Guro Phillip Palmejar And his P5 Academy are amazing. He is truly a master with impressive skill and knowledge. All the experienced instructors worked firmly and patiently with my 6 year old and 13 year old alike. the Jet Kune Do and Brazilian Ju Jitsu were better than any OT or PT for my 6 year old son. My children gained confidence as their skills improve, all the while while having fun. I wish my knee wasn't so bad and I would have done the adult lessons myself. read more

If you're a martial artist or aspiring martial artist, P5 academy is the place to train and level up your skills. I've been studying martial arts for 2 years and wanted to find somewhere that taught Arnis/Filipino Martial Arts. The owner, Professor Philip Palmejar, is the man. A master in multiple styles, he will guide and instruct you no matter your experience or where you are in your journey. He takes the time to explain the technique, teaching it in the proper way in a welcoming environment that is ran professionally. You just can't find an instructor like him around that offers the vast knowledge and expertise he has (trust me I looked) I highly recommend this dojo for all of your martial art needs. read more

My 10 year old has been coming here for about a year. This is a wonderful martial arts studio and Sensei Philip is a top notch martial arts teacher. Dont be misled because it's tucked back between 2 auto shops...it's a clean and well run studio. If you are considering jiu jitsu training, check this place out. read more

P5 is by far.. BY FAR.. the cleanest gym ever. They take great pride in ensuring this. This is the ONLY gym where I never had any fungal infection, and I've been coming here for a little over a year now off and on. When I was a lot younger; I've been to gyms in and around Los Angeles and San Diego. Without fail, I'd get the occasional ring worm. This is quite common while wrestling in high school and such. One thing that always had to do was ensure I always had anti-fungal soap. I haven't even touched that soap ever since joining P5. That's mindblowing. Everyone here is supremely friendly and very welcoming. I suck at even moving my body. I have zero spacial awareness; yet the other students and the Sensei has always been patient with me in showing some very cool things I can do; even teaching how to use my body-type to my advantage. Sensei Philip is very patient, and explains things very well. I have so many "woa aha!" epiphany moments here I never got anywhere else. It's just a super fun, clean, welcoming environment to learn ways to contort people into pretzels (well, actually, I'm the one being turned into the pretzel, but I digress). Also, Philip is always understanding of my weird schedule where I have to travel a lot, so he tailors a custom payment plan for me; and I'm just super appreciative of that. This place deserves all the praise it gets! Just look at the other reviews! I'm so glad I'm not the only one. It's a great place to keep one's body and mind very fit. I love Philip's philosophy, his teaching style, and his dedication to his craft. It shows because he's supremely knowledgeable in several combat techniques and situations; and he makes it very fun during classes. read more

P5 Academy has the best transit access of all jiujitsu schools in San Diego. It is on both the blue and orange trolley lines as well as close to bus routes 2,3,7,11,30,50,120,150,215,235,901,923,992 as well as the special rush hour routes to and from downtown. Routes 5, 20, 170, 929 are just a few blocks further away. The facility is owner operated thus no going through some middleman or membership director with all kinds of conditions to join and train. There are 3 different rates based on whether you wish to train up to 2 days a week, 4 days a week, or on an unlimited basis. The membership costs are lower than most of the competition as well. Besides jiujitsu, JKD, MMA, Pankration, Filipino Martial Arts, and boxing are also offered. The facility has classes Saturday through Thursday (6 days a week). The classes are small and there is always a lot of personal attention, considerably more than you can get elsewhere. There are plentiful open mat times as well. The facility is clean, completely accessible, and you will find no egos. Phillip Palmejar (Black Belt under Roy Harris) as owner and instructor does an excellent job in giving you personal attention and answering all your martial arts related questions. The training environment is a place where everyone knows your name. Give P5 a try, I am glad that I did! read more

I've trained under Sensei Phillip Palmejar since 2009 and I couldn't recommend his academy and his instruction more highly. Phillip is a highly gifted martial artist, kind person, and great teacher. I started as a complete beginner to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but other students have joined with previous experience. Phillip welcomes and accommodates many levels of experience and varying levels of commitment; I participate in 3 to 4 classes a week, while others train anywhere from 6 times a week to once a month. I like the fact that the environment of learning BJJ that Phillip encourages is friendly and not intimidating, but also is really respectful of the art. The academy is large, has clean beautiful mats, and is extremely accessible (close to the 5 and 163 in downtown SD). BJJ is super fun and P5 academy is a really welcoming place to begin training. read more

A great gym that offers everything. Myself coming from a background in bjj and kenpo karate can say that this is a great place. Good space and equipment, the instructor is humble, personable, and down to earth. A legit instructor in his arts. One of the best prices ive seen in san diego for bjj, offering very good schedule and membership plans. Highly recommended read more

