Saipan Submissions Academy opens in CK

A new place to roll around and train, get fit, and learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is up in Chalan Kanoa as Saipan Submissions Academy held its first meet-and-greet last Saturday in their gym on the first floor of the M.S.V. Building.

Bryan Deleon Guerrero made his way back home last week and took his BJJ expertise to the people of the CNMI with the new academy that he opened up with his business partner and Saipan Submissions president Troy Santos.

Deleon Guerrero is a black belt in BJJ who trains under black belt Baret Yoshida—a prominent American figure in Jiu-Jitsu and a world no-gi champion.

Deleon Guerrero is the main instructor of the academy that is open from Monday to Saturday to all ages and offers gi and no-gi classes. The children’s classes are on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. They also have a women’s only class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They offer jiu-jitsu fundamentals, competition classes, one-on-one private lessons, and open mat.

Their grand opening is on Oct. 19 after their competition in the Marianas Open International Championship in Guam on Oct. 12.

The 31-year-old Deleon Guerrero, who is a U.S. Marine veteran with almost 13 years of jiu-jitsu experience, said that the goal was to give their gym an academy feel—not just a regular training facility. “We wanted to give it an actual martial arts gym ambiance. Me and Troy pieced together what we wanted the facility to look like… and we see ourselves growing bigger in the near future,” he said of the academy space.

Deleon Guerrero, who was based in San Diego, California before heading back home to Saipan, said that he wanted to open up the academy because there’s no just strictly jiu-jitsu gym here.

“In the states, I already knew I wanted to master the art, get my black belt out there, and bring it home to the people that can’t go out and get that training,” he said. “Now that I have reached that level of where I’m confident enough to teach and share the art, I just want to provide that for the community.”

For Santos, he also dabbles in BJJ and is currently a white belt. He also owns Lone Fox Bistro & Lounge and for his part, said that he helped open up the academy because he believes in his good friend—Deleon Guerrero’s craft. “He just got his black belt recently and is dedicated to the sport. Not everybody knows but only 1% of all BJJ practitioners get their black belt, so it’s a really big accomplishment.”

On the turnout of the meet-and-greet, he said, “we’re really happy with the support and for everyone who reached out. I’m really happy with the turnout and the amount of interest from people.” About 30 people made their way to the academy where they signed up for classes, got to roll around the mats, and listened to an orientation presented by Deleon Guerrero.

He thanked their supporters, family and friends, and whoever lent a helping hand in the academy. “We’re really happy about that and we just hope everybody enjoys it as much as we do. We want to create an image where everyone feels welcome and wants to come and train and come back continuously,” said the 31-year-old.

For more information, contact saipansubmissions@gmail.com, or check out their Instagram page at saipansubmissions.