On Saturday, October 11, 2014, Gracie Barra Vancouver & Raz Chan Fitness presented Women's…read moreSelf-Defense Seminar as a fundraising event for Battered Women's Support Services. Seventeen women attended and it was excellent!! Much gratitude to Raz Chan, Anica Simon, Max Rathburn, Norm Leung, Andrea, Robert and Carla. It was excellent!!

Before coming to Gracie Barra, I had already been a hardcore MMA fan for years. That said, I'd…read morenever really trained in martial arts before and the few attempts were awful: I tried wrestling in college, but the program at my school consisted of doing around 600 crunches and countless push-ups while rarely actually receiving any instruction on techniques. The judo program I tried was filled with "alphas" who were more intent on putting new guys through the floor more than anything else. As such, you can understand my hesitation about joining a martial arts gym again. It was something I was naturally curious about but, given my prior experiences, extremely nervous. So after doing a LOT of research about all the various schools in the Vancouver and Richmond areas, I settled on Gracie Barra and now, a year later, I cannot imagine having chosen any other gym. One thing that really sets GB apart from other gyms is how beginner friendly their method of instruction is. New students are paired off with more experienced students who are more interested in helping and encouraging more than anything else. If you're not in the best physical shape or have never trained in a martial art, this is hugely beneficial. It'll encourage you to keep going and ensure that you keep getting better, learning all the time. GB emphasizes the "family" aspect, which means that all the students are there to help each other grow, not crush each other to satisfy their egos. Because of this, GB has a really, really positive atmosphere that makes it easy to learn and that'll keep you coming back until suddenly, you realize that you're not the new guy anymore. That's another thing too: Gracie Barra has fantastic people. Whether it's the instructors or your fellow students, these are all people that you'd genuinely want to hang out with. Even if it wasn't at all something you were expecting or looking for when you joined, you WILL end up making friends here, from all walks of life. I cannot overemphasize how huge a boon this is, especially for beginners. The bottom-line is this: if you're really interested in martial arts and want to get in shape, give this place a try. It doesn't matter if you're grossly out of shape or laughably uncoordinated and clumsy; GB WILL make you better without EVER annihilating you or making you feel badly about yourself. If you're nervous about trying a martial arts gym, there is nothing to fear about GB: just great people and great instructors. As for the technical aspects: Gracie Barra's bread and butter is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and there are students and instruction at all belt/skill-levels, with classes divided accordingly. There are also classes for muay thai, boxing, and conditioning. The average Gracie Barra class follows this structure: Warm-up (5-10 minutes genuinely geared to WARMING YOUUP, not making you puke) Technique 1 (usually a takedown, demonstrated, then drilled back and forth with a partner) Technique 2 (something on the ground, either a transition, escape, or submission) Technique 3 (again, something else on the ground, generally a natural extension of technique 2) Sparring So yeah, if you're at all interested in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or curious GO TO GRACIE BARRA! You will not regret it. There is no gym that is more supportive to your growth both as a person and as a martial artist.

PTT offers a great space with excellent instructors. This is definitely the place to train jiu…read morejitsu and muay thai in Abbotsford.

Beautiful gym, World class, and family friendly instructors…read more This gym has been built for the student, wether they be 4 or 40. The instructors here truly care that their students are having fun and enjoying themselves while they are learning. They have they biggest mats space in the lower mainland if not BC, and are kept super clean. I started jiu jitsu and fell in love with the sport, and wanted my young daughter (3 at the time, she's now 4 turning 5)to be able to join with me and have it something we can share. We had attempted to enroll her in another martial arts school in town, but the environment there was not nurturing to her and she hated it. (My worst fear) We switched to ptt Abby 3 weeks ago and I am overjoyed to report that she has a renewed passion and love for the sport, the coaches make her feel like family and keep things fun and light. Teaching her respect and discipline at the same time maintaining a caring demeanor. She went from barely being able to make it through a 30 min class at the other gym, to now she does 2 classes back to back for a total of 90min . She loves training with her friends and begs me after daycare to go to her class. The knowledge my daughter has learned in such little time has also helped her with dealing with a schoolyard bully by herself, and reinforcing her own self confidence. I can't say enough great thing about these guys. World Class instructors in a clean, friendly and welcoming environment. They are always available and having classes in the day and night really helps me maintain training consistently even though I'm a shift worker. Give these guys a trial and you will not be disappoint

