Jiu Jitsu Gym Near Me in Lavender: Fortitude BJJ on Penhas Road

Fortitude Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has no registration fee, and its two-week unlimited trial costs S$99 plus a S$1 admin charge. The academy, which members call the Fort, sits at 18M Penhas Road, Singapore 208182, a short walk from Lavender MRT and around the corner from Jalan Besar Stadium. Vinc Tan founded it in 2014, and the weekday timetable runs from a 7.15am basics class to an all-levels hour that ends at 9.15pm.

Vinc Tan only began jiu jitsu in 2010, during the final year of his university studies, and his coach page is frank that he started late for an athlete and felt he had to make up for lost time. Full-time training stints abroad followed, and in 2015 he received his black belt in Rio de Janeiro from Luis Carlos Mateus, the seventh-degree black belt known as Manimal, who earned his own rank under Carlson Gracie Senior.

His black belt record includes first place at the IBJJF Tokyo International, the Asian Open and the American Nationals in 2018 in the masters division, plus a 2023 AJP Miami Grand Slam win. As a coach he is proudest of Kacie Tan and Emma Xiong, two students he took from white belt to black belt, both of whom won world titles at purple and brown belt along the way.

Shane Suzuki, the second professor on the mat, took up judo at 14 and found jiu jitsu a year later at a Carlson Gracie school run by Ben Hall in Melbourne. His family moved to Singapore in 2008, he met Vinc on one of his training trips, and the two travelled around the region together to compete. His record shows wins at the 2012 and 2014 Abu Dhabi World Pro at purple and brown belt, and he received his black belt in 2014.

Coach Gladwin, a black belt promoted by Vinc, rounds out the senior team. So whichever coach you get at the front of the room, you are learning in a Carlson Gracie line that runs through two cities and three professors.

The June 2026 timetable posted on the academy's site puts early classes at 7.15am on Monday and Friday (basics) and Wednesday (no-gi grappling), all of which require pre-booking. Evenings start at 6.15pm: BJJ basics on Monday, Thursday and Friday, no-gi basics on Tuesday, and a functional fitness hour on Wednesday that is open to all levels.

At 7.15pm the room switches to BJJ fundamentals on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and to no-gi grappling on Tuesday. The 8.15pm slot alternates between all levels, fundamentals and a Thursday no-gi hour. Weekends are short: Saturday has kids and juniors at 1.30pm, fundamentals at 2.30pm and a takedowns class at 3.30pm, and Sunday is a single sparring block from 2.30pm to 4pm.

The 7.15pm Friday slot is randori, open to gi or no-gi. The class description says plainly that there is minimal instruction but that this is not an open mat: practice is hard drilling followed by hard sparring, and you are expected to push yourself. It also says you do not have to be in shape, only to try your hardest.

Our honest read is that a first-week beginner should skip Friday randori and the Sunday sparring block, and book a 6.15pm basics class on Monday or Thursday instead. Takedowns are taught from judo and wrestling with or without the gi, and coaches add yoga-style stretching from time to time, so the Saturday takedowns hour is a sensible second class once the basics feel familiar.

Children train in two groups, Kids from 5 to 9 and Juniors from 10 to 13, at 5pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with Friday's hour run as no-gi grappling. One parent's testimonial on the homepage describes their son nearly quitting in his first month until Vinc took the time to give him a personal pep talk, and says the boy now looks forward to training.

That mix of after-school children and post-work adults gives the Fort a neighbourhood feel. The kids slot ends just as the 6.15pm adult basics class begins, so a parent can drop a child off and then train in the next hour. The academy asks visitors to message ahead because the schedule can change.

The two-week unlimited trial at S$99 is only for first-time visitors; current and past members cannot buy it. Visitors from other academies pay S$60 for a day or S$140 for a week of unlimited training, according to the price table on the membership page, which states that all prices are nett. Gi rental is S$14 if you travel light.

Upfront memberships start at S$300 for four weeks for adults and S$250 for students and NSF under 25, falling to S$3,120 for a 48-week term, which works out to S$260 a month. Seniors aged 55 and over pay student pricing. Private coaching is S$180 an hour and can be booked any day. Trial classes are by booking only, so send a message first rather than turning up at the door.

Jalan Besar Stadium at 100 Tyrwhitt Road is around the corner, and its floodlights are the easiest landmark when you are hunting for Penhas Road for the first time. Tyrwhitt Road and the lanes off Jalan Besar are lined with prewar shophouses, and the district's hardware shops, coffee roasters and late kopitiams make an easy stroll after a 7.15pm class.

If you would rather keep moving, head east from Lavender MRT toward the Kallang River and follow the riverside path. If the evening you want is full or the schedule has shifted, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Singapore in the same Lavender district is the nearest alternative, and it runs its own beginner programme with published fees.

Fortitude Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, 18M Penhas Road, Singapore 208182. Lavender MRT on the East West Line is the closest station. Morning classes need pre-booking, and visitors are asked to call or message before dropping by. Bring a gi or a rash guard and shorts, plus water. There is no registration fee, and pause fees are waived on three, six and twelve-month plans under the academy's conditions.