HYR Grappling sits just across the county line in Chantilly, a straight shot east on Route 50, about ten minutes from South Riding. It is kids-only Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for ages 7–17, usually closer than the options up in Ashburn or Sterling, and built entirely around kids rather than run alongside an adult program.
Plenty of academies near South Riding teach kids’ classes between adult ones. HYR is different: the whole academy, every class and both coaches, exists for kids and teens ages 7–17. See the program.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is learned by doing: controlled live training against a resisting partner, not choreographed forms. Kids build real, working self-defense and the calm that comes with it.
Head Coach Cameron Hurd is a 2025 ADCC National Champion, ranked #17 in the world by FloGrappling. Coach Lyndon Yates is a full-time youth specialist. Meet the coaches.
HYR teaches modern no-gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to kids and teens ages 7–17. No-gi means training in shorts and a t-shirt or rash guard rather than a traditional uniform, working the leverage, control, and submissions that let a smaller person handle a larger one. It is the same competition-tested art adults train, scaled to a kid’s pace, with no belt-pageant timeline.
Many South Riding families default to a martial arts school in Ashburn or Sterling simply because it is in Loudoun. It is worth pausing on that. HYR is often the closer drive from the Route 50 side of South Riding, and more to the point, it is the only nearby room that is kids-only. At a school that runs adults and kids together, the kids’ program is usually the side project. Here it is the entire business, which is what lets two coaches actually know every student.
Most kids arrive having never grappled, get paired with an appropriate partner, and learn something real on day one. Over time, what parents notice is less about self-defense and more about quiet confidence: staying calm under pressure, holding a frame, and carrying themselves without needing to prove anything. Compare BJJ, karate, and taekwondo for kids.
Head east on Route 50 toward Chantilly, and the gym is just off the highway at 14740 Flint Lee Road, with parking out front. It is one road, no interstate merges. From East Gate or the Route 50 side of South Riding it is often under ten minutes.
Classes run Tuesday and Thursday at 5:00 PM plus Saturday at 10:00 AM. The weekday start clears a school pickup in South Riding with room to spare, and because the drive is a single straight run east, it holds up well as a three-times-a-week habit rather than a special trip.
Parents are welcome to watch from the side of the room at every session.
Coach Cameron Hurd is a brown belt under Sean Stoopman, ranked #17 in the world by FloGrappling, and a 2025 ADCC National Champion. He is an active competitor, so your child learns current, working technique from someone still testing it at the highest level of the sport.
Coach Lyndon Yates is a full-time youth specialist and a brown belt under the same lineage. Kids are his whole focus, not a class he covers between adult sessions: sizing technique to a young athlete, keeping a room engaged, and building skill safely. His students have competed at ADCC Youth and MMA Youth Worlds.
That combination, an active competitor and a dedicated kids’ coach both on the floor, is hard to find in Loudoun or anywhere else. It is the reason the drive east is worth it. See both records.
All classes are ages 7–17, beginners welcome at any of them. Full schedule
The first class is free, and there’s no commitment after it. Pick a time below, it takes about 45 seconds.
HYR families also drive in from Fairfax, Centreville, and Oak Hill.