BJJ Affiliations

What Is a BJJ Affiliation?

An affiliation is the team behind the gym. When an academy affiliates with an organization like Alliance or 10th Planet, it plugs into that team's lineage, curriculum, and belt standards. The instructor answers to someone — usually the black belt who promoted them — and that chain runs all the way back to the founders of the art. It's how Brazilian jiu jitsu keeps its quality control without a single governing body.

Why It Matters When Choosing a Gym

An affiliated academy gives you a verifiable lineage, a structured curriculum that has produced champions, belt promotions that are recognized everywhere, and a built-in network — walk into any academy on the same team, anywhere in the world, and you have training partners. Big affiliations also run internal tournaments, instructor certifications, and seminars with the team's top competitors. Independent gyms can be excellent too — but with an affiliation, you know exactly what standard the gym is held to.

The Teams That Built the Sport

The original Gracie academies trace straight to Helio and Carlos Gracie, whose family turned judo's newaza into a complete fighting system in 1920s Brazil. Gracie Barra — a separate organization — was founded by Carlos Gracie Jr. in Rio's Barra da Tijuca in 1986 and grew into the largest network of schools on earth. Alliance, started in 1993 by Romero "Jacaré" Cavalcanti and his black belts, has won more IBJJF world team titles than any team in history. Atos, founded by André Galvão and Ramon Lemos in 2008, became the dominant competition team of the modern era from its San Diego headquarters. Checkmat, built by the Vieira brothers, and 10th Planet, Eddie Bravo's no-gi system launched in 2003, round out the teams that shaped how the sport is trained today.

Below is every affiliation represented on MatMade, ranked by how many academies train under its banner.