I've been going to IMA for about 8 months on a weekly basis and love it. There are many reasons…read morewhy, but I'll point to the three most important ones: 1. BJJ can be a daunting and intimidating sport to do in the beginning. Luis and the team are completely disarming when it comes to the intimidating factor. I felt welcomed immediately by everyone. It is a friendly, family-oriented school. It's like being a part of a great community. 2. Luis is an awesome coach. He is always present during the technique periods of the class. He always gives quick and effective feedback that you can apply immediately. Luis and the coaches have infinite patience when it comes to completely understanding a move. They will keep working with you over and over until you get it - and not move on if you don't. 3. We always work very hard but have a great time. Jiu-jitsu is an intense sport that people can take very seriously, which I can understand. When we roll, we always have a great time. Every class I work hard, but always get a laugh in somewhere. Everyone always has a smile. That is hard to beat. Thank you to the IMA team for creating a great atmosphere!

I came over from New Horizon Karate and am very impressed with the spectrum of martial arts taught…read morehere. We now have American Kempo Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and very impressive Judo. The future looks very bright for this school and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to practice self-defense and get into better shape.

I can't recommend the Women's Self Defense classes enough! I have taken two now and plan to…read morecontinue with the series. There is so much to learn and you can never be too prepared. The instructors are great and provide hands on experience and real-life scenarios. SIGN UP FOR THE PEPPER SPRAY CLASS. You will be surprised by how much you don't know about using your pepper spray. The studio is a bit difficult to find and feels a little sketchy. I thought I would need to take a self defense class just to make my way into the studio. You're in the right place if you're in a dirt lot under the bridge around nothing else. Once inside, you can take these creepy industrial stairs up to the top floor or there is a massive elevator.

I have been training under Gershon ben Keren at Krav Maga Yashir since February 2012. In my opinion…read morethere are four reasons why Krav Maga Yashir Boston should receive serious consideration from anyone in the Boston area seeking to learn self-defense, learn a martial art, or simply vastly improve their physical fitness. Number 1 = Quality of instruction. This is the sine qua non of any martial arts school. Mr. ben Keren and his assistant instructors are professional, competent, and dedicated. Techniques are expertly demonstrated, remediated, and reinforced in a variety of partner-based and group-based drills. Students are always shown the "context" of a technique: what happens leading up to it, the purpose of each movement, and what happens afterwards. My belief is that when new students are able to perform a technique effectively on their first try, it actually reflects far more credit on the teacher than the learner. I see this happen all the time on the mats, and it speaks volumes for the knowledge and competency of the instructors. Number 2 = Krav Maga Yashir teaches the entire spectrum of violence, an area where other martial arts have major limitations. A striking art (boxing, muay thai, karate) may teach you to fight an imaginary assailant. A grappling art such as BJJ may teach you to escape from said assailant on the ground. Neither addresses the more important questions grounded in reality, such as: How did you get there? What if a knife or gun is involved? What if I accidentally trip and fall? Get taken by surprise? Get backed against a wall? Have a significant other I need to protect? Krav Maga Yashir teaches simple, direct, pragmatic solutions to all of the above, and more. Nobody needs to be Donnie Yen or Ronda Rousey to effectively defend themselves, and this school gives you the tools to do that. Number 3 = Value for your $$. Monthly membership rate is comparable to market rate for other area martial arts schools, and much lower than Crossfit gyms and other functional-fitness type places. The membership also gives free access to 5x-weekly cardio bootcamp classes, special outdoor training, and use of the gym at the studio. New workout equipment is constantly added and incorporated into the bootcamps, which themselves are a hell of a workout. Members also get first access to guest seminars with top outside Krav Maga instructors. Number 4 = Great social atmosphere. I'm always impressed by the respect, humility, and maturity of other students. It's very rare to have anyone beating on others in an attempt to be the tough guy, and such behavior is *never* tolerated. Students are all ages from 20s to 60s, all body types and fitness levels. Since all of class is partner or group based, you quickly pick up names and personalities of fellow students. Sometimes when you're on the brink of absolute physical exhaustion, you just can't help but look at each other and laugh at the insanity of it all. That's the kind of esprit that can't be faked, and a major reason I spend 10 hrs a week here without hesitation. Overall, Krav Maga Yashir gets my highest possible recommendation. I am constantly being that annoying guy urging my female friends to try it, and it's what I look forward to every day at work (when I'm not wasting time on Yelp reviews that will end up getting filtered anyway). You can try classes free for a week through the school website as well.

This karate school has been incredible for my son, who's almost six. He started at about age 4.5,…read moreand his focus has grown so much in the time we've been coming here. Sensei Peter always gets the kids focused, smiling, and pushing themselves to be better. Whenever my son seems to have a tough day, or his energy is low, Sensei, Lukas and Morgan get him engaged and trying the best he can. When he's had a good day, he comes out telling me he feels like a Superhero!! My son had a tough day at school a few weeks ago, and Lukas stayed after class with him, which was in theory to help him practice his blocking but really was more about shoring up his confidence and making him feel heard and seen. After seeing my boy feeling low on the drive over, and then seeing him transformed at the end of class, I was overwhelmed with gratitude to this amazing business. Thank you so much, Peter Pippos Karate Center. We are a loyal family for life and appreciate you so much as part of our family's community!

I can't say more positive things about PPKC! Sensei Pippos is engaging, supremely knowledgeable in…read morehis craft and clearly enjoys working with kids. The staff members are always willing to help a child refocus his/her energies to ensure success with the movements. I'm also particularly impressed with Nicole's management of the after-school program as well as the general office management. Love this place.

