This is a great place to train. The instruction is great and the gym is clean. Training partners…read moreare concerned about safety and there is a positive community in the group. There is something for all levels. I travel to Austin for work often and I always come by to learn and get some rolls in when I'm in town.

Great enviroment. I am in my 60's and needed a place to go when everything shut down for Covid. The…read moreplace was extremely clean and did health checks before you entered. Lin has really improved the place with AC and heat, even though working out in extreme temperature was not bad either. What I am trying to say is, anybody is welcome and BJJ is probably the best whole body work out there is. If you are considering BJJ then Sinister BJJ is the place for you.

I just started training here last week. It's been a great vibe and group of people. Coach Eric is…read morehighly professional and clearly skilled, his intention for the gym is to not be so intensely competitive like all the other gyms around Austin and I think that makes it for a very healthy and strong atmosphere. Loving the training so far and looking forward to continuous learning/improvement here.

What an incredible experience! My 4yo daughter absolutely loved the whole class. Coach Bree greeted…read moreus as soon as we walked in and got her set up for class. Coach Chris S included her in every event and walked her through the technical aspects of each discipline. Coach Chris B shifted her way when she got hung up on the next step. It was just an awesome time. She is excited about going back and was even practicing with her stuffies at home.

I have experiences with other gyms, both as 'home' gyms and as a visitor. My focus is on Gi…read morejiu-jitsu and while the schedule here is geared more towards the No-gi side, the quality of instruction is very high. The classes I've attended the most are the morning classes Professor Davis definitely has a lot of high level moves and concepts but breaks it down so that it's scaffolded to all levels. He's literally said 'you can stop here if you're comfortable.' He's also very accessible, both as an instructor and just as a human being. There isn't a rigid formality here so if you have a question or are frankly, lost like I frequently am you can just stop and ask for help without being afraid of being 'that guy.' I had to pause due to surgery/recuperating and it was as easy pausing my billing and being told if I needed more time to just let them know. I'm looking forward to get back on the mats and start training again-where I'm definitely going to have to ask a lot of questions.

My son was interested in jiu-jitsu, so we went to Brazilian Fight Factory (BFF) and signed him up…read morefor what was explained to me as a six-month series of classes. Unfortunately, what followed was a frustrating experience involving billing issues, poor communication, and a complete lack of consideration for the customer. During the first month, I was charged an additional $238 outside of what I understood to be the contract. I complained, and the money was ultimately returned to me through Venmo. Looking back, that should have been my first red flag. My son initially enjoyed the classes, but he was one of the only older kids in his class. I would not recommend this gym for children over 8 and under 14 based on our experience with the age mix and instruction. He also became increasingly uncomfortable with being regularly paired with girls. Jiu-jitsu necessarily involves close physical contact and being in another person's personal space, and this became a genuine concern for my son. I raised this concern directly with BFF's administrative representative, Ani, as well as the coach. I was told that my son was not yet big enough for the general class. I communicated to both of them that we intended to stop attending because the program was no longer comfortable or appropriate for him. I was perfectly willing to honor what I understood to be the six-month agreement. In fact, I accepted paying the sixth month even though my son attended zero classes during that month. I did not ask for a refund or an exception. I believed in honoring an agreement in good faith, and BFF therefore received $238 for a month in which it provided no services to my son because the gym could not comfortably accommodate him. Then I discovered the billing had continued. When I reviewed my credit card statement, I found that I had been charged for three additional months, totaling another $714, despite my having already had two conversations with the administrative representative about ceasing classes. At no point during those conversations was I told that I needed to submit a separate written cancellation request in order to prevent continued billing. When I escalated the issue to the owner, rather than taking responsibility for the failure of his employees to clearly communicate the cancellation procedure, he was adamant about enforcing what I consider a grossly disproportionate financial burden on the customer--leaving me out over $900 for services my son did not receive. What is particularly troubling is that the owner chose to hide behind a contract and cancellation procedure that I was not furnished a copy of, rather than recognizing that I had clearly communicated my intention to discontinue the classes to two employees and had already willingly paid for a month of unused services in good faith. My experience with BFF has left me with serious concerns about its billing practices, customer communication, and the way management treats customers when there is a dispute. If you choose to do business with Brazilian Fight Factory, I strongly recommend reviewing every charge on your credit card and getting every cancellation instruction in writing. Do not assume that telling their staff you are discontinuing classes is sufficient. Get confirmation of the cancellation procedure and documentation of the cancellation.

Our 4 and 5 year old have been in the Kids BJJ program for the past 4 months…read more The coaches are phenomenal and teach appreciation for the sport and discipline. It has been our favorite activity for the kids. Our daughter and son both enjoy coming to class. Would recommend this training program for any parents considering an early kids training program. We attached a pic from yesterday's Halloween party. Coach Mario and team have our highest recommendation!

