10th Planet Airlock opened its doors on July 4, 2023 inside Bastrop Fitness Project at 303 Martin Luther King Dr in Bastrop, TX. We’ve been teaching no-gi jiu jitsu in Bastrop every week since. Here’s how we got here.
(Book a free class if you’d rather skip the history and just come train.)
July 4, 2023
The date wasn’t quite an accident, but it wasn’t really a marketing decision either. It was more of a perfect match. When the gym was ready to open and the date landed on the Fourth of July, it just felt right. Independence. Service. Community. Those are the values the gym was built on, and the date happened to say them for us.
Reinaldo “Rei” Villa founded 10th Planet Airlock after spending 20 years in the U.S. Army Infantry. Multiple deployments to the Middle East. Service as a Tactical Combatives Instructor at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. A Certified Instructor for Sheepdog Response. And five years stationed at Camp Swift in Bastrop County, where this town went from a duty station to a home.
Rei retired from the Army in February 2024. But the gym came first. He opened Airlock in July 2023 while still serving because he was ready to start building something for the community that had become his. A 10th Planet Black Belt under Curtis Hembroff at 10th Planet Austin (this was in early 2025) and already an IBJJF First Degree Black Belt at our founding, Rei had spent his entire adult life training and teaching people how to fight. The gym was the next step. The only step that made sense.
The Team Airlock Built
Rei didn’t build Airlock alone. He partnered with Andrea and Tyler Hixson, who came up in the 10th Planet system traveling to gyms all over the country before finding their home training under Rei. Tyler runs the day-to-day operations and coaches the kids and morning classes. Andrea leads the free Women’s Jiu Jitsu class every Thursday.
Then Coach Chris Bennett moved to Texas. Chris is a 10th Planet Black Belt from 10th Planet Tucson under Anthony Birchak. He packed up and relocated from Arizona specifically to coach at Airlock. When a black belt from another affiliate moves across state lines to teach at your gym, that says something about what’s being built.
On the striking side, Coach Billy Van Dyke (a professional MMA fighter) and Coach Jon Nelson-Griffith (an active amateur MMA competitor) coach the Muay Thai program. Three days a week, members learn real striking from coaches who have used it in the cage.
This team came together to build a gym and a community together.
Persistence Over Perfection
We are not the same gym we were on July 4, 2023. We’ve changed. A lot. And we’re proud of that.
We’ve changed our class structure. We’ve changed how we coach beginners. We’ve changed how we run events, how we communicate with members, how we onboard new people. We’ve changed things that were working fine because we thought they could work better. People who trained with us in month one would be amazed at how much is different now.
Ironically, that’s jiu jitsu. The sport teaches you that every position has a better option if you’re willing to look for it. We run the gym the same way. We’re learners. We don’t think we’re perfect. We change as we learn and grow, the same way the mat forces every single one of us to do every time we train.
Members who were here on day one are still training with us. Because they could see we were building something they wanted to stick around for.
What We’ve Earned
In 2025, the Bastrop community voted 10th Planet Airlock the #1 Best Martial Arts Gym in Bastrop County. That vote came from the people who train with us, send their kids to our mats, and trust us to be part of their week.
We became a proud partner of the We Defy Foundation, which provides jiu jitsu scholarships to combat-wounded veterans. That partnership was a mission alignment. Veterans helping veterans through jiu jitsu is part of why this gym exists.
We host seminars with visiting 10th Planet Black Belts and instructors from across the country. In fact, on June 27, 2026, we celebrate our third anniversary with a seminar from Willie Audifre, a 10th Planet Black Belt and co-owner of 10th Planet Tucson.
Where We’re Going
Three years in and we’re just getting started. More programs. More involvement in the Bastrop community. More space (shhhh). More personal development for our members and our coaches. More visitors, more seminars, more community building.
We opened this gym because Bastrop deserved a world-class martial arts program. We’re going to keep building until that’s exactly what this is. And then we’re going to keep building after that, because that’s how jiu jitsu works. There’s always a better position if you’re willing to look for it.
Come Be Part of It
10th Planet Airlock. Founded July 4, 2023. Inside Bastrop Fitness Project at 303 Martin Luther King Dr, Bastrop, TX 78602. Right off Hwy 71. Near the Buc-ee’s. In the greatest city on Earth.
No-gi jiu jitsu six days a week. Muay Thai three days a week. Kids jiu jitsu for ages 5 and up. Free women’s jiu jitsu every Thursday.
Your first class is always free. No experience needed. No gear required.
Discounts for active duty military, veterans, law enforcement, and first responders.
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
