Our Club

My name is Danilo Delaviz and I founded Grappling Lab in 2026. The decision to establish my own grappling club arose from the recognition that Gothenburg lacked a training environment that combined the aspects of grappling I value most. I was looking for a club with a clear focus on NoGi, where a substantial proportion of each training session was devoted to sparring and where the development of practical skills remained the primary objective. Although several established clubs were already operating in the city, none fully offered the particular combination of training methodology, culture and community that I was seeking. I regard grappling primarily as a practical field of knowledge. Proficiency develops through repetition, problem-solving and above all, engagement with active resistance. Techniques acquire their true significance only when they are tested against an opponent who is actively attempting to defend, counter and improve their own position. The opponent seeks to neutralize my actions, prevent the technique from being completed and use the situation to advance their own strategy. For this reason, I consider sparring to be a fundamental component of the learning process. It is during sparring that technical knowledge, timing, endurance, decision-making and the ability to remain composed under pressure are integrated into a coherent set of practical skills. However, I could not find a club in Gothenburg where at least 75 percent of every training session was dedicated to sparring. Regardless of which club I trained at, sparring never accounted for more than 16.7 percent of the session. This was not what I wanted. At the same time, I found that certain elements of traditional martial arts culture could restrict the training experience. These included formal hierarchies, an excessive emphasis on belt ranks and rituals that participants were expected to follow without being given a meaningful explanation of their purpose. The problem is not that traditions exist. Rather, problems arise when traditions are allowed to become more important than the activities they were originally intended to support. When status, titles and symbolic practices are given disproportionate importance, there is a risk that the enjoyment and practical value of training will become secondary. This was not what I wanted. My ambition was therefore to create an environment in which respect does not need to be expressed through rigid hierarchies, compulsory rituals or displays of deference. Instead, respect can be demonstrated through the way we treat one another, the responsibility we assume for our training partners and the contribution we make to a safe, constructive and enjoyable training culture. Respect is demonstrated when we adapt the intensity of our training, support one another’s development, listen when someone establishes a boundary and leave our egos off the mat. Grappling should enrich people’s lives. For many of us, training is a hobby and it is precisely for this reason that it can hold considerable significance. It can provide a source of meaning and community, contribute to improved health and strengthen an individual’s sense of identity. It can also create a setting in which people are able to set aside the demands of everyday life for a while and devote their full attention to an activity they genuinely value. I wanted to create a place where I could train, enjoy myself and grapple with my friends without the experience being burdened by practices that I regarded as unnecessary. At the same time, I wanted to build something more enduring: a safe and inclusive environment in which people could experience a genuine sense of belonging. I also wanted to create a place where my children could come to train, participate or simply spend time in a community characterized by mutual respect and a shared passion for grappling. Grappling Lab is therefore intended to be more than a training facility where techniques are taught. It is also intended to function as a social environment where people meet through a shared interest and where meaningful relationships can develop over time. Because the combination I was searching for did not exist in Gothenburg, I ultimately decided to create it myself. Grappling Lab is the result of that decision: a NoGi club characterized by extensive sparring, a clear commitment to practical development and a culture founded on openness, humility, safety and an unpretentious approach to training. Grappling is a hobby for which I have a profound passion and the club is my way of sharing that passion with others. I want to provide the training environment that I searched for over a very long period of time, but was never able to find.