leadership Team & Mentors
alexandra peterson, founder
Alexandra has nearly 30 years of experience in the martial arts and is a 2nd degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt. She has been training and competing in BJJ for over 20 years and is the first female black belt under Luiz Claudio and Thiago Veiga of the LCCT Association. She is a 2019 and 2022 Pan Ams black belt bronze medalist and a multiple time IBJJF Chicago International Champion.
She and her husband operated their own BJJ and MMA school in Wisconsin for 12 years. During her time there, Alexandra also founded and operated Rebel Girls BJJ, an all-women Brazilian jiu-jitsu organization created to support and strengthen the female BJJ community in the upper Midwest.
Alexandra and James now reside in Terryville, CT with their two adorable pit bulls, Sergeant Pupper and Tazzy.
ANDI SUNSERI Instructor
Andi first stepped onto the mat and started training BJJ under Danilo and Jessica Cherman in 2014 at the age of 42. She enjoys competing and has participated in numerous IBJJF tournaments including; IBJJF World Masters, IBJJF Pan American Championship, IBJJF Boston Open, IBJJF New Haven Open, IBJJF NY Open, and IBJJF NY Pro.
Most notably, she won gold as a purple belt at the IBJJF World Master Championship in Las Vegas in 2019 and gold as a Black Belt at the Pan Championship in Orlando in 2024.
IBJJF Tournaments: (2014-present):
1X IBJJF World Master Champion
2x IBJJF World Master Silver Medalist
1x IBJJF World Master Bronze Medalist
3x IBJJF Pan American Champion
6x IBJJF Gold Medalist
Erin Garza, Instructor
Erin was first introduced to the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in 2014 while living in Louisiana. After moving to Connecticut in 2015, she began training under Danilo and Jessica Cherman. Her desire to train came not from the urge to compete and win titles, but to be pushed out of her comfort zone and be challenged in new ways, while also enjoying the sense of camaraderie that comes along with the sport.
She now trains under her husband Oswaldo Jurema at Jitsu Academy CT where she assists in running the day-to-day operations of the academy and coaching the kids and adult classes. When not at Jitsu Academy, Erin can be found at her job as a director of rehab and physical therapist assistant in Cromwell, CT.