When people search for self-defense classes in Bastrop, TX, they’re usually looking for one of two things. Either they want a one-off weekend seminar that teaches them some basic moves and sends them home feeling a little safer (they probably aren’t). Or they want an ongoing training practice that actually changes what they’d do if something bad happened (this is the way).
When it comes to training martial arts, what you think you need may be different from what you really need. That’s why you might be suprised to learn that 10th Planet Airlock doesn’t run a dedicated “self-defense class.” But hold up, let us cook…
What we run is no-gi jiu jitsu and Muay Thai training, six days a week, taught by coaches with serious real-world credentials. And we’d argue that ongoing training in those two arts is one of the most practical self-defense investments you can make.
Let us explain what we mean.
Who’s Teaching You Matters More Than What the Class Is Called
Our head instructor is Rei Villa. Rei spent 20 years in the U.S. Army Infantry, including multiple deployments to the Middle East. He’s trained in SOCP (Special Operations Combatives Program). He served as a Tactical Combatives Instructor at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, teaching hand-to-hand fighting to active-duty soldiers. And he’s a Certified Instructor for Sheepdog Response, the civilian self-defense training organization founded by Tim Kennedy.
On the martial arts side, Rei is a 10th Planet Black Belt (under Curtis Hembroff at 10th Planet Austin) and an IBJJF First Degree Black Belt. He’s competed at IBJJF, NAGA, Fight2Win, Elevate Submission Series, KIRIN, and Garcia Promotions. He retired from the Army in February 2024 and built 10th Planet Airlock to bring this exact blend of sport and real-world application to Bastrop.
You will not find this combination of credentials at another martial arts gym in Bastrop County, and perhaps anywhere in the world… can’t verify that one tho.
The Honest Case for No-Gi Jiu Jitsu as Self-Defense
Most real-world physical altercations end up on the ground. This is just true. Watch security camera footage from any parking lot fight and you’ll see two people start standing, and within about 15 seconds one or both of them is on the ground. That’s where jiu jitsu lives. That’s the whole system.
The “no-gi” part matters too. Traditional Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is typically trained in a gi, a heavy cotton uniform with collars and sleeves that offer tons of gripping options. That’s a great sport, and the skills transfer. But nobody in a real self-defense situation is wearing a gi. They’re wearing a t-shirt. Or a hoodie. Or, this being Texas, maybe nothing from the waist up. No-gi jiu jitsu trains you to control and submit people using body mechanics, positioning, and leverage instead of fabric. The techniques you drill on a random Tuesday at Airlock are the ones that would actually work in a parking lot on Saturday. Though the best fight is the one you avoid entirely… and we think training jiu jitsu teaches you that skill too.
And Muay Thai adds the other half. If you never get to the ground, or if you need to keep distance, or, realistically, if you have multiple attackers, Muay Thai teaches you how to strike with your hands, elbows, knees, and shins. Real striking. Real technique. Built over centuries in Thailand. Used by nearly every MMA champion on earth.
Here’s the Important Caveat We’re Not Going to Skip
We’re martial arts coaches. We’re not going to sit here and tell you that training jiu jitsu and Muay Thai guarantees you’ll win a real fight. Real fights are chaos. There are weapons, multiple attackers, surprise, adrenaline, bad lighting, and a hundred other variables nobody can train for perfectly.
What we will tell you is this: training is how you infuse some order into that chaos. It’s not a guarantee. It is, however, a preparation. The person who has spent three years on the mat rolling with hundreds of different bodies is simply going to respond to a physical conflict better than the person whose only training was watching UFC clips. It’s about creating reps.
We also want to be clear: jiu jitsu and Muay Thai are sports first. They’re fun. They’re challenging. They’re a community. Most of our members are here because they love training, not because they’re preparing for combat. If someone walks in the door acting like they’re always one bad day away from knocking somebody out, we’re going to gently redirect that energy. That is not who we are and not who we train. You don’t “see red” bud. You probably suck at fighting.
The best version of a jiu jitsu practitioner is someone who is so confident in their ability to handle themselves that they don’t ever need to prove it. Training builds that person. That’s who we want to train with anyway.
What About Women’s Self-Defense?
We get this question a lot. The honest answer is that jiu jitsu is, by a wide margin, the most effective martial art for women learning self-defense. It’s a leverage-based system. A smaller person can control and submit a larger person using technique. That’s the whole point.
We run a free Women’s Jiu Jitsu class every Thursday at 10th Planet Airlock, led by Coach Andrea Hixson. No membership required. No commitment. Just show up and train with other women in a respectful, skilled environment. If you’re a woman in Bastrop, Elgin, Smithville, or anywhere else in Central Texas and you’ve been thinking about self-defense training, this is the lowest-risk way to start. Oh, and did we mention it’s fun and community-building? Cause that’s more important to us anyway.
So What Does Training Actually Look Like?
If you come in for a free trial class, here’s what you can expect. Rei or another coach will walk you through a technique. Maybe an escape from a bad position, maybe a submission from mount, maybe a way to stand up safely when someone is in front of you. You’ll drill it with a partner. Then you’ll do some light live training (“rolling”) where you try to apply what you learned against someone who’s resisting.
On day one, rolling is almost always limited to positional work. Get to mount. Pass the guard. No submissions yet. We’re not throwing you in the deep end. We wrote a full walkthrough of what your first jiu jitsu class looks like if you want the step-by-step.
Over weeks and months, you’ll accumulate what jiu jitsu people call mat time. It’s the single most important thing. There’s no shortcut. The person who has a thousand hours of rolling experience is going to handle a physical conflict better than the person who has 10 hours of rolling experience. Full stop.
Our Approach: Self-Defense Through the Lens of a Fight’s Story
One thing Rei emphasizes for every new person: he doesn’t teach techniques in a vacuum. He teaches the story of a fight. How an altercation actually unfolds, from the verbal buildup, to the initial physical contact, to the ground game, to how you safely disengage or finish.
The first lesson of practical self-defense, according to Rei, is the one most people don’t expect: run away, if you can. The best fight is the one you don’t have to be in. What martial arts are for is the situation where you cannot run, someone has cornered you, grabbed you, or threatened someone you love. In that case, you want to know where to start and what to do next.
That’s what we train. Not a weekend seminar. Not a “get good in three hours” shortcut. A system. Over time.
Where to Find Us
10th Planet Airlock is inside Bastrop Fitness Project at 303 Martin Luther King Dr, Bastrop, TX 78602. Right off Hwy 71. Near the Buc-ee’s.
We offer Adult No-Gi Jiu Jitsu six days a week, Adult Muay Thai, Kids Jiu Jitsu, and the free Women’s Jiu Jitsu class every Thursday.
Discounts available for active duty military, veterans, law enforcement, and first responders. Your first class is always free.
Book your free trial class at 10th Planet Airlock →
Or call us: (512) 271-5260
Or email: airlockbjj@gmail.com
Check out the full class schedule here.
10th Planet Airlock | 303 Martin Luther King Dr, Bastrop, TX 78602 | Inside Bastrop Fitness Project | Voted #1 Best Martial Arts Gym in Bastrop County 2025 | We Defy Foundation Partner
