Speakeasy Jiu-Jitsu & Wrestling

Speakeasy Jiu-Jitsu & Wrestling is one of Asheville's premier grappling academies, located on Merrimon Avenue in North Asheville with easy access from downtown, North Asheville, West Asheville, Weaverville, and the surrounding mountain communities. Head coach Colton Parsons is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Kurt Chase Patrick, with deep experience across wrestling, striking, and jiu-jitsu - that wrestling-plus-BJJ cross-training is rare and gives the program a strong takedown game alongside the standard guard and submission curriculum that defines most BJJ schools. The coaching team includes Aaron Brasuell, Charmaine Mills, Ryan Rauh, and Chris Jackson, so students get multiple voices and stylistic perspectives across the week. The kids program is built around three core qualities the academy considers non-negotiable: confidence (the willingness to engage), fitness (the conditioning to perform), and resilience (the ability to lose a roll and come back hungrier). Beyond the mat curriculum, instructors emphasize respect for training partners, the discipline of attending consistently, and the focus required to chain technical sequences together. Wrestling drills are integrated into youth training as a complement to BJJ - kids learn safe takedowns, sprawls, and positional transitions, which is unusual for an Asheville-area grappling school and a major advantage for any student who might eventually move into wrestling or MMA. Trial classes are available for new students; gi rentals can be arranged for first visits before families commit.