To all the people that supported us to make this surreal experience a reality, we thank you.. and if I am dreaming.. let me not wake.
We started in the basement of what we called the Toy Factory. We gathered there to train over the summer months of 2021 to prevent ourselves from going berserk from the lack of human interaction and mental stimulation.
Through hushed conversations and referrals, we grew into a jiu jitsu social club... but soon, we feared that this was not sustainable in a residential area.
By October 2021, I found a dance school that has a 2nd floor in need of a tenant. With ample floor space, a full kitchen and separate bathrooms, it was the perfect space to renovate into a dojo. This is how Vaughan Jiu-Jitsu Academy was born.
October 31st 2021, OPERATION MAYHEM was in effect as volunteers came and helped paint, renovate the space, pick up, move and lay out the mats.
OPERATION MAYHEM was such a success that by November 1st, 2021 we had our first class operating as a social club.
By December 2021, Professor Marco Costa of Team Body of Four visited and we had our first BJJ seminar. By January 2022, we had 33 adult students, but the club grew rapidly as referrals kept coming and we continued to invest into the business. By the end of January, we developed more classes and a full curriculum for children, teens and adults.
Over the year, we acquired talented instructors: Coach Joseph Hirasawa, Coach Annie Le and Professor Val Ostanov. We were awarded Best New Business in Vaughan by a local MP. We grew exponentially to over 120+ students in under a year! Over the past months, we joined events and competed at local Championships, where VBJJ has made its mark by closing the year with 18 Gold Medals đ„- 9 Silver Medals đ„- 5 Bronze Medals đ„ and 1 Provincial Champion đ.
The future is bright at VBJJ and we look forward to achieve more in 2023. OSS!
Professor Michael Aviado
Vaughan Jiu-Jitsu Academy
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