One of the best-known and most successful American black belts, JT Torres recently opened the doors to his New York gym Essential Jiu-Jitsu.


The new venture has seen Torres transition from being primarily a competitor to being a full-time teacher. And the change has only made him better, he says, 

I feel more technical than ever. If I continue to make everyone around me better, it’ll only make me better.

In part one of the documentary filmed around the opening of the gym you can learn about the various challenges Torres had to overcome to achieve his dream of opening the facility.