If you have any questions regarding Triad's Jiu Jitsu program, please click here to email an instructor.

Triad's Jiu Jitsu belt system differs slighly from the traditional Brazilian Jiu Jitsu system.  We have all of the traditional belts, only with more belts in between.  Click Here to view a chart that shows a side by side comparison of the two systems.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) is a martial art and combat sport that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting with the goal of gaining a dominant position and using joint-locks and chokeholds to force an opponent to submit or be knocked out depending on what submission method is used. The art is a derivative of early 20th century Kodokan Judo,  which was itself then a recently-developed system (founded in 1882), based on multiple schools (or Ryu) of Japanese Jujutsu.
It promotes the principle that a smaller, weaker person using leverage and proper technique can successfully defend against a bigger, stronger assailant. BJJ can be trained for self defense, sport grappling tournaments (gi and no-gi) and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition. Sparring (commonly referred to as 'rolling') and live drilling play a major role in training, and a premium is placed on performance.

The art began with Mitsuyo Maeda (aka Conde Koma, or Count Combat in English), a Japanese expert judoka and member of the Kodokan. Maeda was one of five of the Kodokan's top groundwork experts that Judo's founder Kano Jigoro sent overseas to spread his art to the world. Maeda left Japan in 1904 and visited a number of countries giving "jiu-do" demonstrations and accepting challenges from wrestlers, boxers, savate fighters and various other martial artists before eventually arriving in Brazil on November 14, 1914.
Maeda met an influential businessman named Gastão Gracie who helped him get established. In 1917, his son Carlos Gracie, still a 14 year-old boy, watched a demonstration by Maeda at the Teatro da Paz(Theatre of Peace) and decided to learn jiu-jitsu. Maeda accepted Carlos as a student,  and Carlos went on to become a great exponent of the art and ultimately, with his younger brother Hélio Gracie, became the founder of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
 
In 1921, Gastão Gracie and his family moved to Rio de Janeiro. Carlos, then 17 years old, passed Maeda's teachings on to his brothers Osvaldo, Gastão and Jorge. Hélio was too young and sick at that time to learn the art, and due to medical imposition was prohibited to take part in the training sessions. Despite that, Hélio learned jiu-jitsu by watching his brothers. He eventually overcame his health problems and is now the highest ranking Black Belt in Gracie Jiu-jitsu.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu came to international prominence in the martial arts community in the 1990s, when Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert Royce Gracie, son of Helio Gracie, won the first, second and fourth Ultimate Fighting Championships, which at the time were single elimination martial arts tournaments. Royce fought against often much-larger opponents who were practicing other styles, including boxing, shoot-fighting, karate, judo, tae kwon do and wrestling. It has since become a staple art for many MMA fighters and is largely credited for bringing wide-spread attention to the importance of ground fighting. Sport BJJ tournaments continue to grow in popularity worldwide and have given rise to no-gi submission grappling tournaments, such as the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship.

Johnny Lee Smith Began training in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ) in 1993. He has trained in BJJ with Marcio Simas, Rigan Machado, Carlos Machado and the great Rickson Gracie. Johnny received his BJJ Black Belt  June 21, 2002 from Carlos Machado - cousin to Rickson Gracie. In 2005 Johnny was promoted to 2nd Degree Black Belt in BJJ by Carlos Machado. In October of 2009 Johnny was promoted to 3rd degree black belt by Carlos Machado.  Johnny was the first person from the State of Alabama to be promoted to Black Belt, 2nd Degree Black Belt, and 3rd Degree Black Belt in BJJ.  Triad Martial Arts was the first martial arts school in the State of Alabama to be home to multiple BJJ Black Belts (3).  Rickson Gracie has taught at Triad Martial Arts Academy in Cullman on multiple occasions. BJJ legend Carlos Machado has also visited Triad Martial Arts on multiple occasions
 

Our Lineage

First Line
Mitsuyo Maeda
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Carlos Gracie
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Helio Gracie
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Rickson Gracie
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Johnny Lee Smith
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Triad Students

 Second Line
Mitsuyo Maeda
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Carlos Gracie
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Carlos Gracie, Jr
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Carlos Machado
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Johnny Lee Smith
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Triad Students

JIU-JITSU TESTING
Jiu-jitsu testing is mostly performance based. The general rule is, to be a certain rank, you must be able to technically and effectively grapple with other students of that rank. Considerations are made concerning size and strength. If one tests for blue belt and grapples with a blue belt much larger than him/herself and that blue belt beats the testing student, that testing student may still pass. As long as the testing student shows the technical understanding of a blue belt and is physically fit. Minimum age for black belt is 18 years.

TRIAD MARTIAL ARTS JIU JITSU BLACK BELTS UNDER JOHNNY LEE SMITH

TONY SULLIVAN - 1st Degree Black Belt
CHUCK TALLEY - 1st Degree Black Belt