Who wouldn't want to train with a three time world champion? Going anywhere else is, in my opinion,…read morenot getting an instructor with adequate experience. His mats are always clean, and I felt extremely welcomed by all the students and Mario my first day there! Top notch BJJ, MMA and Judo instruction here, without a doubt, and I tried a lot of Bjj places before picking this one, highly recommended! Best BJJ in North Austin without a doubt!

We love Rebirth Martial Arts!! The expertise demonstrated by their instructors is unparalleled. I…read morehave been so impressed in the progress my student has made during his time with Mr. Mike and Ms. Wren. His skill set has expanded exponentially, and his commitment to his craft has been influenced in such a positive way. I'm grateful for all the positivity that has been poured into all of their students. I've watched kids that were near giving up their martial arts journey begin their instruction under RMA and proceed to become star students. I have seen the shift in my own student's attitude at home - ownership in other areas of his life that are gleaned from the practices he's learned here. Their attention to detail is excellent, and I'm glad they are investing their talents in our community. We are excited for all the awesomeness to come as we keep training with them - to black belt and beyond!

Mr. Mike is incredible! Not only has he proven to be an amazing martial artist and given my kids…read moregreat instruction to hone those skills, he also lives by the principles he talks about in class and brings out in each of his students. He holds the students to a high level, gives them all the tools and more to achieve it, and puts the same dedication and passion right back in time and time again. It's addictive, empowering, admirable, and exactly what I was looking for, and didn't even know it, as a parent. It's more than just classes a few hours a week, it transcends beyond the mat and dojo walls. My kids have blossomed under Mr. Mike's incredible instruction and we could not recommend him (and Mrs. Wren) more. Thank you, Mr. Mike! - The McNair Family

I've been here 11 months, and I have to say that my experience at AFKA has been life changing. As…read morea girl, there's nothing more empowering than being able to spar and ground-fight with the guys. I never had upper body strength, and now when I fly on planes, I have little trouble lifting my 40 lb bag into the overhead bin. I feel safer when walking alone. I know self-defense skills, and I have the strength to back it up. I was upset by reading Lauren's review, and I recall the day she tried our class. I'm not going to go on a tl;dr tirade, but basically, martial arts is not for everyone. It's a contact sport, and the conditioning for your body is different than other sports. Yes we do sit-ups. Yes we do light contact sparring. Yes we do groundfighting, and you may just groundfight someone twice your size! We are very combat focused. If you can't handle lots of abwork, then try one of the many other fitness options offered in Austin. Each of our instructors have years of experience in various martial arts. I have complete faith in them. They are in tune with what is correct and proper technique. Training goes nowhere if you are injured. However, I stress that martial arts training is different from other sports you may have tried.

I've been taking tai chi classes at Austin Kung-fu Academy for a year. Santanu Rahman is an…read moreinstructor with infinite patience, brilliant teaching strategies, and good humor. Santanu challenges and supports all students' growing abilities and always has a new idea for teaching that is individualized to each class and to each student. Santanu is a master of the martial arts and he is also a master of communicating steps to growing your own practice. In addition to regular class times, Santanu holds "office hours" to help students individually. Santanu is one of the best teachers of any subject I've experienced, and I've experienced a lot of teaching in pursuit of my doctoral degree. In classes for students new to tai chi, Santanu strips the tai chi moves from the overall form to give you a good gentle work out. After students are comfortable with the individual moves, Santanu puts the separate elements together into the first third of the Yang 37 form. Once students master the first part of the form, the workout beginers' class splits into an advanced class that learns the whole form. As the advanced class learns the final moves of the Yang 37 form, Santanu introduces individual elements using a broadsword and gradually unites those moves into the broadsword form. Finally, Santanu has created a series of videos that work with his teaching. If you look at a commercial tai chi video the instructor always faces you. When you try to move with the video instructor you have to move in the reverse direction to get into the correct positions. This mental reversal is confusing for beginners. To address this problem in Santanu's videos he is facing away from the student and looking toward a mirror. In this composition the student watching the video is in the right alignment with the teacher and can see both his front and back. Pros: Brilliant teacher who provides individual extra teaching and videos for outside practice. Cons: None

My daughter and I started Karate and Kravmaga respectively with Jett 6 months ago, we love it !…read moreBelieve me we are both a tough crowd to please when it comes to exercise! His classes are the perfect balance between fun and a complete/intense workout for the mind and body. You are never bored and leave full of positive energy. In addition, as a working mom, I find it great that he plans the classes in a way to accomadate your own session with your child's!

I teach JKD here in Austin and we invited Jett Garner to come share his Krav Maga with us at an…read moreevent we were holding. Jett was very friendly and open and he showed our guys a lot of great things that they could use, especially in regards to weapons defense--an area where I think a lot of martial arts aren't as specialized in, yet is perhaps most important to know from a self-defense perspective. I have a lot of respect for Krav Maga, and Jett Garner's school in Westlake, Texas is considered one of the best around (hence why we invited him out).