I love this place. I came with the intention of just trying it out as one in a long line of places I had scouted out. I was so impressed I barely tried anything else on the list.
The mats are the nicest mats I have ever seen, anywhere. I went and looked them up recently, they are RESILITE mats. I found this: http://www.tothsports.com/pdfs/Wrestling-Resilite-Dollamur.pdf
Basically they kick ass.
On top of that, I've never seen a school so studious about cleaning the mats. So they're also the cleanest mats.
Further, while the space isn't huge (though it has never felt insufficient), the A/C is PHENOMENAL. It's not something you immediately think about, but wow--what a difference it makes to not feel like you're in a sauna, only the moisture in the air is the sweat of everyone else in the room.
So, the environment is awesome. On top of that, you get your own "swipey thingie" (an rfid keychain that allows you to access the building) that just *feels* cool. (No actual benefit, haha.)
But those are things that didn't register right away as the advantages they were. I was too distracted by the quality instruction.
Dave Thomas is a brilliant technician. He's won Silver for his weight class at the Pan Ams, something I found out by looking really deeply into his website, and you can really tell why when you roll with him--everything is so careful, so precise, and so his strength is magnified. Further, his understanding of what he is doing--something he has obviously spent a great deal of time cultivating--is intense. The man is not just a doer, but a teacher, and that is a different skill entirely.
Something I've never heard him put any emphasis on is a website he built some time ago: bjjtech.com. The website is good, and useful, and interesting, and worth studying. But I point it out to give a small taste of the mental investment Dave has obviously made into Jiu Jitsu; this man has lived, eaten, and breathed jiu jitsu for years, dwelling on it, dissecting it, and teasing out its subtleties.
That investment is something his students benefit from.
I have been to many schools with very capable teachers, who just kind of "teach off the top of their head"; and that's fine. But what's off the top of their head, as opposed to built into their instinct, is no where near as accessible to them, and thus the quality of instruction is sub-par. Dave is among the best in this category of skills.
As high praise as that is, the highest praise is the quality of human Dave is. Of the nearly 20 BJJ schools in Austin I looked up online, his was the ONLY school that wasn't afraid to list its prices online. That made a first impression. Later, when I called all of these schools, almost none of them would even tell me over the phone, wanted to cajole me to come in first, then we could 'talk' about money. This struck me as car-salesman-ish, and made me uncomfortable. Dave? On the phone, he was the most helpful person I talked to. He gave me advice for looking for a school, and I didn't get a negative feel from him at all. He didn't try to sell me on anything--and that in spite of the fact that he sometimes runs the school at a loss.
He pays fairly high rent for his excellent location and amenities, and keeps a fairly small group of students. One gets the feel that he really picks his students carefully, and that those who stay are really shaped by him. He becomes something of a mentor. His strength of identity and character show not just in the mats, but anytime you talk to him... You can just feel his warmth, sincerity, honesty, wisdom.
That matters more than anything. Everything else is a bonus.
I've decided to stick around. It's been several months now, and I can feel my jiu jitsu improving immensely from his influence.
Try him out. You won't regret it. read more
