I struggled between a two and one star rating. I actually created an account on Yelp, just so I could post this review. In the end, I think a 1.5 star rating is fair, but that's not an option on Yelp. Let me start off by saying, that when you go to their website, nowhere will you find a list of their prices. If you call them, they won't tell you their prices over the phone. You'll have to come in and talk to them in person. That should have been the first warning sign. So, let me name a few positives: Most of the students here are friendly and nice. Cleber did a good job in attracting mostly descent people who are looking to train and learn. The coaches who teach here are also great people and very helpful. There is no doubt that if you spend enough time here, you will learn jiu jitsu and get better and I did meet some good people. The jiu-jitsu here is legit. Having said that, that is also true for just about any jiu-jitsu school as well.
Now for the bad: Every time you walk through the door, you'll be afraid that you are going to get asked to pay for something else... you will get nickel'ed and dime'd for everything at this school and everything feels like its overtly financially driven. First, you have to sign a one year contract (whether you want to train as an adult, or just sign your kids up). When you go in to sign up, everything is rosy and you are told that its easy to pause your contract for any reason. After a free class, I signed my boy up. I don't blame the school for a one year contract, but beware, asking a 9 year old to decide (based on one class) whether he will stick to a 1 year regimen is asking a lot of the child. You are required to pay the full 12 months, even if you don't attend.. I felt okay, because I was assured that I could 'pause' my contract at anytime. Looking back, I should have gotten that in writing. I had to pay a $100 registration fee for signing my son up. My son had a Gi from his previous school, so I thought I'd use that. After attending the first class, I was told that I had to pay $40 for a patch (literally a piece of cloth) to put on my son's Gi. This was after I had already signed the contract and was locked-in. Nowhere in the contract did it say I was required to do so, but I paid the $40 fee. A month later summer rolled around and it was announced in class that the kids would be required to wear a t-shirt for summer and that not any t-shirt would do, but it had to be a Cleber jiu-jitsu t-shirt... another $40... again, nothing about that in the contract. Then came belt-testing time and I was told that my son was to advance to the next (gray) belt, and I would be required to pay $140 to have him tested (literally a 20-30 minute test, where 10-20 kids get together and the instructor watches them do a few moves). I understand that the belt costs money (probably under $10), and I wouldn't object to a fair fee of maybe $30-40; however, $140 is excessive, especially when I'm paying $140 per month you would think they could include belt testing as part of the cost. Knowing that I was stuck for a year, there was little I could do except to pay for whatever they kept asking me to pay. Furthermore, there is a ton of pressure on you (as a parent) and the kids to compete in their tournaments (at a cost of course of about $50-60). Then came a time when my son started doing poorly in school, so I decided to have to take a break from jiu-jitsu for a month and asked the lady at the front desk to "pause" my account. Come the next month, I noticed I was charged $140 even though my son didn't attend classes for a month. Since it had been a year and I was getting fed up with the nickel and diming, and called in to cancel. I was told that I have to give 30 days notice in writing and that I'd have to pay for an additional month (even though my son hadn't been attending this school for 2 months now). So in the end, my son got 12 months of training at the cost of 15 months. Don't even think you are going to get reimbursed for any months you are not going to attend. Also, cancelling is definitely a big hassle and will require a good bit of luck and maybe even a letter written by a lawyer. Oh and beware, your contract will auto-renew.
In the end, I was mostly satisfied with the training my son received. If they would change their business practices, which border on the shady side, they wouldn't be so bad.... buyer beware.. read more