Jiu Jitsu Gym Near Me in Deptford: London Grapple Under the Railway Arches

London Grapple runs its jiu jitsu classes out of two railway arches at Unit 17 Ffinch Street, Deptford SE8 5QA, a few steps from Deptford station, and a visiting adult can train for £25 a day without booking. The first no-gi class rolls at 06:45 on weekdays, the gi timetable runs six days a week, and the second mat sits 50 metres away at Unit 1 on the same estate. If you typed jiu jitsu near me somewhere between Greenwich and New Cross, this is the arch with the noise coming out of it.

The gym's own story starts during the 2020 to 2021 lockdowns, when Steve, Ross Nicholls and Aidan Woodhouse trained on temporary mats laid out in the café area of London Velo, a Deptford bike and coffee shop. London Grapple opened properly in August 2021, added MMA under Matt Inman in early 2022, and in 2024 took a second unit 50 metres from the first, which the founders say more than doubled their mat space. It still feels like a neighbourhood project that grew fast rather than a franchise that landed.

Ross Nicholls is the head grappling coach and co-owner. He received his black belt in 2014 from Cesar Lima and Roger Gracie, coached at Roger Gracie Academy and Grand Union until mid-2021, and lists an ADCC European title, three Polaris superfight wins and an IBJJF no-gi British national title on his coach page. Aidan Woodhouse leads no-gi and wrestling, and the site counts twelve instructors in total.

Mat 1 is the headquarters under the arches at Unit 17, with reception, changing rooms for men and women, toilets, lockers and three shower cubicles. Grappling runs there seven days a week. Mat 2 is the unit at the entrance to the Titan business estate, Unit 1 Ffinch Street, and handles striking and MMA plus a share of the grappling sessions. The timetable labels every class by mat, so read the label before you walk in; on Mondays the beginner no-gi intro is on Mat 2 while Fundamental Gi runs on Mat 1 at the same 18:00 hour.

Brand-new students are steered toward BJJ Introduction (No Gi), a one-hour class for people with zero to three months on the mat, held Monday 18:00 on Mat 2 and Thursday 18:00 on Mat 1. Fundamental Gi runs Monday and Friday 18:00 to 19:30 and Thursday at 11:00, and Fundamental No Gi takes Tuesday 19:00 plus two Wednesday slots. Advanced and competition classes are reserved for blue belts and above, so a white belt visitor should not wander into the Wednesday 09:30 no-gi competition session expecting a gentle roll.

The format is roughly half drilling and half live sparring, with five-minute rounds and thirty seconds to swap partners. The coaches skip the old-school warm-up of laps and shrimping lines, which is why it pays to arrive loose. Early risers get Mixed No Gi at 06:45 every weekday, a slot that fills with people who cycle on to Canary Wharf afterwards.

Travelling grapplers pay by time rather than by class: £25 for a day, £80 for a week, £105 for a fortnight or £170 for a month, with students at £20, £60, £90 and £140. Open mats cost £15 per session for adults and £13 for students. The free first class exists, but the FAQ is explicit that trials are only for people planning to join as members, and the booking page frames them for London residents, so a weekend visitor should simply buy the day pass.

For locals, the All Access membership is £170 a month for adults and £140 for students, Grappling only is £145 and £115, and there is no joining fee or long contract. Members also get £20 a month off at Commando Temple, 20 percent off Pure Sports Medicine and 10 percent off at two neighbours you will meet after class.

There is no brand, style or colour rule for gis, but the gym asks that you wash a new one before its first wear so the dye does not stain the white mats. Trial students can tick a box for a free loan gi; everyone else brings their own. For no-gi, shorts and a rash guard are standard, spats are common and a mouth guard is optional but recommended. For a first session the trial page asks only for a T-shirt, shorts or leggings and a water bottle.

Visitors are told to arrive fifteen minutes before class, buy the pass online and walk in; no slot booking is needed. Bring a padlock for the lockers and your own bike lock for the racks outside Unit 17. There is no car park, though the FAQ points drivers to free street parking in the surrounding Deptford streets.

The weekday 06:45 no-gi crowd skews toward commuters who shower in one of those three cubicles and leave by eight, so expect a short queue for water at 07:45. Evenings are when the arches are fullest, with Mixed Gi on Tuesday at 19:30 and Advanced No Gi on Monday and Wednesday at 19:30 drawing the competition team. The Saturday Women's Open Mat runs 14:00 to 16:00 on Mat 1, and the Sunday Open Mat from 10:00 to 12:00 is the easiest relaxed roll for a visitor.

One honest note: skip the Saturday morning plan if you were hoping to bring a child for a taster, because the gym lists its Saturday kids' classes for ages 4 to 7 and 7 to 11 as full and closed to trials. The Monday and Wednesday 16:00 and 16:50 kids' gi sessions are the ones to ask about, and the Friday kids' no-gi slots are new for this season.

Elsewhere Coffee Roastery sits in Unit 3 of the same Titan estate, so the walk from Mat 1 to a flat white is about a minute, and London Grapple members get 10 percent off. If you would rather sit down for longer, Badger Badger at 145 Deptford High Street pairs a shelf of board games with Japanese food and gives members the same discount. From there Deptford High Street runs south toward Deptford Bridge, and the walk back to the station takes you past the market stalls that line the street on market days.

Address: Mat 1, Unit 17 Ffinch Street, Deptford, London SE8 5QA; Mat 2, Unit 1 Ffinch Street, same postcode. Published opening hours are 06:45 to 12:30 and 16:00 to 21:00 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 06:45 to 12:30 and 16:30 to 21:00 on Tuesday and Thursday, 09:00 to 13:00 on Saturday and 10:00 to 12:00 on Sunday. Deptford station is beside the arches, with London Bridge, Greenwich and Canary Wharf all a short ride away. If the day rate feels steep for a single class, the £15 Sunday open mat is the cheaper way to roll here once.