Great place for the family all around! My previous gym stopped offering kids class, but I loved it…read moreand after I found out my instructor was filling in here, I brought the family to try it out. The facility is brand new! New mats, showers, loaner go's for kids and adults and the owner, Jay, was really cool about letting me drop in to decide on the move. I wanted to focus on doing a tournament and my wife wants to get her conditioning and technique (nothing crazy). This gym is great for all! FYI, I hurt my knee and Jay was cool enough to let me use part of the mat (during class) to keep my conditioning and do light exercises on my own! Stop by and try it out, the place is legit!

I've been training at Gracie Barra SW Portland for five months, and have found both excellent…read moreinstruction and camaraderie. Professor Bruno Rocha, the head instructor, is a third degree black belt who has trained BJJ for 20 years. He regularly competes in gi and no gi competitions across the world, and it's an honor to learn from someone with that caliber of experience. My daughter also trains here, and the kids classes are a nice mix of general physical activity, BJJ techniques, and instilling good values like grit and respect. Jay Stahl, the owner and a coach (he holds a purple belt), helps foster a safe and welcoming environment for adults, kids, and parents alike.

This team is amazing with kids!!! They are professional and instill so much confidence in the…read morechildren. I am glad we found Brazilian Top Team. I cannot express how much my kids have grown out of their comfort zones. They have become confident, outgoing, and resilient. I highly recommend this business!!!

BTT PNW & jiu jitsu has made such a positive impact on our family. My 7 year old son came for a 1…read moreweek trial a year ago and we've never looked back. The environment the coaches create attracts like-minded students/members so the vibe and energy is always great and feels like home. You can tell everyone at the gym is passionate about teaching and learning and so it never feels like a business. Flash forward to today and our entire family is training due to realizing the mental and physical benefits of this style of martial arts. They offer an affordable family pricing option to incentivize learning as a family.

The quick review: This school has world class teachers, a welcoming environment for all levels of…read moreexperience, and provides some of the best, most relevant instruction in the US. Full review: I started training in CA in 2010, and joined RGPDX about 2-3 months ago after visiting each of the top schools in Portland and taking private lessons from their instructors. Both the classes and privates were the most thorough and impressive I've ever experienced. I've taken classes with Aaron, Eddie, and Hannah mostly, and have been blown away from the start. I can't say enough about their skills as practitioners AND teachers; they are truly invested in their students' growth, are able to pinpoint the holes in their students' games that need improvement, and have an unbelievably vast knowledge of relevant, high-percentage, high-level techniques. They offer a ton of classes that can fit any schedule; early morning through night classes, GI & NOGI. Kids classes, adult coed classes, and women only classes are all available. There are showers, locker rooms, 3 bathrooms, huge upstairs mat, large downstairs mats, a weight room, and they keep it the cleanest facility I've ever seen. The teachers protect the students by fostering a safe practice environment and promote a laidback space while simultaneously taking the level of skill of their students seriously. Most of the teachers compete and win regularly, monthly, staying at the edge of what works at the highest levels of the art. If you want to be the next world champion, go here. If you're thinking about joining to get in shape and have no interest in competing, this is your spot. I came from another school as an 'upper belt' and was immediately humbled yet accepted as if i had been there since day 1. I improved more in these last few months than I have in the last few years. I guarantee you will not be disappointed and if you are, come find me in class and punch me in the stomach.

At age 52, I am two months into my jiu-jitsu journey. Especially since I was starting relatively…read morelate in life, I was intimidated to walk into any jiu-jitsu school. But at Renzo Gracie I have been thrilled to find not only amazing coaching but a welcoming community of training partners. I roll with much more experienced bjj players every week, and they are welcoming, accommodating, and happy to share their wisdom. And for praise I'll single out Ruben, who teaches most of the no-gi fundamentals classes: the guy is just a profoundly gifted coach. Lots of people can demonstrate techniques, but he has a terrific understanding of the basic principles that each of those techniques are based on -- you get to understand not just how to do things, but why, and how they tie into the broader goals of jiu-jitsu. I love jiu-jitsu now, and I'm sure that this place and these people are a big reason why.

