Arun Sharma
Arun Sharma built BJJ India from park practice into a teaching network and became the first homegrown black belt developed in India.
Biography
Sources for this profile
BJJ India, Instructors (accessed 14 September 2026).(opens in a new tab)
BJJ India's current instructor page identifies founder Arun Sharma as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Rodrigo Teixeira.
Where in the source: Arun Sharma instructor block
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Before and alongside jiu-jitsu, Sharma trained in Shaolin Kung Fu, Jeet Kune Do and Filipino Kali; BJJ India currently lists instructor certifications across those systems and Progressive Fighting Systems.
Where in the source: Qualifications in Arun Sharma instructor block
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Hindustan Times, Bharat Dojo Yatra report, 29 August 2024.(opens in a new tab)
Hindustan Times identifies Arun Sharma as a jiu-jitsu black belt and trainer who participated in martial-arts sessions during the 2024 Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.
Where in the source: Trainer identification and journey account
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During the 2024 Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Sharma trained Rahul Gandhi and took part in evening martial-arts sessions across several states; the report says children were also taught jiu-jitsu and self-defense during the journey.
Where in the source: Bharat Dojo Yatra account
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BJJ India, homepage (accessed 14 September 2026).(opens in a new tab)
The current BJJ India homepage presents Sharma as its professor, describes the academy as the home of India’s first Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, and lists adult, women’s and children’s programs.
Where in the source: Homepage introduction and course cards
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BJJEE, interview and promotion report, 15 July 2019.(opens in a new tab)
On 20 June 2019, Rodrigo Teixeira promoted Sharma to black belt. Contemporary coverage described him as the first native or homegrown practitioner to reach that rank after completing his jiu-jitsu development in India.
Where in the source: Opening promotion account
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Sharma reached out internationally for guidance. Roy Dean sent instructional DVDs, and Rodrigo Teixeira later traveled from Brazil, gave Sharma his first gi, taught him privately without charge and returned regularly as their teacher-student relationship developed.
Where in the source: Early learning and Rodrigo Teixeira section
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In 2015, Sharma and Teixeira started BJJ for a Cause, offering free training to children connected with nongovernmental organizations and supporting selected students who wanted to train more seriously.
Where in the source: BJJ for a Cause paragraph
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Sharma's regional teaching included visits to Sri Lanka, where BJJEE credits him with helping Prageeth Thoradeniya and Tithira Perera develop local jiu-jitsu instruction.
Where in the source: Sri Lanka development paragraph
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Jiu-Jitsu Magazine, interview with Arun Sharma, 13 August 2019.(opens in a new tab)
Sharma said he began martial arts at twelve after witnessing the violent deaths of two friends, an experience that turned self-protection from an abstraction into a personal need.
Where in the source: Early-life answer
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A German Jeet Kune Do training partner introduced Sharma to Brazilian jiu-jitsu. With no local instructor, Sharma and a friend began practicing in a park from books and videos, and he dates his regular rolling to 2007.
Where in the source: Introduction to BJJ and profile facts
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The training group moved from a public park to a small rooftop mat space before growing into BJJ India; Sharma said its first formal academy had about two hundred students by 2019.
Where in the source: Academy growth answer
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Sharma described his technical development as moving from punch-aware self-defense toward guards, sweeps and positional study, then exploring different styles before emphasizing efficiency and strategy at black belt.
Where in the source: Evolution-of-style answer
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To spread instruction beyond Delhi, Sharma and Teixeira designed an instructor-training program and a structured Belt Wise curriculum, with the longer-term aim of establishing qualified teaching in more Indian states and schools.
Where in the source: Goals and curriculum answer
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Sharma characterizes jiu-jitsu as a form of moving meditation: a practice in remaining calm under pressure, adjusting continuously and learning to respond to problems rather than becoming rigid.
Where in the source: Meaning-of-jiu-jitsu answer
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SSBCrack, profile of Arun Sharma's military instruction, 19 October 2015.(opens in a new tab)
By 2015, SSBCrack reported that Sharma was teaching Brazilian jiu-jitsu to Indian military and law-enforcement groups, including Army and special-forces personnel.
Where in the source: Training assignments in article body
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BJJ Rants, interview with Arun Sharma, 17 July 2013.(opens in a new tab)
In a 2013 interview, Sharma described the Damini Project as a free self-defense initiative for women, including seminars in rural and low-income communities, developed with Jeet Kune Do instructor Harinder Singh.
Where in the source: Women's self-defense project answer
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BJJ Fanatics, BJJ Building Blocks by Arun Sharma (accessed 14 September 2026).(opens in a new tab)
Sharma's five-volume Building Blocks instructional course teaches foundational movement, falling and standing-up skills, ground mobility, positional work, wrestling entries, drills and self-defense applications.
Where in the source: Course description and volume list
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BJJ Fanatics, Building Blocks Grip Mastery Course by Arun Sharma (accessed 14 September 2026).(opens in a new tab)
A second six-volume course develops grip fighting across standing, open-guard, closed-guard, top and bottom situations in both gi and no-gi, with counters and timing drills.
Where in the source: Course description and volume list
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Grappling Insider, India black-belt report, 17 July 2019.(opens in a new tab)
Grappling Insider's contemporary account places Sharma's promotion within a still-young Indian BJJ scene and highlights his academy building, self-defense projects and work with special-forces personnel as parts of the same expansion effort.
Where in the source: Career summary after promotion account
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Lineage
No teaching connections are shown on this page.
Open lineage