A local investment group of Brazilian jiujitsu enthusiasts is building a new studio at 3 Louisiana St., just off Clearwater Avenue in Kennewick, to help the next generation of martial arts students gain confidence and improve their quality of life.

Shawna Angen and two other couples who met at Kennewick’s Siri Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy formed AAS Investment Ventures two years ago to launch the project, which they hope will be one of many more.

“We started out with this project because we were all trained here,” Angen said. “All of us met here. We wanted to grow this community.”

Angen, spokesperson for AAS, said Siri Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will move into the new facility when the project is completed in late spring.

Gustavo Pires, a Brazilian native, fourth-degree black belt and jiujitsu champion, and his wife, Katlynn Murphy, own the business.

Angen said the plan is for the couple to eventually buy the building back from AAS.

New studio

The project is valued at $1.4 million, according to the building permit filed with the city, but neither Angen nor Murphy would disclose the cost of the entire project. Columbia River Steel & Construction is the general contractor and architect.

The current academy, which is tucked into a strip mall at 8508 W. Gage Blvd., has 4,000 square feet.

The new facility will be about 5,600 square feet.

“It will have two large open spaces for mats,” Angen said. “The open space is key. We’ll have a lobby, lockers, bathroom and showers. The signage will be right on Clearwater. It’s an up and coming neighborhood in Hansen Park.”

Murphy said the new building will allow the jiujitsu academy to add more classes and employees.

“Currently there are four people on the payroll,” Murphy said. “We can possibly double that.”

Angen said that the goal is to be open by the end of spring 2026.

“We’ve already broken ground. We started moving dirt a couple of weeks ago,” Angen said in early December. “The great visibility from Clearwater is the main draw. That’s one of the factors. We also get to attract new members.”

A champion instructor

Pires, 46, received his black belt from his professor, Master Carlos Gracie Jr., in 2003. He has been a Brazilian national champion as well as Pan American champion.

Pires has lived and taught in London, Brazil and Southern California before coming to the Tri-Cities to start his own gym. He traveled to Brazil in December to visit family and teach jiujitsu clinics, which he does a couple times a year.

His nickname, Siri, which means “crab” in Portuguese, comes from his resemblance to his older brother Marcelo on the mat. It was first his brother’s nickname, and Gustavo’s teammates took to calling the younger Pires “Sirizinho,” or “little Siri,” until he got too big.

Murphy, Pires’ wife, said the first Siri academy opened in 2017 and was a small space in downtown Kennewick. “We had 130 members,” she said.

By 2019, they had to find more space and moved to the facility on Gage. Membership has grown to 439 and it’s busting at the seams.

Murphy and Angen say that Pires has active affiliates in 10 locations, including Ephrata, Idaho Falls, Pasco, Pendleton, Portland, Walla Walla and Spain.

Yes, Spain.

“We’re worldwide now with Spain,” Angen said.

Pires has a motto he uses for his classes: “A family built on the mat,” Murphy said.

That family includes classes for kids (ages 4 to 13) and adults (ages 14 and up). The academy also offers discounts to law enforcement, first responders, veterans and families.

The academy’s website lists 20 rules for students to learn, all dealing with respect and discipline, such as bowing to your professor and to the picture of Grand Master Carlos Gracie Sr. (father of Gracie Jr.); bowing to your partner before and after practice; asking permission to enter the mat and leave the mat; and no foul language.

Angen says it’s why the sport is growing.

“There is a sense of community here. It’s physical, but so much mental work goes into it,” she said.

Murphy said a number of kids “come to us having been bullied, and they’re looking for self-confidence. They’ve always had it in them, and this helps them find it. When Gustavo runs classes, everybody is included. Any one of his students end up being better than him – that’s his goal.”

For Angen, personally, it’s been a tremendous help for her. “I think there is a level of physicality, mentality and discipline that goes with this sport,” she said. “It’s humbling but also gratifying. At the end of the day, we’re doing something we never thought we could do.”

And by building a new, larger facility, the studio will help more people achieve their goals and dreams.

Siri Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy: 8508 W. Gage Blvd., C103, Kennewick, siribjj.com, 509-551-7520, [email protected].