Warning : EXTREMELY religious dojo…read more My children tried this dojo out for 2 months. I am not sure honestly, but it seems like the children were being taught by other children, or teenagers that were helping out. They were all very nice and my children and I liked them a lot. The kids did have fun, but the classes felt very unstructured, kind of random warm ups and drills. The first month was pretty good, I enjoyed watching my kids have fun running around and they were SO excited to learn kung fu. However... I did begin to notice the owner preaches pretty much every single time he opens his mouth. I am respectful of other religions and cultures, and I try to teach my children to be as well, so we let it be and listened. My kids began feeling uncomfortable asking me why he talks about his god and Jesus so much, and how they didn't like that he was making them pray with him. I honestly did not like that either, but it teaches the kids about different types of people. We have all had experiences with cult like religious people, and I guess this was going to be my children's first experience with one. I planned to let it happen and let them observe. I told my kids if it became too uncomfortable with him preaching and praying that we would leave. Well the school (mostly the owner) burned their relationship with my children real fast after that. They invited my kids to a belt seminar, cosmo himself told them they were eligible for a stripe and told them to come to the belt ceremony early to warm up. So we show up the next evening for the ceremony, my children go warm up for 15 minutes (my daughter was so proud of herself and had been practicing) then they escorted all the children to the mat to sit and watch each other earn their belts. Yea well at that moment they basically tell my kids oh surprise you are NOT eligible for a belt. Just sit and watch everyone else show what they know and you don't get to participate. My kids are 5 and 7. They were absolutely CRUSHED. After a little while of watching all the other kids show off their skills. And the owner telling one of the younger teachers specifically not to let my son go up when they were trying to fill time, my daughter grabbed her brother and came to me asking to leave. She was holding back tears trying to be strong. She was humiliated. The drive home was AWFUL. Just heartbreaking. She thought the owner made them come to the belt ceremony just to embarrass them and single them out. They were the only kids there who weren't allowed to participate. All the other kids who weren't eligible did not show up. But we were specifically told to come. I emailed them and said I was done. The school tried to contact me after to apologize and offered to basically just give my children the belts *face palm* but it was never about the belts, it was about how they made my children feel. Uncomfortable, weirded out, and then very hurt. They als told me the kids are eligible for belts every 3 months, so to me it sounds pay based not skill based. The program is also very very expensive. So there it is. My children's first experience with a very very religious person and environment ended with them feeling very burned and hurt. I would also like to say, if I would have know how insane the preaching was, I would have never signed my children up. They make the kids pray, constant preaching. They play Christian music on a television sometimes. There is even a video on instagram of the owner asking a group of children if they believe in god, which is HIGHLY inappropriate to put other peoples children on the spot like that. Let this be a warning that it is definitely too much and uncomfortable for kids that aren't already deep in that church life.

My husband and daughter train at Empty Hand. The atmosphere is so welcoming and they absolutely…read moremake you feel like family. I feel like we can take any concerns in martial arts or even in life and they will help encourage and support. Since starting my daughter has been inviting friends like crazy. She even won an award for the most friends invited. Many have come to try it out and even sign up. She wants to be there every chance she gets even if it's just to clean up. The owner and staff make her feel welcomed and valued. I've also seen a change in my husband. I've seen him begin to grow as a leader and in confidence. I love that they offer a family class and the two of them can train together. Highly recommend if you want a dojo that treats you like family and will invest in you and help you grow in martial arts and in life!

What an awesome place!! We took our daughter there for a birthday party and she absolutely loved…read morewhat she learned!! So we signed her up for the Taekwondo classes and she has gained so much confidence and discipline since she started. The instructors are pretty awesome and there are several of them available for my daughter to ask for help. We highly recommend!!!

These guys are 5* all the way! We enrolled my son about 6 months ago and he is loving it!! The…read moreattention that they give the kids (and there's a lot of them!) is amazing. Each child is given instruction to his/ her ability but at the same time held to the same standard as the rest of the group. They focus on teaching the kids self respect, self assurance and self defense. Master Dillo, Mr. B and Mr. Clark do such a great job with the children during the classes and are always available for questions and support outside of the class. The best part of this whole program is that not only the respect and discipline they teach for inside the studio but also how that respect and discipline translates to outside in the real world. My child is 100% a better little person because of what he gets here.

Dustin Tallent (FMA Instructor/Guro- respectively, and Martial Artist) is a very skilled and…read morepractical teacher. Though he possesses knowledge of many disciplines and philosophies, he hones in on the best interests of his students. His way of teaching is uplifting, as he is patient and describes fundamentals quite well. His heartfelt drive to share his knowledge with his students is motivating, to say the least. He is always open to questions and ideas; as a Martial Artist, he understands that he is on his journey as well. Beginning with basic fundamentals, his instruction is easy to understand, and absorbing what he teaches feels natural. Then, he meticulously builds you up in a way that leaves you satisfied with more tools in your toolbox, which is also easily remembered. Overall, he should be a go-to, especially with FMA.

