Ryno Tuff Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Blog

Ryno and Lyoto Machida

My name is Ryan Brandenburg and I am an avid practicioner of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I began my journey in this art in 2006 and have been pretty much obsessed with it ever since my first class at Claudio Franca’s academy in San Jose. Having become bored with lifting weights (I was a gym rat) I began seeking out some form of combat sport to keep me occupied and fit as well as provide me with knowledge of self defense.

My first thought was to try my hand at boxing but thankfully the first class I took didn’t really appeal to me and I ended up trying out a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class a few days later. After a few BJJ classes, the instructor decided it was time for me to try some live sparring and paired me up with a female blue belt that I probably outweighed by 60lbs at the time. Picture that…..a 25 year old, 180lb weightlifter vs. a girl who couldn’t have weighed more than 120lbs soaking wet and looked the least bit intimidating.

If you have trained BJJ for even a short time, you know where this story is going. The small girl proceeded to tie me in knots and submit me with chokes, armlocks and footlocks for the next five minutes. I knew right then that this Jiu-Jitsu stuff was no joke and I had to learn more.

I currently train at the Institute of Martial Arts under Caio Terra, Flavio Meier, and Osvaldo Augusto Queixinho. I started this blog as a way to gain a deeper understanding of the art as well as gain and share knowledge with like minded individuals.

I sincerely thank you for taking the time to read my blog and learn more about who I am. I look forward to giving back to the art that has given me so much. Feel free to contact me anytime at rynobjj@gmail.com

-Ryno