Today we’d like to introduce you to Mohammad Ibrahim.
Hi Mohammad, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
So I was born in Kerkuk, Iraq in 1995. In 1996, my family and I fled to Istanbul Turkey as refugees. We lived there for 2 years before moving to America as a political asylum. When we came to America, I was the only Middle Eastern kid in the school system of a small town in Georgia. Growing up in a rural country town as a chubby brown kid in a post-9/11 world had its issues. This led me to get into martial arts as a young boy. I started jiu-jitsu at age 14 and I was blown away by the power of jiu-jitsu. At that age, I started to dedicate my life to becoming the best jiu-jitsu practitioner and coach I could be.
I’ve been training for 15 years now and have been teaching for about 12 years. I’ve now become a gym owner and run my jiu-jitsu program. Being able to give back to people through martial arts has been one of the best things in my life and I’m grateful every day for it. I take a lot of pride in making sure I teach class with proper technique and cultivate an environment where everyone feels safe and is having fun! Martial arts can be very intimidating to start, and that can depend on the gym culture. My students are people with jobs and their own lives to manage. When they come to my class, they want to feel safe and learn but to also have fun and enjoy the process. I take great pride in making sure that I do my duty as a coach/instructor/gym owner.
Being a small business owner, this is my livelihood and my passion. I enjoy working on the business side of things, everything from strategizing to administration. Then there’s training for skill development, competition prep, and learning how to become a better teacher. The better I become, the better I can make my students. This is my passion I wouldn’t have it any other way.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
One of the biggest obstacles I’ve faced as a jiu-jitsu practitioner is finding the right mentors and coaches. You can eventually progress without a good coach, but if you want to progress as fast as possible, then a good full-time coach is what you need. When starting in Martial Arts, most people just pick the closest gym to their house, which is fine.
But if you want to be the absolute best you can be, then finding the BEST coach for YOU is going to be imperative. My coach is Sean Applegate from 10th planet jiu jitsu in Kennesaw and he’s the best coach for me. Here are some of the characteristics I admire and appreciate as a student when looking for a coach.
- A coach who is dedicated and teaches full-time
- An analytical mind
- Cultivates a safe and healthy training environment
- Puts his students and the team before himself
There are several coaches out there that are pretty good and can help you get far, but the reality is most of these coaches at most gyms have other obligations. They usually have other jobs and families, and they might not put much time into jiu-jitsu outside of when they teach because they have so much more going on, and that’s fine. But finding a coach who dedicates most of their time to their craft, in my opinion, is like a cheat code. You can just focus on learning and trusting the process. So, you just have to show up, learn, apply, troubleshoot, and ask questions. And you’ll be getting better in no time.
The second biggest hurdle was trying to make a living while teaching. I tried to go down the college and job route and even got my degree. However, I knew deep down I wanted to eat, sleep, and breathe jiu-jitsu. I knew it would be a hard process, but it would be worth it. Before I owned my gym, I was just a coach at a lot of different gyms, and I was barely making minimum wage. This was the process for about 11 years until I opened my gym.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a jiu-jitsu academy based out of the Smyrna/Vinings area that focuses on the sport and self-defense aspect of jiu-jitsu. We operate out of World Gym so a membership with us gives you a full membership to World Gym. We have students from all walks of life, ranging from beginners to more experienced practitioners.
I think what sets us apart is we have a great environment that focuses on a safe and uplifting culture. The coaching staff takes their job very seriously when it comes to instruction, however, we all come here to have fun and have some laughs. We also have a sauna!
I would define success as the ability to make a living doing what I love every day, while also helping to grow and empower the community I’m in.
Contact Info:
- Website: Kuzushiclubatl.com
- Instagram: @Kuzushiclubatl
- Facebook: @Kuzushiclubatl