From the owner: Bringing quality Filipino Martial Arts and Combatives to Canyon County, ID…read more Guro Dustin Tallent has been practicing Filipino Martial Arts since he was young and has trained in The Philippines and Thailand with some of the best in FMA, as well as other arts. He has trained with Sidekicks as well and has been a certified MMA coach in multiple states for almost a decade. Teaching out of Sidekicks Martial Arts gym, which is open every week day from 5:30 - 8 pm for MMA classes of all ages.

This gym is by far the best I've been to in all of Idaho I've visited the vast majority of gyms in…read morethe valley. They have a wide of array of teaching Styles and practitioners with some competing at even the highest level in the sport. They have a phenomenal kids program that has been tearing through the competition scene as well. In turn of the level the gym operates at it has a nice family welcoming environment and everyone is tightly knit, creating lifelong friendships. The final and outstanding thing I've noticed is despite again the high level of operation they have a strong beginners program and work hard with and for you if you are a newcomer working with you to meet your goals extending from just wanting to broaden your learning and activity in your daily life to helping achieve your aspirations to compete. This truly is a diamond in the rough!!!

The only fear I have of posting this review is blowing up my spot. I've trained here for nearly 3…read moreyears and it has been consistently great! The instruction is phenomenal, especially as you get more advanced. I'll be honest. It can feel like you're swimming in deep water the first several months of training. However, as the time and effort on the mats continues to add up you will start to see how amazing the training really is. WIDBJJ is the perfect place to begin or continue your journey with Jiu Jitsu. It's a commitment that will pay off dividends in your life, the lives of your children and the life of anyone who stays consistent with the martial art. You will not find a more technical understanding of the martial art than right here. The main professor is a world champion. Train here and you will learn what it takes to be a world champion. I have grown so much training here and hope to continue training here for a long time to come.

Amazing Jiu Jitsu gym. I have been to manny BJJ gyms and this one is hands down the best gym I have…read morebeen too in over 15 years. Amazing kids, women's, and adult classes. They offer 5am, 1pm, and 6pm classes. World class jiu Jitsu in Nampa, ID.

208 Jiu jitsu is not just a Jiu jitsu school but a family. Quality instruction by experienced…read morehusband and wife owners who are both black belts. With both aspects in mind your Jiu jitsu will get better and you will have a great time training with some awesome people. This is my home away from home and I always look forward to each class.

Great pricing and value. No saunas at my local one so that is a bummer. Clean, nice staff and a…read moregreat place to work out!

As soon as I walked in, I could feel a negative vibe. Nobody talks to each other. Where I come…read morefrom, the gym is like a party. This place was a morgue. The front desk staff were very nice, but the clientele felt like the inmates at Leavenworth prison. Particularly one short, overly tattooed, white runt with spiky hair, about 40, wearing wireless earbuds so he can't hear all the negative things people are saying about him, who sits on machines for 20 minutes texting and not allowing anybody else to use them. I asked if I could work in and he said he had one more set. Then he started texting like a 15-year-old girl for another five minutes. I finally said something to him and he acted like I was the one being the jerk. What a tiny, sad life he must have, always trying to prove he's "tough", even to people that are friendly to him. Probably got bullied in elementary school and has been taking it out on the world ever since. Then I tried to use the other lap pull down machine, and the second guy using that one gave him an attitude about working in on it too, even though I asked him in a very friendly way. The first guy got up and walked away from the machine so I finally got to use the one I wanted to use in the first place, but then he came back and said he was still using it. This is about 10 minutes after I asked him if I could work in. We got into a ridiculous discussion until I finally had enough and told him he could have the machine if it was that important to him and that he clearly needed the little victory more than I did. I have two black belts and could've mopped the floor with him, but I just wanted to finish my workout. I walked away and used a different machine and observed as he and some other guys joked and laughed about it, trying to regain whatever actual pride he has, I suppose. And it suddenly dawned on me that the regular members at this gym are purposely harassing new people because the gym is probably overcrowded and they want to intimidate people so they won't come back. This should be a great concern to the manager because he's going to lose a lot of business running a gym full of jerks. They seem to have created their own little mafia, except without the actual deadliness. I would suggest hiring somebody that doesn't use the gym to pose as a new member and try to work in with some of the muscleheads in there to see if this is a strategy of theirs. When I was leaving, I complained to the front desk, but they didn't even offer to take a report or show any interest. They were very nice, but the right thing to do would've been to ask me to point this clown out to her so that she could know who the troublemaker of the Jim were for future reference. If that was my gym and there were short man complex afflicted butt flaps like him treating classy members like that, I would cancel their memberships. This gym is way out of my way. I was only there because I had some business in Nampa that day so I won't be back. If I do happen to need to use the gym again, let it be known that Shorty has used up his one free pass.