One of the places I've been training since I started my BJJ journey. I go out of my way to come…read morehere, and it's always worth it. The gym has a family feel, everyone is very friendly and accommodating. They have a number of black belts, and the coaches are all highly credentialed. Matt, the owner, is an amazing human and has been training martial arts for an extremely long time. Matt is a 3rd Degree Black Belt, a Defensive Tactics Instructor, and one of the main instructors of the C4C/PJJ program, in addition to working for the fire department and swat teams. His presence and attitude travels from top down, from the coaching staff to the members, and the gym has a great vibe and friendliness to it. I'd highly recommend it!

Impressive first day of class for my kids. They went straight to skills throughout and grappling in…read morethe end. On another day, they started off with some drills. The staff were nice and welcoming. The instructors were knowledgeable, patient and genuinely have the desire for each child to succeed. Our kids also enjoyed working with the other kids, and said they were helpful. They said it was fun overall. I would highly recommend this place for those hesitant and/or looking for high-quality Jiu Jitsu.

Love this facility and the owners for giving my son the chance to do Judo when times are tough for…read moreour family! They are extremely understanding and work with us with classes! They care about each and every student and take the time to teach them well!

I've been training here since December 2021 and the academy is top-notch! Extremely welcoming,…read moreperfect for beginners, and just awesome world-class instruction from Professor James. If you ever considered trying Brazilian Jiu Jitsu or just martial arts in general, look no further than SKBJJ. I believe they offer a few trial and there are classes 6 days a week.

This is a great gym. Here are a few things that stood out to me compared to other BJJ places:…read more -Very clean (mats and hygiene protocol) -A ton of mat space -Multiple programs (gi, no-gi, kickboxing, classes for children, etc.) -Advanced coaches, including several MMA fighters -Open 7 days a week

My oldest son has been taking classes for a couple months. The 2 kids' coaches are great.read more

Great gym for the all around. People are very humble, and allowed my wife and I to do a drop in…read more Wednesday nights offer serious conditioning with a much longer class. This is a great option for people that want to get serious, into shape or just want more mat time! Not sure if it's only for Blue's and up, but there were a few White belt's there. Instructor Jared drilled a cool arm bar and triangle in detail. Great explanation and was crystal clear on explaining the drill. We're all heading to SubLeague this weekend I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of Gold Medals coming from Next Level. I hope to do another drop in one day and always good to make more friends!

The thing that really sets NLMA apart for me from other gyms is the number of teachers they have…read more You can realistically train with 4 different professors each week. On Mondays they've just added a beginner class, which I've really been enjoying where a purple belt will answer questions about positions and moves and demonstrate basics. Monday also has a drilling class and blue belt and up class taught by a black belt. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are taught by a different black belt, focusing on a move/transition/sweep for the course of the three days. Saturdays are taught by the gym owner, another black belt, who does take-downs and competition team. This gym has the most black belts I've ever seen outside of a seminar. In addition to the three coaches, they bring in the two Zenith black belts for seminars twice a year. While there aren't any female black belts (that I've met) yet, there is a great ratio for men:women. I am rarely the only woman in class, and on one special night, the whole class was women! I look forward to the day I can train regularly with a female black belt. The higher belts are some of the most generous, nicest people I've ever met. Even as an awful white belt, they are open to rolling with me and talking me through the moves during drilling. Long term I hope that the mat area can be expanded because as the gym gets more popular, sometimes it can be be a tight space for rolling.

Impact coaches have no learning structure or idea what they are doing. With no plan, the…read moreinstructors ask what the kids want to learn and end up trying to teach "arm bar from half guard"... that's not a thing, and anyone who even allows such incompetence in instruction shouldn't be running a gym. Will not be going here to learn anything about jiu jitsu!

