A pair of local brothers have brought their Battle Ground Martial Arts Academy and gym experience under one roof, allowing for dual training in one location.
Opening their new facility in the Battle Ground Village industrial area on Monday, July 1, Battle Ground Martial Arts Academy owners Nathan and Jeremiah Rodeman have created a dual-use facility for athletes, fitness-goal seekers and regular gym-goers in the region. As for martial arts, they offer training for children and adults in jiu-jitsu, kickboxing and wrestling. Along with the large martial arts mat, an open-gym atmosphere includes free-standing weights, cardio equipment and a run of turf for sled pushing, battle ropes and more.
“We wanted to be able to provide martial arts and open gym for people so they could do jiu-jitsu and work out all in one instead of having two separate gym memberships,” Nathan Rodeman said.
The facility is similar to a California-style gym but residing right in the Pacific Northwest, Jeremiah Rodeman said. The building has a lot of natural light and garage doors for an open-air atmosphere.
He said the space creates a lot of energy with everyone training, whether in martial arts or weights and cardio. He added that seeing everyone going after their fitness goals in one spot is encouraging and inspiring.
Inside the dual-use space, large wall murals — most with a patriotic theme — surround the open environment of weight training and martial arts, intended to inspire people.
Jeremiah Rodeman said after a six-year stint in Tijuana, Mexico, moving back to the U.S. made him realize how much he loves the land he calls home once again.
The pair of brothers bring a background of jiu-jitsu, kickboxing and wrestling to their Battle Ground dual-use facility along with a mindset of hard work instilled in them by their father.
“I think the way our father raised us to just get up and get after it, really,” Jeremiah Rodeman said as to what has helped them in this industry. “Other than that, we’re just normal people, like you, who just put in the work for a lot of years. I don’t think we have anything special that anybody else doesn’t have. We just get up, we work, and we love being around people and trying to help them out.”
Prior to now, the Rodemans had their gym located by Old Town Burgers in Battle Ground and their martial arts facility separate in the village. The new location allows those who have a gym membership to now get a taste of martial arts.
“So all the jiu-jitsu, kickboxing and wrestling was in a separate facility and then all the regular gym-goers were in another facility,” Jeremiah Rodeman said. “We didn’t like that because we like to have everybody together building those relationships and bridging those gaps so we network together as a community.”
The two brothers’ youth programs have been successful, while they are still building up the adult training. Jeremiah Rodeman’s wife, Virginia, has helped speed up the adult training for the Battle Ground Martial Arts Academy, which the brothers said is newer in the combat sports world compared with established programs and facilities.
Jeremiah Rodeman said his wife is a reigning world champion in jiu-jitsu, but her start to the combat sport began later.
“It took me over 10 years to convince her to start training, and she did and she fell in love with it, and now she’s got some pretty good accolades,” he said. “She inspired a lot of women and people to actually start competing, and she started way late in life by never playing any sports, nothing competitive.”
Jeremiah Rodeman hopes the facility continues to inspire all athletes, new and veteran.
After reaching their goal of having everything under one roof, the Rodeman brothers hope to combine the open-gym and martial arts communities. They hope the space creates crossover and opens athletes and gym-goers up to the combat sports world.
The dual-use space has allowed the brothers to see faces they haven’t seen from the gym location, while meeting new people, Jeremiah Rodeman added. He said sometimes parents who drop their kids off for a martial arts class now work out under one roof instead of traveling to another location.
The martial arts academy also has child care facilities onsite for families.
“It’s nice. Sometimes … parents will come in and drop their kids off for wrestling or jiu-jitsu, and instead of having to go somewhere else, they could just stay in the same place and work out,” Nathan Rodeman said. “Somebody could do the martial arts, and someone can work out. They could come together and do those instead of running to three different places.”
To learn more about the Battle Ground Martial Arts Academy, visit bmarodefit.com. The facility is located at 1320 SE 13th St. in Battle Ground and is open 24-hours to members.
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