Had a friend recommend this academy to me. As someone fairly new to BJJ, this is a great academy to…read morelearn. The higher belts are all welcoming and incredibly instructional. They'll still smash you when you roll, but they'll let you work in various positions and learn. Technique instruction is also solid and the coach provides a lot of feedback during drilling. Would definitely recommend this academy to anyone in the Austin area

Best gym in Austin. Laid back, friendly, and a very technical room. Great kids program as well.read more

We have had such a wonderful experience at Kuk Sool Won! From the very beginning, they made my…read morekids, ages 5 and 7, feel welcomed and comfortable. The instructors have created such a positive environment where children feel encouraged while also learning valuable life skills. The communication has been excellent, and I truly appreciate how they build strong relationships with both the kids and the parents. They are always approachable, supportive, and keep everyone informed. I also love that they are very clear about their expectations for the kids, which creates consistency and helps the children understand what is expected of them. One thing that really stood out to me was that the instructor took the time to ask what our top three goals were for enrolling our children. I shared that we wanted to help them develop focus, discipline, and confidence. It meant a lot that they asked because it showed they genuinely care about each child's individual growth and are committed to helping families achieve those goals. I highly recommend Kuk Sool Won to any family looking for a program that teaches martial arts while also building character, confidence, and respect in a welcoming and supportive environment.

Our son has attended Kuk Sool Won of Oak Hill for many years now, and it has been a pleasure to…read morewatch him grow under the tutelage of several skilled teachers. The owners Barbara and Tim King are both advanced practioners, and their love for the sport really comes through in their dedication to the students and Kuk Sool community. Like many martial arts programs, Kuk Sool involves a level of discipline and etiquette that can take younger students a while to embody, but kids are supported with clear expectations and gentle guidance. Overall I have found the school to be inclusive and accomodating to students with disabilities and varying skillsets. I highly recommend signing up for the free trial to see if it's a good fit for you and your family!

The head Professor ran class today. I love that. Everyone pays attention, no fooling around, and…read moresparring is a little more serious.

What a great location and team. I joined Gracie Barra in the spring of 2019 and I couldn't be…read morehappier with the life transformation that this school has granted me. The team at this school is incredibly welcoming and made me feel at home immediately. Run, don't walk to join the best Jiu Jitsu school in Austin.

While the gym sounds like it would be great, I was heavily misled by online advertising and told…read morethat I was coming in for a kickboxing intro class, upon arrival a 50 minute sales pitch began which concluded with being asked which membership I would want to buy. I was advertised a 2 week free trial and a free class and ended up with no trial class and solely a sales pitch from the staff without ever trying out a class. Wasted my time when I thought I was going to try out what their classes feel like

This gym is not a safe place. The head desk staff member and one of the head coaches were overly…read moreaggressive and disrespectful. They spoke in an incredibly condescending tone to those who had to talk to them and felt the need to try to chew people out in this place. weak manners to me and to others. I would not send my kids here.

The people and environment are very welcoming what I love most is that you never leave without a…read moresmile, great place for the kids + affordable prices!!

I started training at Sun Dragon just over two years ago. I was overweight, prone to panic attacks,…read moreand had not taken control of my life in any way. It was intimidating at first - I learned to move my body in unfamiliar ways, and was introduced to a lot of people when I was actually pretty shy and unnerved. Fast forward two years - I've lost 70 pounds, I'm an upper intermediate student, and I can't wait to get to class four days a week. I have taken control of my life, taken responsibility and accountability for my personal health, and have learned the power of meditation through karate and how to channel my healing into this physical art. This isn't your typical dojo - we are not a combat spot - oriented school. We are an all-inclusive community with students of all genders, religions, sexualities, physical fitness levels, formative experiences, and ages. We do learn martial arts and we do learn how to spar, but we also learn martial arts as a form of meditation, and how to use the principles in karate to improve our everyday lives and the lives of those around us. I'm a lifer now, and my best friends all train with me and understand me. This is my family, and I'm forever grateful that my friends ushered me in the door two years ago.

