About Lineage BJJ®

Why Families Trust Lineage BJJ

Most people who come to our website aren’t martial artists.

They’re parents trying to do the right thing for their child.
They’re adults who want real self-defense, not just exercise.
They’re teenagers who want confidence, discipline, and direction.

And almost all of them are trying to decide between saving money and making the right choice.

Lineage BJJ exists to make that decision easier — and safer.

The Problem Most Beginners Don’t Know They’re Facing

If you’re new to martial arts, every school can look the same.

Everyone has belts.
Everyone promises confidence.
Everyone says their training “works.”

What most people don’t realize is this:

The quality of instruction matters far more than the price — but you usually don’t discover that until much later.

Sometimes when it’s inconvenient.
Sometimes when it’s too late.

Our Story: A Lifetime in the Art, Built to Serve Others

The story of Lineage BJJ didn’t start with a gym.

It started in January 1984, when our founder began training in martial arts long before Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was widely known in the United States.

In 1993, while working a presidential protection assignment for the U.S. Secret Service in Chicago, he first learned about the Gracie family through exposure to the Carlson Gracie Academy and their approach to Jiu-Jitsu—an art built not on strength or athleticism, but on leverage, timing, and control.

In 1995, while on assignment in Hawaii, he learned about Relson Gracie, one of the sons of Hélio Gracie, the founder of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. At the time, Relson’s home — where he taught classes — had just burned down. Training resources were limited, so the journey continued the only way possible: studying instructional tapes, traveling whenever possible, and seeking out legitimate instruction wherever it could be found.

By 1996, formal training began at Steve Maxwell’s academy in Philadelphia. Living and working in the Washington, D.C. area meant long drives and regular travel — but that was the price of learning the art correctly.

In 1997, training expanded to The Fighters Garage in Falls Church, Virginia, one of the few places in the region where authentic Gracie Jiu-Jitsu could be found at the time. Much of the training during this period involved driving against traffic, long hours on the road, and building schedules around work — all in pursuit of real instruction.

Around 1999, Scott Devine, a senior training partner and coworker in the U.S. Secret Service, moved to Southern Maryland. Scott trained under Relson Gracie and brought valuable experience from his time training and teaching in Hawaii. Together, training took place wherever space could be found—including Scott’s home, Fight Works Academy in Ashburn, Virginia, and the U.S. Secret Service Academy.

When Scott later left the area, a significant gap was left in Southern Maryland.

Attempts were made to train at other local schools, but something was missing.

For someone whose profession depended on real-world readiness, much of the available training focused heavily on sport rules, time limits, and point systems — not on self-defense, awareness, or control in unpredictable situations.

That realization mattered.

Why Lineage BJJ Was Created

By the mid-2000s, Southern Maryland had very limited access to authentic Gracie Jiu-Jitsu taught as a complete system.

After years of traveling, training, and seeing the difference between sport-only instruction and true self-defense-based Jiu-Jitsu, a decision was made:

If this art was going to be taught here, it needed to be taught the right way.

In 2007, Calvert MMA Academy was founded — Southern Maryland’s first certified Gracie Jiu-Jitsu school under Relson Gracie.

In 2009, following the passing of Hélio Gracie, the program was renamed Lineage to honor his legacy and the responsibility of preserving his self-defense system. As the academy grew and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu became more widely recognized, the name Lineage BJJ was/is used interchangeably to clearly reflect both the tradition and the art being taught.

That name reflects a responsibility:

To preserve the knowledge passed down through the Gracie family
To teach Jiu-Jitsu as a complete system
To prepare students for real pressure — not just ideal conditions

What Makes Lineage BJJ Different

Gracie Jiu-Jitsu was developed long before modern sport rules existed.

It was proven in Vale Tudo matches and the earliest UFC events, where there were:

• No time limits
• Minimal intervention
• No guarantees of size, strength, or ideal conditions

That history matters because it explains why the system works.

At Lineage BJJ:

• Self-defense is the foundation
• Sport training builds on top of that foundation
• Students learn awareness, control, and decision-making — not just techniques

We don’t teach Jiu-Jitsu as a game or a trend.
We teach it as a complete system designed to work under pressure.

Our instruction combines:

• The original Gracie self-defense system
• Modern coaching methods and safety standards
• Ongoing hands-on training with elite athletes and coaches, ensuring our curriculum stays current, tested, and effective

This gives our students the benefit of both tradition and evolution—without losing what made Gracie Jiu-Jitsu effective in the first place.

The result is training that prepares students for real situations, not just rule-based scenarios.

Lineage BJJ is the only school in Southern Maryland teaching Gracie Jiu-Jitsu as a complete self-defense system rooted in its original, pre-sport foundations.

Why Structure and Standards Matter

For beginners, this is important to understand:

Belts and rank are not rewards.
They are indicators of understanding and responsibility.

At Lineage BJJ:

Expectations are clear and transparent
Progress is based on skill and comprehension
Testing and evaluation are part of the process

This protects students from developing false confidence and ensures that what they learn can actually be trusted.

Proven Results — Without the Hype

We don’t measure success by how loud we are.

We measure it by outcomes.

Five consecutive state championships, sweeping kids, teens, and adults as a team in submission-only competition
2025 World Champions, winning kids, teens, and adult divisions in a submission-only format

Our students don’t win by points.
They win by control and submission — the clearest measure of technical skill.

Why Families Choose Lineage BJJ

Families choose Lineage BJJ because they want:

Training they can trust
Coaching that is structured and supervised
A culture built on respect, not ego
A place where kids and adults are treated seriously and safely

We understand price matters.

But when it comes to self-defense and personal development, quality matters more.

Two Locations. One Standard.

Lineage BJJ proudly serves Southern Maryland through:

Lineage BJJ — California, MD
Calvert MMA — Sunderland, MD

Different locations.
Same instruction.
Same standards.

Your Next Step

The best way to understand Lineage BJJ is to experience it for yourself.

Meet the coaches.
Watch a class.
Ask questions.
See how our training works in real life.

📞 Call: 301-377-8773
We’re happy to answer questions, schedule a tour of the academy, or help you decide if this is the right fit.

👉 Click here to set up your FREE 7-Day Intro Pass

Whether you prefer to talk first or jump right in, we’ll walk you through everything — honestly, clearly, and without pressure.

Lineage BJJ® — Where Greatness Begins®