Update after the owner response: I initially gave a 2 star review because of my own experiences. Me asking about the fight team when I first joined two years prior is just a petty comment and has nothing to do with my critiques in the gym or my situation. I stand by everything I said. The lineage is in bJJ and wrestling and that is where cies shines. I am a white belt, but I've trained kickbixing with UFC strikers Pete Spratt and muay thai coach Kru Phet Phongsavane for more than 5 years as a casual non-professional athlete. I've also done multiple seminars with Duane Ludwig. I am allowed to have an opinion on striking and just because I've trained with people with good names doesn't mean I'm proficient. The gym itself is really nice. Weights, bags, a wall/fence, a changing room, and showers. The Bjj is also very good. I did sign up primarily for the kickboxing classes which were okay. There is a pretty basic push-pull system of striking. Left-right-left-right. The overall level of striking is pretty low. I'd suggest doing a trial class- you only get one though. You'll notice that they won't give you much feedback on form or application. Nothing on positioning, angles, or distance. You can judge for yourself by watching how the techniques are modeled for the class. Full transparency I did not attend regularly due to the nature of my work in a residential facility. This year I had a number of hardships to include becoming a full-time caregiver of my father, having my employment terminated due to cutbacks the day after closing on my home, having my dog attacked without pet insurace. I was the sole provider while my wife was in school. I offered the buisness owners any level of proof with documentation. I requested to have my account put on hold for payments after some level of financial stress in May. I requested 3 months of suspension. This was denied. Then when my father's health declined and my position was cut I requested to be released from my contract due to financial hardship. This was also denied. The contract does leave it to the owners discretion to terminate the relationship. But it was cited " its a tough time for everyone." On the rare occasion I did attend I believe I was always a good and selfless training partner for the fight team and for new members alike. I was never a trouble maker. I have 4 more months of payment before the contract is up. At some point I will go to the gym and hit the bags but I refuse to attend the classes. I won't have loyalty to a gym that won't consider people, circumstance, and hardship. I'll look elsewhere if I am ever able to attend combat sports classes regularly again. read more

I'd rate this as the #1 MMA facility in Colorado Springs. Gym is owned by the only head coach in Colorado Springs who fought and won in the UFC. The UFC is the highest stage of professional fighting so you know this place is legit. The best part of the gym for me is they have a variety of training so I don't get bored. Gi BJJ, No Gi grappling, boxing, kickboxing and of course Amateur & Professional MMA. On the days I don't feel like fight training I just hit up the weight room. They installed a complete Rogue Fitness style weight room with everything you need to get a full body workout. read more

Honestly, what isn't great about this place? It is truly the only one stop shop in Colorado Springs. The kids program is robust, and safe with 5 coaches on the mats all week. They have many membership options to choose from as well so it makes it easy to train. There is also never a shortage of training partners to work with, especially women as well. Other gyms in the area do not have the amount offered on this schedule either. Highly recommend stopping in! read more

