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    Gracie Barra Chicago-West Loop

    5.0 (4 reviews)

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Incredibly welcoming and the perfect place for someone completely new to jiu jitsu or with previous experience

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    Soul Fighters Chicago - Instructor Pierre Pires competing at Fight to Win Chicago PRO 2017!

    Soul Fighters Chicago

    4.7(23 reviews)
    1.3 miNoble Square, West Town

    If you want to attend a Brazilian Jiujitsu school where the owner and head instructor dates his…read morefemale students and gets them pregnant. While forbidding his adult male and female students from dating each other outside of school grounds, which is a private matter between two consenting adults. Maintaining a double standard of "do as I say, not as I do" then this is the place for you! If you want to be accused, labeled, and threatened to cancel your membership or kicked out without getting the facts first because the owner doesn't know how to handle conflict resolution, then this is the place for you! If you get injured, and you're not able to attend training due to your injury, and you asked the owner to put your paying membership on hold temporarily because your orthopedic doctor has you on medical orders, be careful! The owner is more concerned about money than your health! He will get upset and ridicule you for putting your paying membership on hold. Somehow the owner has a medical degree! If you want to attend a Brazilian Jiujitsu school where you're a new student who has suffered a knee injury and another female student who happens to be a white belt, with no experience, and with a tremendous amount of ego and does a leg lock on your injured leg and you questioned their technique or asked them not to such a technique out of concern for your health and safety. Then this is the place for you! If your role with a student that practices "Tickle Jiujitsu" with his opponent, then you rough him up for doing something dumb and stupid, then he goes and cries foul 3 weeks after the fact to the academy owner. Then the academy owner blames you for being rough and informs you that this "student" has a 20% stake in the academy. Then this is the place for you! If you want to be ridiculed or embarrassed in front of others of a misunderstanding of the facts not yet known, then this is the place for you! If you want to attend a Brazilian Jiujitsu school where some students are too sensitive and act like babies, their egos get shattered. Then go cry foul, then this is the place for you! If you're under the impression that you're having a private telephone conversation with the school owner without him asking you permission for others to listen to such dialogue. Disregarding your privacy, then this is the place for you! If you want to attend a Brazilian jiujitsu school where the owner is more concerned about money more than your well-being, then this is the place for you! If you want to attend a Brazilian Jiujitsu school where the owner suffers from anger issues, acts unprofessional, rude, and hangs up the phone on you because the owner doesn't know how to handle constructive criticism, then this is the place for you! If you want to attend a Jiujitsu school were the owner has cameras all over the place without posted legal signs indicating that you're being recorded during training or anytime thereof, this is the place for you! I don't like to post negative reviews because of the love that I have for Jiujitsu. After leaving a well-respected Jiujitsu school and visiting "Soul Fighters" Andre Maneco, Brazilian Jiujitsu school, and staying for a short time, I experience all of the above. It's unfortunate and sad, but I feel compelled to leave a negative review because I wish not to elaborate any further due to the reasons above and many others. Male and female students have left this academy for personal reasons, and I'm just another casualty of the rude, unprofessional character and behavior from Andre Maneco. I wouldn't recommend this school, not even to my worst enemy! I was warned, but I choose not to listen... With so many good, professional, caring, and understanding BJJ schools around Chicago, this is "NOT" the one! Stay away! Lesson learned!

    So when I'd been wanting to start BJJ for years but was always intimidated. I even tried a couple…read moreintro classes at another gym in Chicago and the vibe was just all wrong for me. This is why I'm so happy to have found Soul Fighters Chicago. Such a great gym with top notch instruction. Andre has found what is the perfect balance of seriousness/intensity in training while maintaining a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere. One thing I've found particularly great about the instruction is the attention to detail. Somehow if your foot is not quite in the right place or your hand needs to be rotated Andre can spot this from across the room and will correct you so you're not drilling with mistakes, its truly impressive. While I don't make it to a ton of evening classes (6:30 am crew checking in!) I'd also like to shout out to Zito's instruction in the fundamentals classes. He's really great at making the new people feel relaxed and comfortable all while being a great teaching of techniques and concepts. This also brings me to the other students and overall vibe of this academy. Everyone is there is get better, have fun, and really takes the time to help each other. The feeling of camaraderie here is high and is what has allowed me to get over that initial intimidation and end up as a regular student going 2-4 times a week for the last 8 months. Overall I can not recommend Soul Fighters enough if you're interested in BJJ.

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    Soul Fighters Chicago - Focus, discipline and respect are key words here at our academy. Come join us for a free trial time!

    Focus, discipline and respect are key words here at our academy. Come join us for a free trial time!

    Soul Fighters Chicago - Andre Maneco Leite is a third-degree black belt from Carlson Gracie, with 25 years of BJJ experience!

    Andre Maneco Leite is a third-degree black belt from Carlson Gracie, with 25 years of BJJ experience!

    Soul Fighters Chicago - Instructor Pierre Pires and blue belt student Stephen before class start!

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    Instructor Pierre Pires and blue belt student Stephen before class start!

    Carlson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu - miles accepted :)

    Carlson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu

    5.0(12 reviews)
    4.7 miLogan Square

    I started training jiu-jitsu back in Feb. of 2014 at a different school where my brother-in-law and…read moresome friends currently train. After about a year, I started to look for other schools due to scheduling (I couldn't make it to as many classes as I wanted to). I'll never forget the first time I walked into Carlson Gracie HQ - Master Carlson Gracie Jr. himself signed me up. He was very warm and welcoming, and continues to be to this day (to all of his students). Master Gracie's level of instruction and attention to detail is top notch as many other reviews have noted. On the days where Master Gracie is not teaching, Master Andre Madiz runs the BJJ classes and also does an amazing job. It's a win-win situation. The facility is incredible. It's super clean and roomy. There is enough mat space to have a BJJ class AND Muay Thai class going at the same time. It's also air-conditioned which is such a bonus here in Chicago. Lastly, there's something to be said about the culture at Carlson Gracie HQ. I look forward to my BJJ days because I know I will be challenged mentally and physically. I know I will gain something from each class. But equally as important, I look forward to spending time with my training partners and instructors. This gym has such good vibes, is super welcoming, and It really does feel like an extension of my family. Oss!

    I had the amazing opportunity to train at HQ with Andre Madiz and had the amazing pleasure to meet…read moremr Carlson Gracie Jr himself. Great guy and extremely humble and welcoming. Will definitely come Back to train here everytime I'm in Chicago

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    Carlson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu - The Carlson Gracie Academy Front Window

    The Carlson Gracie Academy Front Window

    Carlson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
    Carlson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu

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    Gracie Barra Chicago-West Loop - brazilianjiujitsu - Updated June 2026

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