East Side Muay Thai is the best Muay Thai gym in the Hampton Roads area! Conveniently located in…read morethe Strawbridge Marketplace Shopping Center. This gym provides a great environment for all levels of traditional Muay Thai with Intro Classes, Kids classes, Advanced Classes, and Fight Team Level! Anyone from no experience to advanced is welcome to class and the community at East Side is wonderful! No big egos and the head coach/owner, Jose is mindful of partner pairing with someone that will take care of you. Everyone is nice and supportive for class making you feel comfortable to train! Kru Jose is an amazing head coach who has a passion for Muay Thai and an impressive portfolio of experience within the Muay Thai community! Jose coaches all classes and provides detailed instructions for class by a combination of learning styles for everyone. What I like the most is that there is accountability and structure for the class to elevate your level of training, and motivate you to push yourself to be better each time. The other coaches Summer and Zedd are also amazing at teaching and supporting the gym! Summer leads women's classes on Saturday mornings and supports intro/advanced classes too making a great impact on women who also train at the gym. The gym has a history of successful active junior and adult fighters with championship titles! The gym is clean and spacious with a full-size boxing ring as well! If anyone is looking for a gym that will teach you the fundamental techniques of traditional Muay Thai and provide a great atmosphere/community this is the gym for you!

Welcoming , clean, and professional. Learning a lot and looking forward to more. Classes for all…read moreages

Outstanding. We love this place. Our kids get lots of one…read moreon one instruction. They get challenged. They learn respect, integrity, humility, perseverance....along with jujitsu & Muay Thai. Kru Wassei is an excellent teacher who is constantly coaching. It is clear that he wants his students to learn and excel. He commands respect, and his assistant coaches share these traits. Highest recommendation!!

As a 47 almost 48-year-old with no martial arts experience I was a bit apprehensive about starting…read moremy journey. After a bit of research, it was suggested to train in Muay Thai at my age, after further research, and visiting and speaking with head instructor Wahsei I made the decision to train at Eastern Academy of Mixed Martial Arts. I have been only training, for a little over a month and I am really glad I started Muay Thai and chose to train here. Head instructor Wahsei is extremely patient no matter what your skill level is. He is extremely knowledgeable in a multitude of martial arts and spends a lot of his own resources to attend further trainings and seminars in order to improve upon his own training and teachings. A great example of this, is when I had some issues getting my foot work correct during a drill. Instead of trying to keep the drill up and causing frustration for myself, he switched to two different drills that covered the same exact principle but was easier for more to conceptualize. The students in the classes are very patient as well and are very welcoming. You can easily tell they are well trained, disciplined, and follow the golden rule. If they see you struggle with a concept or drill, they will stop and help you within the moment to get you back up to speed. They understand they were beginners once as well and are always willing to help you. Not a lot of people have that mentality. The facility is well equipped, extremely clean, and always being updated. I have really enjoyed my time here so far. I am starting to feel better about myself and have been getting into a routine for a healthier lifestyle. If you are thinking about a martial art, whatever skill level you are, do not wait (I wish had not) and stop by or contact Head Instructor Wahsei.

Fabulous Tang Soo Do (Korean martial art ~ karate) and Brazilian Jui Jitsu training center with…read moreindividual, couples and family memberships that grant access to programs/classes for all experience/ages. In addition to yoga and female self defense classes, they're the only certified Gracie Jui Jitsu gym around; there are even photos of the owners/instructors with Grand Master Rorion taken in the gym. They run unlimited membership trial specials ranging from 10-14 days at no cost, including a uniform! Our son has been enrolled in "Gracie Bulleyproof" since Oct 2017 and he loves it; though he's small for his age, we like that Gracie has structured rules of engagement, first focusing on avoiding altercations then preparing him how to diffuse situations and defend himself as a last resort. The non-striking aspect was key, especially since he's likely to "practice" on his younger boy-so-littler brother. All of his instructors really care about the kids and take time to teach/demonstrate on their levels of understanding and experience. Our son's favorite is Bernardo, who just happens to be from Brazil! The gym does a great job of making you feel like a member of a family while also valuing you as a paying customer. Going out of town for a long period of time? They've allowed us to freeze our membership without ridicule! It's a worthwhile investment and experience that I personally wish I would have undertaken sooner.

Awesome, awesome place to train. Let's get the boring stuff out of the way: the facilities are…read moregreat. They have a spacious training room mainly for the karate classes that has brand new padding that makes falling feel like landing on pillows (ok, so not THAT soft). There is also a secondary training room that is used for the Gracie Jiu-jitsu with even softer padding. In addition to all this, there is even a mini gym with elliptical machines and weights (free and machines). Now, the reason this place is really great: the people! The owner, Bill Odom, is open and friendly and I think knows every student by name. The instructors are knowledgeable and makes learning fun for both kids and adults. Norfolk Karate Academy is also very family friendly. There are entire families who train here and everyone is very welcoming. There is usually some event every month such as parents' date night (drop the kiddies off), a potluck, or seminars taught by experts such as Felix Valencia or Javier Vasquez. A must try for those looking to keep training or to learn something new.

The coaches here are excellent - knowledgeable and good at conveying information. So far, I've…read moretried the Muay Thai, bag class, strength and conditioning, and MMA wrestling classes. All of which are fun while maintaining a good intensity, and there are plenty of women to train with. Everyone I've met have good vibes which also makes training great.

Muay Thai class was so awesome! There is strength and conditioning class as well! I had such a…read morewonderful training!

Very legit Ving Tsun training. Authentic lineage and wonderful teaching experience. Always clean…read moreand professional. If you want to learn traditional kung fu. Look no further!

Sifu William Moy is amazingly helpful knowledgeable and patient in teaching his students. He is a…read moregenerous and kind individual.

We have followed Coach David since he was just a coach somewhere else. He is the best martial arts…read moreand self-defense coach on the entire East Coast. Our entire family practices Krav Maga here at Katalyst and we couldn't imagine ever going anywhere else. The practical applications for every move we learn is crucial. We work on self-defense techniques that would actually be needed in life versus competition submissions or cage fights. While all of the martial arts and self-defense classes are similar to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, and MMA, we have our own style and flavor here.

Every woman and every teen needs to be taking classes here! I started over a year ago and my…read moreconfidence in protecting myself, and loved ones, as well as my situational awareness has significantly increased. I've learned techniques that can take a man 2x my size down. Weapons week and grappling are my favorite, but grips and holds are by far the most important to learn for everyday situations. The instructors are AMAZING - although it's a group class, they constantly give one-on-one critique because their #1 goal is safety first. I wish I was introduced to this studio sooner.

This is the best and most authentic martial art studio in eastern Virginia! The staff is very…read moreknowledgeable and skilled in kickboxing!!

this is a great school. I travel for work and have trained in many different schools. I was in…read moreNorfolk for several months and they have solid instruction and a great environment. the kids program looked well ran and attended. as a visiting blackbelt I was treated very well. VBJJ is a well established school with a bench of solid upper belts to learn from and train with. The owners credentials are rock solid, and he is very friendly. There are a lot of military and LEO that train here. If you are seeking a safe place to learn top flight jiu Jitsu with a welcoming environment, this is it.

I took my daughter to attend a Jiu Jitsu class here to improve her self confidence and to learn…read moreself defense. After class she was very shaken up saying she didn't like the professor. She was very harsh and denigrated our family beliefs. I can't recommend this venue.