10th Planet Van Nuys is the best place I've ever trained--I had tried multiple gyms and disciplines before starting Jiu-Jitsu here, and all of them had multiple problems: too crowded, no concern for safety, impersonal coaching, lack of attention to students, and a preference for the athletic students.
Thankfully, 10th Planet Van Nuys had none of these issues. From the moment I walked in, I was welcomed into a genuine family-atmosphere. Everyone, from the students to the coaching staff, was incredibly nice and helpful with every aspect of training. Never once in my year of training here did I ever feel excluded or ignored.
When someone begins training at 10VN, they are thrown into the Fundamentals Program, which was an incredibly beneficial way to being my Jiu-Jitsu journey. Fundamentals teaches students the basic movement patterns and skills necessary to proceed into more advanced Jiu-Jitsu. Each month has a specific theme, and students will learn and drill techniques that fit that particular theme of the month, giving them a solid understanding of that concept.
I personally really enjoyed studying a set of techniques over the course of the month, rather than just studying them for a day, or a week- a month is enough time to drill the moves being taught, and students are taught variations of the techniques during that time as well, so you're always learning something new, while sticking to the concept for that month.
Fundamentals also gets you in incredible physical shape- i was 135 pounds when I started, and by about 3 months in, I was 130 with actual definition in my arms and back for the first time in my life, and my cardio drastically improved, and I was able to do push-ups for the first time ever.
After students pass Fundamentals, they move onto Advanced Class with Coach Alder. Having built upon the skills learned in Fundamentals, students are well-prepared for tackling the advanced concepts taught.
Coach Alder is able to explain Jiu-Jitsu concepts and ideas in a way that everyone can understand. He knows, and teaches, minute details that make your techniques be as efficient and effective as they can be; it's truly a fantastic teaching skill, and something I hadn't encountered before in a gym. Above all else, you can see he truly cares about his students and their progress. There were plenty of times I didn't grasp a technique or concept right away, and when I asked for help, he explained the move in that I could understand, and that's really helpful, especially if you're not inherently athletic, or a grappling prodigy, like myself.
What I'm most grateful for from 10th Planet Van Nuys is that they truly care for the people who attend; they are family first, business second, and I can personally attest to this--in May of 2014, I became ill and had to move away. When I contacted Jean so that I may pay off the rest of my one year contract, she waived my fees, saving me around $1,000 in fees, and I am so grateful for that. This is the perfect group of people to be around, and train with. The family-first mentality is very prevalent in every aspect of 10th Planet Van Nuys.
The only bad part of training here is that every other Jiu-Jitsu or MMA gym I train at from here on out has the absolute HIGHEST standards to live up to. From the environment, to the quality of instruction, to the incredibly high progress rate in your skills, 10th Planet Van Nuys is the absolute best place to train. read more