Today we’d like to introduce you to Eamon Knittel.
Hi Eamon, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in 1994 after 1 year of wrestling in high school my senior year. I was always involved in the martial arts as child amongst playing other sports such as soccer, baseball etc. One of my martial arts instructors who was a neighbor of mine, showed me the Gracie In Action tapes and I immediately wanted to learn how to grapple. I was pretty small in high school and was amazed how quickly they would dismantle their opponents using leverage and technique. During my senior year, I found out some friends were taking Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at academy in downtown Philadelphia. I couldn’t believe that there was school in Philadelphia. During this time, there were a few academies on the East Coast and the internet didn’t really provide much information. After graduating, I enrolled in Community College and would attend classes for BJJ at lunchtime and would work and attend school in afternoon and nights. After a year and half, I got accepted to the University of Scranton and headed off to college. I continued to train during the summer and on winter break. I also found a couple of students that trained in NYC and we would get together from time to time and train in the wrestling room. After I graduated, I accepted my first sales job and our head quarters were in Blue Bell, PA. I was planning on going back to the gym that I started at but it wasn’t feasible as the commute after work. At this point, the internet had improved significantly and happen to find BJJ blue belt teaching in Lansdale, PA. I immediately reached out and enrolled with my instructor Rosendo Diaz. Rosendo had been training for several years and was 4 year blue belt when I enrolled. As time went on, I continued to train and teach at Rosendo’s academy. I started a fundamentals class when I got my blue belt in 1999 and continued to teach, train and fill in when necessary. In 2008, I was promoted to Black Belt from Rosendo and our instructors Royler Gracie and David Adiv. At this point, I was living in Philadelphia and his gym had relocated further out into the suburbs. In 2009, I found out my wife was going to be expecting our first child. I realized that it wouldn’t make sense to be spending 4 plus hours a night to train with a newborn at home. So I decided to open my own space in Manayunk. I initially sublet from a boxing gym and offered classes 3 times a week and would train out of my garage. After a few months at the boxing gym, a water pipe burst and we closed. I happen to find a space that was a single loft on Fountain St. It was a really small room but I moved to there. Eventually as time went on the space next store opened up and we expanded. During this time, BJJ wasn’t super popular yet and it was a real struggle to cover the bills and stay in business. After 7 years at this location, they decided to not renew the leases of the tenants forcing us to find another spot. We moved down to Main St. which gave us a lot of exposure. We stayed their until ultimately the Schuykill River flooded out the gym and I lost everything. I decided it was time to move again and get away from the river and we relocated to 123 Leverington St. which is our current location. We actually flooded out again on Leverington but luckily the mats were covered by insurance.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
In the early days, BJJ had not gained the notoriety it has today and it was hard financially to keep the business running. Nowadays there are gyms everywhere but initially it didn’t have the popularity. On top of that, Manayunk can be a bit transient area and some people move in and out depending on jobs, school etc which made it difficult to maintain a steady student base. We have also had our battles with Mother Nature as we flooded out 3 times and lost everything. In 2017, I had a spinal fusion, my 3rd child was born and my mother passed away. It was one of the most challenging times in my life. However, with the support of my family, friends and students I was able to overcome this huge hurdle and kept the gym up and running.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Outside of 127 BJJ, I have a professional sales career. I think all the years in sales has given me a strong customer focus and be able to relate to all my students with different experience levels and backgrounds.
What matters most to you?
As far as 127 BJJ, I want to ensure we have an environment that everyone feels welcome, supported and motivated to train. I also want to make sure we have a high level of technical instruction in a safe environment. The gym is more of a boutique style gym which has smaller class sizes where we can focus on personalized instruction and feedback. We frequently host seminars with World Class competitors to improve our technical abilities and stay up to date on the latest techniques.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.127bjj.com
- Instagram: @127bjj
Image Credits
Dana Wong
