Yep that’s right, Daegu is host to Korea’s one and only Lucas Lepri affiliate gym! Given the huge name behind it, I was astonished to only have found out about it after 6 months of living here!

Not only is the gym beautiful, with players that get after it, and world class tuition, the place also gets visited by the man himself (Lucas Lepri) at least once a year (usually around March – April)!

In order to avoid making the mistakes I did, below you’ll find all the information you need so as not to miss out

Location

If you’re still struggling to find the gym, just look for the orange glasses shop. It’s positioned on the floor above.

Instructor

Like all the instructors I’ve met in Daegu, Kilsung was nothing but endearing and welcoming. He also speaks the best english of all the instructors I’ve met in Daegu. This enabled him to be super helpful when I had questions online. He was super attentive and got back to me rapidly with all kinds of information from schedule to location!

Starting at the age of 17 in 2005, Kilsung originally took up jiujitsu as a part of MMA, but after attending a seminar by Claudio Calasans he was quickly inspired to take the pure bred route.

This inspiration lead him to move to LA for a period of time, where he trained under Lucas Lepri. Eventually he returned to Korea and opened up his own Lucas Lepri affiliate gym.

Kilsung received his black belt from Lucas Lepri. It’s no surprise he knows his was around the mats, and then some. His Tuition is excellent, and his game is even better.

Given some of the huge names he trains with on a regular basis, expect his tuition and game to be up to date with the leading figures of the sport today. Below are just a few of the countless pictures he has from training sessions with said figures. See if you can name them all!

Class Structure

What separates the Lucas Lepri gym from the rest of the gyms in Daegu is that way more focus is put on technique and specific positional sparring.

Each lesson starts with a 10 minute warm up and stretching period, followed by drilling techniques that are connected and build on each other. Roughly 40 minutes is dedicated to drilling these techniques, to make sure they are learned thoroughly.

Positional sparring is then carried out for 15 minutes, with about 35 minutes of normal sparring afterwards.

Atmosphere

In a similar way to Kingdom Jiujitsu – Jincheon, everyone gets after it at this gym. Every roll puts you through your paces, and you’ll struggle not to improve significantly after a few months training with these guys. This is also a result of the world class tuition you’ll receive from Kilsung.

Another important thing to mention is that of all the gyms I’ve visited in Daegu, this one preserves Brazilian philosophies on the mats the most.

The importance of drilling fundamentals is constantly reinforced, and the drilling to sparing ratio is very high, with the most positional sparring I’ve seen of any gym in Korea. They even say OSS before and after each roll!

Finally, everyone at this gym is super eager to meet and include foreigners into their community, especially Kilsung, so you can expect a warm welcome when you visit.

If you’re still curious about the atmosphere, this video I made will give you more of an insight:

Summary

There’s a reason I’ve dedicated a whole article to this gym. Not only does it boast the legendary lineage of Lepri, it also backs it up with an impeccable level of jiujitsu, along with A class tuition.

If you live in the Dalseong area in Daegu, I’d recommend signing up to this gym ASAP!