Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Soju808]

Anyone here do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu??

One of the hardest problems I have in Korea is explaining to Koreans, what exactly Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is.

Many times, Koreans ask me if I do martial arts, and I tell them that I do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. They all give me a puzzled look, and then ask me what is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. (I try to tell them it is a combination of Judo and Wrestling).

Anyways, yeah, I have been training at John Frankl's Jiu Jitsu place in Korea, for the past year now, and it's an awesome place to train at. John is a top notch instructor, and the way he explains techniques is like a science.

Would love to meet more foreigners here with an interest in BJJ. Here's some info for anyone interested.

Apgujeong Academy

The main JFBJJ Academy is located in Apgujeong-dong, just a few minutes walk from the
Apgujeong Subway Station (Orange Line #3).
From the station, take Exit 3 and walk 200 meters straight ahead.
Walk past the CGV movie theater and take a left turn at the Mini Stop (convenience store).
Then take the first right turn.
Keep on walking till reach the end of the block.
There will be a building named, Dan-Il(단일).
We are in the fisrt floor of the building.



Apgujeong Academy

Tuesday-Thursday-Friday 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Monday through Friday 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Monday through Thursday 9:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.

Saturday 12:00 p.m. - 01:30 p.m.

Sunday 12:00 p.m. - 01:30 p.m.


Monthly Fees

Apgujeong Academy
7x per week 120,000 won

3x per week 110,000 won

2x(Saturday ,Sunday) per week 100,000 won

*Mat Fee per Class 20,000 won

[Papa Smurf]

to be fair, i used to train in England and nobody knew what it was either.

[Teabonesteak]

There is a blue belt who has trained under a brown belt that trained under Rigan Machado in Gwangju. He is almost never there and it's too pricey. There is a Brown belt in Daegu who trained directly under Rigan Machado but I don't know where his school is. I went to John Frankl's school twice when I was in town and both times it was closed. It was on a weekend so maybe that's why. I really want to do it as well but I'm having a hard time finding the outlet. I'll be moving to Korea in February so I'm going to see if they have Judo, BJJ at world cup stadium. That would be nice!

[Rutherford]

[Teabonesteak]

If there are any in Gwangju could anyone let me know? I can read Korean but any little bit helps.

[dharma bum]

do y'all do much no-gi there at the apgujeong gym?

[wade_fleming]

i've been training at this gym for month or so:

www.bjjkorea.com (there's a decent sized english section on the site)

the instructor speaks solid english, i believe he's a blue belt. i really like the gym, perhaps bjj veterans wouldn't be as interested, but formal training in bjj is entirely new to me.

the problem is that gym is located about 2 hours from my apartment. so it's a bit of a hike.

thanks for posting all those other links, rutherford. but do you know if any of them are anywhere closer to jeongwang station (just before the end of line 4).

john frankl's gym looks great, too bad it's even farther away from me!

if anyone has any information about BJJ gyms along lines # 4 or 1... perhaps near geumjeong-- somewhere in that area, please send me a PM, any information would be greatly appreciated.

[Soju808]

The good news about John Frankl's schools are that they are slowly starting to branch off more and more. Here's some info.

Mullae (문래) Line #2
wade_fleming, you do live kind of far off from everything. However, just recently, two of John Frankl's purple belts (Kim Kuk Joo, and Kim Ji Young) have branched off, and opened a gym in Mullae (문래). It's located on line #2, between Sindorim and Yeongdeungpo-gu office. I have trained with both Kuk Joo and Ji Young. Both guys have awesome jiu jitsu, and are great instructors as well.


