Walk in nervous.
Walk out different.
A women's only class taught by a female black belt — self defense that works, friendships that last, and a version of you that stops apologizing for taking up space.
Claim My Free 7-Day VIP PassNobody comes for the fighting.
They come for what it gives back. Three things, every single time:
Self defense that actually works
Jiu jitsu was built for the smaller person. No punching, no kicking — leverage, position, and technique that work against someone bigger and stronger. You stop hoping you'd know what to do. You know.
Friends who show up
Founders, nurses, teachers, moms — you'll know their names by the end of your first class. It's networking without the name tags, and it turns into the friendships adult life forgot to give you.
Confidence that follows you home
Discipline you didn't know you had. Leadership that shows up on the mat first — then in the parking garage, the boardroom, the mirror. You carry yourself differently. People notice.
She's not teaching from a manual. She lived it.
You think you're coming for self defense. Then Thursday becomes the night you don't miss.
I know, because I've been where you are. I came to this country with nothing. Years ago I was fighting depression — and jiu jitsu is what brought me back. I walked onto a mat and stayed for a decade. Earned the belt nobody thought I'd earn.
Today I'm a 1st-degree black belt, a Pan American Champion, and the owner of several businesses — including five Brazilian Top Team academies across San Antonio. An immigrant woman, here by a miracle, who built all of it from nothing.
I teach this class for one reason: so no woman has to fight alone.
A story you couldn't script. She lived every chapter.
Some stories feel like a series you binge in one night. This one teaches Tuesday's class.
Arrived with nothing
An immigrant woman in a new country — no network, no safety net, here by a miracle. What she had: resilience, dedication, and stubborn faith.
Found the mats
Fighting depression, she stepped onto a jiu jitsu mat — and it gave her her life back. She never left.
Earned everything
Black belt under Master Diego Gamonal — 1st degree signed by UFC world champion Murilo Bustamante. Pan American Champion.
Built it from nothing
Several businesses. Five academies. Record-setting women's training for the City of San Antonio. Police academy honors. Fox News, WOAI, TNT.
From nothing — to live television.
The same woman who arrived in this country with nothing now walks into San Antonio's studios — several live interviews on FOX San Antonio, WOAI and TNT — speaking for women who are still finding their voice. Resilience makes good TV. Living it makes a good life.
A mother raising the next generation.
Denise is raising her two kids — ages 9 and 6 — on and off the mats. Their family story became a children's book, Bella & George: The Jiu Jitsu Journey — and her daughter Bella has already written her own book.
It's why moms and daughters train side by side here: connection, confidence, real friendships, and memories — a moment for the entire family.
You're not joining a class. You're joining a lineage.
The women black belts of Brazilian Top Team San Antonio — proof of where this journey leads.
Backed by the 100 Club of San Antonio.
Since 1973, the 100 Club of San Antonio — the city's largest organization of its kind — has stood behind the families of the police officers and firefighters who give everything for our community. When tragedy strikes the people who protect us, the 100 Club shows up. Every time.
Their sponsorship of Prof. Denise's work is a badge we wear with pride — because everything we do is for the community. If their mission moves you the way it moves us, support them the way they support San Antonio.
The real thing. Not the strip-mall version.
Prof. Denise Gamonal — 1st Degree Black Belt
Black belt under Master Diego Gamonal. Her 1st degree certificate is signed by BTT's masters — including UFC World Champion and Brazilian Top Team co-founder Murilo Bustamante. The source, not a franchise photocopy.
Record-setting women's self-defense training
Denise led record-breaking women's self-defense training for the City of San Antonio — including training alongside SAPD officers.
Pan American Champion & award-winning instructor
Denise is a Pan American Champion whose service has been recognized with awards from the police academy — she has trained San Antonio law enforcement for over a decade.
As seen on Fox News, WOAI & TNT
Denise has shared her mission on San Antonio television and is the author of the children's book The Jiu Jitsu Journey. Moms and daughters train side by side in her classes.
A women's only room
Your training partners are women. Your instructor is a woman. The awkwardness you're imagining doesn't survive the first ten minutes.
A 30+ year world team behind it
Brazilian Top Team has produced world champions for three decades. That standard is in the room with you — even on day one.
The hardest part is the parking lot.
Every woman on that mat almost didn't walk in. Here's exactly what happens when you do:
1. You borrow a uniform
We lend you a clean gi — you buy nothing to start. Come in leggings and a t-shirt. We handle the rest.
2. You're partnered with a woman who remembers day one
Nobody throws you to the wolves. You learn one technique, step by step, at your pace, with someone who started exactly where you are.
3. You leave already in
Sweaty, smiling, a little shocked at yourself — with 7 full days of VIP access to decide if this becomes your thing. (It usually does.)
Two locations. Pick your night.
BTT Texas HQ
BTT Schertz
What you're really wondering.
I'm not in shape. Can I do this?
I'm in my 30s / 40s / 50s. Am I too old to start?
Will I get hurt?
What do I wear? What do I bring?
What does the Free 7-Day VIP Pass include?
The mat doesn't care where you start. Neither do we.
7 days free. Uniform included. Women only. Fill out the form below — class schedules land in your inbox in seconds.
CLAIM MY FREE 7-DAY VIP PASS