If you’re searching for MMA training in Bastrop, TX (think: jiu jitsu, striking, grappling, wrestling, sometimes misspelled jujutsu or jujitsu, all put together… and sometimes just called “that UFC stuff”), you should know something upfront: we don’t run strictly MMA classes at 10th Planet Airlock. For now, at least. What we run is what any MMA practitioner needs. No-gi jiu jitsu and Muay Thai. Separately. With dedicated coaches for each. And we’d argue that’s a better path to becoming a well-rounded martial artist than any blended MMA class.
Here’s why. Or just Book a free class if you want to skip the reading and just come see for yourself.
MMA Is Built on Two Arts. We Teach Both.
Watch any UFC fight. Watch Bellator. Watch ONE Championship. The fighters who win consistently are the ones with deep skill in two areas: grappling and striking. Specifically, jiu jitsu and Muay Thai. Those are the two arts that have proven themselves under pressure, against resisting opponents, at the highest level of combat sports on the planet.
At 10th Planet Airlock, we teach both of those arts as standalone programs. No-gi jiu jitsu six days a week. Muay Thai three days a week. You can train one or both. Most of our members who are serious about being complete mixed martial artists train both.
Why Separate Programs Beat a Blended MMA Class
A lot of gyms offer “MMA” as a single class where you get 20 minutes of striking, 20 minutes of grappling, and maybe some cage work. That sounds efficient. In practice, it means you get a shallow pass at everything and depth in nothing.
Dedicated programs are different. When you spend a full hour on jiu jitsu, you’re drilling technique, doing live positional work, and rolling with training partners who are focused on the same thing you are. When you spend a full hour on Muay Thai, you’re working combos, hitting pads, and learning footwork from coaches who have actually fought professionally. You build real technical foundations in each art instead of sampling a little bit of everything.
The fighters who make it to the top of MMA all trained this way. They trained jiu jitsu with jiu jitsu coaches and Muay Thai with striking coaches, then brought it all together in sparring and competition. That’s what we offer.
The Coaches Behind It
This is where it gets real.
Our head instructor, Rei Villa, is a 10th Planet Black Belt, IBJJF First Degree Black Belt, and retired 20-year U.S. Army Infantry veteran. His background in Army Combatives and Sheepdog Response is naturally mixed martial arts. It’s about what’s most effective in a fight, period. Rei leads the jiu jitsu program alongside Coach Chris Bennett, a fellow 10th Planet Black Belt who relocated from 10th Planet Tucson to train and teach at Airlock.
Rei also teaches some of our Muay Thai classes. But our striking program goes deeper than that. Coach Billy Van Dyke (Wednesdays) is a professional MMA fighter who teaches Muay Thai at Airlock. And Coach Jon Nelson-Griffith (Fridays) is an active amateur MMA competitor whose coaching skill is unmatched. When you’re learning to throw a kick or defend a clinch, you’re learning from people who have actually done it in a cage with somebody trying to knock them out. That’s a different level of instruction.
What Training Here Actually Looks Like
If you come in for a free trial, here’s a typical week for someone training both arts:
Jiu jitsu days: Warm-up, technique instruction and drilling with a partner, live positional work against resistance, then rolling (live sparring). Rei teaches the story of a fight, how an altercation unfolds from start to finish, so every technique you learn connects to a bigger picture. You’re building a complete grappling game, not collecting random moves.
Muay Thai days: Footwork, combinations, pad work, partner drills, and conditioning. You’re learning how to strike with your hands, elbows, knees, and shins. Real technique. The kind that was built over centuries in Thailand and pressure-tested in every major MMA organization on earth.
You don’t need experience in either art to start. Beginners train alongside experienced members and the coaches scale the instruction to your level. We wrote a full walkthrough of what your first class looks like if you want to know exactly what happens when you walk through the door.
Who This Is For
We get people from all over Central Texas, Bastrop, Elgin, Smithville, Cedar Creek, Lockhart, East Austin, looking for real martial arts training. Some of them want to compete. Some of them just want to learn how to fight. Most of them want a physical and mental challenge that’s more interesting than a treadmill. All of those are the right reason to be here.
You don’t need to be in shape. You don’t need to be tough. You don’t need to have any background in martial arts. You just need to show up and be willing to learn. The rest happens on the mat.
Come Train
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.
No-gi jiu jitsu six days a week. Muay Thai multiple days a week. Kids jiu jitsu for ages 5 and up. Free women’s jiu jitsu every Thursday.
Discounts 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
