cardiovascular conditioning component involved with martial arts.

“A dad brought his daughter in to begin training with us, and we invited him to train with us,” Petrik said. “He’s lost 40 pounds in three months.”


The backstory

Petrik has been studying martial arts since he was a boy. He said he started learning capoeira—Brazilian martial arts—when he was 12 years old. From that, he jumped into jiujitsu classes and trained for a year and a half before he was ready to start competing in mixed martial arts competitions.

According to the company’s website, Petrik is a second-degree black belt in Brazilian jiujitsu and has competed at the highest levels in mixed martial arts, having secured the middleweight title in M-1 Global.

The website states Petrik has 15-plus years of teaching experience, and he has helped coach fighters in well-known fight organizations, including the UFC, Professional Fighters League, Bellator and M-1 Global.