BJJ Gyms in Berlin

Berlin is the first international scene in this directory and the directory's first stop outside the United States. As a Bundesland, Berlin is a Stadtstaat — a federal city-state — so the state and city YAMLs cover the same 60-academy footprint, with the state page focused on lineage clusters and the city page on neighborhood-by-neighborhood depth. Pricing here is in EUR rather than USD: adult unlimited Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Berlin typically clusters in the €60–€130/month band, with a few premium multi-discipline gyms reaching €149 and a quarterly community-rate model at the lowest end (the Vacirca team in Lichtenberg charges €55–€65 per quarter for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu through its Verein structure). German martial-arts culture also produces two distinct "Jiu-Jitsu" branches in Berlin that share a common Japanese root: the older Deutscher Ju-Jutsu / traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu lineage that traces back to Erich Rahn (whose **Sportschule Rahn**, founded 1906, is still operating today in Lankwitz) and **Erster Berliner Judo-Club 1922** (Berlin's oldest Judo club, founded 1922 in Mariendorf), and the newer Brasilianisches Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) ecosystem that built up across Kreuzberg, Wedding, Charlottenburg, Schöneberg, and Lichtenberg over the past two decades. Both branches are catalogued here, but the BJJ scene is the directory's primary focus and is where the lineage depth lives. The single largest BJJ gravitational center in Berlin is the **GFTeam** network — the Brazilian super-team founded by Mestre Julio César Pereira out of Rio de Janeiro's Méier neighborhood, with a long Carlson Gracie lineage thread. GFTeam runs three locations in Berlin and is anchored by Gabriel Rainho, the GFTeam Europa-Chef and a BJJ Schwarzgurt. The European HQ is **Spitfire Gym** in Charlottenburg (a major BJJ + MMA facility where Rainho is BJJ Head Coach and the owner Yigit is himself a BJJ black belt who runs the MMA-Wettkampfkader). The second GFTeam location is **Morrocoyo BJJ | GFTeam Berlin 61** in Kreuzberg 61 (Gneisenaustraße 95), with multiple black belts on staff — Michal Kaminski (2nd Dan, 2018 black belt under Mariusz "Manolo" Linke / Macaco Gold Team, training with GFTeam under Julio César and Gabriel Rainho since 2015), Habip Burak, Marco Vendramin, Daniel Beguhl (black belt 2022, originally a Dave Camarillo Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu student), and Antoine. Morrocoyo publishes a clean €99/mo (12-month contract) / €129/mo (1-month) tier for adults. The third location is **GFTEAM Kreuzberg 36 Jiu-Jitsu**, hosted at SC Lurich 02's Boxfabrik on Köpenicker Straße. **GF Team Berlin** appears as a fourth GFTeam-tagged listing under the same Berlin umbrella. The Carlson Gracie lineage extends further through Rico Vieira's CheckMat affiliate **BJJ Fightzone Checkmat Berlin**, which hosts regular visits from Master Rico Vieira and international Top-Athleten including Adam Wardzinski, Gabriela Fechter, and Max Lindblad. The second major lineage cluster is the **Franco Vacirca / Gracie Concepts / Sylvio Behring** family, which links back through Vacirca to Pedro Hemetério and Helio Gracie. **Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Team Berlin** in Lichtenberg (Paul-Junius-Straße 69) operates as Budoverein Fujinaga Berlin e.V. and is a JJGF (Jiu-Jitsu Global Federation) team under Großmeister Sylvio Behring. Franco Vacirca — a 7th Dan, the first European to receive an official BJJ black belt from CBJJ/IBJJF (1996), founder of Vacirca Academy / Triangle Academy Zurich, who started training in 1989 in the Gracie Garage and studied directly under Pedro Hemetério in São Paulo until Hemetério's death — visits the Berlin team as Professor. Day-to-day