Took me a long time to find a good gym here in San Diego. I was looking for quality instruction and a friendly atmosphere. Being a martial artist of 16 years and a second degree blackbelt myself, I'm very aware of good instruction. After bouncing around for a couple years I found P5 Academy. The teaching structure Phillip uses is awesome. We always start simple with a technique, and build off it getting more complicated to advanced techniques. It makes it an great place for the amateur hobbies as well as advanced martial artists. Every one is super nice and respectful and the academy stays clean as well. Couldn't ask for a better environment! read more

My son has been attending the kids class for about 3 months now. The instructor, Philip is great-- he is very warm and patient with the kiddos. We've visited a few different dojos, and this one is by far the most affordable, with a friendly atmosphere and a relaxed, attentive instructor. You really get a sense that you are a part of a community, and you can tell that Sensei truly cares about the progress of each of his students. The kids class has mixed ages; my son is 9, but there are little ones as young as 5 in the program. The activities he uses to teach work well for all the age groups, and he will match kids when sparring. Overall, it has been a great experience for my son. He has learned a lot while having fun in the process. The only bad thing is that now he thinks its funny to pin Mama... LOL--- so it looks like I might need to start taking classes too! read more

I have studied at many gyms, worked with many instructors and I have been lucky to be coached by great instructors. This place continues my good luck, after several years of training in Muay Thai I decided to make a change only to find that Phillip the owner and instructor encouraging me to take my knowledge of Muay Thai and combining it with JKD, Sport fighting and self defense are not the same, but his teachings are making it easier than I thought. He provides history of the art, examples, the class provides good instruction, fellow practitioners are willing to help when students are struggling. Oh and did I mention personal instruction also available, so get in before this place blows up, finding myself getting excited about martial arts again. read more

My son has been training at P5 for two years. We had been training at other locations prior but once we found this academy we plan to NEVER leave it! Phillip is an amazing instructor and we love the environment! read more

I've know Phillip and Sunshine (owners of P5 Academy) for 10 years. These two are the real deal! I've watched them blossom into high level martial artists. If you're going to learn a skill like this, I recommend learning from the best. They are committed, disciplined, focused and simply amazing people. P5 will help you kick ass in all areas of LIFE. read more

Phil is extremely knowledgeable in all areas of martial art and does a really good job of making the lessons fun. Everything you can look for in a teacher and will teach you whatever you want to learn! read more

I Started Training in martial arts at the age of 4 and I must say that Phillips ability to relay the information in different ways so people who learn differently can understand the concepts he is teaching is second to none. The training environment is awesome. I have trained with Phillip since the end of 08 and the attitude of training for longevity rather than most MMA gyms where injuries are frequent because of the way they train. That doesn't mean we don't compete as I was on the National team for Pankration in 2011 after competing @ nationals for my very first tournament in pankration ever. Phillip Is the man... Bottom Line. I would recommend this school to anyone who wants to learn martial arts. read more

I'm in SD for about seven weeks for an internship. I went in for a bjj class a couple weeks ago and loved the atmosphere. The price is great too. Phillip has some good experienced and friendly students. This gym, opened last year, is on the rise. There's also mma sparring and other martial arts like JKD. I've been doing bjj for a little over 1.5 years and have tried several gyms ( I have a gym near where I go to college but when I go home I try other gyms) and this is definitely a keeper. If you want really good martial arts instruction this is the place to be. read more

Other reviewers here have put it better than I could- I don't think anyone who has trained at P5 Academy can recommend it enough. I haven't trained at P5 very long and I had to put my training on hold when I left the country. But when I started, Sensei Phillip was patient with my beginning level of martial arts, working with me to improve and be able to compete with the others. He even made special efforts to connect my training to real life situations, as he knew I would be doing some traveling alone and self defense could be very useful for me. The ambience in this academy is really like a family- tight knit, hard working, positive, but disciplined as well. I always leave with a smile and a refreshing view on life. I have learned so much from Sensei Phillip about fighting as well as life and a healthy perspective on what we are given. He and Sunshine are incredible people and I cannot wait to get back there and into training again! This is the academy to be at if you want the absolute most out of your training. read more

I've trained at a few schools over the years, and this school is by far the best for street BJJ. Also, the instructor gives a tremendous amount of individual attention to ALL students, not just the higher ranked students. read more

Great gym, variety of styles....inviting and family like atmosphere...excellent for beginners and salty dogs alike.

My son started going to P5 for the kids classes about a month ago. He loves it. Talks about it all the time and he can't wait to go to the next class. A very family friendly atmosphere and Phil is great with the kids. The studio is also very clean. We checked out multiple MMA studios before deciding to join P5 and it was a great decision. read more

This is honestly the greatest Martial Arts experience I've had in years. Although my time was limited as his student, the knowledge I've recieved from Sensei Phillip will always be with me when it comes to self defense and the philosophies of Bruce Lee. The facility is great, the location is alive, and the prices are really affordable. Each class will always be different than the last. read more

P5 Academy is a wonderful place to learn martial arts and get a good work out at the same time. Phillip Palmejar is a great trainer. He is very dedicated, passionate, and accommodating to his students. I have nothing but great things to say about this academy and would highly recommend it to others. read more