Excellent Martial Arts Instructors!
Our jiu jitsu and Muay Thai instructors in our martial arts schools in Maryland are highly trained and experienced martial artists who have earned their black belts under Relson Gracie or his affiliates. They have competed professionally and are constantly training and studying various aspects of Brazilian jiu jitsu or Muay Thai. We only hire instructors who are respectful, courteous, and professional.
Our instructors emphasize the following principles in their instruction:
- Student safety;
- Practical, real-world self defense;
- Attention to technique and details;
- Constructive, positive feedback;
- Student growth, development, and progress; and
- A positive team environment.
Our students will gain the additional benefit of participating in live seminars with members of the Gracie family, their esteemed black belts, and other professional martial artists and UFC fighters.
Our highly detailed and structured curriculum helps students retain the self-defense techniques they have learned that will be useful on the mats, streets, and competitions.
Authentic Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
We teach authentic Brazilian jiu jitsu, also known as Gracie jiu jitsu, and self defense in a safe and clean martial arts facility.
The primary objective in Brazilian jiu jitsu as a self-defense system is to close the distance, take the opponent to the ground, and submit the opponent using leverage-based grappling techniques such as arm locks, chokes, or leg locks.
A common misconception is that jiu jitsu is entirely ground fighting and that zero striking or stand-up techniques are practiced. This is generally true within the realm of sport/competitive Brazilian jiu jitsu. However, at Rising Tide Academy, we are fully committed to teaching our students real life-saving martial arts techniques that include both ground fighting and stand-up techniques. Our goal is to develop a well-rounded martial artist who can become the best at both stand up and ground fighting.
Our students can expect to learn battle tested martial arts techniques taught by veteran black belt instructors who have received countless hours of instruction directly training with Grandmaster Relson Gracie. Students can also expect to learn directly from Grandmaster Relson Gracie himself, who makes visits to our Columbia, MD and Finksburg, MD locations.
Muay Thai
Muay Thai, which literally translates to "Thai Boxing," originated in Thailand and is a combat sport related to kickboxing and prevalent in mixed martial arts. Popular now throughout the world, Muay Thai is known as the “Art of Eight Limbs” because it employs the use of stand up striking with one's fists, legs, elbows, and knees to attack an opponent. This martial art is known for its unique approaches to clinching, effective use of calculated timing, and reliance on the entire body, especially the hips, to generate powerful strikes.
Muay Thai is well known for its effective offensive striking techniques, but it is also perfect for students of all ages who want to get stronger, lose weight, improve their conditioning, and learn self defense. Our adult and kids classes focus on teaching the traditional Muay Thai system through a variety of drills and games including partner pad work, bag drills, block returns, and footwork drills.
A clean, diverse, and flexible academy!
We are a diverse academy that attracts all kinds of different students including men, women, adults, children, students brand new to martial arts, experienced martial artists, and even UFC fighters. We have classes in Brazilian jiu jitsu and Muay Thai that are specifically tailored to each of those populations.
We offer flexible scheduling including morning, afternoon, and night classes; gi and no gi classes; Brazilian jiu jitsu, Muay Thai, and mixed martial arts classes; weekend classes; beginner and advanced classes; competition classes; and opportunities for parents and their children to train at the same time in different classes in our Columbia Maryland and Finksburg Maryland locations.
We also take pride in how clean our academy is. In all our locations, we routinely clean the mats after each class and work hard to make sure all areas in our dojos are clean and safe.
We are always finding new ways to address our students’ needs!
Welcome to the best martial arts school in Columbia, MD and Finksburg, MD!
At Rising Tide Academy, our students always come first.
Our culture is focused on creating a community of martial artists that helps each individual student reach his or her own unique potential. We believe in meeting our students where they are when they start their training and then building their purpose, discipline, health, and technique to become better versions of themselves.
Training in Brazilian jiu jitsu and Muay Thai is challenging, but with the right team, commitment, and instruction along with a clean, safe environment, we know our students will discover powerful rewards on and off the mats and reach their goals.
As the saying goes, a “rising tide” lifts ALL ships, so each of our students is an important and valuable member of our family.