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Legacy Grappling Club

Never trained? Start here.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu in Bedford

Unit 6, 45 College Street.
Your first class is free.

  • First class free
  • No experience needed
  • 7am starts, lunchtimes, evenings and weekends

Book your free class

One class, no charge. Nothing to buy and nothing to sign before you come.

This is how we'll get back to you, usually a WhatsApp message.

Three boxes. That’s it. We’ll message you back with a class that fits.

Does any of this sound like you?

"I need to get fit first."

"I don't want to get hurt."

"I only want to train casually."

"I can't make the times."

If you’ve thought any of those, you’re in the right place. They’re the four things people tell us when they don’t start, and every one of them has an answer.

Here’s the answer to each one

You don't need to be fit first

Jiu-jitsu is a skill before it is anything else. The fitness turns up as a side effect. The entry requirement is turning up.

There's no striking

The sport has a full stop built into it: tap twice and everything stops, immediately, every time.

Twice a week is proper training

Most people here are never going to compete, and that is completely fine. Nobody is keeping score of who’s serious.

There's a class that fits

30 classes a week, from 7am starts to late evening, plus Saturday and Sunday. Have a look at the timetable before you decide it won’t work.

Book your free class

What jiu-jitsu actually is

Grappling. Grips, position and leverage: controlling someone rather than hitting them. Most of what you learn is what to do when somebody already has hold of you.

It’s one of the few martial arts you can take up at forty without being hit, which is why a lot of people take it up late. But the reason people stay for years isn’t the self-defence.

01DisciplineTurning up on the days you don’t feel like it. It’s the only thing that separates the people who get good from the people who don’t.
02Problem solvingEvery round is a puzzle with a person in it. You’re not counting reps, you’re working out what to do next.
03Calm under pressureYou practise being in a bad position and thinking anyway. That part travels off the mat.
04ResilienceYou will be terrible at this for a while. Everybody is. Learning to keep going while you’re bad is the whole thing.
Adults training jiu-jitsu in the gi

The offer

Your first class is free

One class, no charge. Nothing to buy, nothing to sign before you come.

Gi class? We lend you the gi. No-gi class? A t-shirt and shorts is the whole list.

Book your free class

Three boxes. We’ll message you back with a class that fits.

People who were exactly where you are

Nobody was fit, nobody knew anybody, everyone came alone. Tap for sound.

Member story 1
Member story 2
Member story 3
Member story 4
Member story 5
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Find the class that’s yours

Four ways in. Everyone starts in the same place: knowing nothing.

  • 12classes a week

    Adults

    From complete beginner upwards. Gi and no-gi, mornings through to late evening.

  • 6classes a week

    Women only

    Women training with women, every week. You will not be the only one in the room.

  • 12classes a week

    Kids, 4 to 13

    Two age groups, boys and girls separately. No striking, at any age.

  • 8classes a week

    No-gi

    The same jiu-jitsu without the suit. A rash guard and shorts is the whole list.

When we train in Bedford

30 classes a week: 12 for adults, 6 women only and 12 for children.

Adults timetable at Legacy Grappling Club Bedford
DayTimeClass
Monday12.00 – 1.00pmGi
7.15 – 8.45pmNo-gi
Tuesday7.00 – 8.00amGi
7.00 – 8.30pmGi
Wednesday12.00 – 1.00pmGi
7.00 – 8.30pmNo-gi
Thursday12.00 – 1.00pmGi
7.15 – 8.45pmGi
Friday7.00 – 8.00amNo-gi
7.00 – 8.30pmNo-gi
Sunday1.00 – 2.00pmGi
2.00 – 3.00pmNo-gi
Found one that works?

Tell us which, and we’ll get you in.

Book your free class

How this started

The room is new. The people are not.

Faisal Kayani and Dr Salaman Iqbal built their first club on one idea: a place where people of any age could learn jiu-jitsu and belong to something.

Mikael Rhaillander joined them on the mats. Between them they put hundreds of children and adults through a first class, and produced competitors along the way.

Bedford is what comes next. Same people, same standards, a new room.

Faisal Kayani
Faisal Kayani
Dr Salaman Iqbal
Dr Salaman Iqbal
Mikael Rhaillander
Mikael Rhaillander

Founders

One class. That’s the whole commitment.

Come as you are. We’ll do the rest.

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Who teaches

Four black belts, a brown and a purple.

Dr Salaman Iqbal
FounderDr Salaman Iqbal2nd degree black beltHead instructor
Faisal Kayani
FounderFaisal KayaniBlack beltInstructor#1 in the UK
Mikael Rhaillander
FounderMikael RhaillanderBlack beltHead gi coachWorld champion
Faris Benlamkadem
Faris BenlamkademBlack beltHead no-gi coachWorld champion
Ali Mahmood
Ali MahmoodPurple beltHead of the boys’ classes
Fernanda Dassoler
Fernanda DassolerBrown beltHead female coach, and coaches the girls’ classes

Nobody gets smashed here for someone else’s ego.

What it costs

Membership runs month to month. If you want to stop, you tell us a month before, and that’s the end of it.

Mens Gold
£95a month

Unlimited classes, every session on the timetable. For people training three times a week or more.

Book your free class
Mens Silver
£70a month

Eight sessions a month. Built for twice a week, which is how most people here train.

Book your free class
Womens Gold
£60a month

Unlimited classes, including every women-only session.

Book your free class
Womens Silver
£50a month

Eight sessions a month, women-only sessions included.

Book your free class
University Student
£70a month

Unlimited classes for under-25s with a student ID.

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Under 18s
£40a month

Unlimited classes in the children's groups, 4 to 13.

Book your free class
Adult drop-in
£15one session

One session, whenever you like. It never expires.

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Under-18 drop-in
£10one session

One session for a child. Same as above, half the price.

Book your free class

Your first class is free either way.

Questions people actually ask

I was looking for a gym. Is this that?
No. We only do grappling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. There's no striking in any of our classes.
Do I need to be fit to start?
No. That's the wrong way round, and it's the most common reason people put this off for a year. You get fit by turning up.
Do you train no-gi as well?
Five of the twelve adult classes here are no-gi: the same jiu-jitsu without the suit, in a rash guard and shorts.
I can only train at lunchtime.
There's a class at midday on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.
How old do children have to be?
From 4 to 13, in two groups. Boys and girls train separately.
What do I need to bring?
A t-shirt and shorts. If your class is a gi class we lend you the gi.
I can't make any of the times.
Have a look at the timetable first. If none of those work, tell us when you could and we'll say what's closest.

Still not sure? Message us on WhatsApp. We’d rather answer a question than lose you.

Kids jiu-jitsu in Bedford

Children train from 4 to 13. Boys and girls train separately.

There is no striking in what they learn. It’s grips, position and leverage, and the first thing anyone is taught is how to stop. Their first class is free too.

Children training jiu-jitsu
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Women-only jiu-jitsu in Bedford

six classes a week are women only. Gi and no-gi.

Jiu-jitsu is grappling, so most of what you learn is what to do when somebody already has hold of you. It’s taught over time, as a skill, not as a weekend course.

Book your free class

The club, and how to find it

A short tour of the club: the mat, the changing rooms, the way in.
Legacy Grappling Club
Unit 6, 45 College StreetKempston, BedfordMK42 8LU
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