Training with the Half Guard Master: My Experience with Lucas Leite

In this article, I’d like to introduce “Lucas Leite Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,” run by Lucas Leite, who is famous for his knee twist half guard.

About Lucas Leite When you hear “half guard,” who comes to mind?

Bernardo Faria Jeff Glover Adam Wardziński Eddie Bravo Craig Jones Tom DeBlass

For me, when I hear “half guard,” I immediately think of Bernardo Faria and Lucas Leite.

When I first started learning half guard, these two were my role models. In my mind, Bernardo is associated with deep half, while Lucas is the king of the dogfight position. Currently, my flow from half guard entries to sweeps often borrows techniques from Lucas, so he’s been a huge influence on my game.

Lucas also generously shares his techniques on platforms like YouTube.

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Details about the gym (Important: Location)

When I first looked up Lucas’s gym on Google Maps, I found one in La Habra, so I booked a hotel nearby.

However, after arriving and double-checking, I realized something important:

There are two Lucas Leite BJJ gyms…

The one I intended to visit was about 30 minutes southwest of Ontario Airport. But it turned out there was another location near Ontario Airport itself. I tried contacting the gym, but maybe because they were busy, I didn’t get a reply.

Since I didn’t have many days left in my trip, I decided to head over anyway.

If you plan to train with Lucas, make sure to confirm the location and contact them beforehand to avoid confusion!

(See image: The gym I visited is at the bottom left, but there’s another near Ontario Airport — be careful!)

Arriving at the Gym

When I entered the gym, a kids’ class was in session. But… I didn’t see Lucas.

Honestly, La Habra doesn’t have many tourist spots, and shopping at the mall was pretty much the only thing to do, so I was feeling a bit down.

Still, I asked one of the kids’ moms,

“Is Lucas here?”

She kindly said,

“Yes, he’s here!”

and even went to the back to call him for me.

Finally, I met Lucas.

He wasn’t a towering figure, but up close, I was surprised by his solid frame and big bone structure. When I told him I had come from Japan, he was genuinely happy and generously invited me to join the class for free. He was very warm, cheerful, and gave off the vibe of a kind, easygoing big brother.

That day, I participated in a No-Gi class.

Lucas’s Unique Teaching Style

His teaching style was very unique. What stood out was his method of demonstrating techniques.

Typically, instructors demonstrate the technique on a partner while students watch. But Lucas did something different: after showing the move a couple of times, he called 3–4 students to the front and had them perform the technique while he corrected their mistakes. Together, the whole class would refine the understanding of the technique.

I found this approach really effective because it allowed students to spot common errors before drilling, which helped them focus on key points. When you recognize mistakes early, it sparks the important question: “Why?” — which I believe is crucial for understanding the core mechanics of any technique.

As someone who is deeply interested in neuroscience, I know that “attention” is an essential part of learning. Just like memorizing English vocabulary requires active attention, learning Jiu-Jitsu techniques follows the same principle. In that sense, Lucas’s teaching style was very inspiring to me.

After the instruction, we did several situational sparring rounds, with half the group starting in guard and the other half trying to pass. After that, we paired up and had full sparring rounds starting from standing.

It was a deeply memorable experience where I not only met Lucas but also learned so much from his unique teaching method.

I definitely hope to visit again when I’m near Ontario!

Thank you so much, Lucas!