New jiu-jitsu gym opens in County Wexford

A new gym has officially opened their doors in Wexford…

A new jiu-jitsu gym has opened their doors in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford. Owned by Tony Ward, the new gym is called Violent Hug Society (VHS) and it’s located oat 31 Slaney Street in Enniscorthy town.

Jiu-jitsu is a martial art focused on grappling and ground fighting, using leverage, technique and control rather than strength. It teaches submissions, self-defence and discipline, allowing smaller practitioners to overcome larger opponents through skill and positioning.

Across Ireland, Jiu-jitsu has grown exponentially in popularity in recent years with more gyms opening up across the country.

We caught up with owner, Tony Ward, to discuss his journey and his resaons for opening the new unique gym in the heart of Enniscorthy.

For most people who decide to open a gym, it all comes back to one thing: passion for fitness. Unlike traditional gyms, Tony’s jiu-jitsu gym offers something different – but that passion still remains:

“Jiu-jistsu acted as a sort of ‘third space’ for me; the environments I trained in were consistently welcoming and the variety of people it’s allowed me to network with is unlike any other community that I’ve ever been apart of. I wanted to cultivate that in my corner of the world,” Tony told Wexford Weekly.

For some people who decide to start their own business, it can be tricky starting off. Tony was no different, and he encountered some challenges along the way. Some were external, while others were internal:

“The process of securing a premises and the finances tied to it would be the obvious answer, but overall, the challenge was moving past the fear of failure and just pulling the trigger on it! Any business challenges that follow are still welcome,” he said.

Although the fitness industry is booming in Ireland at the moment, some people still want something different as opposed to cardio and lifting weights. It seems like Crossfit, Hyrox, or a martial art like jiu-jitsu tick those boxes in recent times which combines fitness with other areas. For Tony, one of these areas is simply the fun aspect:

“Again, it functions like a third space. I’d say the learning environment is pretty chill too; it’s peer-driven. Techniques are sort of like suggestions, things you can adopt, if you choose to. The aim is to kee jiu-jitsu fun. Let people’s peronalities show through the techniques they choose to deploy,” Tony said.

Although jiu-jitsu can be quite complex as you work up the levels and compete against better people, there is a huge sense of community within these gyms. It’s one aspect that Tony wants to incorporate into his gym too, catering for all levels from beginners to competitors.

“The gym is aimed at everyone. Beginners to advanced! But again, the techniques can be scaled to the level of the individual. Jiu-jitsu has a way of attracting a wide spectrum of people. Everyone learns from each other. There’s no stupid questions. If we don’t know the answer, we’ll probably mess around wiht it to find out in real time,” he said.

For anyone in business, it’s important to generate revenue too. Mixing a passion with a profitable business is a dream for many. For Tony, he has multiple goals for the year in his first year in operation:

“The aim is to build a core community of people consistently training and bringing the benefits of jiu-jitsu to the masses. Needing more mat space for everyone to train is the vision for the end of 2026,” he said.

The gym opened their doors and they are welcoming all new members to join. The gym had a soft opening on Jan 1st, less than 3 weeks ago. Since then, they’ve been having classes on 12pm and 6pm Monday-Friday.

For more information, check out their page on Instagram.