Royce Chen (left) and Daniel Sena Paulino (right) talk to students at the grand opening of City Jiu-Jitsu Academy on Sunday. Photo: Shane O’Brien
Nov. 11, 2024 By Shane O’Brien
City Jiu-Jitsu Academy, a new martial arts center offering Brazilian jiu-jitsu in Long Island City, celebrated its long-awaited grand opening with an open training session for young students on Sunday.
The academy, opened by Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructors Royce Chen and Daniel Sena Paulino, first opened its doors at 10-14 50th Ave. in May but only celebrated its grand opening on Nov. 10. Chen and Paulino used the past six months to get the space up and running.
Sunday’s grand opening featured an open training session for children enrolled at City Jiu-Jitsu Academy and breakfast for parents who had come to spectate.
Since opening in May, City Jiu-Jitsu Academy has offered Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes for adults and youths alike in addition to weekly self-defense classes.
Chen said Brazilian jiu-jitsu can help build an individual’s self-confidence and reassure them that they can hold their own in dangerous situations. City Jiu-Jistu Academy also provides young members with an important social outlet, Chen said.
“A lot of things are missing in society today where kids are interacting socially less and less,” Chen said. “This helps them a lot.”
Paulino also believes jiu-jitsu can help boost a child’s confidence and said many young participants now feel much more comfortable chatting to their peers.
Photo: Shane O’Brien
“I’d say the most important thing to get out of this (City Jiu-Jitsu Academy) is that we have kids that come in who are very shy. In the first few days, they basically don’t say a word. Now, they’ll have conversations with their classmates and we actually can’t get them to quiet down.”
Chen also believes that the center provides children with a sense of community and that the classes bring people together from different walks of life, for adults and children alike.
“It’s a good community for them to make friends,” Chen said. All of these kids are friends. I don’t know if they hang out outside of here, but they spend time here at the academy just playing games and talking to each other.
“It’s a really good way of bringing people together from different walks of life. You can have somebody who works a minimum wage job, and then you have someone who’s a high powered attorney or a finance guy.”
Photo: Shane O’Brien
However, he emphasized that anyone who attends the academy is equal regardless of social standing.
“Everybody here is the same,” Chen said.
Both instructors noted that Brazilian jiu-jitsu has grown in popularity across the city in recent years, with Paulino noting that the sport is accessible to people of all physical abilities.
“With jiu-jitsu, anybody can start getting the movements after a couple of classes,” Paulino said. “It’s for everybody.”
Chen and Paulino both worked at the prestigious Renzo Gracie Academy in Manhattan before deciding to strike out on their own and open their own Brazilian jiu-jitsu center. They settled on Long Island City because the area lacked an existing jiu-jitsu academy and because of the camaraderie and community within the local neighborhood.
Photo: Shane O’Brien
They said they scouted the location on several occasions before signing a lease in November 2023, adding that they were struck by the number of young people walking in the area on each time that they visited Long Island City. Chen said both he and Paulino are keen to teach jiu-jitsu to youth in the area while also providing important life lessons that can be used outside of the mat, adding that it can help teach discipline and respect as well as self-confidence.
“Danny and I are really interested in building the future,” Chen said. “As cliché as it sounds, the youth are our future. We want to really teach them the things I wish we wish we had for ourselves when we were growing up. ”
Paulino, who grew up in nearby Astoria, said it is a “blessing” to be operating in Long Island City and said the local community has embraced the center with open arms.
Chen, meanwhile, said local families have been “very welcoming” and added that the neighborhood provides an ideal environment for a jiu-jitsu academy.
Both Chen and Paulino hope to engage in community outreach with local organizations and schools, while City Jiu-Jitsu Academy has already partnered with the nearby P.S. 384Q for a self-defense program.
City Jiu-Jitsu Academy is open for classes six days a week, from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturdays. The center offers a variety of monthly memberships, class packages, and family discounts, as well as a free trial lesson for new members. No previous jiu-jitsu experience is required.
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