No-gi grappling done right. Learn to take the fight to the ground, control it, and finish with chokes and joint locks. Hard training, no ego, and a door that stays open to beginners.
No-Gi Jiu Jitsu is grappling with a clear goal: take your opponent down, control them on the ground, and finish the fight with a choke or a joint lock. At Furst Place MMA, the home for No-Gi Jiu Jitsu in Hendersonville, TN, you learn the whole chain, from closing the distance and getting the takedown, to passing into a dominant position, to locking in the submission that ends it. You control with your body, your hooks, and your underhooks, which is exactly why this skill carries straight into self-defense and Mixed Martial Arts.
This is athletic, sweaty, problem-solving work, and it is one of the best full-body workouts in Sumner County. Every round is a live puzzle where leverage, timing, and position beat raw strength, so size and muscle are never the whole story. Most people who walk through our doors in Hendersonville and across the greater Nashville area start with zero grappling background. Our coaches teach control before submissions, drill at a cooperative pace, and keep the room strictly no-ego, so a true beginner learns next to seasoned grapplers and everyone leaves better.
If you have been searching for No-Gi Jiu Jitsu or grappling classes near me and want a room that looks after first-timers instead of crushing them, you have found it. We meet you where you are, then help you improve. Your first class is completely free with no contract and no pressure, so you can step on the mat, feel a round, and find out why so many first-timers stick around.
No experience needed, and your first class is free. Here is exactly how a session goes.
Show up about ten minutes early in athletic clothes you can move and sweat in, like a t-shirt or rash guard and shorts or leggings without pockets or zippers, and bring a water bottle. A coach will greet you, learn your name, and walk you onto the mat. Class opens with a grappling-specific warm-up and simple movement drills that get you comfortable on the ground, with no experience or flexibility required.
A coach breaks down the focus of the day step by step, whether it is a takedown entry, a guard pass, an escape, or a submission. We teach position before submission, so early on you build control and learn to stay safe rather than chase finishes. Everything is explained in plain language, and you can ask questions at any point.
You pair up with a supportive training partner and rep the technique at an easy, cooperative pace with no resistance and no pressure to be perfect. Drilling is where the movement clicks and the chain from takedown to control to finish starts to make sense. Coaches circulate the whole time, adjusting your details and making sure you feel comfortable.
Class often ends with live rolling, where partners grapple against light resistance to test timing. For your first class this is completely optional, and plenty of beginners sit it out to watch and learn. When you do roll, you go at your own pace with someone who will look after you. Just bring athletic clothes and water to start, and we will guide you on a rash guard and grappling shorts once you decide to keep training.
Led by head coach Iron Mike, a Marine Corps veteran with six years coaching fighters.
The questions and ideas behind the discipline, so you know what you are stepping into.
No-Gi Jiu Jitsu is the art of stitching the whole sequence together. You learn to close the distance and score a takedown, then immediately work to pass and pin the position rather than just landing on top. From there you hunt the finish, advancing to mount or the back and locking in a choke or a joint lock. The point is never a single move in isolation. It is the connected chain from takedown to control to submission, drilled until it flows.
Nobody wins every exchange, so a real grappler has to be just as dangerous from the bottom. You will learn to use guard to control distance and threaten sweeps and submissions off your back, and to escape mount, side control, and other bad spots calmly instead of panicking. Building this defensive base early is what makes the offense safe to chase. It also makes No-Gi Jiu Jitsu one of the most practical self-defense skills you can own, because the ground stops being a place you fear.
The submissions are what set this apart, and we teach them with control and care. Chokes end a fight by cutting off blood or air, and joint locks finish by threatening a hinge the body cannot defend, and both reward precise technique over muscle. You learn them slowly with cooperative partners, with a clear emphasis on the safety of you and your training partner, so you can apply them, recognize them, and tap early long before anything is at risk. This is leverage and timing doing the work, not strength.
Because everything is trained with body control, underhooks, and clinches, No-Gi Jiu Jitsu carries directly into Mixed Martial Arts and real-world self-defense. The takedowns, top control, and finishes you drill here are the ground game that wins cage fights, and the ability to stay calm, escape, and control a larger opponent is exactly what protects you off the mat. It pairs naturally with our striking in Kickboxing and the takedown work in our Wrestling program.
Furst Place MMA teaches No-Gi Jiu Jitsu at 122 Taylor Industrial Blvd in Hendersonville, TN, just off the shores of Old Hickory Lake, serving grapplers from Gallatin, Goodlettsville, White House, Portland, and Westmoreland across Sumner County and the greater Nashville area. Call (615) 495-8560 to claim your free first class with no contract.
Striking, the clinch, takedowns, and the ground game forged into one complete system.
ExploreHands, kicks, knees, and footwork. The most fun, fat-burning workout you will find.
ExploreTakedowns, scrambles, and top pressure. Control where every fight takes place.
ExploreClaim a free trial class. No experience needed, no card, no contract. Just show up.
