40+ Jiu-Jitsu Club in Hanover, MD
A BJJ Class Designed Specifically for Adults 40 and Over
The 40+ Jiu-Jitsu Club at Rising Tide Hi Tech meets every Sunday at 10am. It is gi format, technique-focused, and built specifically for adults in their 40s, 50s, and beyond. This is not a scaled-down version of a general class. It is a program designed from the ground up with the needs, schedules, and bodies of older adults in mind.
Is 40 Too Old to Start Jiu-Jitsu?
No. This is the most common question adults over 40 ask before they step on a mat, and the answer is straightforward. Jiu jitsu is one of the few martial arts where technique consistently outweighs athleticism. You are not relying on speed or explosiveness. You are learning how to use leverage, timing, and positional control. Those skills compound with age and experience.
People start BJJ in their 40s, 50s, and 60s every day. Many of them become the most thoughtful and technical practitioners in their academies because they have to be. They cannot muscling their way through problems, so they develop real understanding instead.
Can I Do Martial Arts in My 40s and 50s?
Yes, and this class is proof of it. The 40+ Jiu-Jitsu Club is built around a pace and structure that respects the reality of training in midlife. Joints take longer to warm up. Recovery looks different than it did at 25. The class accounts for that. Instruction emphasizes efficient movement, body awareness, and positions that do not require extreme flexibility or raw strength. The goal is to train consistently for years, not to torch yourself in a single session.
Complement the Sunday class with the optional Strength and Conditioning session on Saturdays from 8:30 to 9:30am. It is designed to build the functional fitness that supports long-term grappling.
Led by Instructors Who Lived This Transition
The 40+ Jiu-Jitsu Club is led by Ben Grimes and Kyle, two instructors whose own journeys mirror exactly what new students in this class experience.
Kyle is a retired military officer, a Lean Six Sigma coach, and a former collegiate football player. He found BJJ in his 40s. He did not come to this art as a young athlete with years of grappling behind him. He came to it as a mature adult, with a demanding career history, a body that had been through a lot, and a genuine question about whether it was too late. It was not. Kyle is now a brown belt, and he brings that first-person understanding to every class he leads.
Ben Grimes is a tech executive and a purple belt with eight years of consistent training behind him. Eight years is not an accident. It reflects a sustainable approach to the art, one built on showing up regularly, learning methodically, and not burning out. Ben’s experience demonstrates what consistency over youth can produce. He trains smart, and he teaches others to do the same.
Both instructors know what it feels like to walk into a gym later in life and wonder if you belong. The answer they found, and the answer they will tell you, is that you do.
No Ego, No Pressure
The culture of this class is deliberate. Everyone in the room is in a similar stage of life. There are no 22-year-old Division I athletes trying to prove something. The focus is on learning, moving well, and building a community of people who show up on Sunday mornings because it is good for them.
Sparring happens, but it is collaborative. The objective is to learn, not to win.
Details
Format: Gi
Day and Time: Sundays at 10am
Location: Rising Tide Hi Tech, 7030 Hi Tech Drive, Suite 100, Hanover, MD 21076
Phone: 410-953-8492
Website: hitechmartialarts.com
If you have been searching for jiu jitsu for adults over 40, BJJ over 40 Maryland, or martial arts for older adults in Hanover, this class was built for you.
Your First Class Is Free
Come in on a Sunday at 10am and see what this is about. No commitment, no prior experience required. Your first class is free.