Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Folsom California
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Built in Folsom.
Beda Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brings decades of experience and a direct connection to the roots of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to an academy in the heart of Folsom. Founded by Elizandro and Brandy Beda, the academy is a place for serious training, personal growth, and a community of students who help one another improve.
Where it All Began
Beda Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s story begins with Elizandro “Eli” Beda. Born and raised in Brazil, Eli began training Jiu-Jitsu at age 13 and spent decades learning, competing, and developing his craft. He earned his black belt in 2007 and continued his training under Leonardo Vieira, co-founder of the international Checkmat Jiu-Jitsu team.
Jiu-Jitsu brought Eli to the United States to compete. That trip eventually led him to Folsom, where he began teaching, met his future wife Brandy, and started building a life far from his home in Brazil. In 2011, Eli and Brandy opened Beda Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy. Family owned and operated from the beginning, the academy has grown into a place where high-level Jiu-Jitsu and a welcoming community go hand in hand.
Eli brings a lifetime of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu experience to the mat. Brandy brings her own background as a lifelong athlete, Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, coach, and instructor. Together with their team of instructors, they’ve created an environment where competitors, recreational students, families, and children can train seriously, develop their skills, and pursue their own goals.
A Lineage Passed Down
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is passed from teacher to student, generation after generation. Beda’s lineage connects the Jiu-Jitsu taught in Folsom today to some of the most influential teachers in the history of the art.
Eli trains under Leonardo Vieira, co-founder of Checkmat, connecting Beda Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to an international team of academies and competitors around the world. That lineage is more than a list of names. It represents generations of knowledge being learned, tested, refined, and passed forward. At Beda, every student becomes part of that continuing story.
Mitsuyo Maeda
Japanese judoka who helped introduce the foundations of Jiu-Jitsu to Brazil.
Carlos Gracie
Helped establish and spread Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu through the Gracie family.
Hélio Gracie
Influential in refining and developing the techniques of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Rolls Gracie
Helped advance modern Jiu-Jitsu by incorporating techniques from other grappling arts.
Romero Cavalcanti
Founder of Alliance Jiu-Jitsu and instructor to generations of champions.
Leo Vieira
World champion and co-founder of the international Checkmat Jiu-Jitsu team.
Elizandro Beda
Checkmat black belt who brought his Jiu-Jitsu experience to Folsom.
A Commitment to the Mat
At Beda, students are expected to learn, work hard, respect their training partners, and help create an environment where everyone can improve. Experienced students train alongside beginners, competitors share the mats with people who simply love Jiu-Jitsu, and parents train while their children develop their own skills.
Training follows established IBJJF standards for legal techniques, age divisions, belt levels, and competition. Each student’s goal may be different, but the expectation is the same: show up ready to learn, respect the people around you, and keep improving.
Discipline
Put in the work, stay consistent, and remain humble enough to keep learning.
Respect
Value your instructors, respect your training partners, and help each other improve.
Loyalty
Remember where you started, support your teammates, and give back to the academy.
A Place to Train and Grow
Beda is more than a place to learn Jiu-Jitsu. The academy has become a community of students and families who train together, support one another, and build relationships that extend beyond the mats.
Some students have been training at Beda for years. Others are just getting started. Children grow up in the academy, families train alongside one another, and friendships develop through the shared experience of learning something challenging. It’s the people who make Beda what it is, and the relationships built along the way that make it a place students continue coming back to.
Connected to Our Community
Beda also works with local families and organizations through community partnerships, including approved vendor programs that can help qualifying students use available enrichment funding toward training.
Come Train with Us
We’ve spent years building a place where people can learn, challenge themselves, make friends, and grow together.
Whether you’re completely new to Jiu-Jitsu or have trained for years, we’d love the opportunity to meet you and share what we’ve built here at Beda.
