About us
Elias and Laura
We are BJJ enthusiasts who met on the mats and have spent as much time as we can training and teaching BJJ. We met as blue and white belts and quickly became best friends with a deep passion for jiu-jitsu. We started this blog as a way to freely share our knowledge with the world, and as a resource for you to ask questions, and deepen your understanding of jiu-jitsu. Our aim is to cultivate a community that shares our deep passion and can embrace how nerdy BJJ is. We eagerly anticipate witnessing its vibrant growth, and hope you join us!
Elias
I started training BJJ in 2012 while studying Computer Science at USC (yep, a true nerd). I immediately became addicted, practicing every chance I could. After I graduated, I trained at Force Balance BJJ under Steve Cardenas. Unfortunately, he ended up leaving and that school eventually closed down. I ended up without a school for a short period of time, and that was when my jiu-jitsu game evolved the most. I ended up training out of my friend’s garage for a while, and going to any open mats I could find. During this period, training against a wide variety of styles, I began to gain confidence in my jiu-jitsu. I learned how approach BJJ conceptually, with an emphasis on problem solving and reverse engineering my way to solutions.
I still work professionally as a programmer (QA engineer, if you’re wondering), and just spend my free time on this blog, doing jiu-jitsu, or playing guitar when I have time.
Laura
I started training BJJ in 2016, but really got “serious” in April of 2017, around the time Elias and I met! I got my blue belt the summer of 2018 and my purple belt in the summer of 2021. I am a super enthusiastic hobbyist who loves to compete. I’ve won lots of medals from Jiu-Jitsu World League (JJWL), and got gold at the ADCC Open. I also won a couple of super fights, and have never been submitted in a competition! I have also benefited from this conceptual approach to jiu-jitsu, which Elias and I talk about all the time and is one of our main inspirations for starting this blog.
Outside of jiu-jitsu, I aspire to become an immigration and criminal defense attorney and am working towards those goals.
Contact Us
If you would like to reach out to us, you can find us on Instagram @eandl_bjj. Or just send us a message below: