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True North Jiu-Jitsu

Coquitlam Martial Arts & Fitness for All Ages!

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For East & Southeast Burnaby

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for Burnaby

Burnaby has about 249,000 people across four town centres, and no single gym serves all of it well. This page answers a fair question: if you live in Burnaby and are looking at True North Jiu-Jitsu on Brunette Ave in Coquitlam, is the trip sensible? For some parts of the city, clearly yes. For others, we would tell you to look closer to home.

Catchment

Which Part of Burnaby This Realistically Serves

We sit at the eastern edge of the region's Lougheed corridor, just past the New Westminster boundary. Everything below is measured from there.

Edmonds and the southeast

Edmonds is the closest of Burnaby's four town centres to us. From the Edmonds area you are running east on Canada Way or the Lougheed Highway and picking up Brunette, typically ten to twelve minutes outside peak. Big Bend, further south along the Fraser, adds a few minutes but the roads are quiet in the direction you are travelling.

The Lougheed Town Centre area and Cariboo

The northeast corner of Burnaby, around Lougheed Town Centre and down through the Cariboo and Government Road side, is the other half of our natural catchment. Coming south and east on the Lougheed Highway puts you at our door in twelve to fifteen minutes. Cariboo Road in particular drops almost straight down to the Brunette corridor.

If you are in Metrotown or Brentwood

Be honest with yourself about the map. From central or northwest Burnaby you are crossing most of the city, and there are Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu schools closer to you. We would rather say that than have you sign up, drive it twice, and quit. Consistency beats every other variable in this sport. If you want to train here specifically anyway, you are welcome, and the midday classes below are what make it painless.

The Route

Getting Across on the Lougheed and Highway 1

Two approaches work. The Lougheed Highway east is the simple one and the one most Burnaby members use, feeding onto Brunette Avenue near the interchange. Highway 1 east to the Brunette Avenue exit is the alternative and is quicker when the highway is flowing.

Worth knowing: the Brunette interchange is a known pinch point on the Highway 1 corridor and backs up at the peaks. Between roughly 4:00 and 6:00pm the highway approach can cost more time than it saves, so take the Lougheed instead, or better, pick a class outside that window. Parking at the academy is free.

Timetable

Choosing a Class Time That Avoids the Worst of It

Adult Jiu-Jitsu runs 1:00 to 2:00pm on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Those midday classes are unusual, and for a Burnaby student they are the single best answer to the traffic problem. A 12:35pm departure from Edmonds is a clear run in both directions, and you are back before the afternoon has really started.

The evening classes are 7:00 to 8:00pm Monday through Thursday, with an extra 6:00 to 7:00pm class on Wednesday. Seven o'clock sits comfortably after the peak has broken. Six o'clock on a Wednesday is the one to be careful with if you are driving from the west side of Burnaby.

Kids Jiu-Jitsu for ages 5 to 12 runs at 4:15pm on Tuesday and Thursday and 5:00pm Monday through Thursday. That is the harder one from Burnaby, since it lands squarely in the afternoon peak. It works well from Edmonds and the Lougheed area and less well from further west. Current times are on the schedule, and the kids program page explains how classes are structured.

Programs

What Is Actually Being Taught Here

We are a dedicated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy first. Adult Jiu-Jitsu is open from age 13 and covers gi and no-gi, with the focus on grappling: controlling position, escaping bad ones, and finishing from good ones. There is no striking in it, which is why it suits people who want a hard training session without absorbing impact.

Beyond that we run wrestling, which is the most direct way to improve where your Jiu-Jitsu starts, and kickboxing for ages 13 and up if you want striking as a separate discipline. There is also a women's self-defense program. A sauna and cold plunge are on site, and meal prep is available.

What holds it together is the coaching staff. Professor Khatib Ahmad, our head instructor, is a fourth degree black belt. Professor Mahan Salimian and Professor Ash "Smash" Mashreghi are black belts, with Coach Igor Vavi and Coach Kim at brown and purple. Our Google rating is 5.0 across 116 reviews, the highest of any dedicated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gym in Coquitlam. That is the reason a drive across Burnaby is worth considering at all.

Next Step

Come and Test the Trip

Every new student gets a free trial class, at any age. Spend it by driving in at the exact time you would normally come, training, and then deciding. Ten minutes on a map and ten minutes in real traffic are different things.

Bring a t-shirt, shorts or track pants without zips, and water. Call 604-777-0396 or use the contact page to book. If you are still deciding whether Jiu-Jitsu is the right fit, there is more on how we train over on the blog.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions From Burnaby Students

The questions Burnaby residents ask us most, answered plainly. Call the academy if yours is not covered.

No. We have one location, at 814 Brunette Ave in Coquitlam, just east of the New Westminster boundary. Burnaby students drive in to us, which is why this page is upfront about which parts of the city that makes sense from.

Ten to twelve minutes from the Edmonds area outside peak hours, via Canada Way or the Lougheed Highway onto Brunette. Big Bend adds a few minutes. From the Lougheed Town Centre and Cariboo side of northeast Burnaby, allow twelve to fifteen.

Probably not for evening classes, and we will say so. From Metrotown or Brentwood you are crossing most of Burnaby and there are closer options. Training two or three times a week only works if the trip is easy. If you want to train here specifically, the 1:00pm weekday classes make it far more manageable than the evening ones.

The Lougheed Highway east is the reliable option. Highway 1 to the Brunette Avenue exit is faster when the highway is moving, but the Brunette interchange is a known bottleneck and backs up between roughly 4:00 and 6:00pm. In that window, stay on the Lougheed.

Kids Jiu-Jitsu for ages 5 to 12 runs at 4:15pm on Tuesday and Thursday and 5:00pm Monday through Thursday. Those times fall in the afternoon peak, so they work well from Edmonds and the Lougheed corridor and are harder from western Burnaby. Try the free trial class on the day and at the time you would actually be attending.