While doing a year of foreign study in Brazil, Alexandra Fuller fell in love with the country’s version of jiu-jitsu.
“I didn’t grow up doing sports,” Fuller said. “I wasn’t an athletic person. It always bummed me out that I couldn’t find a sport that I was good at.”
Something about the martial art, developed in 16th-century Japan, clicked for Fuller, then a student at Penn State University. She says she gained self-confidence and found kinship among a community of practitioners.
“It really changed me for the better,” she said.
The sport became a passion.
Fuller, who while in college also became immersed in youth work, decided to marry her two interests. After completing an MBA in social entrepreneurship at Simmons College in Boston, she began teaching Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the Egleston YMCA, using existing boxing equipment and exercise mats in the facility.
Jiu-jitsu is a grappling-based martial art that was developed in 1530 by the Japanese warrior class. The discipline involves disabling an opponent with minimal force, using techniques such as joint locks, chokeholds and other means. In its modern form, jiu-jitsu has been recognized as an Olympic sport for the 2024 games and is often incorporated into competitive mixed martial arts (MMA).
“The goal is to apply enough force to make your opponent concede, but no more,” Fuller said. “It teaches self-control. Technique is important. You have to be patient. You have to focus.”
As her program grew at the Egleston YMCA, Fuller’s mentor, Robert Lewis, who founded The BASE student athletics program, encouraged her to dive in. She did in 2013, going full time with a youth martial arts program that grew into a new space in Uphams Corner.
It wasn’t easy.
“I’m thankful that I just jumped into the deep end, but I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone,” she said. “I was functionally homeless for a few years.”
While couch-surfing with friends, Fuller and business partner Hudson Henriques renovated the Uphams Corner facility, acquiring equipment and preparing the space for students. Fuller led the fundraising efforts, drawing money from foundations and donors, while Henriques led the athletics programs.
Last year, the program moved into a 6,400-square-foot, two-level storefront in Fields Corner, just opposite the entrance to the Red Line MBTA station. Level Ground Mixed Martial Arts now has four full-time employees — including Fuller — and five part-time instructors.
Young people 19 and under take classes free of charge in mixed martial arts, striking and grappling, boxing and kickboxing. Adults pay for classes on a sliding scale depending on self-reported income. So far, the Fields Corner location has served 216 youth and 284 adults.
The gym’s reliance on donor funding is a lifeline for many youths who would not otherwise be able to afford martial arts classes, which run as high as $250 a month in Boston.
Level Ground also offers a student trainer program, in which teens can earn certification as personal trainers and learn other skills such as carpentry. Students are paid to participate in the program and help to clean the gym, help run fitness classes and assist in other tasks. The gym also runs a tutoring program that helps students with homework, college preparation and workforce development.
“We expose them to different career paths,” Fuller said.
This summer, Level Ground will be hiring 35 teens for its student trainer program, in addition to 16 year-round teen employees.
On a recent afternoon, a half-dozen teens prepared the gym for evening classes, mopping the floor mats and helping set up.
For student Queiro Mendoza, who was introduced to Level Ground by a tutor, mixed martial arts has had a transformative effect.
“It’s a way to take control of my life,” he said. “Before I came to Level Ground, I was unhealthy. I wasn’t doing well in school. It’s helped me relieve stress and take out anger in training.”
Aasier “Ace” Miller said the gym has helped him hone his skills, get homework done and allows him to work between two and four hours a day.
“I can come here at 4 and leave as late as 8,” he said. “It’s very flexible.”
A growing program
Fuller says Level Ground may need a larger space if it continues to grow. One way she’s been able to expand programming by offering mixed martial arts programs in local schools. Level Ground teachers are now running programs in the Edward Everett Elementary School in Dorchester and Thomas Edison K-8 School in Brighton.
But after 10 years at the helm, Fuller says she’s happy with where Level Ground is now, with staff and students who enjoy working together and improving their martial arts, academic and life skills.
“I feel blessed,” she said. “The people who come here and train are like family. The people I work with are my friends. I’m passionate about the mission, but at the end of the day, I’m really thankful for the people I work with.”
