The sounds of children’s happy feet in the “Tiny Warriors” class fill The Eyrie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu martial arts academy at the Placita del Rio shopping center on Tucson’s south side.
Phillip Aguilar, owner and head instructor of the academy, is leading the class of students ages 4 to 9 in warmups, including running backward, doing bear crawls and jogging in place and dropping to the ground. “Bruk Bruk” by Dillon Francis plays in the background.
Discipline and fundamentals are cornerstones in the class. Yet, Aguilar relates to the little ones and breaks down the Americana, an offensive jiu-jitsu move into imagery that the kids can grasp. He tells them to imagine turning into an eagle and the eagle sweeps down and using its talons grabs a fish and throws it to the ground.
The imagery continues into another move where the opponent is on the ground and the eagle uses its claw and grabs the opponent’s wrist and holds it and pushes it down to the ground while its claw turns into a snake and goes under the opponent’s arm.
Aguilar goes over offensive and defensive maneuvers teaching his students to control the situations while using eagle and snake imagery to teach them grips and takedown moves. The Tiny Warriors look, listen and learn.
Parent Eva Girón brings her daughter Victoria Liera, 5, to class three times a week. She said the discipline and fundamentals Victoria is learning is worth the drive from Tucson’s east side.
“We tried different gyms, but when it came to trying out a class I noticed how he (Aguilar) teaches the kids. He is very passionate and he gives the kids dedication and attention. There is no judgment here. It is like a family,” said Girón.
Student Jada Fierro, 4, has attended classes for a month, along with her brother Jiraiya, 5. Both love the warmups and physical games.
Their father, Jacob Fierro, said he was trying to find a sport for his children close to their home, and he found Aguilar’s gym on the internet.
He and his wife brought the kids to three free classes to see if they liked it, and “they fell in love with it, and so did we,” said the father. “It is an outlet for them and they are making more friends and have become more sociable.”
Each week a total of 150 students participate in Aguilar’s Tiny Warriors classes and the head instructor receives help from older students at the academy who are now coaches.
One of those is Annabelle Levins, 15, who on June 26 won a gold medal at the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation American Nationals in Las Vegas, Nevada. Levins, who is training for upcoming tournaments in Los Angeles and Orlando, is currently ranked No. 1 Teen in the United States with Jiu Jitsu World League.
“I have been studying for five years and I came here when it opened. It really has a good family environment and the coaches here help you succeed. They are very knowledgeable. It is challenging and fun,” said Levins, who is home-schooled. Her mother drives her from their home in Dove Mountain several times a week to Aguilar’s classes. Outside the gym, Levins puts in about 15 hours a week in training, including weightlifting, pushups and running sprints.
“I am really proud of her and I want her to be successful in whatever she wants to do,” said her mother, Richele Levins. “I wanted her to be a ballerina, but she chose jiu-jitsu instead,” said the mother with laughter.
“The one thing that I love about jiu-jitsu is that you have people from different backgrounds coming together to work out and learn martial arts,” said Aguilar, 38. You can have police officers and people who have done time. There also are teachers, students, firefighters, office workers, mechanics, military and those in medical fields,” said Aguilar of the martial arts and combat sports based on ground fighting.
Aguilar is a 2001 Tucson High Magnet School graduate who received two bachelor’s degrees from Northern Arizona University in 2011, majoring in interdisciplinary studies and public administration.
He was an area manager for AT&T for 10 years before he left the corporate world to open his jiu-jitsu gym in 2017. His wife, Maria, and their son, Enzo, 9, both train at the gym. The couple’s daughter, Eva Sofia, 2, will begin training when she turns 4.
A feasibility study showed a lack of martial arts schools on Tucson’s southwest side, said Aguilar of his academy at 918 W. Irvington Road, just east of Interstate 19.
The business expanded one year after its opening and Aguilar is in negotiations to expand it again in the shopping complex. Aguilar, who taught mostly virtual classes and limited on-site classes following health protocols, survived the pandemic with students enrolling in his classes throughout Tucson and surrounding areas, including Sells, Red Rock, Vail and Safford.
“We are all in one building and there is no negativity. Everyone is on the same team. The sport brings people together, and it is a great way to relieve stress,” said Aguilar of jiu-jitsu, which shares some techniques with judo and wrestling moves. “You can go hard, but still make it to practice the next day because when you are caught in a move that leads to submission, you tap out. You reset and do the match all over again.”
“It isn’t as dangerous as getting punched in the head or getting knocked out,” said Aguilar, who began competing in his early 20s and medaled at numerous tournaments, earning his black belt after 12 years of study.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu was developed around 1920 by five Brazilian brothers — the Gracie family — after one of the brothers was taught Kodokan judo in 1917 by Mitsuyo Maeda, a Japanese judo expert. Later, the Gracie family developed their own self-defense system named Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, which is also known as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Aguilar trains under Ricardo “Franjinha” Miller of Paragon Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Ventura, California. Miller gives workshops often in Phoenix and Tucson. Aguilar and his teammate, Manuel Flores, are members of the Paragon Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Team in Arizona. Flores owns Daimyo Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gym on Tucson’s north side, and members of Eyrie can train at Daimyo and vice versa. Both Aguilar and Flores earned their black belts under Miller.
At Eyrie, Aguilar also teaches 100 adults on how to defend themselves. He said 100% of students come in to learn self-defense and then later about 80% want to test their skills and compete in tournaments. The head coach talks proudly about his students and their medals and trophies earned in city, state, regional and national competitions.
