Lately you may have seen posts on the Enclave Jiu-Jitsu social media accounts inviting people to apply to “join the Enclave.” Since making those posts, I’ve had a few people reach out with questions. In this post, I’m going to explain what “joining the Enclave” means, with a little bit of pertinent background.
By early 2019, for a variety of reasons, I’d come to feel that my time as the head instructor of a commercial gym was at an end. To put it briefly, there were a number of factors—structural, cultural, and personal—that I felt were corrosive to my enjoyment and continued practice of the martial arts, and I’d come to feel that remaining in that role would lead to these negative aspects eventually overrunning and ruining the positive aspects that remained.
“The Enclave,” the “Enclave Barn,” and “Enclave Jiu-Jitsu” in general were an attempt to create a space and a community around the positive elements I’d felt I was in danger of losing: a space and a community that would serve my needs as a student while in turn offering community, training, access to knowledge, and opportunity for rank advancement to my training partners. Nearly five years in, that remains the vision.
The Enclave Barn, located approximately 30 minutes E/SE of Cleveland, is not a commercial gym, and the regular training that happens there is not open to the general public. Instead, the Enclave is a private community of martial arts students collaborating in a shared effort toward collective advancement: a “community of fellow travelers” “dedicated to the work.” As there is no school to join, there is no need for attendees to leave a former or concurrent school, or otherwise change affiliations; some members of the Enclave train at the Barn exclusively, while others split their time between their regular schools and the Enclave, or between home gyms and the Enclave. There are no membership fees, just a suggested donation for attendance. There is no set schedule of classes: members coordinate and meet at their own convenience. In fact, there are no classes: while knowledge is freely shared, the type of person who becomes a member of the Enclave is self-motivated and seeking to discover, focus on, and explore his or her own deficiencies. This often means that the student who attends training at the Enclave Barn is already of higher rank; this is not, however, a requirement. It is required, however, that whatever your level—whatever you have to offer—you enter the Enclave with the intention to share it.
My Jiu-Jitsu practice, education, and lineage are through Steve Maxwell (Relson Gracie) and Master Rickson Gracie; accordingly the Jiu-Jitsu we practice at the Enclave is fundamental, fight-aware, and includes all phases of engagement, from standing at a distance to submission. The practice is also couched inside an overall philosophy of human functionality, and a premium is placed on sustainable training practices: nearly all past and current members of the Enclave were or are over the age of 35, and design(ed) their training with a view to staying on the mats for decades to come.
If all of this appeals to you and you feel that you would be a good fit with the Enclave community, I invite you to fill out the contact form available here. Someone will get back to you ASAP.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Enclave Jiu-Jitsu 