Women's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Longmont Colorado
Built on Technique, Not Strength
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was designed around leverage and technique, which is exactly what makes it the most practical self-defense system for women. You don't need to be the bigger or stronger person to control a situation. You need to know what to do, and that's what we teach.
At Avant-Guard in Longmont, CO, women train the same effective, modern Jiu-Jitsu we teach everyone, with a focus on the skills that matter most in the real world: staying calm under pressure, defending from the bottom, creating space, and getting back to your feet.
Avant-Guard is the only woman-owned Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy in Longmont, and that shapes everything about how it feels to train here. Founder and head instructor Brittany Borders leads a dedicated women's class every Sunday, a welcoming entry point whether you've never set foot on a mat or you're returning after time away.
The Sunday class is a starting line, not a limit. Our women train across the full schedule, in Foundations, Intermediate, open mats, and live rounds, right alongside the rest of the academy. You'll never be steered into a separate, watered-down track. You'll learn the real thing, at your pace, in an environment that's challenging and supportive at once.
A Women's Class, Plus a Place in Every Class
Practical Self-Defense
Real techniques for real situations, built on the principle that a smaller person can defend against a larger one.
Technique Over Force
Leverage, timing, and position do the work, so your size and strength are never the limiting factor.
Calm Under Pressure
Training teaches you to think clearly and respond, not panic, when someone is in your space.
Confidence That Carries Off the Mat
The capability you build here changes how you move through the world, not just how you train.
Longmont has more martial arts options than most towns its size, and most of them are good. We're not going to talk anyone else down. What we'll tell you is what makes Avant Guard different for women specifically:
We run dedicated women's training sessions where you build your foundation alongside other women — same-size partners, same starting point, same questions. When you're ready, you join the coed classes, where the size difference becomes the point: training against larger partners is what builds real self-defense capability.
Our coaching staff is trained to recognize the difference between productive challenge and unproductive intimidation. Tap means stop. Boundaries are respected. The mat is a place where women come back, week after week, because it's a place they want to be.
Built for Longmont. By People Who Live Here.
What's Stopping You.
"I'll be the only beginner." You won't. Beginners walk in every week. The room is built for them. The first thing you'll learn is that everyone on the mat — including the people who look terrifying — was bad at this on day one.
"I'm not in shape." You will be. BJJ is one of the most efficient full-body workouts in existence, and unlike running or lifting, you barely notice you're doing it because you're focused on the problem in front of you.
"I'm worried about getting hurt." We train carefully. We tap early. We protect each other. Injuries happen in any physical activity, but BJJ done right is one of the safer combat sports because there's no striking — and it's much safer than the situation you're training to avoid.
"I don't want to be the only woman in the room." You won't be. We've built this program specifically to make sure you aren't.
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It's widely considered the best martial art for women's self-defense, and the reason is structural: BJJ was specifically designed to let a smaller person defeat a larger one through leverage and technique. Most attacks on women involve grabs, pins, or being taken to the ground — exactly what BJJ specializes in escaping and controlling.
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No. You'll get in shape by training. Our beginner classes are built for women who have never been on a mat. We meet you where you are.
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A workshop gives you ideas. Ongoing training gives you instincts. Under stress, your body defaults to what it has practiced most. One class can introduce a technique; consistent training is what makes it work when it matters.
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In our women's sessions, no. In our regular classes, yes — and that's part of the point. The people most likely to attack a woman are bigger and stronger than her, so training only against other women would leave a real gap. Our coed classes are built around respect, control, and consent, with coaches who keep that culture intact.
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Athletic clothes you can move in — leggings or athletic shorts, fitted shirt or rashguard. No jewelry.
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We're in Longmont, Colorado, serving women from Longmont, Boulder, Erie, Frederick, Niwot, and Lyons. [Address and directions on contact page.]