Kangdong Ku Jeong (가동구청) #Line 8
Starting on Feb 9th, one of John's top BJJ students, Professional MMA fighter Jang Duk Young (장덕영), will be opening up a Jiu Jitsu place at kangdong ku jeong (강동구청). It's located on line 8, right above jamsil and below Cheonho. Jang Duk Young is a high level purple belt, who went to Brazil for 5 months and trained hands on with Marcelo Garica. At the apkujeong gym, I have trained with Duk Young numerous times, and I have to say that his Jiu Jitsu is phenominal. He's is one of the most technical guys I have ever trained with. When we spar, he makes me feel like a complete novice at Jiu Jitsu. If you ever have the chance to train with him, do it!!! I'm looking foward to the grand opening of his gym.

If anyone has interest at training at these gyms, just let me know and I'll get you the information. Just on another note, any school under John Frankl, is 100% legit!!

John also has gyms at the Express Bus Terminal, Yonsei University, and I think he has one at Seoul National Unversity.

Dharma Bum. John Frankl, does have a no-gi night, which is every Thursday. However, due to the cold weather conditions right now, we are training gi. When the weather starts warming up, we'll go back to no-gi.
I have to admit that I love no-gi training, so eventhough there is a gi, sometimes after class, me and a few other students will spar no gi.


Papa Smurf, I thought many people would know what Jiu Jitsu is by now, but i guess not... With MMA becoming more mainstream, I'm hoping that it gets bigger and bigger.


And on another note, I want warn everyone on here. Whatever you do, do not train at Mickey Choi's Jiu Jitsu gym here in Korea. The guy is a total fraud because he claims that he is a blackbelt in bjj. The guy's skill level is like a low level blue belt. He came over to the apkujeong gym this past summer, and got owned by all the blue belts, and even some of the higher skilled white belts. The guy is totally hated by the BJJ community because he promoted himself to blackbelt. If you don't believe me, just type in Mickey Choi on youtube.com and watch him roll.

[Rutherford]

Good to know that in Korea there are people calling out the fake instructors.

Here's a link to a blog I found that has info about this Mickey Choi character, as well as links to schools around Asia.

http://www.bjj-asia.com/2008/12/mickey-choi-revised-profile.html

How many foreigners train with you at John Frankl's gym Soju808? I'm hoping to train more this year than last and hopefully I can come up and visit sometime.

[Soju808]

Rutherford.

There are many foreigners at John Frankl's place. Some nights, the foreign students out number the Koreans.

One of the things I do like about John Frankl's place is that many of the foreigners come from different styles of Jiu Jitsu. So, you'll have to get used to different styles of Jiu Jitsu. Among the foreigners, there are about 3 or 4 purple belts. Sometimes they will teach the class. I personally enjoy it because it's good to learn Jiu Jitsu from different styles, and put together what works best for me at my game.

And for English translating, there are a few Korean-Americans overthere who do the translating, and some of the Koreans speak good English, so they can translate as well. Sometimes, I help with the translating (I have about average Korean speaking skills).


Yeah, and that Mickey Choi guy is a poser. I don't really have a problem with him opening his own gym, what I have a problem with is him lying to his students, telling them he's a blackbelt. The guy is also a complete coward a person as well. Anyone who posts comments on his youtube videos get deleted, and he responds to them with immature messages like "STFU you stupid white muddder F*****".

[Bryan]

John Frankl's gym in Apgujeong has been great for me. My technique has gotten so much better in just one month there.

The instruction is in Korean (which I don't speak), but is completely understandable. If you go at night then there will usually be bilingual students who translate.

If you have trouble explaining Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, just say it's like Yudo! Or sometimes I say wrestling, because no-gi is more like wrestling than Judo.

And Duk-Young is phenomenal. I am much bigger and stronger than him but all he did was laugh and toy with me when we rolled.

If you haven't tried Brazilian Jiu Jitsu yet, go and see if you like it. It's a very intellectual and technical sport; one of the only combat sports you can train into old age because it doesn't hurt you too much. You learn self-defence, but I personally think the competitive, sporting, fitness, and camaraderie benefits are all more important.

[Papa Smurf]

[Soju808]

[Papa Smurf]

[Soju808]