Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Hern.
Hi Brandon, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
High Ground Jiu Jitsu started with a community of leaders in Wylie, Sachse and Murphy who wanted a family-focused place to learn the art of jiu jitsu. Professors Brandon and Suzie Rhodes, along with Professor Shad Reif helped found High Ground. Through the outpouring of support from the local community, our ranks have tripled in just 3 months – reaching well over 100 students.
While not an innovative idea, the founders of High Ground built a radically clean and safe training environment where everyone at all levels can find value. Professor Brandon Hern and Coach John Barndt run the kids program – ranging from ages 4-16. The High Ground kids competition team has both world class competitors and a team-first culture, welcoming to new students.
High Ground Jiu Jitsu is committed to encouraging and uplifting each student to allow for continued improvement in all aspects of life. We want all of our athletes to be successful on and off the mat.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Starting a new business is never easy – in fact approximately 20% of new businesses fail within the first year, about 45-50% fail within five years, and around 65% fail within the first ten years!
Luckily for the HG family, this isn’t a typical business – in fact, we treat our space, our teammates and our community as partners all committed to the same goal – a lifelong jiu jitsu journey.
When we first found our space in Murphy, everything that could go wrong did – Murphy’s law right?! Thankfully, our service-first students rallied day and night to get everything ready for our grand opening. From staying up until the wee hours of the night painting, to our kiddos submitted logo designs for a tee-shirt contest – believe me, everyone is to thank.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Some of the feedback we receive on a regular basis revolves around our culture. From our Professors to our young 16 yr old blue belts, we lead with a character first approach. What this means is our expectations are extremely high for our instructors – full background checks, safe-sport certified, CPR & first aid certified, and all instructors and staff go through a day-long, US military style leadership boot camp. Our black belts are IBJJF certified and recognized by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation – the worlds leading authority on all things jiu jitsu. This is not the norm at most martial arts schools.
At the end of the day, our students tell our story. Words such as – character development, leadership, family first, integrity, fun, clean and safe continue to pop up in online Google reviews.
Yes, our academy is well known for producing world-champion level competitors, but we are most proud of the young men and women that train with us and then go out into their communities and make positive impacts.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Some of our core values that we weave in our curriculum at all levels are: leadership, service, integrity, respect, discipline, hard work, humility, and love for others. We truly believe that our success is directly correlated to how we treat everyone we interact with – it is our purpose to positively impact the lives of others with how hold ourselves and how we treat them. There are many great jiu jitsu academies all across the world that focus primarily on the art of jiu jitsu. Our primary focus is on building character in our students that encourage and allow them to take the high ground.
We partner with, and support the Jesus and Jiu Jitsu ministry. This unique ministry aims to integrate spiritual growth with physical discipline, providing a holistic approach to personal development.
With that being said, we welcome all humans – regardless of belief – to come train with us. We have students representing various belief systems from across the world! We have a few things in common – we love jiu jitsu and we treat each other like family.
Everyone is welcome to come train with us!
Pricing:
- Free trial
- No crazy contracts
- Discounts for veterans and first responders
- Free open mats twice a week
- Women only options
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.highgroundjj.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/highgroundjj/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/High-Ground-Jiu-Jitsu-Tx/61576056577763/
- Other: https://g.page/r/CYSGG16moHWxEAE/review
Image Credits
TRAVIS COBB – https://traviscobb.photography/