I do not recommend Cies MMA for military, veterans etc. who have prior combatives experience who are looking for BJJ fundamentals. This is an MMA gym, which is great if that is what you are looking for. I am retired US Army with 20 years of service, Apache Helicopter pilot. 5 Combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan. 2 Purple hearts and multiple Air medals with Valor. I spent a lot of time rolling with the Army Combatives program and I felt like I had a pretty good base for ground rolling fundamentals. For BJJ fundamentals, I do not recommend this location. I also do not recommend this location for kid's classes. There is not enough safety's walking the line to ensure kids are being safe with arm bars and different submissions. Mike, the owner, is the only one walking the line and many times I have seen kids go a bit bar with no direct supervision because the lack of adult eyes watching the moves of the kids and insuring, they are not doing something wrong. Mike also lacks the communication skills needed to deal with children. I often saw him getting frustrated with the kids. Don't get me wrong, Barb and Mike attempt to be safe in all they do, but they cannot be everywhere at once. They just don't have a good system set up to allow other blue belts or purple belts to come in and help with the kids. There must be more than one set of eyes watching to ensure the kids are being safe. As of the last class I attended, this has not yet changed. I rolled at this gym for nearly 2 years on and off due my schedule (one week on, one week off due to work) For the weeks that I was here, I would attempt to roll regularly. During this time, I suffered from a hyper extended left arm, rolling with one of his blue belts who competes regularly, and hyper extended right knee, again rolling with one of his blue belts, a pulled right hamstring (out for 8 weeks), a cracked right-side rib, two broken toes on my left foot, and one broken toe on my fight foot. Never once did I complain or go to Coach Mike and say that the people, he chose for me to roll with were going too hard or complain that those guys were being too rough on me. I simply healed back up and came back to the gym when I was ready. I also only rolled at the level I felt I was being pushed to, if they rolled hard, I would roll hard back. About 3 weeks ago, Coach Mike asked me not to come back to his gym for 6 months, meaning I was being suspended for 6 months because two of his blue belts complained that I was rolling too hard. I am a white belt with no stripes. He said that I had received complaints before but not two in one day. First, he did this over Instagram. There was no professionalism in how he handled this. He could have called me or did this face to face, but he did it over Instagram messenger. (Having tech issues posting the IG DM he sent me) Caveat: I never knew heal hooks were not allowed in Gi. I simply rolled the same way all the time. Again, fundamentals. This guy Edgar was a blue belt who tried to jump out of me hold on to his leg, he popped his knee because of what he did, I never tweaked or pulled anything on him and I stopped as soon as I heard a pop. My son attended also, the part that pisses me off now is that he used my son as an excuse. If you have a problem with me, keep it to me. But here again, I'm hearing about this through Instagram. Bottom line, this could have been avoided if he just talked to me more. He has all my contact info; I gave it to him when I signed up for classes. Secondly, he has never pulled me aside in the entire time I was going to the gym, again almost two years total on and off, and given me mentorship. I never spoke to him besides hello and goodbye. Even then it was like trying to pull teach to get him to talk to me. I just kept telling myself, I'm not going to the gym to be his friend, I am going to get good training. He claims the Militech and Pena lineage, so I trusted I was getting good training. This is not to say that he does not have a great report with his regular "Cies Army" contenders who regularly go to tournaments and represent Cies. He talks and jokes with those guys all the time. But bear in mind, if you are not in that circle, you will not get any mentorship at all beyond the move of the day he is teaching. I am not exaggerating this. I have brought in multiple friends who say the same thing. He does not give fundamental instruction beyond the move of the day. He will not interact with you to give mentorship or further instructions or feedback if you are doing something consistently wrong. He WILL send you a message through Facebook or Instagram. I am not sure why he does this or chooses this way of communicating. Just seriously, if I need to do something different, then just tell me face to face on the spot and make the correction. Telling me he does not want me to come back to the gym over Instagram was not the preferred way I would have chosen to find out I was rolling too hard. read more

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My two boys have been going there for the last five months. I had a credit card on file that had a fraudulent charge on it when we went to Germany a month after they started so it was shut down and I got a new credit card. They never spoke to me or wrote me to inform us that they needed updated payment. We have had many conversations in these last few months and not once did they bring this to our attention. The first email I received from them was January 1st, 2024 which went straight to spam and was addressed to Ryan (my name is Josh, no Ryans in the family) saying we owed $200. Four months ago he sent us to collections without a word, email or mail and removed our children from their system. I am a businessman and they have known since September that I have been building our fourth business working 12+ hour days leaving my wife with our 4 small children. We can obviously pay but they never said anything to either of us! I am friends with Mike on Facebook and have been since he opened his first gym years ago. I boast his business to everyone interested in MMA and have for years since I know how hard it is to operate a successful business. So I am not just some stranger, they should have at minimum talked to me or my wife before taking such extreme measures. Absolutely wild! We have 4 boys under 6 and he has lost them as students and my respect permanently. Communication is not their forte and that's the energy they put off. Don't ever expect a greeting as a customer or "friend". Update: their response is to attack a 5 & 6 year old. Not once did his wife talk to my wife or I about any concerns, just that they were improving. What absolute slanderous liars they are! read more

