The staff at Santa Barbara Dojo is amazing! My son started with the two-week trial program and…read moreloved it so much that we signed him up for the six-month course. Master Austin and the entire staff are incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. They create a welcoming and supportive environment where my son has been able to build confidence, develop discipline, and truly enjoy learning. We've had a wonderful experience so far and highly recommend Santa Barbara Dojo to any family looking for a positive martial arts program for their child.

I am new to the Dojo & after meeting my trainer/planning out my next 6 weeks I am really excited to…read morehave found them!

We have been to one class but my son had the best time. The instructors are great at encouraging…read morethe kids and talking them through kickboxing. He already wants to try other martial arts classes. Thanks so much for a great first time experience and impression to the Paragon team

A great team! Tough training from coaches who care. Ample parking. Hot showers in a clean…read morefacility. Awesome competition team.

Man this place is special. Not only is coach mike a Great fighter and teacher but also a great guy!…read moreWhether you are just getting started or a veteran this place is great. expect to find a community here, a lot of guys are there often some every day and it shows. Go in trust coach, give it your all, enjoy every moment, and you will not regret any of it. Ps. Jiu jitsu guys 10th Planet santa barbara trains there goated school and goated team.

I came to Valhalla as a student in May of 2021, and am forced to leave this negative review due to…read morewhat I believe to be Mike MacDonald's abuse of the SB community and his students. The intent of this review is to leave my impression of his gym as a person who has trained at multiple gyms; I believe Mike has purposefully incurred brain damage on new students for the purpose of exacting personal revenge on them for perceived slights. I also believe that he takes efforts to evade sanctioning bodies designed to keep people who train in martial arts safe. Anyone who comes to train at Valhalla should be aware of what I believe to be Mike's views on accountability and there are photos below as evidence for my claims. I was training at Valhalla in 2021 when a new student visiting from outside the country came to the gym in October 2021 who argued with Mike about how much money he should pay to train at Valhalla. I was told by Valhalla administrators that this "low ball" attempt from the student was something that Coach Mike was not happy with. This student was very new to the sport and I believe that Coach Mike was aware that he was not skilled enough to compete in any kind of sparring tournament. Despite this, Mike allowed this new student to compete in an unsanctioned sparring tournament that occurs often at Valhalla. This student was paired up against one of Mike's star pupils, and was knocked out three times within a couple of minutes. This new student was so inexperienced, he did not even know to ask someone to be his cornerman for this event. All of this potentially because he "lowballed" Mike; This is not how new students should be treated. In the days following the tournament, I reached out to an administrator at Valhalla (Roxanna Bina) to get the contact information for this student who had taken so much damage. I was the only person to reach out to this student after the tournament to ensure he was okay. This was just one example; other examples include holding one night tournaments where some competitors will compete in multiple fights without an actual doctor present, as well as 200 lbs men being paired against much smaller women in sparring tournaments where knockouts are commonplace. Mike continues to hold this tournament without matchmakers, without medical personnel, and continues to evade letters from the CA State Athletic Commission regarding the nature of his tournament. When I told Valhalla administrators that they should have the sign up sheet for the tournament include a "cornerman" checklist so that they could make sure every single person in the competition had someone with them, I was told that this would make the tournament seem more "official" and that this would invite further scrutiny from the CA Athletic Commission. This backwards logic ultimately doesn't serve the best interests of the people competing in the tournament. There are bodies like the IKF that hold tournaments with registered nurses, multiple judges and matchmakers, and in general have some official accountability. I believe that Mike doesn't want to make the monetary investment to do these things, and would prefer to have free reign over the entire process. As someone who has trained at multiple MMA gyms, I would advise people to look into other gyms in the area for sparring purposes. I believe that Mike views new students as cannon fodder to give easy experience to his more experienced pupils and believes himself to be above the law. I believe that he will continue to allow the safety and well being of his students to take a back seat to his pride and lack of willingness to make the monetary investment to ensure that sparring tournaments held at Valhalla are safe and fair. I believe that he will remove anyone from the gym who tries to bring this to his attention. I will be contacting the CA State Athletic Commission with these same concerns and hope that they will hold him accountable for his actions. If you want to train martial arts in SB, I believe that you can do better than being taken advantage of by Mike MacDonald.

Amazing place. My daughter will be going away to college and it's a perfect place for her to take a…read moreself defense class

Bottom Line: This is a great gym with people who actually care…read more This review is for the kids classes only as I have no knowledge of the other classes. We tried to get our son interesting or excited about a variety of group sports as well as individual sports. He just had zero interest in any of it. Something about this place has captured his attention and imagination and now he talks about it, looks forward to going and excels on a daily basis. Whereas in the past it was a struggle to get him ready to leave to go do something, he's ready to be out the door in a moment for Krav classes. As a parent it's SUCH a hard line to walk, the line between fun and discipline. This place does an amazing job allowing the kids to actually be kids but at the same time provides them with a level of discipline you would expect from a Martial Arts facility as well as instilling a work ethic. On top of that they also have fun kid events like a Halloween gathering and I've heard rumblings of a Nerf war. If you're looking for a place to go to learn some amazing self defense techniques or even a little community of people who look out for each other, this is a great place to start. I have learned a ton just from watching the kids go at it. Highly recommended.

Hell yaaaaaa!! Ready to stop being bored at your normal gym? People don't sit around looking at…read moretheir cell phones here. So you workout, really, BRO? JRB

Great gym with a cool owner and great machines. Generally has very good upkeep and a respectful,…read morenon-douchey yet buff clientele. A rare find among gyms for sure, and a hidden gem in SB! Definitely the nicest gym I've ever trained at, chain or private. The only reason I regretfully gave 3 stars (I had a 5 star experience till recently) is that for the last two months or so, the place absolutely reeks of old BO. As in, sweat that was not cleaned in any timely manner and allowed to just ferment there. I don't know if they cut their janitor's hours or what, but they clearly changed their cleaning protocol because every room smells horrible now. It would be great if this issue was remedied (and maybe the group fitness classes that happen right after work from like 5-5:30 PM weren't taking up the whole first room of the gym, so regular gym goers can actually use the first room when they, too, come after work.)

I've been a member for two years and am still very happy here. The studio is very clean and I've…read moreenjoyed the mental and physical benefits the classes provide. My favorite classes are Yin & Flow with Amelia, Flow with Annie, and Sound & Restore with Mitsuko. They have some great yin classes at well. I love the hot towels they hand out during shavasana... a nice touch. I have a membership which gives me four classes per month, which is perfect for my schedule. Highly recommend this yoga studio!!

LOVE this studio!!! My fav instructor is Annie and I can feel my improvement every month the…read morestudio is so pretty & they do renovations too! I love how therapeutic this place is they even give out lavender scented towels after your yoga practice

This is one of the best Martial Arts schools in DFW! Nathaniel is very knowledgeable about the…read moreactual "Art" within Martial Arts, and teaches it in a way that is both motivating and understanding. This school covers everything from stand up striking, clinch work, to ground fighting. Definitely the place you want go if you are interesting in learning the traditional martial arts along with the evolution of fighting as a whole. Plus this school is blessed with an experienced and great instructor.

From the owner: Integral Martial Arts, Leadership Coaching, "The Work" of Byron Katie, Mindfulness Meditationread more