Today we’d like to introduce you to Rei Villa.
Hi Rei, Thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Merida, Venezuela, in 1976. My father was a commercial pilot, and my mother was a law school professor. As a kid, I was not very athletic. I wasn’t very good in any sport and mediocre in martial arts. I studied Shotokan Karate over the years and even participated in local competitions, but nothing to write home about. It did give me the building blocks for discipline and training. When I was 18 or 19, I was exposed to Tai chi chuan, which I trained mainly for health reasons. This is a practice I continue to this day.
I attended law school in Venezuela and graduated in December 1999. I briefly worked as an environmental lawyer until significant political events left me unemployed and with little hope for the future. By this point, the regime of Hugo Chavez had all but depleted the country of its once-held economic strength. I decided to move to the United States with nothing but the clothes on my back and join the US Army in the hopes that if there was ever a decision made for a regime change in Venezuela that we led, I could potentially be a part of it as a soldier or as an intelligence asset. This never happened, but I ended up having a 20-year career in the infantry with multiple combat deployments to the Middle East, where I got to experience both armed and unarmed combat. There, I was introduced to the Army Combatives program based on and heavily influenced by Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and MMA. I fell in love with it and eventually became a Level 4 Tactical Instructor, teaching full-time at the Combatives Academy in JBLM Washington. I met Professor Jay Palacios, an amazing fighter and Royce Gracie black belt who ran a Combatives program for the special operations community. I got to learn jiu-jitsu from him and train on the same mats as some of the best warriors on the planet. I left Active Duty in 2015 and moved to Kyle, TX, just south of Austin, where I continued to train under Professor John Ramesier, who eventually awarded me my black belt in 2019. Being in Austin, I was able to cross-train with many great athletes and learn a little from them.
In 2020, I decided to focus my energy solely on No-Gi Grappling, even though I grew up in the Gi and trained them both 50-50. I work full-time for the Texas Army National Guard and as an Instructor for Sheepdog Response, where I teach combatives and firearms. In 2023, I opened Airlock Jiu-Jitsu in Bastrop to teach no-gi jiu-jitsu to a group of amazing students. I have the chance now to pass on my love for jiu-jitsu to people who need it.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Life is never a smooth road – there have been a lot of challenges for me. From moving to a foreign country in my early 20s to training and deploying multiple times with the Army, the desire to learn jiu-jitsu, the specific challenges this art entails, etc. But with every single challenge and obstacle, I have learned that, just like on the mats, something can always be done to improve your position. I feel very grateful, and I know that others have had it way worse than me, especially the ones who didn’t return from war.
Our biggest struggle as a family was that our oldest child was born with chronic kidney disease and had to receive a kidney transplant, many years of dialysis, multiple surgeries, etc. My wife, Stacee, has been his primary caretaker and an unbelievable source of strength and inspiration, including donating one of her kidneys for his first transplant. He is now 23 and has received a second transplant, which has improved his life. So, it was sometimes hard for me to get to training and to compete as much as I wanted to, but it also helped me understand that if we want to accomplish something, there are no excuses, and it can be done.
We’ve been impressed with Airlock Jiu-Jitsu, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Airlock Jiu-Jitsu is a no-gi jiu-jitsu gym in Bastrop, TX. We teach the fundamentals of grappling, self-defense, and advanced sport jiu-jitsu every day. Many of our students are brand new to jiu-jitsu, and we specialize in helping people understand what they need to focus on as beginners to jiu-jitsu. We are located in the Bastrop Fitness Project, a special building with multiple small businesses, including Strive Strength and Conditioning CrossFit gym, cold plunges and saunas, chiropractic, massage, and acupuncture care. Our members are athletic and committed to health in all aspects of their lives – we help them take all that health and strength and apply it to their amazing grappling skills.
What were you like growing up?
I was a very introverted kid and was never really into violence. My passion growing up was music and playing drums. I did that for a long time and played in several bands in my 20s. I did some touring and recording as well. Martial arts was always a close second, but I was only fortunate to be introduced to jiu-jitsu later in life, and the arts that I was involved with had little practical use in real life. They were still fascinating, so I stuck with them. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and going to law school was sort of the easy answer for me since I was following the steps of many family members, but it was not truly my passion. In a way, pursuing military life helped me discover who I wanted to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://airlockbjj.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/airlockbjj/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/airlockbjj
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/95756444/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AirlockBJJ
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@airlockbjj
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/airlock-jiu-jitsu-bastrop