Berlin instruction runs through Thomas Mehnert (3rd Dan, Vacirca student since 2007), Kai Mehnert (2nd Dan), and Max Tag (2nd Dan). The team hosted Royce Gracie in Berlin for the 100 Jahre Jiu-Jitsu seminar in 2025. The Vacirca / Gracie Concepts thread also runs through **Panda Gym** in Adlershof (Treptow-Köpenick), where Maurice Wollny — Head of Instructor Certification for the Gracie Concepts Programm Deutschland under Vacirca — teaches the full Gracie Combatives → Intermediate → Advanced curriculum alongside fellow Gracie Concepts black belt Peer Wollny. A third Gracie-banner academy, **Gracie Berlin | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Schule**, operates inside **Fenriz Gym** in Kreuzberg (Moritzplatz/Lobeckstraße) under head coach Felipe Cançado, a 2nd-degree black belt training BJJ since 1999. The independent and specialty bench rounds out the picture with several pedigreed standouts. **10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Berlin** in Wedding (Cautiusstraße 42) is led by Ralf Warneking, Germany's first 10th Planet black belt under Eddie Bravo — the official German node of the Eddie Bravo no-gi system. **Hilti BJJ Berlin / IMAG e.V.** in Wedding (and a sister Kreuzberg location at **Berlin Martial Arts Group e.V.** / BMAG) is the Berlin chapter of the worldwide Hilti-Verband under 6th-degree black belt Pedro Duarte; the Berlin head instructor is 3rd-degree black belt Frank Burczynski, and the network is owned by Frédéric Hilti. **BIWA Jiu-Jitsu Berlin** ("Because I'm a Wild Animal") is led by Professor Gabriel Marcel from Ecuador, a black belt and IBJJF German National Champion 2017, with a published €80/mo adult tier. **BJJ Akademie** in Schöneberg (Hauptstraße 103) stacks multiple black belts on staff — Heiko (3rd degree), Robert (2nd degree), and team doctor Alex (also a black belt). **HOLY GROUND SQUAD (HGS)** in Charlottenburg (Kaiserdamm 113) runs an active competition team and has hosted seminars with Mestre Vinicius "Magoo" Canevari and Coach Fernando Almeida. **BJJ DOJO Berlin** in Kreuzberg (Bergmannstraße) carries 150+ Google reviews and runs an international DE/EN program. **Bulldog BJJ at Erster Berliner Judo-Club 1922** in Mariendorf operates inside Berlin's oldest Judo club (founded 1922) under 1st-degree BJJ black belt Benedikt Schwehn, who has run the BJJ section since 2012. **Sportschule Rahn**, the historic 1906 club in Lankwitz with full Erich Rahn lineage, has US BJJ black belt Elijaih Funston as head BJJ coach alongside black belt Jan Tatarynowicz and brown belt Marvin Gauer, with a transparent €57.50–€77.50/mo tier across all sports. **Cicero Costha Berlin** is the Berlin team affiliated with Brazilian black belt Cicero Costha (PSLPB Cicero Costha / Instituto Cicero Costha), hosted at Ringside Gym in Lichtenberg. The MMA-leaning bench is unusually deep for a European city. **Ammaru Gym** in Charlottenburg (Heckerdamm) is a premium multi-discipline studio (MMA + BJJ + Muay Thai + Boxen + Wrestling + Performance & Conditioning) with an 11-tier published structure from €59/mo (4 classes/24-month) up to €149/mo (Unlimited 3-month). **Sayyato MMA Performance Gym**, **Kairos MMA** in Pankow, **MMA Berlin** in Schöneberg (since 2000), **MMA FUSION Berlin**, **Fusion Fight Club** in Lichtenberg, **Champ's Kickboxing** near Jannowitzbrücke (which added BJJ as a new program in May 2026), **Kampfkunst Paragon** in Marzahn, and **Golden Glory Germany** in Prenzlauer Berg all carry BJJ or grappling tracks alongside the striking-led core. Adult unlimited monthly pricing across the metro typically runs €60–€130, with Vacirca's quarterly Verein rate (€55/quarter family / €65/quarter standard) and Sportschule Rahn's €77.50 unlimited tier as the most accessible options, BIWA at €80, Morrocoyo at €99–€129, and the Ammaru / Fenriz / Champ's premium tiers reaching €149.