Kids, teens & adults · Four evenings a week
Gracie Humaita jiu-jitsu, gi and no-gi, from your first evening through to black belt. The first school in the Rio Grande Valley to teach it, and still teaching it every week.
No experience needed. Beginner classes every week.
What it is
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a grappling art built on leverage and position rather than size or strength. It is the reason a smaller person can control a larger one, and it is the most direct self-defense training this school offers.
Classes run four evenings a week, split between beginners, advanced and no-gi, with separate classes for children and teens. Beginners have their own class at 8pm on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday — you are not dropped into a room of blue belts on your first night.
Galvan’s Martial Arts was the first school in the Rio Grande Valley to teach Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. That was over twenty years ago, and the same people are still on the mats.
Lineage
Serious students ask who taught their instructor. Here is the honest answer, all the way up.
Galvan’s Martial Arts is a Gracie Humaita school. Professor Manny Galvan’s instructor is Professor Paulo Brandao.
In January 2026, Professor Brandao was promoted to coral belt at the Gracie Humaita headquarters in Rio de Janeiro — a rank that comes only after 31 years as a black belt, and which carries the title Mestre. He was promoted by Rolker and Royler Gracie, the two brothers who lead the Gracie Humaita association, in a ceremony in front of around 250 instructors from around the world. He was one of thirteen promoted that day.
Professor Manny and Professor Martha Galvan travelled to Rio to watch their instructor receive it, and stayed a week training with the masters there.
Galvan’s Martial Arts Professor Paulo Brandao Rolker & Royler Gracie Gracie Humaita
Professor Manny Galvan, Professor Paulo Brandao and Professor Martha Galvan in Rio de Janeiro, January 2026.
Class times
Beginners classes run Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 8pm. No-gi is Monday and Wednesday at 8pm. Kids and teens train Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
| Day | Time | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 7:00pm | Adult Beginners BJJ |
| Monday | 8:00pm | Adult No-Gi BJJ |
| Tuesday | 5:00pm | Kids BJJ |
| Tuesday | 6:00pm | Kids BJJ & Teens BJJ |
| Tuesday | 7:00pm | Adult Advanced BJJ |
| Tuesday | 8:00pm | Adult Beginners BJJ |
| Wednesday | 8:00pm | Adult No-Gi BJJ |
| Thursday | 5:00pm | Kids BJJ |
| Thursday | 6:00pm | Kids BJJ & Teens BJJ |
| Thursday | 7:00pm | Adult Advanced BJJ |
| Thursday | 8:00pm | Adult Beginners BJJ |
| Friday | 6:00pm | Kids BJJ & Open Mat |
Common questions
Galvan’s Martial Arts is a Gracie Humaita school. Professor Manny Galvan’s instructor is Professor Paulo Brandao, who was promoted to coral belt by Rolker and Royler Gracie — the brothers who lead the Gracie Humaita association — in Rio de Janeiro in January 2026.
No. Beginners classes run three evenings a week — Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 8pm — and they exist precisely for people with no background in it. You are not put in with advanced students on your first night.
Gi jiu-jitsu is trained in the traditional uniform, where grips on the cloth are part of the game. No-gi is trained in shorts and a rash guard, so it moves faster and relies on body control instead of grips. Galvan’s Martial Arts teaches both — no-gi runs Monday and Wednesday at 8pm.
Yes. Kids jiu-jitsu runs at 5pm and 6pm on Tuesday and Thursday, with a teens class at 6pm and open mat on Friday. The youngest age accepted is 6.
Five black-belt Professors teach jiu-jitsu here: Professor Manny Galvan and Professor Martha Galvan, both 4th Degree; Professor Alex Galvan, 3rd Degree; Professor Luis Cantu, 2nd Degree; and Professor Nathanael Carr.
Find us
The front desk is open 5:00pm – 9:00pm, Monday to Friday.
Students train here from across the Rio Grande Valley — Harlingen, San Benito, Los Fresnos, Olmito and Port Isabel.
A free month of beginners classes, a tour and consultation, a private lesson, online access through GMA Coach, and a uniform.