Cies MMA - Email - Boxing Near Me - Colorado Springs, Colorado

I have travelled the world doing martial arts my whole life. I am no master of anything, but I know exactly what it is that I look for in a place I train. First and foremost, I want a head coach/instructor that knows how to teach. Second, I want my training partners to treat everyone with respect. Last, but not least, I want a clean environment/atmosphere. Cies MMA offers all these things, a hundred fold. Mike, the head coach, is amazing at what he does. The attention to detail when he teaches amazes me. Not only does he slowly break moves down for newer students, he also enlightens more experienced students with new layers to their game. His way of thinking and training is proven and you can look no further than his resume. He's made it to the big leagues of fighting, the UFC and has trained with some of the best to ever do it. He brings that knowledge back with him in his very own gym. The results speak for themselves. The gym has only been open for a few years and has already collected some hardware at tournaments all over the state. The students and teammates are respectful and friendly. My wife and I walked in with our two kiddos and we were welcomed right off the bat. Egos are left off the mats, the way it's supposed to be. These guys are top notch. I always feel accomplished whenever I leave the mats because I learn something new about myself every time. The atmosphere is what really drew my wife and I to stay. The mats were clean, the people are amazing, the coach knows what he's talking about, and the smell of progress is in the air. After training, it's smiles all around and it feels good that you get to grow with others around you. Even if you've got a little beat up, you come away with something new. It is a high level team that will push you to become a better you. Whether it be Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, or MMA, this is the place to be. It's a place full of people from different walks of life, learning to become better versions of themselves. Martial arts is a journey of a billion roads, but I am grateful to be part of this team in this current path. We are all swimming in the same ocean, just riding different waves. Jump in, you won't regret it! Oss! read more

Cies MMA - It's not about how good your Jiu Jitsu is, it's about how good Jiu Jitsu is for you. - Boxing Near Me - Colorado Springs, Colorado

Do not bring your little kids here to train! There are not enough staff to protect your children from injury. My 5 year old almost had his arm broken because the teachers were not watching. I had to yell at the other kid to stop which is against the rules since they want the parents to be silent. The lack of staff is also reflected in the dirtiness of the gym, it's very unsanitary. DO NOT put a credit card on file. As you can see from previous reviews, they will not inform you if a payment does not go through. They will send you to collections and not tell you for months just to try to get payment for a one year contract out of you while canceling your membership without your knowledge. They will gas light you and not help in any way to fix the situation even when they incorrectly give the credit company a wrong name, thus leaving you completely unable to access any information. They refuse to give the contracts or help remedy the situation. They severely lack communication to a level of unprofessionalism and genuine apathy. AVOID! read more

I enjoyed the kickboxing workout, but I would go somewhere else for it. They definately made me feel like I wasn't welcome there. When I signed up they offered a variety of classes that suddenly disappeared a week after opening. I work full time so I checked hours before signing up but those changed too so I couldn't make it as often. I showed up once and they weren't going to open the gym because someone they actually wanted to work with didn't show up. I showed up another time and waited for 30 minutes and they never opened for the class that was scheduled on their website. I've wanted to take a class like this for a few years, it sucks that this was my first experience with it. This was my girlfriends review under my account by mistake but none of it is any less true. You did have a "student" by the name Katrina for a few days. read more

CIES MMA is the best gym to go to for MMA, Muay Thai or BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) in the Springs. I had originally joined CIES through a Groupon and was amazed at the level of professionalism and family-like welcome and culture of everyone in the gym. After my Groupon ended, I decided to stick with training at the CIES MMA - other BJJ gyms I had been to in the Springs paled in comparison. If you want to go somewhere where you can get a great workout, learn self-defense and feel as welcome in the gym as you would feel welcomed by your family - CIES MMA is where it is at. Mike Ciesnolevicz (coach and owner) is both professional and works to enhance every students' abilities (whether it be in overall fitness, BJJ, Muay Thai or MMA). Mike also is incredible at understanding every student's goal and helping them achieve it. He is truly a wonderful coach. His leadership and care for his students is very apparent from the moment you meet him. The students under Mike are also very welcoming and will help you out if you don't fully understand a concept in class or, if you just need help figuring out a new move. There is definitely a team mindset within the gym and it helps to keep you motivated and excited for class. In every aspect, CIES MMA makes itself stand out through professionalism, an emphasis on a team mindset, the high quality of coaching and instructing from Mike as well as the amount of class times available throughout each day. I highly reccommend anyone to try out CIES and see how awesome it is for yourself. read more

