Our story
Built on a mat in Chicago. Meant to travel.
Project Clarito started as an idea before it was an organization: that the same discipline that makes someone better at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can make them better at living — and that it shouldn't cost anything to find out.
Project Clarito was founded by Gabriel Clarito, who found jiu-jitsu to be a guide toward becoming the best human being you can be — and built an organization around sharing that with anyone who wants it, free.
We're a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, we run out of the Rizal Center in Chicago, and every class and seminar we teach — in Chicago or on the road across the U.S. — is free to attend.
Why Jiu-Jitsu
Moving, exercising, and constantly working through tough situations on the mat — testing your mind and body to figure out the challenge in front of you — prepares you for dealing with the real world. BJJ forces you to be honest with your body in a way most exercise doesn't; you can't fake your way through a roll. That honesty is the same honesty we think people need to actually get healthier, not just look like they are.
Why breathwork
Learning to breathe more efficiently doesn't just help in athletic situations — though it does, letting you conserve energy and last much longer on the mat. It carries into everything else: regulating yourself in stressful situations, breathing more efficiently while you sleep so you wake up energized, and calming your heart and mind so you can think clearly in an otherwise stressful life.
Where we train
The Rizal Community Center, Chicago.
We train inside the Filipino American Council of Greater Chicago's Rizal Community Center — home base for everything we run, from beginner classes to the planning behind every free seminar we take on the road.
The Rizal Center
1332 W Irving Park Rd, Chicago, IL 60613 — classes Tuesdays 7:00–8:30 PM and Sundays 9:00–10:30 AM.
Open to all levels
No experience or membership fee required — just bring yourself and a gi.
Nonprofit, not a franchise
We're a 501(c)(3) — every class here is funded by donors, not tuition.
Get involved
Come train, or help us bring this somewhere new.
Whether it's walking onto our mat in Chicago or backing the next seminar abroad, there's a way to be part of this.