Gyms destinations to call home.
Together, with Fair Fight Foundation, we have just completed construction on a world-class jiu jitsu academy in Máncora, Peru . This space will provide the infrastructure to help transform the lives of over 300 underserved kids, while creating a one-of-a-kind travel destination for the global BJJ community to train, surf, and give back.
A generous $300,000 donation from the Fair Fight Foundation, has allowed not only Guardian Peru to thrive, but create a blueprint to replicate academies like this around the world.
Jiu jitsu for all.
Our Mission:
Guardian, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is committed to providing free youth jiu jitsu scholarships to underserved youth around the world.
We are dedicated to offering children year-round stability and consistency through our programs, focusing not just on their physical transformation, but also on fostering positive friendships, mentorship opportunities, and a secure environment during challenging times.
In August 2025, an anonymous donor made a generous donation allowing Guardian to cover its operational expenses for the year. That means that every dollar raised after CJI2 goes directly to support the program that it was meant for. No overhead, no accounting gimmicks, no waste. Just more Gis, new mats, clean rashguards, more coaches, and more kids changing their lives through the power of jiu jitsu.
671 underserved youth students are currently fully sponsored within our 34 Guardian academies worldwide.
@GuardianBJJ
We partner with existing academies to bring our scholarships to youth that need it most. This approach allows donations to maximize efficiency as those academies already have rent, utilities, mats, cleaning, and other expenses covered.
We sponsor international projects to provide training and apparel for youth. This includes building academies from the ground up, or making improvements to existing spaces such as new mats, showers, training gear, and more.
What we do:
Add a Guardian Scholarship to your academy.
Our Story
Guardian was founded by Ben Kovacs and Joel Lunenfeld while working at Twitter, noticing that much of bay area philanthropy was not solving the real-world challenges facing youth. Initially, Guardian started in 2015 as a single academy in Oakland, California. The original program was a resounding success for the first 6 years of the organization, with over 1,000 kids coming through the doors to train.
In 2020, we evolved our approach and introduced the Guardian Scholarship. This initiative was designed to broaden our reach, offering support to children worldwide to engage in training. Leveraging our extensive network of friends and academy partners accumulated over the years, we started integrating scholarships within their schools, ensuring that financial barriers do not prevent children from accessing our programs. Every child deserves the chance to participate.
As we forge ahead, we are committed to expanding the availability of our scholarship, touching more cities and countries, and thus providing countless more children with the transformative benefits that jiu-jitsu has to offer.
In 2021, Calder Powers, one of Guardian’s earliest volunteers, was promoted to serve as executive director. He continues to lead the organizations content efforts, school outreach, and much more every day.
Become an Ambassador
