Our mission is to help you succeed.
Chapel Hill Gracie Jiu Jitsu is a family-oriented, self-defense focused martial arts school in Chapel Hill, NC. We offer programs for beginners, upper belts, and kids, in addition to cardio kickboxing and personal training.
On our mats, the middle aged mom trying her very first class is just as important as the gold medalist. Everyone works at their own pace and we get better together!
The story of CHGJJ can be traced back to 1996 when the original Team R.O.C. (Reality of Combat) school was founded in Hillsborough, NC. It was there our instructors, Mazi Heydary and Jake Whitfield, began their jiu jitsu journeys as white belts. The school relocated to Chapel Hill in 2002 and Mazi Heydary took over instruction in 2007. The school has been at its current location since 2014.
Mazi chose the simorgh, a mythical Persian bird, for the school logo as a nod to his Iranian heritage. The simorgh is a benevolent entity, representing protection and healing, said to contain all the knowledge in the universe.
