Believe Jiu Jitsu

10/28/2026

In 2027 we will be changing the weight division slightly. All of these weights are in the kimono. Additionally I ky White, Blue or Black kimonos will be allowed.

10/27/2026

Milwaukeeits your turn! Join us November 22nd at the RecPlex for Believe 13. The only Youth and Teen Brazilian jiu-jitsu championship in the Midwest.

10/27/2026

🎥 Video Review

At Believe 12, we took another major step forward in raising the standard for youth Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition by implementing video review directly at the mats.

Referees are human. Coaches are human. In a fast-moving match, there will always be the possibility of human error. Our responsibility as tournament organizers is to give our officials every tool possible to make sure the right call is made.

At Believe 12, coaches challenged five calls throughout the event.

Five challenges. Five video reviews. And all five confirmed the referee’s original call. 👏

That says a lot about the quality of our referee team—but video review isn't about proving someone right or wrong. It's about accountability, transparency, and protecting the integrity of the competition.

When athletes put countless hours into preparing, parents invest their time and money, and coaches dedicate themselves to developing their competitors, they deserve an event willing to invest just as heavily in getting things right.

We aren't interested in doing things simply because “that's how tournaments have always done it.”

We want to push the standard of the industry forward.

Certified referees.
Live match streaming.
Video review.
Coach challenges.

10/27/2026

10/26/2026

🏆 BELIEVE FALL CHAMPIONSHIP — THAT’S A WRAP, CHICAGO! 🏆

420 competitors. A completely SOLD-OUT event. An incredible way to close out the year in Chicago. 🥋🔥

The level of competition at Believe continues to rise with every event. The technique is getting sharper, the matches are getting tougher, and most importantly, the future of youth Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the Midwest continues to get brighter.

To every athlete who stepped onto the mats — thank you. Win or lose, you had the courage to challenge yourself, test your jiu-jitsu, and continue becoming a better martial artist.

To the parents — thank you for the countless hours, early mornings, long drives, practices, tournaments, and sacrifices you make to give your children these opportunities. You aren't simply supporting competitors. You're helping develop confident, disciplined and resilient young people.

To the coaches and academies — thank you for continuing to invest your time, knowledge, and energy into these kids. What you're teaching goes far beyond takedowns, guard passes, and submissions. Together, we're helping develop the future leaders of our communities.

And to our Believe staff and referees — thank you. There are countless hours of work that nobody sees leading up to an event. Setup, breakdown, brackets, tables, mats, refereeing and everything in between. Events like this simply don't happen without an incredible team behind them.

Finally, thank you to the entire Chicagoland Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community.

Believe was created with one simple idea: our kids deserve great opportunities to compete, grow and challenge themselves close to home.

These kids are the future of our sport, and it's up to all of us — parents, coaches, academies, referees and teammates — to give them the best possible path forward.

Together we grow Jiu-Jitsu.
Together we build the future.
Together we BELIEVE. 🐼🥋

10/26/2026

THE PEOPLE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MAT

One of the most important pieces of any Jiu-Jitsu tournament is something that often doesn't get talked about enough: the referees.

You can have a great venue, beautiful medals, packed brackets, and hundreds of talented competitors—but without knowledgeable, experienced referees, you don't have a quality event.

At BELIEVE, every referee working our mats is a black belt and IBJJF-certified referee.

That standard matters to us.

These are people who have spent years—often decades—training, competing, studying the rules, and developing the ability to make difficult decisions in real time. They have to recognize points, advantages, penalties, legal and illegal techniques, athlete safety situations, and countless positions that can change in a fraction of a second.

And they have to do it while coaches are yelling, parents are cheering, athletes are moving, and everyone in the building has an opinion.

Refereeing is not easy.

When everything goes right, they rarely get recognized. When someone disagrees with a call, they're usually the first person to hear about it.

But without their commitment, professionalism, and willingness to spend an entire day in the middle of the mats, our sport doesn't grow.

These referees aren't just officiating matches. They're helping create a better competitive environment for the next generation of Jiu-Jitsu athletes.

So the next time you're at a tournament, take a second to recognize the people wearing the referee shirts.

To our BELIEVE referee team: thank you. Thank you for your professionalism, your knowledge, your patience, and most importantly, your commitment to helping us grow youth Jiu-Jitsu in the Midwest.

The athletes may be the stars of the show—but the event doesn't happen without the people in the middle of the mat. 🥋

BELIEVE JIU-JITSU CHAMPIONSHIPS
Building better events. Raising the standard. Growing the next generation.

10/25/2026

🔥 BELIEVE 12 — WHAT A WEEKEND! 🔥

A huge THANK YOU to every team, coach, parent, and athlete who came out and made BELIEVE 12 an incredible event!

🥋 420 registered athletes
🏫 54 academies represented
🔥 Mats packed with high-level, high-energy Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

The level of competition continues to rise every event, and it’s incredible to watch the youth Jiu-Jitsu community in the Midwest continue to grow.

We appreciate every academy that continues to support BELIEVE and every athlete willing to step onto the mats, test themselves, and compete.

🏆 Here is the TOP 10 TEAM LIST from this weekend’s action!

Congratulations to all the teams that made the list — and thank you to all 54 academies that helped make BELIEVE 12 a SOLD-OUT event.

We’re just getting started.

BELIEVE. COMPETE. GROW. 🐼🥋🔥

10/24/2026

We are live on YouTube streaming all mats

10/23/2026

🔥 SOLD OUT! 🔥

This weekend’s BELIEVE Jiu-Jitsu Championship is officially SOLD OUT! 🐼🥋

When we started BELIEVE, the goal was bigger than simply running another tournament. Our mission has always been to strengthen the youth Jiu-Jitsu community by bringing a high-quality, professionally run kids and teens tournament to the Chicagoland area.

We truly BELIEVE that in the near future, we can reach 600–700 UNIQUE KIDS competing at a single BELIEVE event.

That doesn’t happen because of one academy, one team, or one tournament. It happens because of all of us.

Together, we will make it happen.
Together, we will continue growing youth Jiu-Jitsu.
Together, we will make the Midwest one of the strongest Jiu-Jitsu communities in the country.

To every academy, coach, parent, and especially every young competitor who registered and decided to challenge themselves this weekend — THANK YOU.

Win or lose, stepping onto those mats takes courage.

We are excited to see everyone this weekend. 🐼🔥

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. BELIEVE IN THE PROCESS. BELIEVE.

10/22/2026

A few reminders leading up to Saturday's tournament.

🚪 Doors open at 7:30am
⌚ Matches start at 9am
🎟️ Spectator are $15 (💵 or 💳)
🥋 Gis will be inspected ⬜🟦⬛
✋🦶 Finger and toe nails will be inspected

Let's have fun and give the kids the platform they deserve to push Jiu Jitsu forward.