2003
Founded
Built by Master Cristian Minuto as a competition-first ju-jitsu house.
Affiliated academy · South
Akiyama Budo Club
Capaci · Palermo · Sicily — the southern engine of the network.
- Head coach
- Master Cristian Minuto
- Founded
- 2003
- Focus
- Ju-jitsu · grappling · juniors
- Address
- Capaci (PA) — to confirm
01 The academy
A competition club
from the first day
Sicily has quietly become one of the strongest ju-jitsu regions in Italy. Capaci is a large part of the reason.
Akiyama was founded in 2003 by Master Cristian Minuto with a specific ambition: a house dedicated to competitive ju-jitsu in all its forms. Two decades later, the group is spread across the province of Palermo with its main room still in Capaci, and Minuto coaches the Italian national team.
What sets the room apart is the junior programme. Athletes who started here as children have come home from European Championships and World Championships with medals — a haul that has repeatedly made up a large share of Italy's total. That standard sets the tone for everyone else on the mat: technical, disciplined, and used to being tested.
You do not have to compete to train here. But you will be taught by people who do.
- Ju-jitsu
- Grappling
- Fighting system
- Ne-waza
- Juniors & cadets
- National competition team
ITA
National team
The head coach leads the Italian national ju-jitsu squad.
9
European medals
Won by Akiyama athletes at the 2022 European Championship in Crete.
1st
Team podium
First place in the team standings at the Italian Trophy Ju Jitsu.
02 Timetable
Weekly schedule
Age-grouped classes early, adults and the competition squad later.
Placeholder schedule. Akiyama does not publish its timetable online — send the current
one and we will set the real classes and times.
| Time | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16:30 – 17:30 | Ju-jitsu — children | Ju-jitsu — children | Ju-jitsu — children | Ju-jitsu — children | Games & conditioning |
| 17:30 – 19:00 | Cadets & juniors | Cadets & juniors | Cadets & juniors | Cadets & juniors | Competition squad |
| 19:00 – 20:30 | Ju-jitsu — adults | Grappling / ne-waza | Ju-jitsu — adults | Grappling / ne-waza | Open mat |
| 20:30 – 22:00 | Fighting system | Competition team | Fighting system | Competition team | — |
03 Membership
Prices
Family rates matter here — a lot of the room arrived as brothers, sisters and cousins.
Placeholder prices. Send the current membership card and we will replace these figures.
Free · first class
- Any age-appropriate class
- Gi lent for free
- Parents welcome to watch
€XX / month
- Two to four classes per week
- Age-grouped coaching
- Competition pathway when ready
- Sibling discount
€XX / month
- Ju-jitsu, grappling and open mat
- Competition team by selection
- Training at affiliated academies
All memberships require the annual sports association and insurance card. Competition licences are issued through the club.
04 Head coach
Photo of Cristian Minuto
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Founder, Akiyama Budo Club · Coach, Italian national team
Master Cristian Minuto
Minuto founded Akiyama in 2003 to build something Sicily did not have: a club organised entirely around competitive ju-jitsu, in all of its forms. He still leads the main room in Capaci and coaches the Italian national squad, which means the standard on a Tuesday evening in Capaci is the same standard being asked for in Abu Dhabi.
His reputation is built on juniors. The athletes he brought through as children are the ones who came back from Crete and Abu Dhabi with European and world medals — and several of them now coach the children coming up behind them.
- ITACoach, Italian national ju-jitsu team
- 2003Founder of A.S.D. Akiyama, Capaci
- EUEuropean and world medallists produced from the junior programme
05 Location
Find the mat
-
Main room — Capaci (PA)
Sicily, Italy
Open in Google Maps -
Opening hours
To confirm — classes run afternoons and evenings, Monday to Friday. -
Contact
+39 XXX XXX XXXX · to confirm -
Getting there
On the coast west of Palermo, about 20 km from the city and close to Punta Raisi airport. Other Akiyama rooms operate across the province.
Address needed. The street address and phone number are not published online — send
them and this block is a two-minute fix.
Map embed slot
Paste the Google Maps or OpenStreetMap iframe once the address is confirmed.
Open in MapsTrain in Capaci
Children, cadets or adults — the first class is free and the gi is lent. Come and watch a session if you would rather start there.