Featured affiliated academy: Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Singapore
Where is Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Singapore located?
The gym is located in Singapore. The exact address is 326C King George’s Avenue, King George’s Building, 208567.
How many people train there?
Roughly, we have around 40-50 kids and 50-60 adults at the moment.
Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
It’s growing, slowly but surely. Our target is 150 members in total, around the same number of kids and adults. After that we will open a new branch or move to a bigger facility.
What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
Our lowest belt is white, of course, and the highest is brown.
When did the gym open?
The gym started in early 2016.
Some facts about you:
Name: Vladimir Popovic
Age: 30
Belt: Black
Gym: Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Singapore
Profession: BJJ coach and PE teacher
Years in BJJ: 10
Other martial arts: Black belt in judo
Currently living in: Singapore
Originally from: Serbia
Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence:
One guy from Australia started the gym, in cooperation with Singaporean partners. After 3 years, he decided to go back home to Australia, and gave me the honor of continuing his legacy.
Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
Our gym has people from 4 to 70 years old. It is a very international community, with students from the US, Australia, Ireland, France, Russia, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines… Children are mostly local Singaporeans, while adults are more a mix of expats and locals.
Why do they train?
Our gym is recreationally oriented when it comes to adults, and most of them train because of quality socializing, health awareness, fitness development, fun, and self defense. Kids are a bit more competition-oriented, but fun and socialization are also their primary goals. And not to forget – character development (which is more my task as a coach).
What are some of the challenges of running a BJJ gym in general and in your location specifically?
I didn’t find any challenges so far, except this virus. This is deadly for us, absolutely the worst possible thing for a contact sport like ours. Other than that, nothing really. People are very nice and grateful, and it’s a pleasure working with them.
Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Singapore
How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
I reckon that Jiu-Jitsu has great potential in Singapore. Martial arts here are very popular, especially BJJ and Muay Thai. OneFC has its headquarters in Singapore, so Singapore is like a centre of martial arts in Asia, I would say.
What’s the best thing about your gym?
Lovely people and friendly atmosphere.
What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
Singapore is one of the most popular tourist places on the planet, so there are many things to see here. The famous Marina Bay Sands hotel, the gardens by the bay, the botanical garden, the airport of course (the best airport in the world), Orchard Road, Sentosa island, little India, Arab street, Chinatown, many nice parks, many temples and so on and so on.
