TESTIMONIALS

I organize events in our communities to promote family fitness through the Family Challenge.  I had the pleasure of partnering up with Robert LeRuyet to share his passion, knowledge and instruction of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with families in Abbotsford.  Robert convinced us that it is the most proven and effective self-defence instruction in the world.  He is committed to help others achieve fitness, self-defence and personal development goals regardless of age, gender or physical activity.

I personally appreciate Robert’s passion and style of teaching.  Being a female, I found it empowering to know that regardless of the attacker’s size and strength, I can defend myself.  My children ages 10 and 12, male and female, both learned a great deal from his teachings and feel more confident.

I’d like to thank you Robert for sharing your passion and expertise and giving back to families in our community.   I personally feel more confident that I am able to better protect myself and my family from unpredictable situations.  Thank you!

Erika Pearson

Abbotsford, BC, May 1st, 2017

Hi, my name is Nevada.  I am 22 years old and a college student at the University of Victoria.  I was looking to take a self-defense class because I am going to be leaving on a world tour, by myself, later this year. I kind of kept putting it off because I was busy with school, work and life. But my Mom kept bugging me about it as she thought I would be safer traveling alone if I at least knew how to defend myself.  I knew she was right, so seven months before my trip I started. I didn’t do any prior research about self-defense to really know what types of classes were out there.

To start, my Mom gave me a number for this Krav Maga training in the nearby town of Langley. I went there for a lengthy work shop and I thought it was okay since of course I had nothing to compare it to. In this Krav Maga type training you seem to do a lot of staged routines. For example, we learned to hit an attacker in the face with the palm of our open hand, when he is coming up to you. I thought that was okay but the training felt artificial because all we did was to pretend to hit our partner who was standing there in front of you so you have no way to know if this stuff will actually work. Also this kind of stuff seemed a little stupid because you had to know what the attacker was going to do before he did it and be able to catch him at the exact time and distance.  If he surprised you he would already be grabbing you and it would be too late.  We also learned this fancy move for how to get out of a choke with the hands from head on. You had to use a lot of force to knock the hands away, which your partner had to let you do, and then make-believe that you were hitting your partner with strikes and kicks while they just stood there. It all felt really choreographed and I now understand why Robert humorously calls this kind of self-defense training “Kung-Fu theater”.

But my biggest complaint about the Krav Maga class was the kind of instruction. The guy who was teaching the class was too bossy, not very friendly and made inappropriate jokes that I thought were rude and demeaning.  He seemed to be on some selfish power-trip pretending to be an army sergeant or something. Just the kind of person who makes you feel very uncomfortable when training in a more intimate subject like close contact self-defense.  I never went back to that krav Maga class because I just couldn’t stand that guy.

But my Mom was not ready to give up and I sure am glad that she didn’t. After that my Mom gave me Robert’s number for a private orientation lesson in self-defense Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. From the start I really enjoyed the lesson with Robert and was immediately motivated to do more.  It was a totally different experience from that Krav Maga Class. Robert is so professional yet infectiously fun and engaging. I can’t imagine anyone being more knowledgeable about self-defense and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu than he is. I am someone who is interested in science and basic physics so Robert explains the reasons behind every move and why it works-the science of it.  He customized every lesson and move to fit my body type, size and individual needs. Unlike Krav Maga there is no “one size fits all”. I never imagined how incredibly powerful I could be once I understood the secrets of proper body mechanics and leverage.  You don’t just learn certain moves from Robert, but you learn a way to move.

What that means is once you understand how your body should move using maximum stability and leverage as well as the basic techniques you can then apply that to all kinds of different situations and variables you might find yourself in. It wasn’t just self defense but a whole new way to think about all the things your body can do that you never realized was possible.

For example, we practice basic body movements such as “the snake” which is a way you move your body on the ground using your hips and legs to wiggle out of situations. It does not take strength or power just know-how and it could be applied in a situation where someone much bigger was sitting on top of you and holding you down. This is such a common but terrifying position for a woman to be in but you can escape with surprising ease if you know how to snake your body and wriggle out side to side. It was so incredibly eye opening to be able to truly escape from a much larger man really trying to hold me down with all his strength, instead of just pretending to hit people which I don’t think could even work  in these situations when you are trapped on the bottom by a big guy. Just from what I learned in that first class with Robert I knew that his Brazilian Jiu-jitsu program made way more sense for what can actually happen to women in real life and not in the movies. One lesson was way more applicable than that entire Krav Maga work shop I took.

After training in Robert’s B.A.C.K  O.F.F program  which is specifically for women and can be learned in as little as 10 to 15 lessons,  I feel so much more confident for traveling on my own which I think is very important as a woman. I wish I had started this years ago as I would have been so good by now-but better late than never. Jiu-jitsu really is something that can change your life in so many positive ways.

If you are a girl and want to learn self-defense that really, truly works against bigger stronger creepy people in real life scary situations then I could not recommend Robert’s program more highly. You won’t just feel empowered you will become, as we joke in class, bad-ass-ified !

Nevada Bolster

Abbotsford B.C, April 20th, 2017

“From a female perspective, it is immensely empowering to know that regardless of your attacker’s weight and strength, you can defend yourself using brains instead of brawn! Rob helps simplify the learning process by using the principle of leverage in all his teaching. His emphasis on strategy rather than strength means that just about anyone can learn this. I was initially worried that my fitness level wouldn’t be adequate but found that I could participate freely. These classes are helping me increase my confidence in my day-to-day living as well, just knowing that I am becoming stronger and more aware.”

