Featured affiliated academy: Agoge, Vietnam BJJ
Where is the gym located?
Thanh Cong Ward’s Community Hall, Thanh Cong Street, Ba Dinh, Hanoi, VN
How many people train there?
Around 30 members.
Is the gym growing – if so by how many new members each month or year?
We started with a core team of 8 to 10 people eager to learn 5 months ago, and we got around 5 new people per month plus a lot of visitors from all over the world on a weekly basis.
What are the highest and lowest belt grades training?
We are led by head coach David Lapetina (purple belt under Akio Long, RNK Paris) and there are purple, blue and white belts training at the gym. We have black belts and brown belts visiting us from other gyms and from other countries quite often.
When did the gym open?
September 2017
Who founded it?
Nguyễn Hoài Nam and David Lapetina. Nam setup the whole place and started with teaching striking at the beginning of January.
Agoge, Vietnam BJJ
Some facts about you:
Name: David Lapetina
Age: 40
Belt: Purple
Profession: Chief Operations
How many years in BJJ: 7
Other martial arts: Before starting BJJ I did 3 years of Muay Thai/Wrestling and little bit of MMA, all this leading me to BJJ.
Where do you live: I live 70% of my time in Hanoi, 30% in Paris where I continue to train with my master Akio Long, and my original team RNK Paris.
Where are you originally from: Paris, RNK.
Please tell us the story of how your gym came into existence:
Nam created the gym based on a Dog Brother affiliation early 2017. The teaching was only striking orientated. People were eager to learn BJJ but due to the lack of gyms in Hanoi it was difficult to satisfy this need. Nam and David met during the summer of 2017 thanks to a mutual friend. The vision about the teaching and the core values of what must be a martial arts gym were immediately shared and they decided to try a BJJ program. The main difficulty was to establish it with mainly pure beginners with very little “ground” experience. After some weeks it was clear that the motivation of the team was high and more people were – and are – joining us continuously.
Agoge, Vietnam BJJ
Tell us about the people that train in the gym – who are they?
We have grown up from 18 to the 40’s. Some students, mainly people who work, female and male. We want to keep it balanced and that is why we insist on the “BJJ for everyone” motto.
Why do they train?
For many reasons. Some come from a long striking background (more than 10 or 15 years for some of them) and want new challenges. Others want to learn a martial art without striking but still thrive for more than a kata-only approach.
What are some of the challenges running a BJJ gym?
To keep a balance between the hard work required by BJJ while on the other hand have fun and joy what it can bring in our life. We must teach, learn and practice with accuracy and safety but also keep a smile on our face all the time. Be respectful and thankful with our partners but also allow our self a good laugh on the mat.
Agoge, Vietnam BJJ
How do you see the future for BJJ in your area?
Considering we have around 8 million people in Hanoi, around 5 gyms which means maybe 300 practitioners tops, the growth will be huge in the next decade. On our side we do our best to promote our passion and work with the other gyms to support this growth.
What’s the best thing about your gym?
The balance we want to keep between fun and serious. There is a time for everything, a time to be serious, a time for fun, a time for hard work and pain, a time for relaxing and just play all this in a safe environment and a beautiful place to train.
We are also strongly advocating for teaching and sharing with everyone, male or female, wherever they come from with the only expectation in return that people who come will follow some basics rules such as: ensuring the safety of their partners, being humble and do not brag, helping the other to be better.
What would you recommend Globetrotters to see in your area apart from the inside of your gym?
We are in a beautiful country, with very nice and welcoming people. Come to visit us and our country, you will have good memories for years. In Hanoi you can discover so many good places to visit but also where to eat, have a nice drink or party. Just come. You will understand.
Any other Comments, you are welcome to write them here.
We believe that BJJ and Vietnam are enough to motivate people to come to see us.