If you're looking to train MMA and be well rounded then Cies MMA is the place to train. I've been part of this wonderful facility for nearly 2 years now. Mike is a very solid instructor who consistently tries to help others become better at their craft, be it fighting, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, self defense or just your general improvement for fitness. Everyone on the mats is super friendly and are willing to help you out in any way possible. This is one of the reasons I love training here is because the good spirited people at Cies MMA. Mike also holds a very legitimate background having a black belt under Segio Penha(BJJ) and black belt under Pat Miletich(MMA). These credentials are another big reason I joined because it shows the legitimacy in his credibility, which is hard to find anywhere else in town. That itself speaks volume. I highly recommend Cies MMA for everyone. read more

Best Gym in Colorado/Colorado Springs. Everyone is friendly there, the Coach is awesome. He'll let you train twice a day also provides quality gear and other accessories for good price. The mats are clean, and the team make sure everything stays as such. It's an all 10/10 experience for me. read more

Was only able to attend classes at Cies MMA for a short time before I had to move. However, I really enjoyed my time here and the atmosphere and coaching are too notch. I have trained many places,with some of the best athletes in the world, and I can truly say Cies MMA is the place to be in Colorado Springs. read more

I had been doing no gi jiu jitsu for about 4 years when I first started here. I can honestly say in just the 4 months I've been here my game as tremendously approved. Coach Mike convinced me to start doing gi which I now love and look forward to doing. I've also started doing jiu jitsu tournaments which I've doubled medal in two competitions and all of my submissions came off of setups coach Mike had taught me. When it comes to kick boxing the training is as good if not better. I feel more confident in my standup game then I ever have with the combos and conditioning he teaches. He definitely knows what he's doing and knows how to teach it. The members of the gym are all very welcoming and friendly, they've honestly became a second family to me since I've been here. Everyone is controlled and great training partners which is rare to find. The other awesome part about this gym is with Coach Mikes successful background you get legends who drop by every once in a while like Sergio Penha and Pat Miletich. It's no wonder why the training is so great. If you want to improve your jiu jitsu or stand up game this is definitely the best place to go in the springs and maybe even the state. read more

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Cies MMA is amazing. Everyone there is very welcoming and helpful. I had never tried Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the instructor showed me some basics and let me participate. It was awesome! I also did the kickboxing class which is really great. I had only done more Fitness type kickboxing classes, and was blown away at how much I could sweat simply throwing combinations. This place also offers sparing classes, which I didn't try yet but heard great things. I wish I lived closer to Cies MMA. That's the only downside for me :) If you're in the fence about trying this place out.. do it! read more

Awesome, happy with the training here. There aren't any other gyms in town that can compare to the lineage of this academy.

Cies MMA is one of the more welcoming MMA gyms I've been to. The head instructor is so friendly and is a very knowledgable martial artists. The gym provides Brazilain Jiu-jitsu, Striking (Boxing, Muay Thai, and Kickboxing), and kid's classes every weekday afternoon and evening. These different classes allow for students to pick and choose which classes they wish to participate in and what best suits their own schedule. Additionally, the gym offers an open mat session on weekends. Cies MMA is a clean and friendly gym as well as very hospitable to newcomers! Its a great place to learn and train! read more

Cies MMA - Boxing Near Me - Colorado Springs, Colorado

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An amazing gym with an incredible coach! I've been training here for about 5 months now and couldn't be happier. Everyone in the gym is like a big family. Whether you want to train Muay Thai, jiu jitsu, or MMA, Cies MMA is definitely the best place in the Springs to go! read more