Caroline C.

Toronto, Ont. Canada

“My name is Andrew Sharrington and I was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. Even back then South Africa had a lot of violence so my parents enrolled me into karate lessons at 6 years old. I took up the Shotokan style under sensei Chris Hieplash who was affiliated with the renowned J.K.A  instructor sensei Norman Robinson. Shotokan karate was highly developed in South Africa at that time and produced some of the best karate fighters in the world. I trained under these exceptional men from 6 years old until age 14, when I moved to Toronto Canada with my family.

I had reached the rank of brown belt in South Africa and wanted to continue to train in Canada, but there where a lot of cultural differences and I felt the standards and teaching methods where not as high as in South Africa. Later when I moved to British Columbia I again sought out Shotokan Karate schools but karate schools had become very kids orientated and nothing like the way we had done things back home.

Later the rise of Mixed Martial Arts rekindled my interest in martial arts and I began to look into these kinds of schools. The local schools were a disappointment, they seemed to lack the discipline and ethical standards of the traditional arts which I think are very important. They seemed poorly organized and more about every man for himself. I was very interested in the new developments of MMA but thought there had to be a better way to do it.

Finely, I met Robert LeRuyet and he inspired me to start training again with him. He had both a back ground in traditional arts and had been the pioneer in the development of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts in Canada. I felt we shared the same values. I had always loved Karate but felt there was so much of it that was not practical for real self-defence on the street but I believed in loyalty to your Sensei and to your style. By training with Robert, I have discovered that you can train in the most street effective methods but still adhere to the values and philosophy of the traditional arts, you do not have to give one up to do the other. Robert’s very hands on, detailed and personal teaching methods reminded me of the exacting standards of the old South African J.K.A. However, we have a lot of fun and we never have to make a distinction between the “art” and the practical street applications; With his brand of jiu-jitsu they have to be one and the same.”

Andrew Shirrington

Abbotsford, BC-by way of Johannesburg South Africa

“I’ve trained and fought professionally all over the world.  I‘ve also spent years working the door and running security at the rowdiest cowboy bars, seediest biker joints and roughest Heavy Metal dives. More than that, I’ve been an off-the-books bodyguard, cash currier and done high risk collections. You get the picture, fighting and handling violence was a way of life for me so there is not much I haven’t seen or done.

So trust me when I tell you that I sure as hell know the difference between the posers, game players and the guys who have had to really throw-down on the street. If you are looking for serious self-defense training you better understand that difference too.  I’ve known all kinds of martial arts, boxing and kickboxing champions and Robert LeRuyet has proven skills, in multiple disciplines, that are second to none.  He is that very rare combination of consummate martial arts technician with no-nonsense practical experience.

I’ve been punched and kicked by the very best. I’ve been stabbed, had guns pulled on me and shot at by the very worst. In the work I’ve done trusting the wrong person or wrong self-defense system can get you killed. So I don’t make statements like this casually-Robert LeRuyet is the kind of guy with the kind of skills I trust to have my back.

You should too. As a world’s champion I’ve been paid some pretty big money for my kick-boxing endorsements but what I’m telling you here was completely on the house. That way you know I’m being totally up front with you when I say I highly recommend Robert and his method of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu to everyone looking for real life self-defense training. There is nothing better.”

Dale “curb crusher” Christie

-2 times Alberta Golden Gloves boxing champion. (1990 & 91 Light Heavyweight)

-2 times WKA world kickboxing champion. (1998 & 2003-05 Super Welterweight)

“I just wanted to say thank you Robert for giving me the ability to confidently know I am able to protect myself and my family from attackers.

One night I was actually confronted by a towing customer who turned violent and grabbed me by my coveralls and began to punch me like a hockey player would, while never loosening his grip on my clothes.

I had told him to let me go and he wouldn’t but continued to punch with the little jabs to the face.

I then kicked him as hard as I could twice in an upward motion to the groin with my steel toed boots. Still he would not let go, barely flinching at what I considered to be two very hard blows to the groin! So much for the conventional self-defense advice all the “experts” give!

Finally I being heavier turned in a circle and used his own body weight and a lot of strength to throw him against a rock wall which broke his grip on my coveralls. I then went to my vehicle and was able to leave the situation. If I had not been much larger than him I don’t know what would have happened.

This was not the first time I had been threatened or assaulted by irate customers but I was determined that it would be the last time that I faced this aggression without proper training. I had been doing some other martial arts training but the stuff they wanted to do was very impractical and left me feeling unprepared for the real situations I was facing.

After this incident is when I first sought Robert’s services as I had suffered a head injury some years before that has left me with benign vertigo and felt I could no longer defend my self as I could in the past.

Robert listened to my concerns about my vertigo and the lack of what I thought I could do in the event of an attack.

Robert  created a program that allowed me to train Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and not trigger my vertigo. By altering how we trained and being aware of what triggered my vertigo Robert allowed me to be able to learn Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and gain the confidence to know I will not be the loser in a real fight!

I do not seek altercations but I work late in the tow-truck business and often I am alone with sometimes intoxicated or just angry customers.

Simply put I know I can can take care of myself better than I ever could in the past regardless of my age or physical limitations. Robert’s system of Brazilian Jiu-jitsu really is made for everyone who wants the very best in real life self defense.”

Thanks again,

Frank R.

Abbotsford, BC. Canada