A few months moving to the western suburbs, my family and I were very excited to learn about a…read moreGracie Barra jiu jitsu studio right around the block from our new home. I knew jiu jitsu would be the perfect sport for my five year old son. Little did I know at the time, but we had also found the perfect academy. The coaches here are excellent with the kids, teaching them discipline, skill and a love for the sport in a way that does not put too much pressure on them but allows them to individually cultivate their physical and emotional knowledge in a very healthy way. I have seen great change in my son in many positive ways, and he is always very excited for class, now attending up to four or five times a week. GBDG has become almost like a second home for him, where he has made good friends and learned much about life, even if he may not yet fully understand all he has learned. After about 7 months of his being there, I myself decided to join the team. My personal experience in training has been excellent as well. I do not have background in martial arts, but this has not overly impaired my development as the training program is very methodical, helping me slowly come to understand the inner mechanisms of jiu jitsu as opposed to just being expected to utilize brute force. Professors Carlos, Pedro, and Coaches Alex and Vince (who brings incredible energy to his work with the kids!) really live up to the Gracie Barra motto: Jiu jitsu for everybody.

Great staff and teaching. They keep you involved and spend the time one on one to improve your…read moreskills

My daughter started at TBK last month and the entire experience has been top notch! The staff are…read morenot only well-versed in the skill sets but they also know how to capture and maintain the attention of the students.

We started our middle 4.5 yr old son in TBK during the summer to give him a new athletic experience…read moreand work on his self control at the same time. I've been very impressed with TBK's system and welcoming attitude to a new martial arts family. He started out very shy, needing me on the mat with him. He's now confident and vocal in class. I look forward to his continued progress and fun at TBK.

Master Kim and Master Kang are amazing with my 4-year-old daughter! They are so patient and…read moreencouraging, and they teach much more than Taekwondo--respect, patience, sharing, and confidence. She was welcomed from day one and is thriving. You can tell the Masters love the children, they never forgot my daughters name once. The positive, family-friendly atmosphere makes all the difference. Highly recommend!

Master Kim and Master Kang command respect while making class engaging and enjoyable for all…read morestudents. They differentiate their instruction effectively to support their students' varying belt / skill levels. They are aware of when to step in and give more specific instruction when a student may be struggling with form. They both have wonderful senses of humor and are kind which makes children want to come to class. I am more than impressed with how they run their facility and would highly recommend them.

Masters Kim and John are truly excellent with kids. Fantastic place for kids to learn martial arts,…read morediscipline and develop self-confidence. They know each kid by name in group sessions and give personalized attention in small groups. I highly recommend BBE.

Master Kim rocks with kids! My son listens to every word, can't wait to go to class and is…read morebuilding his confidence and physical abilities. The kids have so much respect for him and he helps them with discipline and respect but he also makes them laugh ! It's a nice studio, easy to get to and the people who go are very nice. It's a bit expensive but I did not compare it to others. For us, it's worth the money. Only thing I would change is have the younger kids classes a bit later so that it was not always a mad rush to get there after work.

My friends and I signed for a beginners women's self defense class. It runs for 8 weeks on…read moreThursday's. They did move locations in January and some of the gps platforms have not updated their address yet. Make sure to grab their address from their welcome email. Two women teach the class and they are very informative. They also have multiple Bobs where you perform the moves on. The instructors help you walk through each movement. We learned a lot on Day 1 and I'm excited for what's to come.

Looking for a place to learn self defense, WARRIORS EDGE IS…read moreTHE PLACE. It's a martial art suited for anyone. Aiki Ninjutsu teaches its students to use the momentum of the attacker to one's advantage. I joined Warrior's Edge to learn self defense and also to provide a cardio workout. Starting out as a white belt can seem overwhelming training with higher belt levels, but not at Warrior's Edge. It's a great bunch of people that are eager to help you progress. Any doubts, sign up for a free class and you'll be hooked.

The instructors have been great with my 5 year old and even though there are a ton of kids in the…read moreprogram, they known each child by name and work closely with them to move each kid's practice forward. Major bonus for the great flexibility for working parents.

Great Place. Recently joined after belonging to a different school. I made the right choice by…read moreswtiching to Strive. Master Bill and staff are phenominal. I learned more in 2 days here than i did in 2 months at old school. Master Bill knows how to properly teach as well as explain all methods. After you leave class, you will realize what a great workout you received. I highly recommend this school. I am 45 years old and just starting my journey

Gym is pretty run down and limited in what it offers (a lot of heavy bags, some plyoboxes and one…read moresquat arch and "joe welder" bench. I dont know if they're even still doing classes, but it's nice to go in, put your headphones on and hit a heavy bag

Highly recommend!! Very supportive atmosphere and knowledgeable caring coaches! Serious trainings…read moreand people are committed to what they are doing

You won't find better and more authentic Kung Fu place than Illinois Shaolin Kung Fu, for both,…read morekids and adults Kung Fu training. I've been training there for a year and a half together with my teenage son, and we both love it. We love authenticity of the place, love Master Chen and Sean and their style of teaching, love learning Forms and working with different weapons /staff, sword, broad sword, nunchucks, spear, even bull whip - we both love working with all of these, and I am a female/. To train with real Shaolin Master, captain of Shaolin Temple Performance Team side to side and to watch him going over the movements is unforgettable experience. Don't get me wrong, it's a hard work /that what kung fu means, hard work/, the warm up is like a bootcamp , cool down is another one , but you will definitely get in shape you've never been in and maybe loose few pounds. I also love flexible schedule, they have classes for every level almost every day, weekends too, you even have 2 options. I love parents train together with kids, we practice together with my son at home and test together, we have fun together. I also take Tai Chi class there and I highly recommend trying this one too. I can't speak of this place and quality of Master Chen's training highly enough. Thank you Illinois Shaolin Kung Fu Academy for this opportunity!

I was a former student at this school and I really enjoyed being in the class for the first few…read moremonths although I did started to gain anxiety over the belt tests and trying not to mess up all the time which was a problem for me. Although Kung Fu did helped me to learn some self defense, but it's mostly motion movements. I would recommend who is really into martial arts but I'm personally into more self defense techniques which wasn't shown up in Kung Fu.