About Axis
A patient mat since 1997.
Axis Jiu-Jitsu Academy was founded in Tokyo in 1997 by Takamasa Watanabe, carrying the lineage of Rickson Gracie into Japan at a time when very few academies held that line.
The lineage
Rickson Gracie taught a Jiu-Jitsu built on positional control, timing, and the willingness to wait. Watanabe-san trained extensively in Brazil in that lineage before founding Axis — the first academy in Japan to teach Rickson's method as its primary curriculum. That lineage still shapes every class.
Est. 1997
Axis opened in Tokyo in 1997 — one of Japan's earliest dedicated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academies. Nearly thirty years later the room still holds the register that founding set: patient instruction, deep technique, no gimmicks. The gi hasn't changed. The lineage hasn't changed.
Takamasa Watanabe
Head Instructor. Rickson Gracie black belt. Watanabe-san leads adult fundamentals, the competition team, and the Monday evening gi class. His teaching style is quiet, structural, and relentless on positional detail. Students notice: he gives you one correction at a time, and he waits until you get it.
The room
One mat in Meidaimae, Tokyo. A beginner on day one trains in the same room as a visiting black belt — the schedule and the technique accommodate both. No pressure to compete, no pressure to roll hard, no pressure to be anything other than a careful student. Visitors from any academy are welcome.
See the room
Book your free trial.
The best way to understand what Axis is is to walk in. One class, no commitment.