Our son has been going to East Bay Fencers Gym for the past 8 years, and it has been a great…read moreexperience for him. The training at EBFG is rigorous and extensive, but each coach ensures to take the time to talk one-on-one with each individual student. Abdul, Joel, and Justin are passionate and truly care about the EBFG community and its members. Furthermore, the classes are relatively small so you will definitely find new friends and learn each other's fencing styles, slowly expanding your knowledge and improving your understanding of fencing strategy. Our son has just left for college, and with the time he spent at EBFG, he hopes to continue fencing for as long as he can. Also, he will make sure to visit the gym when he is back home. We are sure that anyone who comes to visit EBFG will see its vibrant community and see why it is a superb fencers' gym.

The best epee fencing gym in the bay area…read more Ive been a member of Abdul's gym for 13 years and can honestly say it changed my life! Abdul helped me get in shape, introduced me to his wonderful fencing community, and coached me to become a competitive athlete on a national stage which helped get me into college. If you're willing to put in the work, there's so much potential here. If you show up to a practice, you can expect the first 30mins to be a cardio packed calisthenics group workout. Afterwards there's 5mins of static stretching, followed by 10mins of group footwork. Then the open bouting begins, which can last up to 2hrs on a busy night.

Han Martial art school has a very well-structured curriculum, and the instructors do a wonderful…read morejob teaching students the skills and techniques they need to learn at each belt level. The Masters are kind, patient, and truly care about the students. They create such a positive and supportive environment where children are encouraged to learn, grow, and follow good examples. It's a wonderful place for kids to build not only their Taekwondo skills, but also confidence, discipline, and respect.

My daughter and I have been learning Taekwondo at Han Martial Arts for about a year now but what…read moreI've enjoyed the most is watching my daughter become more confident and poised while also becoming stronger and more skilled at Taekwondo. The mental focus and concentration needed for taekwondo has not only helped my daughter's academic performance but has also sharpened her social and mentoring skills. She is 10 years old but has become smarter, sharper, more focused and more confident while learning Taekwondo at Han Martial Arts. I would recommend Han Martial Arts to anyone of any age because it's so much more than taekwondo - it's valuable life skills you can use at any age and at anytime. - Tom

I've trained here off and on and I love it. The coaching staff is amazing. I have attended the…read morebeginner classes as well as the advanced class. The fundamentals class is very welcoming and taught in a very understandable way. The advanced class has world class champions,literally. I am very satisfied with this dojo. You won't find another like it. You have to check out the new dojo. They put a lot of love and effort into this place.

A truly wonderful beginning tumble class for active and/or shy toddlers. You can tell the…read moreinstructors love this place and what they do. They are so patient and engaging with the students. Both my boys have loved the tumble class. We happy to have found a wonderful group of instructors and new friends in our class.

I've brought my shy quirky five year old here for her first ever experience of a class of any sort…read moreand Dom had her charmed within two days. He really went the extra mile with her to make her feel welcomed and included and to balance expectation with flexibility so that she feels taken seriously while not having more heat on her than she can handle. It's meant the world to us. He's really something special.

I've been dropping by for cross training with Dom and the team and keep coming back. Dom has…read morecultivated a welcoming environment from kids through higher belts and I always leave having had fun and learned something. Open mats are also a good time with the crew being down to work on stuff. 5/5.

The community at Filhos de Bimba - California Bay Area School of Capoeira is very welcoming,…read morecaring, and supportive. Professor Malandro is inclusive to visiting capoeiristas and teaches with respect, encouragement, and passion to transmit his knowledge and love for Capoeira Regional. I formally train with a Capoeira group in San Francisco and wanted to train more this summer, Malandro welcomed me to train with him and I'm glad I did. After the first class I learned to be mentally ready to work hard from the start of the class till the end. There are only a couple of water breaks (few seconds) throughout the class, and for the full 2 hour of class you are always moving. The movements vary from doing a movement as a class, on your own, doing movements across the floor, doing a sequence with a partner or with a chair, stretching, or singing. NO MATTTER WHAT, Malandro keeps the students always moving, even when I found myself out of breath I pushed myself to continue. There is a high expectation that everyone keeps up with which encouraged me (and force me) to go beyond what my body was used to. Malandro is a patient teacher, he pointed out details on moves that I needed to adjust once, twice, three times... until I did it right. He also provides adequate support when a movement is challenging, when doing "salto mortal" he supported me through the movement, not asking me whether I felt comfortable before doing it actually empowered me to try it because that meant he believe that I was capable of doing it. Malandro provides consistency between classes, combining movements together, practicing them with different partners and repeating them in consecutive classes really help me learn and comfortably remember a movement to later use it in the roda. After every class I felt accomplished (and exhausted!) to have crossed my comfort zone and practice take downs to the point where my feet were bruised and my body was sore. I definitely learned not to be afraid of falling and to respect and trust the person that I'm playing with. I look forward to train again with these amazing people that are full of energy and never give up! I recommend Filhos de Bimba - California Bay Area School of Capoeira to other fellow capoeiristas and also to people who have never tried Capoeira before, Malandro and his students will welcome you with a smile and support and encourage you as you discover new ways that your body can move.

