Most people start BJJ at a proper gym. Danial Raza started in a Gracie Garage with his friends, family, and a shared obsession with learning Gracie Combatives from the ground up. That was over 10 years ago, and, to be honest, it defined everything about the kind of instructor he became.
These days, Danial teaches Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at REVMMA in Toronto. And the students who’ve trained under him will tell you one common thing: there’s nobody quite like him on the mats. He has a rare combination of technical sharpness and genuine patience. It is really important to him that you understand the mechanics before moving on.
He works with students of all levels. Always has. And the reason he keeps coaching is that BJJ changes people: how you handle pressure, how you think, how you carry yourself when things get hard. That’s what he’s really teaching. The chokes and sweeps are just the beginning.
Ask any parent at REVMMA in Toronto, and they will say the same thing — watching Daniel with their child for the first time is something special. He is truly passionate, speaks their language, and makes a four-year-old feel as if they have just performed the most skillful move on the mat. And somehow, that kid believes it. Because with Danial, they did. He teaches students starting at age three. And he runs multiple youth programs, including:
Confidence, discipline, respect — that’s what every class comes back to. Danial doesn’t just run programs. He builds kids up, one class at a time, until they start doing it for themselves.
Danial’s not a “just go roll” kind of coach. Every class has structure: proper mechanics, positional control, and efficient movement. He wants his students to understand what they’re doing and why they’re doing it, not just copy a move and hope for the best. The advanced students get pushed. The beginners never feel lost. That balance is harder to pull off than it sounds.
He has a favorite saying that he often repeats: “You don’t grow when you’re comfortable. You grow when you’re tired and disappointed, but you keep moving forward anyway.”
Daniel bases his classes on the idea that discipline and resilience are things that need to be practiced over and over again until they become part of your lifestyle. At REVMMA in Toronto, students come to learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and self-defense, and at some point, they realize they are becoming fitter, calmer, and more resilient to stress. That’s the Danial Raza effect.
