Zev Martial Arts School takes home eight national titles in U.S. Open tournament

Seven students from the Zev Martial Arts School in Acton took home eight national titles in Brazilian jiu jitsu during the American Grappling Federation U.S. Open held Dec. 17-18 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Located at 3236 Fall Creek Highway in Acton, Zev Martial Arts School provides instruction and training for people of all ages in Brazilian jiu jitsu. Individuals who enroll in the school train for self-defense and physical fitness, along with building their self-esteem and competing at tournaments.

Instructor Alex Wolf noted that the name "Zev" is an American version of the Hebrew word for "wolf." He described Brazilian jiu jitsu as being “a lot like wrestling, but we have joint locks and strangles, as well as takedowns.”

According to its website, the school competes regularly to test its students and is currently the only school in the area with a black belt instructor for Brazilian jiu jitsu.

This year, Zev Martial Arts School was ranked seventh out of hundreds of schools in the state competition and now has won a total of 31 first-place state titles and eight first-place national titles.

Wolf — who has been practicing martial arts since he was six — opened Zev Martial Arts School five years ago, when he decided that he wanted to become an instructor.

"When I got married to my wife, we were looking for a town that we wanted to raise a family in, and it just so happened that Granbury had a need for some Brazilian jiu jitsu, so we decided to open up our school here,” he said. “We mostly chose Granbury because it was where we wanted to raise my family.”

Wolf said his youngest student who competed in the tournament was only eight years old, while the oldest was 23.

The seven students who competed in the U.S. Open included: Caden Williamson, Jarrod Gardner, Taylor Neal, Jadon Crowder, Tyler Holt, Lukah Esteban and Connor Pullen.

Gardner earned a silver and bronze title, while Williamson and Holt each brought home silver.

“We took five national titles, as well as a couple of silvers and bronze, for a total of eight national titles that our school holds,” Wolf said.

Wolf said he was especially proud of Neal and Esteban, who took home double gold in the tournament.

"In jiu jitsu you have Gi and you have No-Gi. For someone that doesn't know jiu jitsu that's with or without the pajama-looking uniform,” Wolf explained. “They won gold in both GI and No-Gi — but this is the second time they've done that. Both Taylor and Lukah won double gold at state level and now they've done double gold at the U.S. Open for nationals as well. Both of those kids are representing Granbury amazingly; we're very happy with them.”

He said Neal is currently ranked eighth out of all of the white-belt girls in the American Grappling Federation. Esteban is ranked 18th and Crowder is ranked 25 for white-belt boys in the AGF.

Wolf said he is proud of his students, and that the results from the tournament prove that what he’s doing in Granbury is really working.

"It's really easy to be at the gym and think that what you're doing works because it's the same people that you've been practicing with and against since you started training,” he added, “But to go out and compete against the best people in the nation and come out on top is really kind of evident that my students are putting in really good work and that what we're teaching works against the best.”

The younger students enrolled in the Zev Martial Arts School will be competing at the 2023 Kids Jiu Jitsu World Championships at the Fort Worth Convention Center on June 17. The adults will be competing in Poland for the World Championships, although that date has not been set.