• Call Us
  • JJ Murphy is SBG Buford’s Martial Arts Student of the Month for September 2021

    A year ago, 63-year-old Jim Murphy decided that he was going to begin training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at Straight Blast Gym Buford

    Starting Jiu Jitsu training in your sixties can be an incredibly intimidating venture, but Jim (or JJ, as he is referred to in the gym)was ready for a new and exciting challenge. One of the beautiful things about Jiu Jitsu is that you don’t have to be in your 20’s, or super athletic to be a part of the SBG tribe; all you need is a good attitude and a will to be better.

    JJ enrolled in Straight Blast Gym Buford‘s Foundations program in September of 2020, after about 6 months of wanting to get involved with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It wasn’t long before JJ graduated from Foundations and became a regular in our 6am Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes.

    6am coach, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, Sean Coleman told us this about his student JJ:

    “JJ is a totally unique student. He’s in his sixties and is still fairly new to Jiu Jitsu, which can sometimes make it difficult for him to complete a class or a drill at times. At first I thought that might be causing him to not enjoy the experience, but I quickly found out that he’s always rocking an amazing outlook and not a “woah-is-me” attitude. JJ is very self-aware of what he can and can’t do and rocks it with one of the best attitudes you can have… way better than I’d be in similar circumstances, lol.”

    The awesome and positive feedback on JJ isn’t just from his coaches, but also from the other SBG students. JJ has quickly become one of everybody’s favorite training partners and teammates. Not only is he a regular in Jiu Jitsu classes but he attends almost every SBG gym event. Since he began training at Straight Blast Gym Buford, he has attended multiple Iron Man Belt Promotions, the Matt Thornton Jiu Jitsu seminar, the SBG Gym Social at Lake Lanier, and our Member Appreciation Casino Night.

    Muay Thai Coach Jim Sheppard added this:

    “It’s all but a guarantee that Jim (JJ) will be at any event that we throw. When I held our Summer Social on Lake Lanier he was a HUGE help by manning the grill while I was trying to juggle a dozen other things. Recently I sent out an email about our upcoming SBG Camp in Reno, Nevada, and within a couple of hours Jim responded to me that he had just purchased his tickets and admission. This guy is traveling across the country to come to SBG Camp with us….how awesome is that??”

    JJ personifies what we look for in our Brazilian Jiu Jitsu students, and we have no doubt that he will be with the SBG Tribe for a long, long time.

    Congratulations on being selected as September’s Martial Arts Student of the Month, JJ! Keep up the great work, and thank you for all of your support

    Jim Sheppard

    is one of the co-owners of Straight Blast Gym Buford and Straight Blast Gym Atlanta. He has been training / coaching / competing in Muay Thai since 2013 and holds a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.