Much to my surprise, this place has become a big part of our family's life. As a middle-aged mom with 0 martial arts experience, I never thought I'd be doing martial arts 5-6 days per week. I do both BJJ and Muay Thai/Kickboxing. This place is full of black belts and some professional fighters. As a gym, they are highly competitive and generally seem to get the job done, winning team trophies frequently. There could be a lot of attitude, but somehow there's not. It says a lot about the culture of the place that someone like me can feel comfortable.
Moreover, my kids feel very comfortable here. It was my now 8-year-old daughter who got the martial arts bug first. We took her to a lot of different gyms and tried out a several types of martial arts. This was the place she wanted to be. We had to contort our schedule to make it work, but she's been really happy here. She's made a few friends, too, which is a big plus. Now, little brother has also joined and is loving it. He's small, and I've really appreciated the way the coaches have worked with him to get him comfortable rolling with bigger kids.
Pros:
-- Most of the instructors are really good. Many of them are black belts or experienced fighters who have been teaching for many years and take the job of instructor very seriously. They aren't just fighters who also teach because teaching pays for their training. They have black belts teaching beginners and kids.
--The instructors really want to help you improve. There's not this kind of hazing, see who can take it, before they get serious about helping you train. They take training beginners as seriously as the advanced people.
--If you're having difficulty with something, instructors are generally willing to help you--even if it means taking time outside of class to do so.
--They have a very high instructor-to-kid ratio in the kids classes. Many times, there are 3-4 coaches there working with about 10 kids. As a parent this gives me comfort that someone's got eyes on my kids during rolling or sparring to help coach them but also keep them from getting seriously hurt. After all, young kids just starting out in a combative sport are not known for their control and good judgment, so the adult supervision is important.
--They seem to strike a good balance with the kids between letting them have fun and making sure they are safe and learning. They can be kids. They don't have to be serious all the time, but they are still getting serious training.
--They offer adult and kids classes at the same time. As a parent, this is great! I can get a work-out in at the same time as my kids rather than just sitting around waiting for them to finish their activity. I train alongside several other moms and dads who are doing the same thing.
--The culture of the gym is very friendly and welcoming to newcomers. Many fellow students greeted me in my first weeks and made the effort to learn my name and a little about me.
--It's also welcoming to women. Women are still a small minority in this gym, but there are women instructors in both Muay Thai and BJJ. There's even a women's BJJ class. Yes, sometimes I'm still the only woman in my class, but most of the time there are a handful of us. This is also true of the advanced levels.
Cons:
--Pricing is steep. I can't believe how much money I pay every month to this gym for our family membership. That said, it is all-you-can-eat and you get a lot of personalized attention. You can spend all day at the gym and take 3 or 4 classes a day if you are really into it. And, it's a little thing, but they give you the belts/shirts you earn. You don't have to pay for them, as I've heard some other places require.
--Evening classes, especially, can get a bit crowded. The attitude is "more training partners is better", which I understand. However, there have been a few times when it was tricky to avoid crashing into another pair. The flip side is, though, that they seem to never turn people away. You don't have to pre-register for classes, so, you can decide at the last minute, and you can be confident you'll have a spot. They're opening a new location in Lowry in October, so maybe it will naturally get a little less congested after that. read more