Life & Work with Luis Villafranca

Today we’d like to introduce you to Luis Villafranca.  

Hi Luis, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
After graduating from Seton Hall University in 2012 with my bachelor’s degree in Psychology, I knew that if I wanted to have a career as a psychologist, I would need to go back to school and get my master’s and doctorates degrees. Psychologists do not make that much money as it is, so I saw this as a bad investment of my time and money. I instead took entry-level office jobs that made use of my general communication and computer skills. I eventually noticed a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) school open up near my house called Silver Fox BJJ. I have always been a lifetime fan of martial arts, and so I decided to join one day. Fast forward 8 years later to around 2021, and I had achieved the rank of brown belt in BJJ under Karel “Silver Fox” Pravec. Due to the Covid pandemic, my then-girlfriend Taylor (she’s now my wife) and I both had work-from-home jobs. We received the blessing of our respective companies to move to North Carolina and keep our jobs. We chose NC specifically because we were looking to have our first child together, and if/when that happened, we would need help from either my parents (who live in NJ) or hers, who live in NC. Plus, everything is cheaper in NC, including living space, so it simply made the most financial sense to make the move. So, we moved to Williamston, NC in August of 2021. However, there was one thing missing around here. The closest BJJ school to me was at least 45 minutes away, and so I decided to just start my own school/club here in Williamston, which became Black Hound Jiu Jitsu. Last month (March of 2023), I took a 1-month hiatus from teaching classes here in Williamston and visited my parents in NJ. I also returned to training at Silver Fox BJJ during this time and received my black belt. So now, I’ve returned to Williamston as a black belt in BJJ now, ready to continue teaching classes and build Black Hound Jiu-Jitsu into a successful school. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Achieving the rank of black belt in BJJ is easily the most difficult thing I’ve ever accomplished in my life. I’ve dealt with a few injuries along the way but thankfully nothing too serious. I hurt my knee in July of 2022 during training, and that was probably the most difficult injury I’ve had to deal with. Teaching classes with an injured knee was a bit tough at times, but I got through it. Starting this business has had its challenges as well. This is the first business I’ve ever started, and so it was scary investing money into it not knowing if it would work out, but so far it has. The biggest struggle I’m having with my business is balancing my regular salary job while trying to grow the business and managing the daily operations and maintenance. It is difficult to manage my home life, work life and also find the extra time and energy to put the work in to not only operate the business but to also grow it. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a martial artist first and foremost. The techniques I am good at (AKA my “game”) are a reflection of my body type but, more importantly, my personality. My martial arts style is an expression of who I am as a person. My specialty is my jiu-jitsu, which is itself a martial arts that specializes on submission holds on grounded opponents. Submission holds include things like strangulations and upper and lower body joint locks. However, I’ve been a lifelong fan of martial arts and used to train karate and kung fu when I was a child. Additionally, I’ve had boxing, kickboxing, and Muay Thai training here and there over the years, so I’m not too bad with standup striking (punching and kicking). My kid’s martial arts program at Black Hound is made up of a mix of classes where I teach kids jiu-jitsu and kickboxing because I believe children should be well-rounded in martial arts in order to defend themselves from bullies. My adult program, however, is only jiu-jitsu as this is my specialty. Every adult class I run, we do some live sparring after class, and this is done most safely under “sports jiu-jitsu” rules. I would say that what sets me apart from others is my communication skills and the expertise I possess in the field of psychology. I believe these two things make me very effective at teaching and helping others with self-improvement. 

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up, I was very into video games. I also played organized sports when I was in elementary school but not in High School. I played mostly soccer and a bit of basketball and baseball. Being from a South American country (Peru) and raised with its culture, soccer has always been my favorite sport besides “fight sports” (for lack of a better term). 

Growing up around High School, I felt like many of my friends came to me for advice on things, so I thought I would be a good fit to be some sort of therapist which is why I got into psychology. I enjoyed listening to my friends and helping them with their problems. I soon figured out that the reason I liked listening to their problems was because they were my friends, and I cared about them. But with strangers, I did not enjoy listening to people I did not know tell me their problems. And so I figured out that a career as a therapist would not be for me. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/blackhoundjiujitsu
• Facebook: facebook.com/blackhoundjiujitsu