Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Kriebel.
Hi Christopher, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I began Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Eduardo “Dudu” Barros over 17yrs ago when my dad introduced me to the martial art. A few years later my now wife, Annette, began training with us at his academy. Over the next series of years, my wife and I traveled around the country training at different academies and competing in International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions. Just over a year ago, we decided that we wanted to open our own Nova União Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy in Green Ohio where I am also employed as a high school science teacher.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Surprisingly, this has been one of the smoothest things I have done in my career. My wife is a CPA and also very talented in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and I am a professional educator and Jiu-Jitsu competitor, so we play of each other’s strengths. We have also been very fortunate to have excellent students that have joined our academy.
We’ve been impressed with Nova União Team Kriebel Ohio, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Martial Arts) academy. We focus on teaching adults and kids principles of self-defense along with the competitive aspects of the art. We pride ourselves on creating a safe and positive environment conducive for learning and practicing the art. A few things that set us apart is that we provide direct feedback to our students so that they know where they are in their progression as a martial artist. The second is that this is a family environment and both my wife and myself train. Finally, not only am I an instructor but I am also currently ranked amongst the best grapplers in the world and have a proven track re it’s of competition.
I am most proud of well my students at the academy work together to help each other out. Our academy’s focus is to help bring new people in and give them a good experience with Jiu-jitsu.
I am also very proud of what we have accomplished in the community. We hold yearly fundraisers for the local schools family support specialists to help students in need.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I see this art growing over the next 5 years and stabilizing around the 5-year mark. One big shift will be at the competition level to create more opportunities for professional competitors and smaller organizations to create local professional competitions. I can see there being more mma style Jiu Jitsu platforms for competition.
Pricing:
- We offer adult classes 6 days a week for $119 for the month
- We offer kids classes 4 days a week for $99 for the month
Contact Info:
- Website: TKOBJJ.com
- Instagram: @TEAM_KRIEBEL_OHIO