I came to Filhos de Bimba out of curiosity in February of this year, I have always wanted to learn…read morecapoeira and was immediately welcomed into a generous tight knit multigenerational community of Capoeiristas entwined by the dance, music, emotion and politics of the marital art. Aqualtune, like her namesake is a powerful leader of our class, she is a generous, kind, patient, passionate professor who guides the class with skill, laughter and care. She is excellent in taking time and breaking down the moves, rhythms and songs for the group, while pushing us. Along with reconnecting with my body, I have found very healing is learning how to play the pandero and learning the songs for the roda. I didn't learn how to play music as a child and feel so grateful to experiment with instruments, voice in such a loving, gentle community. A great beauty of capoeira is the pedagogical style were the novice gets paired with someone who is more experienced this allows for everyone to learn form everyone, since my first class I have had meny teachers from the new students to the experts: Posas, Minha do Tigresa, Malandrino, and, of course, Mestre Malandro. Each one has helped me how feel more confidant with each movement and singing/playing the pandero in the rodas. I am very grateful for capoeira as an art and to learn with such an amazing school.

Master Pitts is an amazing teacher. In addition to his skill at working with all age levels…read more(toddler through adult), he has so much patience in working with the kids. My children started with him when they were 3, and they were so wiggly and had never been in a structured learning setting prior to starting with Master Pitts. His instruction was wonderful, and my kids loved going to classes. In addition, the community of students and families connected to the Academy was so warm and welcoming. I started taking my own classes not too long after, and I had a great experience, too. Unfortunately we moved far away, but I still miss Master Pitts and the community of martial artists he nurtured.

This place is a gem! And Master Pitts is a one-of-a-kind martial arts instructor! It's obvious he…read moregenuinely cares about each and every student. I've walked by this dojo many times on my way to yoga. I remember seeing small groups of kids classes here and Master Pitts always seemed really nice. When my son turned 3yrs old and started to be able to follow instructions a little better, this was the first place I wanted to check out for classes. My husband and I stopped by one evening to ask about the Little Ninja class and paid to do a one time drop in class to see if our son would connect to it. Boy are we happy we did because my son LOVES THIS CLASS. My favorite thing about this place is Master Pitts' commitment to instilling confidence and integrity in the kids. The first thing they are instructed to do upon entry of every class is to shout "I will do my best!" Before they leave, they shout "I did my best!" This alone is priceless. If your little one is shy or not very confident, this is a safe and caring space to help them build their self esteem. Classes vary a little each time so the kids stay interested and engaged. They learn to stretch, kick, and punch. Most importantly, they practice listening and following instructions. Every class ends with each student shaking hands with one another and saying "courtesy and respect." If your kid is on the younger side like mine (under 4 or 5yrs old), expect to get up from the sidelines to help them. Master Pitts is also great about going around to help the kids individually and there is always a second instructor who helps as well. I highly recommend this place for kids. If you can't take my word for it, bring your kid in to do a drop-in class and you'll see for yourself just how AMAZING Master Pitts is with children.

My daughter started lessons recently and is in Iove with fencing already. The coaches and staff…read more(Coach George and Elizabeth) are phenomenal and welcoming. My daughter was a bit shy at first, but warmed up quickly. The building is beautiful as well!

I came here on a whim with my friends and it's one of the strangest yet most fun activities I've…read moregotten myself into awhile. I'm not what you'd call an athlete, as the only exercise I really do is running (low maintenance and gives you a good high). For some reason, I thought fencing may be an interesting way to cross-train...except that it'll leave your body very asymmetrical. My right quad, left calf, left hip flexor, and right bicep are currently all super sore right now after last night's lesson. So far, I've received instruction primarily from Marty and she's really, really great. I adore her. When you see her demonstrate some moves, she has such amazing grace and control, I can only imagine that in a real-time fencing situation, she'd kick so much butt! Elana is the other instructor (I'm not sure if there are more?) and I believe she teaches beginners and kids. They're both really funny/sarcastic, very clear in their explanations, very patient, and fantastic at teaching. The staff in general here is also really cool and the regulars are all nice and don't judge you (and by the general you, I mean me) for sucking. Everyone is realllllly nice and that inviting atmosphere makes a huge difference. There's also usually free food (pizza, beer, Marty's guacamole, etc) at the end of class too. I seriously can't recommend West Berkeley Fencing Club enough, especially for locals with kids who want to get them to do something fun and different. Or college students (you get a kickass discount if you have valid college ID)! Just...be sure to practice the exercises on your non-dominant side too :)

I really enjoy the authentic traditional training. The instructors are volunteers sharing the…read moreknowledge they learned from those who did the same. Part of Shotokan Karate of America. I strongly recommend going and trying them out. All levels welcome, even if you haven't tried martial arts before.

Immediately felt like family when I joined this dojo. I practiced a different form of karate for…read moreyears but took a break for a decade, and this was the first place I returned to and I'm glad I did. The workouts are great, and it being an older dojo, you can tell that there are years of wisdom to learn from. Also, the small class size lends itself well to a personal and thorough teaching style. I would strongly recommend this dojo to anyone who is interested in karate.