Great coach and great community, welcome to people at all levels from beginner to advanced…read morecompetitors.

I have been training at Austin Kickboxing Academy since may or June of 2025 and this gym has helped…read moreme in so many ways. I am in the best shape of my life from training hard and in a better place mentally. It's a very friendly environment and the classes are very intense, everyone is very encouraging and they push you to become stronger and work hard. All of the coaches here are very skilled and nice people, they personally assist you throughout the class to help you understand the correct form and it's really helpful. To anyone thinking about joining just come take the free trial class like I did and see if it's for you!

Great place to start your learning in martial arts or pick up where you left off. Awesome community…read moreand terrific teaching!

I want to give a review as a student from both the past and the present at this establishment. My…read moreexperience with Master Martial Arts and Master Sam Um has been nothing short of incredible. I originally started practicing Taekwondo here when I was much younger, early through late middle school. I was always engaged in every aspect of the class: Master Um makes an unbelievable effort to ensure every student of his is properly trained and gets individual attention throughout the class time to heighten their skills. When I reached highschool, I stopped after achieving a red belt due to my schedule not fitting, but had always wanted to go back and continue training because the classes were so fun and useful. Now, at age 21 and a full time student in college, I have returned to train in TaekwonYusul. From my understanding, "Taekwon" means "striking" and "Yusul" means grappling. Master Um has created a new hybrid of the traditional martial arts (Taekwondo, Gonkwon Yusul, Brazillian Ju Jitsu, Judo) labeled TaekwonYusul to emphasize it's heightened practicality over other single-focus arts. This is hands-down one of the most effective and useful martial arts I've discovered through my years of experience, and incorporates techniques from other martial arts that just WORK. I would say that TaekwonYusul is more of a taditional style mixed martial art, which gives it an advantage over most other options. The classes are structured, we spar with padding and safety equipment every class, and you will 100% be accomadated to whatever skill level you start at. With my Taekwondo background helping in the striking areas, I was surprised by how quickly I was finding myself retaining grappling techniques. All of the other students are wonderful and very helpful, often offering to teach you more in depth technique if you seem to be having a hard time grasping any concepts. I was very surprised to learn that TaekwonYusul hasn't been proffessionally recognized as a new martial art, but I have no doubt that in a few years this will be practiced by gyms accross the world. As for Master Um, he is one of the best teachers and coaches I've had throughout my life, always attentive and eager to teach and ready to demonstrate a technique the moment you have a question. His credibility is unbelieveable, having over 40 years of experience with martial arts and winning many competitions for Taekwondo in his youth. He's trained over 5,000 students, and that figure is from when I was a kid. I just want to say that if you read this whole thing, please consider joining. It might be the most exciting and engaging thing you get to look forward to going to after school or work. Thank you Master Um, I look forward to continuing my training. Thanks for reading, Yelp!

I dropped in to train at The Void mid December and had a great experience from start to finish. One…read moreof the ladies training there (the amazing Lex) actually beat me at a jiu jitsu tournament. We hit it off while competing and became friends through that experience, which says a lot about the kind of supportive, women-forward culture that exists at The Void. When I shared that I was looking for a new school, she invited me to come try out. On my first day, Mars (the owner) gave me a full walkthrough of the facility. The school is located inside a larger facility that includes showers, a full workout gym, a sauna, and more. The fact that The Void members have access to all of these amenities honestly blew my mind. All of the perks, along with the schedule and membership details, are clearly laid out on their website. I also really appreciated that there is no contract and that pricing is very affordable, especially for downtown Austin. I tried MMA sparring, jiu jitsu, and kickboxing. Jiu jitsu is primarily no gi, but you can bring a gi if you want. Every coach I interacted with was knowledgeable, respectful, and patient. Any time I had concerns around safety or technique, they listened and offered modifications when needed. As a woman training in combat sports, this made me feel genuinely respected and well taken care of. On the MMA and kickboxing side, it's worth noting that they have heavy bags in house. The kickboxing classes (led by Christian) also had a strong women presence which I loved. There is no uniform requirement for any of the classes, so you have a lot of flexibility with what to wear. I recommend wearing comfortable clothing and bringing gloves and shin pads if it's your first time. They also have a in house videographer and photographer who captures amazing photos and videos. You can check out his work on Instagram at @donpablo.arw !! I live up north in the suburbs about 30 to 40 minutes away so if it were not for the distance, I would have signed up in a heartbeat. I made a lot of friends in the short time I spent at The Void, and that really speaks to the training environment and culture they have built. The location itself is great with plenty of parking. There is cold water available, a vending machine nearby, and very clean bathrooms. Mars was communicative, and since I tried out during a weird time with the holidays, I was especially grateful for their generosity in allowing me to train through the end of the month. The Void also hosts free community events, such as the upcoming Couple's Self Defense Date Night. All of their information can be found on their website or Instagram at @thevoidmartialarts. I highly recommend The Void to anyone interested in jiu jitsu or MMA in the downtown Austin area!

