Start jiu jitsu
in Port Isabel.
Four nights a week, minutes from the causeway. First class free — no experience, nothing to sign up for.
Pick your night.
Every class this week. Text us and your first one's free — no app, no account.
Mon–Thu evenings
134 S Shore Dr, Port Isabel
Monday classes
Tuesday classes
Wednesday classes
Thursday classes
Closed today — 3 classes Mon · tap a day to switch
Find your class.
Two programs — teens and adults, and kids. Both start with a free class.
Teens & adults
13+ · no experience neededComplete beginners, people training a couple of nights a week to stay sharp, and competitors all work from the same class toward their own goals. Teens move up from about thirteen, depending on their size — text us and we'll tell you which one fits. Turn up any night.
Kids
Ages 4–12 · grouped by ageLittle Ninjas is where four to six-year-olds start — the very basics, and the balance, focus and confidence that come with them. They're growing up as much as they're learning a martial art. From seven, Big Kids goes properly into the art itself, until they're ready to move up with the teens and adults.
The art was built for you.
Jiu jitsu assumes the other person is bigger and stronger than you — that's the problem it was built to solve. Leverage and position instead of strength. It's self-defense that holds up when the other person really is stronger: a real answer to being grabbed, pinned, or put on the ground.
Nobody is going to throw you in with the biggest guy in the room on your first night. You learn a position, you drill it with a partner, and you find out how hard you are to move.
That's one of ours in the photograph, getting her hand raised. She had a first night too.
- The class
- Teens & Adults, Mon–Thu at 6:30p.
- First class
- Free. Or sit and watch one instead.
- Your pace
- You drill what you've been taught. You spar when you decide to.
- The room
- Thomas Trevino coaches every class himself.
Confidence they can't be talked out of.
No striking, no yelling. They learn to stay calm when something is hard and to look after a training partner. Parents are welcome mat-side, every class.
Thomas Trevino
He came in to try one class in 2020 and never left — six years later he's a purple belt with a team of his own, still teaching every class on the schedule himself.
What he's building now is a room that competes. It starts the way his did: one class.
Lineage
- Started
- Professor Joseph Cantu
- Promoted
- Purple belt under Professor Cantu
- Now
- Professor Carlos Henriquez
Common questions.
Anything not answered here — text (956) 667-1971 and Thomas will answer it himself.
Do I need any experience to start jiu jitsu?
No. The Teens & Adults class at 6:30p takes complete beginners on any night it runs, and most people who walk into SPI Jiu Jitsu have never trained before. There is nothing to learn in advance.
What should I wear to my first class?
On no-gi nights (Tue and Thu), wear shorts or spats and a t-shirt or rashguard, and bring water. Mon and Wed are gi nights — text (956) 667-1971 before you come and we'll tell you what to wear, because SPI Jiu Jitsu does not lend gis.
How much do classes cost?
Your first class at SPI Jiu Jitsu is free, with nothing to sign up for and no card needed to try one. Thomas Trevino goes through membership options with you in person rather than posting prices online, so text (956) 667-1971 or come to a class and ask him.
What ages do you teach?
SPI Jiu Jitsu teaches from age four. The classes are Little Ninjas (4–6), Big Kids (7–12), Teens & Adults (13+). Which class a teenager joins also depends on their size, so text us and we'll tell you which one fits.
Do I need to book a class in advance?
No. Text (956) 667-1971 to say you're coming and turn up — there's no app, no account, and no booking form. Classes run Mon–Thu, closed Fri–Sun.
Can women train at SPI Jiu Jitsu?
Yes. Women train in the same evening class as everyone else at SPI Jiu Jitsu, and several compete. Jiu jitsu assumes the other person is bigger and stronger than you, which is what makes it effective self-defense for a smaller person.
Are you on South Padre Island?
No — SPI Jiu Jitsu is in Port Isabel, on the mainland side of the causeway at 134 S Shore Dr, Port Isabel, TX 78578, a few minutes' drive from South Padre Island. There is free parking out front.
Roll like a wave
Your first class
is on us.
Text us — free trial class(956) 667-1971Visit SPI Jiu Jitsu in Port Isabel
Hours
Little Ninjas 5:00–5:30p
Big Kids 5:30–6:15p
Teens & Adults 6:30p
Mon–Thu · closed Fri–Sun
Gi Mon & Wed · No-gi Tue & Thu
Parking
Free parking out front