Hidden Gems: Meet Megan Wilson-glencer of Michigan Grappling Company

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Wilson-glencer

Hi Megan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started my jiu jitsu journey while locked-in during Covid. As things were slowly starting to open up, I found myself depressed and being absorbed by my couch, LOL. I decided to try out martial arts, since I’ve always been a huge fan off MMA/jiu jitsu. I found a gym not far from me, and booked an introductory class. That’s all it took. I was hooked.

I started of just attending classes, and then found myself running the gym for the owners. I spent almost 4 years at that gym, soaking up every minute. I loved learning womens self-defense, specifically. While many people (especially women) can be intimitaded by the idea of the possibility of getting punched in the face, kicked, knocked out, or even just being close physically with someone of the opposite sex who is bigger and stronger. But that’s the point of jiu-jitsu. Leveraging your weight, momentum, and strength to overtake someone much larger and stronger than you.

Eventually, the gym owners relocated, and closed the gym. All our gym members were heartbroken.

Then, me and another gym-friend had an idea – if they did it, why can’t we? And our story began. We battled back and forth with what we wanted gym-wise, what we didn’t, where we wanted it, etc., and we finally pulled the trigger, and bought a well-known historic building in our area (McLinden’s Shoes) which had been vacant for over a decade. We brought the building back to life, and officially opened our doors in late November 2024.

We now have regular classes twice a day, as well as kids classes, womens classes, and wrestling classes. We also provide free self-defense classes to women, which is an important part of our mission. We don’t think that being able to protect yourself should be behind a paywall, or gatekept. We’re so excited to bring real jiu-jitsu back to the downriver area!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Our road has been a bit difficult. Especially when looking for things like insurance. Since martial arts and jiu-jitsu are a very physical sport, major insurance companies usually don’t cover our business type, so finding insurance was a challenge. Making a gym fit into an old shoe store did pose a challenge, but our landlord was more than happy to help us make the space fit our needs. Overall, it’s been a pretty smooth journey thus far!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Michigan Grappling Company?
Michigan Grappling Company is downriver’s newest, state of the art jiu-jitsu and MMA facility. We have the largest mat space in the area, opening us up to allowing other business to rent out our space for wrestling, gymnastics, yoga, and more. We are known for training all disciplines – MMA. wrestling, regular jiu-jitsu, and sport jiu-jitu (no punches/kicks, special rules). Our black belt, and me and my main business partner both trained under Royce Gracie for many years. Our blackbelt recieved his blackbelt from Royce Gracie himself. We are extremely proud of the jiu-jitsu we teach, which focuses on natural body movements, with self-defense at the forefront. We also specialize in weapons self-defense.

We offer classes for all ages! We teach kids from 5 all the way to 75! We have classes for just about anybody, and offer unlimited memberships, letting people choose what classes they want to go to (or all of them!) or punchcards, which are good for a certain number of lessons. We also offer drop-in fees for those that want to cross train from other gyms.

One special thing at our gym is that we don’t require you to wear certain colors, purchase our equipment, etc, to join. We always want people to be able to come as they are, and feel comfortable.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
That our gym is the only martial arts gym in the area that is owned (in part) by a woman.

Pricing:

• 180 per month unlimited for adults
• 200 10 visit punch card
• 140 a month unlimited for kids
• 180 10 visit punch card
• 25 drop in

Contact Info:

• Website: https://michigangrapplingco.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michigangrapplingco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Michigan-Grappling-Co-61567351081004/