In 2007 and 2008 I used to attend Capitol City Cage Fights (CCCF) in Salem as a spectator, and then…read morelater as an announcer for a few fights, which featured mostly amateur MMA fights with the occasional pro fight. It soon became apparent from watching the fights and interacting my with the fighters during the CCCF bouts, the technical skills of the Impact fighters (from various Oregon Impact locations) were a standout amongst the other gyms that had fighters competing. Their averages for wins were above the rest. I also never observed an Impact fighter show up ill-prepared or overweight. Impact's professionalism and discipline was apparent; and their fighters were great ambassadors for their brand and the sport. I haven't kept up with the Oregon fight scene in a long time. A lot has happened over the years including the successful spreading of Impact gyms down from Portland to Sherwood, Newberg, Salem, and McMinnville. In 08 I became a dad & money/time became extremely tight as I sought other entrepreneurial ventures. I trained occasional with friends or my bro-in-law when I had a chance but never Impact. Years later around 2017, still a cop, I started at the Impact location in Salem training off-and-on always having phenomenal experiences. I would also train BJJ separately with some of my cop buddies. Fast fwd to today. I haven't trained with Impact in a couple of years (not Impact's fault), but I continued to train with weights and work on the heavy bag to keep up some level of grappling conditioning in view of Impact training sessions at the Courthouse gym they operated out of. I will say this about Nic Gilardi (Salem owner). He is dedicated to his coaches, students, and their betterment. I've seen how the children's, women's, Muay Thai, boxing, BJJ, and MMA specific classes are all run. What I have seen consists of good folks all working together to get better where egos are expected to be checked when one steps on the matts (read the signs they have posted). It's also worth noting Nic Gilardi (Salem Impact owner) has also devoted his own personal time to training law enforcement officers. For those that don't know, as a former 'defensive tactics' (title for law enforcement's version of martial arts, so to speak) instructor (which doesn't make me anything special by the way), when the public sees what they deem as excessive force, it's generally a result of a poorly trained cop who panics and use poor techniques when faced with a physical fight or resistance out of their comfort zone. Good training like what Nic offers for cops to take part in during their off time directly results in more cool-headed confident cops, who can more efficiently and safely take a resisting subject into custody, vital for the wellbeing of the public especially in the bipolar political environment that at times can be at odds with law enforcement. I digress.. but will say one more thing. Some people gripe about the price BJJ gyms, but I will say Nic is a self made guy who scrapped his way up to earn and continue to earn his BJJ black belt plus a few stripes while dealing with all the trials and tribulations of being a business owner including during COVID. Salem Impact continues to help people become better people. Current estimates are that only .0006 % of the world (maybe 50,0000 out 8.1 billion people) walk this earth that have a legit black belt in BJJ. His instructors have put more time into gaining their ranks than it takes to get a bachelor's degree, with a few who have more time in than it would take to get a PHD, with 3 black belts having been created in the under Nic. For those who don't know who are used to seeing 10+ black belts walking around in kata-based 'traditional' martial arts dojos, developing 3 BJJ practitioners (all of whom have humbled me on the mats in a way where no ego was involved that made me better) is a huge feat which contributes to the Salem-Keizer community as whole. Their presence quietly and humbling walking amongst us makes our community safer. The level of expertise offered is at bargain compared to other specialized trainings found in the professional or corporate world. Training in BJJ or any worthwhile martial arts that includes sparring made up of more than just katas (not talking trash on katas) makes better humans and is a great antidote to the Victim mentality that has become a cancer in today's society(my views do not necessarily reflect Impact:). It's import to note, I have no dog in the fight in regard to Impact. I have not talked to Nic in a couple of years. I also have nothing financially to gain by this post. Whether it's with Impact or somewhere else... Get your kids and yourself signed up. OSS!