Come experience elite Brazilian Jiu Jitsu & MMA straight from Brazil led by 4th degree black belt, Professor Dennis Asche taught to thousands of athletes from around the world. All of our instructors have been taught the Connection Rio system and have been ranked by Professor Asche.
At Connection Rio, you won’t learn a bunch of techniques demonstrated on a non-resisting partner. You will learn a system that has been battle tested and proven applicable in real life scenarios in a safe, fun and supportive environment. At Connection Rio you are more than just a member, you are joining a family!
Our mission is to empower our students by unleashing their greatest potential as a martial artist and human being through Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and other martial arts.
Our Kids Brazilian Jiu Jitsu program is the best martial art for kids’ self defense. It is designed to build our kids up instilling positive core beliefs, character building, developing boundaries, combat bullying and learning self discipline in a safe and fun environment. We build our students up for success in all aspects of life!
Our Kids Muay Thai program builds confident & successful students out of committed athletes. We provide a positive outlet for your child to build mental fortitude, become physically fit and build a life long realistic technical skill set. Our program is designed to build our athletes up and instill core values in a fun and safe environment!
Come experience elite Brazilian Jiu Jitsu straight from Brazil taught by Professor Dennis Asche to thousands of athletes from around the world. At Connection Rio BJJ, you will learn real life self defense that has been battle tested and proven in a safe, fun, and controlled environment.
Our team appreciates the simplicity and beauty of Muay Thai and Kick Boxing, two of the most effective striking martial arts on the planet. Come experience battled tested Muay Thai instruction learned by Professor Asche from the best around the world! You’ll learn life long skills while enduring a full body workout!
Judo has a very important role in all aspects of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and we are proud to offer our students the opportunity to train their throws with our high level Judo coaches! Our Judo instruction provides that understanding allowing practitioners to feel more comfortable in any situation, starting from the feet.
Connection Rio BJJ Bend is Central Oregon’s premier Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academy.
To all the Police Officers, First Responders, Military and Veterans out there, thank YOU for your service!
For those protecting our communities and our nation, Connection Rio BJJ Bend and Redmond is here for you! We believe all Police Officers, First Responders, Service Men and Women should be training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. To show our appreciation and gratitude, we offer membership discounts and special offers.
I've trained at MANY BJJ gyms here in Oregon, and Connection Rio is the real deal. Professor Dennis Asche has an unparalleled level of knowledge and depth of expertise, giving him the ability to meet ...
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Having trained in gyms all over the world for many years, Dennis's classes always stick out in my mind as the most beneficial, enjoyable and relevant to modern jiu jitsu. I still carry with me to this...
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I got sucker punched today and just wanted to say the things you have taught me saved my life. So from the bottom of my heart thank you....
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This is THE place to learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Bend, Oregon. Somehow, black belt Dennis Asche has hit all the sweet spots with his gym: great work ethic, friendly atmosphere, absolutely killer work...
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I've been training for 5 months now. Started and still at CRA (Connection Rio Academy). Professor Dennis, the Brown, Purple, Blue, and even White belts at CRA are all super knowledgeable, friendly, an...
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This is the best BJJ gym I have ever been to. Professor Dennis Asche is an amazing coach. He does a great job breaking down moves and techniques making them easy to learn. I have really appreciated ho...
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I've trained at MANY BJJ gyms here in Oregon, and Connection Rio is the real deal. Professor Dennis Asche has an unparalleled level of knowledge and depth of expertise, giving him the ability to meet each and every practitioner where they're at with their game, and help to develop their own preferred toolbox of BJJ techniques. His attention to detail and patience while instructing allows his students to understand the 'how' and 'why' of every move they learn, providing a wonderful space to try new things with the support needed to truly advance in this martial art. The atmosphere at CRA is very welcoming to all experience levels, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone interested in trying something new, or reaching new levels in a sport they're already familiar with. This truly is an environment for growth and I'm grateful to be a part of it. Osss!
Having trained in gyms all over the world for many years, Dennis's classes always stick out in my mind as the most beneficial, enjoyable and relevant to modern jiu jitsu. I still carry with me to this day the unique methods and techniques Dennis taught me and I have been able to apply these practically in many situations. Dennis's classes were comprehensible to the newest beginner and the most seasoned of veteran practitioners, I can't say enough good things about Dennis as a coach, teacher, leader and mentor.
This is THE place to learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Bend, Oregon. Somehow, black belt Dennis Asche has hit all the sweet spots with his gym: great work ethic, friendly atmosphere, absolutely killer workouts, and loads of fun the whole time. With every kind of training partner you could want, the gym doesn't seem dominated by one "clique" or student type.... 20 something young guys, hard A.F. middle-aged power lifters, short and light guys and gals who will tie you in knots faster than you can blink, kids classes, people over 50, women only class... there's something for everyone. And everyone is just so nice here, not a jerk in the entire group, they're all more than happy to go easy on you if you just ask. But at the same time, anyone that goes here for any length of time seems to be hard as nails, physically and technique wise. You can feel it when you roll with them, even the mid tier white belts. Go here for 6 months and your body will start to feel like it's carved out of wood. Prof. Asche somehow gets everyone to turn it up to "eleven" with his training routine and leadership. Other highlights: - 6:00am classes, three days a week - takedowns and throws practiced EVERY session - special striking classes in conjunction with no gi BJJ, for more realistic self defense - the cleanest mats I've seen in a gym, a foot bath before walking on, and disinfection after every training session - belt testing: some coaches just throw a belt at you when they think you're ready. Many people feel like fakers, and wonder if they really deserve their next belt. I won't outline the entire 2 hour test/ordeal I just saw two students go through for their blue belts, but suffice to say, they absolutely earned them! (Full disclosure: I'm a no stripe white belt at Connection Rio, just another dad bod hobbyist gasping under side control. Been wanting to write this review for a while. No special treatment from Prof. Asche for writing this, the dude spent 12 years in Brazil.. he keeps it real!)