Established in 2018, 10th Planet Poway Jiu Jitsu has been building a reputation as one of the premiere Jiu Jitsu academies in all of Southern California. Our instructors can handle all of your grappling needs in one place, ensuring that you only need to make one stop for the right technique and education.
We offer world class No-Gi Jiu Jitsu training for all levels. Whether you have goals of competing against the worlds best, getting in shape, or learning something new, 10th Planet Poway is for everyone.
Come train with the 10th Planet Freaks under Eddie Bravo Black Belts Kevin Berbrich, Geo “Freakahhzoid” Martinez, and Richie “Boogeyman” Martinez, and receive the absolute best No-Gi Jiu Jitsu training in San Diego, CA!
Our mission is to provide the best instruction to each and every one of our students, and help you reach your goals!
Contact 10th Planet Poway Jiu Jitsu today to schedule a trial class, and come see what all the hype is about!
The History of 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu
It truly is crazy how far 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu has come in such a short time. At first, it was passed off by BJJ traditionalists as being an ineffective and needlessly complicated system. Not anymore. Today, it is a respected grappling system with schools all across the world.
The mastermind behind all of this was Eddie Bravo.
10th Planet Jiu Jitsu was his brain child and has grown it into one of the most prominent Jiu Jitsu systems ever created.
Eddie was a small skinny metal head that grew up in a tough hispanic community in Santa Ana, California. After high school, Bravo left home for Hollywood to try and break into the music industry. Upon arriving in Hollywood, Eddie wanted to train in traditional martial arts to stay in shape, and he began taking Karate under Philip Skornia. Sknornia had developed his own style from multiple traditional martial arts he studied.
In 1993, Eddie watched the Ultimate Fighting Championship 2. This is where he saw Royce Gracie. Bravo was sure the smaller Gracie was going to be crushed by the bigger opponents with a striking background. Eddie was shocked at what he saw. He watched Royce dismantle opponents with a style he’d never seen before, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. After watching these fights, Eddie gained an interest in learning Jiu Jitsu. After quitting Karate, he joined a Jeet Kune Do school for a short period of time. Around that same time, he found and joined the Machado Brothers Jiu Jitsu Academy and started training under Master Jean Jaques Machado. He eventually quit Jeet Kune Do and focused his full attention on Jiu Jitsu.
Starting out in BJJ, Eddie was always a curious student. He would always be trying to come up with new moves rather than just following the rules of traditional BJJ. At blue belt, he came up with one of his patented moves called the “twister”, a neck crank submission that he developed from a wrestling position that would twist the opponents spine. Rigan Machado and Jean Jacques actually named it the twister because there was already a guillotine in Jiu Jitsu.
In 1999 when Eddie was a purple belt, he started working his variation of a full guard that he saw Rickson and Renzo Gracie using in MMA fights, where they would grab their own leg from guard in order to help control their opponents posture. This style of guard is what would become the world famous “rubber guard”. In 2003, after years of testing his style, Eddie won the ADCC North American trials. Winning this tournament earned him an invitation to the ADCC World Championships in Brazil. This is the biggest grappling tournament in the world, and would be Eddie’s biggest test yet.
In his first match at ADCC, Eddie submitted world champion Gustavo Dantas with a rear naked choke. For his next match, he would face the legendary Royler Gracie. Royler had never been submitted before in competition and was one of the most successful grapplers in the history of BJJ. He is still one of the most famous and influential members of the Gracie family. Eddie finished Royler with a triangle choke as a brown belt and moved on to the semi-finals of the division. He would go on to lose his next match to the also legendary Leo Viera, but his legacy was already set in stone. When he got home from Brazil, Jean Jacques Machado awarded Eddie with his black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. (it was actually the belt that Jean Jacques was wearing. He just untied it and gave it to Eddie.)
Where Did The Name 10th Planet Come From?
Eddie says he got the name from a theory by author Zecharia Stitchin. Stitchin refers to the planet “Nibiru” as the 10th planet, so Eddie called his school “10th Planet” as an offshoot and tribute. The name was originally coined by comedian and Eddie’s best friend, Joe Rogan. Eddie told Joe that he wanted to call it Nibiru Jiu Jitsu, but Joe thought that would be too hard for people to say and told him to just call it “10th Planet”. after some thought (and possibly some partaking of some special medicine), Eddie agreed with Joe Rogan and “10th Planet Jiu Jitsu” was born.
In 2014, just over 10 years after their first meeting, Eddie and Royler had a long awaited rematch at Metamoris 3. The sub only match ended in a draw, but most saw Eddie dominating the majority of the match. He controlled Royler in his lockdown and swept him multiple times. It ended with Eddie putting Royler in a tight Vaproizer leg lock, but Royler refused to tap. Another epic battle between two legends of the sport.
10th Planet Jiu Jitsu has come a long way since it’s inception. There has been a ton of growth with over 180 locations opened to date. We have some of the best No-Gi grapplers and MMA fighters in the world as part of our team.
Some notable names are:
Geo “Freakahhzoid” Martinez: Geo Martinez is one of the best No-Gi grapplers on the planet. He is a 3x EBI Champion, 4x ADCC Veteran, an ADCC North American Champion, Quintet Champion, and so much more. He has had some of the most exciting matches in grappling history, and he headlines grappling shows all over the world. He is co-owner of the 10th Planet Freaks along with his brother, Richie. Along with Eddie Bravo, he promoted 10th Planet Poway’s Kevin Berbrich to black belt back in 2015.
Richie “Boogeyman” Martinez: Geo’s older brother and co-owner of the 10th Planet Freaks is as competitive as his brother. Richie fought MMA for many years before taking his Jiu Jitsu career to the highest levels. He has a 5-2 mixed martial arts record and was the Tuff-N-Uff Welterweight Champion. He was the first ever Combat Jiu Jitsu Welterweight Champion and has won that title multiple times. He’s won many other titles as well from Polaris, to Quintet, to most recently winning the IBJJF No-Gi World Championships, and he currently runs one of the most successful Jiu Jitsu schools in the world in 10th Planet San Diego.
Ben “Killa B” Saunders: Ben is a 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Black Belt under Eddie Bravo. He holds 23 professional wins in Mixed Martial Arts with 6 of those coming by way of submission. He was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter show and was the first person to ever finish an Omoplata submission in the #1 MMA organization in the world. Ben has been fighting professionally for over 20 years. He has fought all over the world and has represented 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu at the highest level of MMA.
Tony “El Cucuy” Ferguson: Every combat sports fan knows who Tony Ferguson is. Tony is probably Eddie’s most known student, and he is also black belt under Eddie. He held the Lightweight title after defeating Kevin Lee by triangle choke. He has submitted some of the best fighters in the world and when he was promoted to Black Belt, Eddie actually awarded Tony the same black belt that he was given in 2003 by Jean Jacques Machado.
Jesse “JT Money” Taylor: Jesse is a 10th Planet Freaks Black Belt under Richie Martinez, Geo Martinez and Kevin Berbrich. He has had over 57 professional MMA Fights and has a record 40 and 17. With 22 of those wins coming by way of submission. He won TUF 25: Redemption, and also made the finale in Season 7 of the show. Jesse is an MMA legend and we are proud to have him representing our flag in Poway, CA.
It took a little bit of time, but Eddie Bravo and his 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu has become a very prominent and respected system. As of today, there is a 10th Planet BJJ school in nearly every city in the country! You will definitely see more 10th Planet grapplers continue being very competitive in the future. They’ve produced some of the top No-Gi Jiu Jitsu athletes out there, and they’re only getting better! You can expect the 10th Planet system to be a staple in the Jiu Jitsu community for years to come.