Meet Carrie Duckworth of Advantage BJJ Martial Arts & Fitness in Pearland

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carrie Duckworth.

Carrie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Advantage BJJ started from a place of love and family. Danny, my husband, started martial arts, Japanese Jujitsu in 2006. After years of training in this art he found his way to the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). Once he began, wasn’t long before he started bringing our daughter Ember, who at the time was 8 years old. She began to train with him weekly at the gym and I loved the way their relationship changed and they had this new art bringing them closer together. I was still on the sideline and even though I had always been active or athletic having skated for the Houston Roller Derby, played recreation co-ed volleyball and even Cross-fit. I had turned down BJJ invitations from my husband all the time. Mostly, because I was too busy or generally just intimidated by the idea. One day I gave in to his requests and went to try a class. I was one of the most amazing classes I had ever tried. Blending physical and mental concepts. He helped me in every aspect of my life. I felt empowered and confident after one class. I admit I fell in love almost instantly. I pretty much weeded out every other activity in the pursuit of BJJ. We trained together as a family. We grew more in love with the art and sport of BJJ over the years. It helped to bring my family closer as we all had a common passion. We began to train and even compete together regularly. My husband at this time was nearing his brown belt in BJJ when our instructor announces he would be leaving Houston to move to Padre Island to open an academy there with his family. We were all struck with fear, fear of losing this amazing art or having to acclimate to a new gym that we may or may not fit with our budget or ideals. Faced with this we decided that we would carry on the BJJ we had grown to love. With a lot of brainstorming, late night conversations, and even a fight or two we decided to take a chance and open our own school. We knew that we could bring BJJ to families, keep it affordable and also a friendly environment for anyone who wanted to learn real Jiu-Jitsu.  So, we started sorting out all the details, finding a location, financing, legal. All the things that starting a new business require. I put in my two weeks’ notice at my job and we dove in. We wanted to bring quality, friendly, family focused training in a clean modern facility and I am so proud to say that after almost 2 years of hard work I believe we have succeeded. We have over 150 members now and are hoping to expand in the next 6 months to further services and classes at our location in South Houston/Pearland. The countless thanks and acknowledgments from our members and their children are why we are here every day. We dedicate ourselves on and off the mats to bringing family’s closer through this amazing art and sharing our love of the art Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with everyone we can.

Has it been a smooth road?
I don’t think anyone that has started a business can honestly say it’s been smooth. We have had many struggles mostly with, staffing, marketing, most of the common things I think most small new companies go through. Overall, we have been fortunate.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Advantage BJJ Martial Arts & Fitness – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Advantage BJJ is a Martial Arts School focusing on primarily on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu but also offers: Yoga, Muay Thai-Kick Boxing and TRX fitness classes. We hope to expand these services with I-Cryo therapy, Massage and additional classes in the near future. We offer some of the best Jiu-Jitsu with our 11x World Champion team of Alliance. We boast a World Champion instruction under the guidance of our Professor Raul Jiménez and host seminars with some of the best in the business. We are known for being a Clean, friendly, open minded gym with great prices and unlimited training for all classes.

We are well like and respected in the Jiu-Jitsu community and often host events to bring the wide spread and ever growing community together.

We are most proud of our diverse membership and all the love and support we get from our members. We are truly like a second family, we loving like to refer to them as the Advantage BJJ Fam.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Pearland is great! We have so much growth and development now and it is only getting better. It is also close to downtown yet far enough to offer the benefit of that local hometown feel.

Pricing:

• Adults & Kids Unlimited Classes- 159.00 per month
• Family BJJ Package- (3+ members 100.00 per person per month)
• Single Skill- Muay Thai or Yoga only 40.00 per month

Contact Info:

• Address:10555 Pearland Parkway
  Suite U, Houston, TX 77089
• Website:advantagebjj.com
• Phone:832 509 0255
• Email:carrie@advantagebjj.com
• Instagram:advantagebjjalliance
• Facebook:advantageBJJ
• Twitter:#Advantagebjj
• Yelp:Advantage BJJ Martial Arts & Fitness

Image Credit:
Sauced Photography – Jason Saucedo
IT Services – Blake Hanley

Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.