Well over a decade I have been coming here and definitely one of my favorite gyms to train at in…read morethe world! When I'm in Austin this is the only gym I've trained in or will! Bart is a true martial artist and student of the game and all the students here are lucky to have such an amazing instructor! Ask him about pool training!!! *side note Bart is an amazing drummer!

Instead of writing a "review," I am copying part of an email I recently sent Elite Martial Arts in…read moreSW Austin, TX bc we are just so pleased to have found them: "...Your dojo has been a shining light for us. I know I've said it multiple times, but I wanted to express it again - I only wish we had come to your dojo when we moved to the area years ago. You have something very special. From each of the very dedicated staff & student volunteers, to the way you emphasize technique, encourage the development of strength & power in fun, competitive (but not-harsh) ways & games, expect & follow-through with respect of all, focus on the positive, have high expectations, challenge everyone to work for the "clubs," & explain the "why" behind the directions (like, "break outward with your hand bc it will block your opponent's possible punch" etc). Thank you for making your program financially affordable. Thank you for explaining things in simple, understandable ways as well as demonstrating them yourselves. Thank you for giving students a voice. Thank you for allowing student volunteers to help - it gives the kids someone to look up to & envision themselves one day being able to do that. Thank you for repetition so that new skills/information are learned & old skills/information retained. Thank you for allowing my son, who has found a positive "passion," to come to your dojo so many days a week & multiple classes a day. We appreciate all of you & value your hard work, commitment, & time. Gratefully, Jenny D.

We have been coming here since my son was three. We moved away for a year and the entire time my…read morechild wanted to go back to the REAL martial Arts class. He loves his teachers, Mr Herman, Ms Sarah and of course Sensei. Their way with the children is so amazing, helping the overactive ones focus, bringing the shy ones out of their shell, and doing it all while having fun. I love how they respectfully interact with the kids and at the same time teach them manners, discipline and focus. If I could give them 100 stars I would. They earn it every time, we've never had a less than stellar experience here

I have been training Jeet Kune Do with Ray for a year now. The instructors and fellow students make…read moreit a fun learning environment. Ray trained under Dan Inosanto, who trained under Bruce Lee. There are now four instructors in most classes, so there is a lot of individual help with techniques, striking form, etc. I highly recommend trying a class.

I have been taking MMA classes with Sifu Jeff Parra for a little while now and can say that he is…read morereally excellent. Jeff teaches a mixture of Jeet Kun Do, Ju Jitsu, Boxing, Muy Thai, and other art forms that yields a very practical and effective style of fighting. On day one I learned a combination boxing technique and a few kicks which I was instantly able to transfer to a heavy bag. By my second class I had purchased some 16oz boxing gloves which I use for working the heavy bag. I already feel more confident and love the ability to channel my stress to a great sport. Sifu Jeff is very humble, patient, kind, and encouraging instructor and I can't recommend Parra Academny enough.