BJJ & Jiu-Jitsu in Eastbourne
Gi BJJ at Rebel — its own program, its own skill set, coached the same principled way as everything else here. Train no-gi, gi, or both.
Book your free trial →Positional control. Then the finish.
Jiu-jitsu is a submission art. The goal is to control your opponent's body — pin them, pass their guard, take their back — and then apply a finishing technique: a choke or a joint lock. The submission doesn't work without the position. The position is the point.
Gi and no-gi are two versions of that art that have grown into two sports. The gi adds a whole layer — collar and sleeve grips, control built on the jacket — with its own skill set and its own meta. We treat them as exactly that: separate sports, both running at Rebel.
The gi program
Adrian Bradbury runs the gi classes — BJJ purple belt, certified boxing coach, and the club's strength and conditioning lead.
Belts work the way they should. Standard BJJ belts, earned against a written syllabus — performance criteria for every rank, not time served. Gradings are awarded by head coach Ben Zarif, a BJJ brown belt. One rank covers both gi and no-gi. No ceremonies, no politics, and the room is never organised by rank. The full syllabus is available to members; the fundamental canon is the plain-English place to start.
Train gi, no-gi, or both.
Our no-gi classes run three times a week with a free Sunday open mat, and everything you build there — positional control, escapes, submissions — carries straight into the gi game. The first two weeks are free, gi and no-gi both. See the schedule.
Modern, science-based coaching. No bowing, no mysticism, no cult of personality — just what works. And every class is beginner-friendly because the coaching scales to you.
What makes us different →Before you come
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Is this BJJ / jiu-jitsu?
Yes — both versions of it. Our no-gi classes are the modern development of it: the same submission art, plus wrestling, judo, catch and sambo where they intersect. Gi BJJ proper runs too, its own program, with coach Adrian Bradbury running the classes.
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What's the difference between gi and no-gi?
Gi grappling uses the jacket and trousers as grips; no-gi is shorts and a rashguard — faster, more scramble-heavy, nothing to hold but the person. They're two separate sports with separate skill sets, and we train both.
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Do I need a gi?
Not for our no-gi classes — they're shorts and a rashguard. For gi BJJ sessions you'll need a gi, and we'll tell you exactly what to get before your first session.
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How do belt promotions work?
A coach assesses you against the syllabus as you train — there's no grading day to book and no test to sit. Gradings are awarded by head coach Ben Zarif, a BJJ brown belt. If you're not at the standard yet, you're told which criteria you're missing and what to work on. The syllabus is available to members.
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Can I train both gi and no-gi?
Yes. They're separate sports with separate skill sets, one membership covers both, and your rank is one credential across the two.
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I have a belt from another gym — does it count?
Yes. Your rank is yours — we don't take ranks away, here or from anywhere else. You train at the belt you hold and progress from it against our written criteria.