This martial arts academy is super friendly from the front staff to the instructors…read more Pricing is excellent and great activity for kids to be introduced to Muay Thai. Been taking kids to this location for 2 years and highly recommend for parents and even for adults to take lessons.

Elite is filled with everything needed for a proper martial arts environment. People of all skill…read morelevels to learn along side and push you further, a variety of class types for fitness and skill levels, be it competitive, self-defense driven, or just cardio and some hard work. Everyone is treated with respect and greeted with smiles. Excellent tutelage along with guest coach appearances on occasion by high level athletes in various fields, I've been going to Elite for almost 2 years whenever possible, and always miss everyone I've gotten to know when I can't make it down. Do yourselves a favor and swing down to check it out!

We had an unfortunate billing issue stemming from the old ownership when we went to a closer gym…read more As soon as we uncovered it, the new ownership dealt with it immediately and professionally. They turned a problem that was not their fault into a huge win. Thank you!

Neuro-Divergent kids need not apply…read more If I were rating Element on the Karate program alone they would get five stars: the instructors are fantastic. They are able to run diverse classes where participants are different ages and abilities, and somehow still make themselves available before or after class if anyone needs to talk to them. The other instructors could learn a lot from the Karate instructors. My 9 year old child has ADHD and she normally brings a ton of energy and enthusiasm to class. She also bring defiance and outbursts if she doesn't understand something or is frustrated. Apparently these outbursts were happening frequently in classes other than Karate, but I had no idea until one by one the other instructors kicked her out of their classes. When 5 Elements became Element the new ownership heavily discouraged parents from remaining on the premises so I was not in the habit of staying during class. There was no way for me to know my daughter's behaviour was becoming a bigger and bigger problem until I was told she was not welcome in first Jujitsu, then Boxing and finally Muay Thai. After the first ban we did a round of occupational therapy to help my daughter control her outbursts and have been practising the techniques ever since. I thought all was well until the second two bans were issued. Again, I did not know her behaviour was still a problem because nobody told me. By the time the instructors bothered to talk to me they were so upset that they were unwilling to work together and find a solution; they instead chose to ban my daughter. Since most of the classes were no longer available to my daughter we decided to end her membership. Technically they should have charged me, since we had committed to a year, but they waived the fees without a fight. This all went down right around billing time, but they also refunded the money for the upcoming month even though it should have been too late. This could be interpreted either as excellent customer service or the desire to get my daughter out of the dojo before I had the chance to tell the other parents how we were treated. If you are an adult, or if your child is only interested in Karate, you will do fine here. If you have an ND child interested in a variety of disciplines I would recommend you keep looking.

Did you know that there's an honest to goodness classic European sword combat school in Calgary?…read more I'm not talking about fencing, and definately nothing to do with Japanese or Chinese style, but the classic Longsword and combat skills used that was the standard for European combat for centuries in the days of knights and armour. And I DEFINATELY do not mean the style that is flashy, looks exciting but still safe as practiced by the Society of Creative Anachronism (the international organization that re-enacts a weird modern idealized version of the middle ages, minus the rats, the plague and lack of toilets). Sword Academy is a different kind of animal where martial arts schools are concerned. Taught by Sword Master and former Serbian Olympic champion, Milan Petrovic, Sword Academy teaches the European martial arts as taught to the knights using classic manuals and methods dating back to the 12th century. Broadsword, Longsword, Open Hand, Rapier and other classic arms, the style taught is effective, and very much respected. Members are taught to respect the traditions of the old, and the history and techniques. In fact, on top of the martial skills, members are also given the opportunity to learn how the weapons were actually forged and to make them themselves as well. Master Petrovic takes care to teach with various levels of safety based on skill, with beginner training in wooden swords before progressing to higher levels of difficulties (eventually progressing to training with actual steel). Practice combats are done with safety in mind at all times, Classes are taught in a way to take into account ages (from children to adults) as well as proficiency, and it's a great way to work out as well. Sunday classes are at Cederbrae, but also taught in other areas in town during the week. #51 of Yelp's 30-Day Review Challenge