I was hesitant at first because I dislike drama, but I feel like this gym needs to be held…read moreaccountable, and this is the only way I can do it. I started bringing my 5- and 7-year-olds here for just under a year. They loved it; they made friends; my daughter competed in and won a huge tournament. I had truly thought I had found a treasure for my kids to grow in. My children are young, and the instructors here will encourage you, as a parent, to help your kids follow instructions and practice the techniques they are teaching. I had been doing this with my daughter and son every time we went; it was completely acceptable and encouraged. This is where everything went horribly wrong.....My daughter was practicing drills with a young boy I had known for quite some time. She was using the sweep technique incorrectly, so I quickly got on the floor with her and said, "Grab his collar or sleeves." Stop grabbing the back of his head. I got up and went back to my seat, as I had so many times before. I did not speak to this boy or even look at him; I only communicated with my daughter. For some reason, whatever I said to my daughter upset this boy; his mom became irate, and they stormed out of the gym. I got a call a few days later from 2 of the main coaches: "Jesse, we watched the video, and you did nothing wrong, but you can't come back to the gym. They also have cameras that prove everything I am saying. But because this boy is now disturbed by what I did and has a mother full of vitriol and hatred, their solution is to kick me out of the gym for doing exactly what they told me to do. I am the only one who can drive my kids to practice; they can no longer do jujitsu here. If you have kids and want to get them involved in Jujitsu, avoid this place at ALL COSTS. I imagine they will respond to this and try to defend themselves, but it's all bullshit, and I have proof. I will not forget this. And if the "mother" reads this, I hope you feel better about yourself. I hope hurting my children helps you and your child feel better, truly I do, at least you get something out of it, right? You should be so proud of yourself. What a great mother. Read less

Great gym. A great space to try out jiu-jitsu whether you're a seasoned veteran or a nervous…read morenewcomer.

Hit GB White Rock up while in Blaine,WA for work. Great gym with a lot of positive people…read moredeveloping their game. I felt right at home! Definitely worth the border crossing times to get a roll in with some of my GB brethren in BC, Canada!

One of the best jiu jitsu team. This place is family oriented and is very welcoming. Fantastic…read morelocation and a great facility to train in.

Amazing teacher and amazing people to train with. Being an older person and a women to boot, this…read moreschool made me feel welcome and comfortable the minute I walked in. True Jiu Jitsu in Victoria!!! The Machado lineage is as close as we can get to real Jiu Jitsu (unless we use time travel and trained with Helio!). Highly recommend this school!!

From the owner: Victoria, BC is now home to Western Canada's only affiliate school of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend,…read moreJean Jacques Machado at our Jiu-Jitsu is Jean Jacques Machado Jiu Jitsu Victoria school. We are dedicated to not only bringing the very best BJJ to Victoria, BC but to make Jiu-Jitsu affordable for everyone. New students can start with our 3 month intro to Jiu-Jitsu for only $30, after that, classes are as low as $60 per month. Join us now and see the difference Jiu-Jitsu can make in our life with Jean Jacques Machado Jiu Jitsu Victoria.

My 8 year old son loves coming to this facility. Very hands on and educational. Classes are Monday…read morethrough Thursday.

I stopped in the area visiting for a short family getaway. Mike welcomed me to visit and join his…read moreThursday evening class. I did not bring my Gi but his class was mixed with some Nogi students that hadn't received their Gi's yet. We went over side-control & he covered some good fundamentals & threw something in that I hadn't considered. I might have done it haphazardly before but his details were strong & universally applicable for new & experienced practitioners. Wish I could be here longer & get to roll with this crew more. All the students were eager to learn. Everyone had a great attitude and were there to go hard & be safe. If you make your way out here, I definitely recommend giving his spot a visit. Thank you Big Mike for allowing me to be a part of this crew tonight!

My family and I were in town for Spring Break and my husband reached out to see if we could bring…read moremy son to do a bit of training while in town. They were more than happy to accommodate us. The outside of the space is deceiving, but inside they had an absolute gorgeous facility! Very clean, modern and well kept. My son had such a great time rolling with the kids we went back another time during our stay that week. Great atmosphere, and the coaches were all super nice! Definitely will check out again next time we're in Victoria!

Float up from San Diego CA. Dropped in for a roll and loved every bit. The hospitality and culture…read moreof the gym is magnificent. There possibility be better ways to enjoy your visit but if you crave the mat then there just any other way. These guys rock and enjoyed my session.

Mr Darrow training you is the equivalent of Michael Jordan teaching you how to shoot a basketball…read more So methodical, and so technical. My wife and children all attend and we are so honored to have found this place, that's why it's booked full.

I've been training at Rockpile Dojo for almost a year and I've got to say its a great place to…read moretrain. I attend the Personal Combative classes on a regular basis. The main emphasis of the class is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu but we work on a lot of other martial arts as well. I was nervous the first time I went but that feeling was gone after the first class. The environment is very positive. Everybody in class is friendly and very helpful when your having trouble learning a new technique. Mr. Darrow is very patient and friendly. He breaks down every technique to the point that anybody can understand the mechanics. All in all its a great gym with a very positive environment. I would recommend this gym to anybody that is interested in learning martial arts or anybody that is looking for a fun productive way to work out.

A great place for kids and adults to learn Gracie Jiu-Jitsu within a safe, welcoming, and fun…read moreenvironment.