Train Hard & Listen Better
Lolakana started as playlists for BJJ players who were tired of training to garbage soundtracks.
Now we're both—curated music AND a martial arts academy where the soundtrack actually matters.
Lolakana Martial Arts is an Indigenous-owned gym in Victoria, BC, offering Brazilian jiujitsu, no-gi, kickboxing, and MMA.
We're building something different here:
- Professional instruction focused on technique and growth
- Inclusive environment where everyone belongs on the mats
- The best training soundtrack (obviously)
Whether you're brand new or experienced, we're here to help you get better.
Ready to train? Contact us about trial classes.
The Playlists (Still Here)
The right music should hit like a clean sweep.
It should do what people chase with things like smelling salts and caffeine—it should power you up without breaking your flow.
The last thing you need is to break the flow of the moment, add another decision to the day, and pick something else to listen to because what you’ve started with is a stinker.
Oh, you might think this is an easy problem to solve, but swiping and scrolling through playlists with sweaty, taped up fingers, getting your brain to make decisions when it’s in the zone?
Annoying.
There's a better way—follow Lolakana on your favourite streaming service:
We make playlists without silent intros and outros, skits and the same artist over and over again.
No more wondering if the music stopped, disconnected or drifted to some random video stream.
The Couple Behind Lolakana
Hi, I'm Nolan, and this is Jessica.
I'm a member of the Sagkeeng First Nation, been playing combat sports (as a hobby) for more than 20 years now, and Jessica is a lifelong dancer that got hooked after her shit was locked down in 2020.
I've kept notes and been systematic about my listening for a long time now, and when streaming services became popular this really got out of hand. I began making focused playlists and spreadsheets to keep on top of what I was listening to, and once I got control of the speakers at the gym I really started to think about the sort of music that works best for jiujitsu.
Lots of people enjoy putting together technique videos, but we’re doing the sport a different kind of favour—creating the perfect BJJ soundtrack.
These playlists?
They’re pretty good.
No Bots. No Bullshit.
Lolakana is a human-first project:
Every playlist here is built by us
Every song will be handpicked by us (or maybe one day, another BJJ player who’s as much, or a bigger music nerd than we are)
Every cover image will be made by us
Every post—typos and all—will come from us
If you like what we do around here, you can trust it’s shaped by real taste, not a bot at the push of a “generate” button. The AI and automation tools we use only touch the parts nobody ever sees and we never enjoyed anyways
Fast Facts
1
Jessica and I have been together for twenty-three years, married for eighteen. Sometimes it feels like a really long time, but most days we're our favourite people to be around
2
Back in the late 2000s the we lived in South Korea; Jessica ran a preschool and I worked as an English teacher for preschool to adult students and also dabbled in corporate consulting
3
We moved back home to Canada afterwards and have been on the West Coast (best coast) since then
4
I'm a member of the Sagkeeng First Nation; Jessica is of German ancestry
5
The two of us are Formula 1 and MotoGP nuts. Sundays and Saturdays our phones are off and the races are on