I first joined Sword Academy in 2015 after learning about it from a friend. I had long been…read moreinterested in historical European martial arts and have been immensely satisfied that I finally took the plunge and participated myself. Sword Academy is not a competitive or exclusive club - there is light sparring only and any responsible individuals are welcome. Milan's emphasis is on learning historical technique and context, improving general fitness and skills, and on having fun. The group is welcoming and friendly toward beginners and always eager to help new members out, loan them swords, and give advice. The class also offers members plenty of exercise per week as the first hour of each two hour session is spent in a "warm-up" game of some kind - ultimate, basketball, soccer, badminton etc. I have found that as the months went by, especially in the summer when two sessions are offered per week, that my fitness level improved noticeably. Different fighting systems and weapons are also rotated on a regular basis at Sword Academy, often with class input. I find this works quite well as it avoids boredom doing one weapon or system for too long while also building up similar fundamental skills throughout. I heartily recommend Sword Academy to anyone interested in historical weapons based martial arts and who wants to have fun and get some exercise while doing it, all in a comfortable non-competitive atmosphere.

I have to say I really wanted to like this place however it turned out to extremely disappointing…read more Their prices ARE fair which I suppose is what appealed to me initially. The place is old and run down (equipment and facility) and they have really odd hours. Several times I headed over there (based on the hours on the website) only to find that they were closed. When I tried to inquire with the owner about what the actual hours were... I got a rude attitude in return. Maybe he was having a bad day whatever...but not exactly the kind of service or environment I was expecting. I have since canceled with them and switched to Mike Miles Muay kcikboxing and I could be happier with them. - wish I would have started there to begin with.

From the owner: Authentic Ninpo and Jujutsu martial arts training in a traditional Japanese Dojo. Fitness, full…read moretraditional Japanese weaponry, etiquette, real world street self defence, in a caring and professional atmosphere for ages 8 to adults. We also do some outdoor training throughout the year.

I used to take swimming lessons here! However, recently I have been going to the YMCA in Quarry…read morePark. I used to always love this YMCA but recently I have been feeling unsafe here as the train station is so close by I think a lot of homeless people come here as I have seen people sleeping inside before. As well, the high school is attached so I do't necessarily enjoy going here during the day. It is so busy and impossible to get parking. Quarry Park is a new beautiful location and is not near a train station and does not have a high school attached.

Woke up and felt the need to open my lungs and pump my heart after a weekend of eating! =O hahah…read more So, I pulled out my complementary day pass for YMCA and headed out to step class. The step class was great! It wasn't too crowded so I had tons of space and they also provided towels. Being a beginner, I totally thought I would miss many steps but the instructor gave great instructions which were easy to follow. Overall, the staff here are friendly and helpful - especially the girl at the front desk who, when I was asking about membership, asked how old I was?!?!?! I'm well past the age of 18 which is an adult memebership! lol. I guess I coulda gotten a teen membership?!?! The building is connected right beside the Calgary Public Library. It's clean and nice & separated into two floors. They have all the usuals here. A pool, a fitness area, a weight circuit, stretch area, & gym. The locker room is fairly long with ample lockers for usage. They provide locks too! If you need a lock, make sure you get one at the entrance gate (they'll ask for a card with your name on it to hold it). There are a LOT of machines upstairs in the fitness/weight area. The machines are newer and fancy with lots of variety. I even saw one that simulated moving uphill on cross country ski's - it was cool. I was there at 10am and it was BUSY! For the busier weight machines, I had to wait my turn.... which was kinda awkward since the machines are kinda close together with only room between them for traffic flow, so I felt like I was in the way of traffic while waiting. One last thing... they provide 'wet wipes' for you to clean the equipment after your usage which makes me happy cuz I know that they care about not spreading germs. =)