I (41M) have been a part of the Dragon Phoenix Martial Arts family (and I put emphasis on the word,…read morefamily) for many years. My children and wife also train at DPMA. We all love it there. Professor Jesse Dwire has over 30 years experience, and has children of his own so the way he interacts with children as well as adults is great. He knows how find qualities in everyone, and the instructors are well trained. The dojo is clean and a welcoming place to train in. New students are treated with respect and pushed in a positive manner to achieve greatness. What more can you ask for? How about a curriculum that adapts to keeping up with the challenges that children face in the real world. Over the years I've seen our techniques being applied to real world situations in a controlled environment. Students are also trained in good manners as well as recognizing a problem before it becomes a problem. If you are looking for a dojo to push you towards excellence, to go beyond your limits and to have a great time doing it; join Dragon Phoenix Martial Arts.

We have been part of the DPMA family f Since January 2023…read moreand my son is enjoying a lot enough.Professor Dwire is incredible with kids - he is strict , encouraging, kind , humble and joyful with the kids .Though it's been only 6 months to join Dragon-Phoenix Martial Arts , I could see the positive changes in my son with more focused , disciplined and developed a physical strength As well. Yashas

Natick is extremely lucky to have such a skilled teacher and practitioner as Justin. His positive…read moreenergy and welcoming attitude along with detailed instruction create a perfect environment for learning and growing. If you're on the fence about trying something new like jiu jitsu, you couldn't ask for a safer more welcoming, kind and patient place than Bay State Jiu Jitsu. This is both because of Justin's approach to teaching and running his school and because of all of his students and the community he fosters through his leadership. I've been fortunate enough to train at 6 gyms or so in my ~4 years training, so I have a little experience seeing how different schools operate. My experience at Bay State BJJ was so fun, positive and humbling I had to share it here. Definitely check them out if you have the chance.

I went to train while visiting from South Carolina. I couldn't have found a more welcoming group…read more Great details and instruction and great rolls.

I was just going to leave a single star, but yelp won't let me escape without leaving a comment, so…read morehere goes...... I wasted 9 years as a student here. What did learn there????? This school has two types of students. The "talent".......... And "everyone else" Everyone else exists to keep the mortgage/bills paid so the instructor can have the luxury of playing with his star student. (He even admitted a couple of times that if he was rich he would only take elite students who could pass a ninja warrior style obstacle course, but he can't afford it so that's why he takes all students.) Also, when you do beg for support (if you can grab his attention long enough) you WILL be told "the details don't matter." Unless you have talent of course.......... Even if you show up for class 5 - 6 days a week, every week, including 2 times a day on Tuesdays and Thursdays, AND attend all the extra Saturday seminars, (yes I took 7 classes a week - 8 any time there was a seminar) you only have value if you are talented. (*He has actually said that he will spend extra time going over all the little details *** yes, the details he told me "didn't matter" *** if the student is hard working **AND** talented.) By all means, if you are elite athlete-level talented, are able to learn something after being shown only once, or can completely and perfectly memorize an entire routine in an afternoon, (and therefore have value) this is the place for you...... However, if you struggle with any of these, even a little bit, (especially if you show any signs of a lack of natural talent) be prepared to be treated as an inconvenience and an afterthought. *****And if you call him out on the double standards and special treatment for certain students, you will be branded as difficult and disobedient. AND he will resort to personal attacks about your body and any health conditions you may be struggling with.***** So if you think you are talented enough for him to pay any real attention to you, OR you enjoy having every last shred of your self esteem completely destroyed, this is the place for you. Good luck.

This place is pretty awesome. Been doing Martial Arts since 1989 on and off; I wish I meet Narcyz…read more(aka: Sifu) 20 years sooner. I highly recommend Athletic Balance.

Bobby's been incredibly patient, engaged, and helpful trying to get my daughter into some…read moreonline/Zoom classes for karate while we're home-schooling this year. We're hoping this will help with some behavioral issues and -- if Zoom doesn't turn out to be the best platform -- we're happy there are some in-person, socially-distanced options available as well. Seems like a very professionally run business.

I highly recommend Grandmaster Moran as a karate teacher. I sought him out about three years ago…read morebecause my cousin had studied under him long ago as a child and had raved about the quality of instruction. As for myself, I had studied a number of styles of karate as a child (over a period of many years), and had achieved decent belt status at some, but never felt I really learned how to defend myself. My lessons with Grandmaster Moran over the past couple of years have changed that, and I finally feel confident that I would respond effectively if I were attacked. Grandmaster Moran is different from other karate instructors I've had. His teaching is practical. He's patient, caring, and understands karate at such a deep level, like none I've met before. I would recommend him to any adult who wants to learn true self-defense, and plan on sending my own child to his children's classes as soon as he is old enough.

Great coaches, welcome environment, amazing workout. Not just a boxing gym. There's regular gym…read moreequipment, medicine balls, cardio equipment, and free weights for weight training. So happy to have found this gym

After my old Boxing Gym closed, covid hit, and so did the unwelcomed rut and fitness break lasting…read moreWAY too long. At the prompting of a dear friend from my old gym to try Upperkuts, I did and have never looked back. I was not interested in any fancy "chain" gym, but rather a legit boxing gym. A.J. is the best, most compassionate and caring business owner. He has made a successful home to people from every walk of life and fitness level. He's constantly improving and introducing things to the gym for the betterment and enjoyment of everyone. I have had classes with Coaches Tony, Adel, Amy, Dylan, and Bianca, and every single class has left me challenged and sweat-soaked. From beginner to knowing boxing, there is something here for everyone. I have made friends here, and Upperkuts has helped me achieve goals of transforming my mind and body after too much time taken off from boxing. Most of all, I have had fun here while achieving a new level of fitness every time I walk through the door.