La Cuplua EJJB - Gran Canaria (Spain)
Located north of the Triana area (the historical quarter of Gran Canaria), La Cupla EJJB is tucked away from a busy main street near two bus stops, should you need. There's also plenty of parking opportunities if you have a car or motorbike. The gym is relatively new at less than two years old and already has a thriving adult and children's BJJ community. This place ended up being a bit special as I loved the island and managed to get a volunteering gig at the hostel I was staying at so got to train here for almost a month!
Gym Name: La Cúpula EJJB
Location: C. Bernardino Lezcano, 8, 35004 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas, Spain
Head Coach: King Teiro
Class Types: Gi, No Gi, Wrestling
Mat Fee: 35eu/month (grappling) or 42eu for 12 sessions. first class free.
Website: https://ejjblacupula.com/
Instagram: La Cupula EJJB – IG
Review:
Another noodle on google maps versus Instagram had me looking at two BJJ gyms in Gran Canaria. This one was the first I’d visited and after the warm welcome, great classes and most importantly the anime/manga tome and generally felt geekiness of the students there, I decided to stay here a while (honestly, I somehow managed to also be a volunteer at the hostel I was a guest at, for an additional 3 weeks!). A relatively new place with just under 18-months at the time I was visiting, the space was well thought out with dedicated male and female changing spaces that had their own shower cubicles. The toilet was a singular mixed gendered cubicle immediately next to the male changing space. Not in the images but definitely featured was a small strength training area, kitted out with a half rack, a range of dumbbells and other strength equipment. A small sitting space and then – the mats.
The space is rectangular and a fully dedicated screen using software that catered to rounds, countdowns, rests with a good sound made managing the tempo of a class pretty solid. This was the first location where probably 80% of the class was in Spanish. This was one of the reasons why I’ve waited to have a few years of BJJ under my belt before travelling: body movement is universal and finite especially within a combat system being taught – this is something I’d held onto from my childhood when visiting Karate or Tae Kwon Do sensies barely spoke any English – and my Swahili had been locked away and forgotten somewhere in my head! Still, body movements are universal. So with the classes I was familiar with most of the moves already – what proved interesting was being paired up and laughing through their great English and my horrendously limited DuoLingo Spanish (that green owl had its days numbered) but we persevered.
King’s teaching style was easy to understand and surprisingly he invited me to teach a class toward the end of my tenure on the island. I was initially worried, but I’ve taught BJJ classes before and it seemed everyone enjoyed the class and my attempts at remembering my izquierda from my deracha!
The representation of women is actually pretty good considering it’s a small gym for now. Over the span of the month I think I totalled meeting at least 10 new faces including a high level competitive purple belt in a NoGi class. As usual, we figure this out *after* the class 🤣
The community vibe here is real, and ever present through their kids program and adult program – there’s also training done at a bigger Carlson Gracie affiliate gym but Hostel duties (and still trying to shake off the London Stress) meant I was more bound to a chilled/regular schedule that didn’t involve going inland.
Gym Score: 8.5/10
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