Martial Arts in Eastbourne
Rebel Combat Sports is a martial arts club in Eastbourne that coaches grappling as a sport: no-gi submission grappling and gi BJJ, seven days a week, with live resistance in every session and no bowing, mysticism or ritual. Beginners are welcome; the first two weeks are free.
Science over mysticism. Sport over ceremony.
Yes — this is a martial art. It draws from BJJ, Judo, Catch Wrestling and Sambo: the grappling disciplines that, when you strip away the politics, are teaching the same things. We take the intersection of what works and coach it as a sport.
What stays: real skill, live resistance, genuine respect between training partners, and a methodology that produces athletes. What goes: bowing as ritual, mysticism dressed up as martial wisdom, tradition kept alive simply because it's old.
Honest about the difference
There are traditional martial arts clubs in Eastbourne. They suit some people. We're not that — not because tradition is wrong, but because the sport-science approach to grappling is different in method, and we'd rather be specific than vague. If the ceremonies matter to you, a traditional club will serve you better. If you want to get good at grappling, coached by someone who's been tested at world level: this is the room.
This week on the mat
- Structured no-gi grappling
- Gi BJJ
- Lunchtime open mat
- Structured no-gi grappling
- Gi BJJ
- Structured no-gi grappling
- Open mat
The first two weeks are free, with no card needed. Parking is free, right outside. Full schedule and pricing
Every class is a sport session.
Coaching here uses modern, evidence-based methods — the approach to skill acquisition that the best combat sports coaches are using now. You learn by doing, in context, with feedback that's specific and measurable. Progress is visible — you can feel it, and we can show it.
Belts here are earned against a written syllabus — performance criteria, not time served — alongside free standards-based assessments through ingrappling.com that test actual skill.
Every class scales: beginners and experienced grapplers work from the same session, paired and coached with intention. No-gi runs Monday and Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoon; gi BJJ runs Tuesday morning and Friday evening. First two weeks are free, both sports — no card, no commitment. See the full schedule and pricing.
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 →What people who train here say
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★★★★★
Ben and Adrian are great coaches and have a great method of teaching, lesson by lesson and in planning the wider programme.
Harry Burgum · Google review -
★★★★★
Awesome coaches. Down to earth vibes. Myself and my teenage boy both love it there.
Hayley Jayne Fitchett · Google review -
★★★★★
Excellent instruction with a pragmatic modern approach to grappling.
Lewis Baker · Google review
Before you come
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Is this like traditional martial arts?
No bowing, no mysticism, no tradition for tradition's sake — just what works. It's a martial art coached as a sport.
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Do you have belts or gradings?
Yes — standard BJJ belts, earned against a written syllabus: performance criteria for every belt, not time served. One rank covers both gi and no-gi. No ceremonies, and the room is never organised by rank.
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Is it good for self-defence?
Grappling is one of the most reliable things you can train for real situations — controlling distance, staying on your feet, getting back up. We coach it as a sport, but the skills transfer.