Myself and my 3 daughters have been family at Atlas Jiu Jitsu for over a year now. My three daughters train 3-4 times a week at Atlas in Albany and LOVE attending. When I brought my girls to Atlas in Hudson, where we began, I was afraid to sign up my oldest daughter because she had only a love of dance and nothing else! I was afraid to sign her up, afraid that she'd lose interest. Now she's addicted and I have troubles pulling her away to go home after class is over. It's not just her, it's been such an amazing experience for my other two daughters as well. It has actually boosted their confidences more than I could dream!. My oldest daughter even competed at NAGA within her first year (which I never imagined she'd ever want to do) and won gold twice! Atlas supports that all kids/adults learn at their own pace, and I can just see my other two competing when they feel they are ready, as well as myself, once I gain more confidence which is happening more & more with each class & watching the courage in my own girls. I even learn from the 4 year old students at Atlas & the tiniest little buggers that can't be more than 3 or 4 yrs old competing at NAGA, as crazy as that seems, there's just so much inspiration in JJ at ALL levels. All of the instructors, at each location, are incredibly amazing, and each bring their own beneficial & unique style of teaching to their students. Because of my change in availability, my kids and I attend the Albany academy, but are still welcome to go to any of them at any time. We even have a kid who travels an hour and a half, usually three days a week because of his love of the academy and the friends he's made already, even though there are academies closer to his hometown. We have kids & adults who even travel to both Hudson & Albany for the extra training. You'll even catch a kids instructor jumping in on their evening off to help the kids, just out of pure love of the sport & for the kids. I joined Atlas fitness classes at 37 years of age and started JJ at 39 & never imagined how much of a wonderful experience I'd have, considering I have a very short attention span & a difficulty grasping new forms of physical fitness other than just weight training and running. Their HHH (strength and conditioning) class is also absolutely addicting, is only 30 min long and had me drop down to a healthy weight, tone up and become the healthiest I've ever been in my adult life! There's also a women's only Jiu Jitsu class, which I LOVE, taught by Ed, our incredibly knowledgeable & influential owner of Atlas, whom also instructs physical fitness classes and personal training, as well as adult Jiu Jitsu. He trains adults of all ages and all athletic abilities. You would be amazed with the array of clients and members and find it very inspirational. ATLAS = FAMILY. That's what every single Atlas member firmly believes because it is in fact one big family, at EACH location. There are ZERO members with an ego, no matter what color belt they earn. I have never met such a down to earth owner & group of people that are happy to help out even the new members with no experience at all. I truly believe you would not regret your decision to give Atlas Jiu Jitsu a try. The free trial is an amazing opportunity and there is absolutely no pressure to join. With 3 convenient locations and the great class schedules, there's no reason not to give any of the group &/or personal training &/or JJ classes a try! Check out the Atlas website to learn about the Atlas academies, as well as learn more about the instructors. If you live near Johnstown, or don't mind traveling, check out their NEW Atlas academy, run by Joe who has one of the most incredible passions for JJ, health & fitness & teaching it all, to all ages, that I've ever seen. He has such incredible drive, as do ALL the instructors at the other academies, and (I believe) Joe even has a masters degree in the health & fitness field. I know he's also offering special, newly open free trial incentives. No matter what academy works best for you, you can be sure to be trained or have your children trained by the best team around! Like I said, my children & I have only been a part of Atlas for just over a year but already, I firmly believe their motto "ATLAS FOR LIFE!" BTW, I'm not an instructor, and in no way do I benefit from my review. I just had to share all that Atlas has meant to myself and my kids. Feel free to check out my fb page (Audrey Taylor aka Audrey Alfieri Taylor from Ballston Lake) to see for yourself that I'm just a happy Atlas member & mom to 3 Jiu Jitsu addicts. Hope to meet some new family members soon! Please check out the Atlas web page and each of the Atlas Jiu Jitsu Johnstown, Atlas Albany & Atlas Hudson fb pages! read more