A new, premium fitness concept opens in Clapham, London in Q3 2024 called Arma, which will combine a Brazilian jiu jitsu academy with a fitness and recovery offering.

The privately-funded club is the brainchild of two businessmen and jiu jitsu enthusiasts, Jake Willis and Louis Steyn. The 6,500 square foot site spans four floors. On the ground floor there will be a reception area, café, retail space, changing rooms and a recovery area with plunge pool and infrared sauna.

On the upper floors there will be two dojo mats for jiu jitsu classes; a strength and conditioning-focused gym and a co-working space for 50 people.

General manager, James Crew, told HCM the team aim to redefine the traditional jiu jitsu academy, become the market leader and, long term, expand globally.

As well as creating a premium facility, they have also signed world champion grappler, Ffion Davies as head coach.

“Ffion is the equivalent of having Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo at a football training academy! She is a great ambassador and will help to attract more women to the sport,” says Crew.

Membership will be upwards of £230 per month, to include everything apart from the co-working space which will be offered as a bolt-on membership.

“A big goal of ours is to get more of the general population into jiu jitsu,” says Crew. “There will be an extensive kids programme, so we’ll be building some future world champions without a doubt. It's still a male dominated sport, but with Ffion on board we will be aiming to change that, and will be offering female only classes on both the dojo mats and in the gym.”

Crew is confident the team will be able to inspire more people to take up the sport, which mixes a great workout with problem solving. “It's like human chess,” he says. “You can learn the fundamentals very quickly and apply those techniques to spar from the first session, however, you can also do the sport for 30 years and still learn new techniques and systems.

“As the sport originates from self defence, it gives the individual self-confidence to know that they could neutralise a potentially dangerous physical situation and defend themselves."

HiiLife is delivering a comprehensive, high-tech installation across all four floors, blending high-quality audio-visual and live-streaming capabilities. Both dojos will have bespoke ceiling-mounted Birdog camera systems that stream live classes directly to the reception area.

Look out for the interview with James Crew in an upcoming HCM. Sign up here for a free digital subscription.