My daughter has been training at Unity for over a year now. In brief: Kid Class - There are many BJJ schools near my home, but I chose to travel farther so that my daughter could train at Unity. I visited several BJJ schools across NYC before deciding. - The instructors strike the perfect balance of kindness and toughness, fostering discipline and resilience in the kids. - Unity is one of the rare places worldwide where a kids' class is led by a BJJ world champion (Sebastian Rodriguez). The other instructors are equally amazing and accomplished. Adult Class - It is inspiring to see so many women training, including multiple with black belts. - If I squint my eyes hard enough, I can picture my daughter as a woman training with them. Note: - To be fully transparent, I haven't trained at Unity as an adult myself. My BJJ experience was at a school led by Vitor Shaolin. - I have also trained in Krav Maga for several years, far more than in BJJ. - In my humble opinion, BJJ is the best self defense, especially for kids. Thank you for giving my daughter the incredible opportunity to train at your amazing school. read more

Best place ever totally changed my life, still go to date! Inclusive yet serious training environment!

My name is Victor Sun, just joined Unity Beginner Program for a month, I have to say this is the place to go if you are serious about training. And you can find your suitable body types to practice! And the gym&locker give you a Rocky movie vibe, it tuffs, yiiiii read more

Unity Jiu Jitsu School - Martial Arts Near Me - New York, New York

Very friendly place, careing and positive vibes from everyone their. They took time from their training to help me and try to get me to catch on to the technics. read more

My second home for the last 8 years. I've been to jiu-jitsu schools all over the city (and the country) and Unity is simply the best. Instruction is top notch, the facilities are great and the students are welcoming. read more

Great school love this school Going through a health issue with cancer radiation treatment and this BONES bjj school in Clifton really understands Will be back strong read more

Unity is an amazing Jiu-Jitsu academy! Friendly, skilled instructors and a welcoming community. I'm so happy I chose to train here--couldn't ask for a better place! 100% recommended! read more

I moved to Unity as a white belt from another gym in New York, about six months into my jiu jitsu journey. I visited a number of gyms to decide where I should go, but the decision was easy. Simply put: Unity is one of the best places to learn jiu jitsu in the world. I am so grateful and lucky to learn from world class teachers like Murilo Santana, Junny Ocasio and so many others (including all the students!)--the techniques they teach literally blow your mind, the rolls are fantastic and the atmosphere is incredibly supportive. Unity is a place for people who love jiu jitsu. And it's open everyday (yes, you read that correctly--there are classes on every holiday). Students range from the very young to the very old, but we all have in common that we really, really love jiu jitsu. There are world class competitors, black belt world champions, and they attend class rolling along with the newest white belt and often demonstrating the techniques. Murilo also teaches the white belt class himself, which is incredibly rare (almost unheard of) at any jiu jitsu gym to have the head professor and someone of his calibre teaching white belts. But he does it because he really cares. He knows everyone's name and makes sure to walk around the class, correcting technique and giving tips while rolling, in his distinctive and sonorous voice. The other fantastic thing about Unity is that there are really people of all shapes and sizes. I'm 116lbs and my old gym had one person of similar size, I found it super tough to practise what I learnt on people so much larger than me. At Unity, I have many partners of similar sizes (and so many women!), it's really helped my growth and recovery (so I can train more :) I was also interested in competing (despite being 32) and I was welcomed and supported in each competition, by all my teachers and the whole team. So many people offered to corner me, take photographs, review tape, etc! I have never participated in sports and it was a wonderful surprise to suddenly be part of a team. I have now competed internationally with the Unity family. Moving to Unity was a fantastic decision for me. In my humble opinion, you will not regret coming by, whether it's for a drop in or for your first class. First day is free for locals! Discounts for women and for students. Come by and grab me for a roll :) read more

Unity Jiu Jitsu School - Martial Arts Near Me - New York, New York

See all

Just joined Unity recently but it has been an awesome experience from the first day I walked in. The front desk staff were more than welcoming and helpful with understanding how unity's schedule works and their different memberships despite the crazy amounts of questions that I had. The other members at unity are really open and cool people and I really feel the family atmosphere since everyone is so kind. The instructors have also been top notch. As someone new to BJJ, I was a bit nervous going in because of my inexperience. But the instructors in the foundations and white belt classes have a very thought out and structured curriculum. In the more general classes with other belts, white belts are helped out by instructors and also more experienced members to correct technique. Lisander and Anthony especially have been really helpful with providing me with extra instruction and focus when I needed it on some of my techniques. Other reviews have also said it, but Murilo's ability to remember your name and give you his focus even as a new belt is very admirable given his stature and accomplishments in BJJ. Whatever your reasons are for starting BJJ, unity is hands down the place to come if you are in NYC. read more

Best gym at east coast definitely best at the whole country, prof. Santana is very experienced coach for all level white belt to black belt, this gym is for beginners and for competition read more

After a 4yr hiatus, I returned to this very gym because I can't imagine going to another school in NYC. From someone who's trained for 6+ years, you'll have days where you're off and that's just the nature of the sport but it's on those days when you look around this gym only to be reminded that your teammates just want to see you grow. Novice, hobbyists, professional - this is the place you want to be. read more

Premiere jiujitsu school in Manhattan led by Murilo Santana. Great quality and loyal family atmosphere.

It's unlikely for most schools to have negative reviews because by putting in such a review, most ppl would at LEAST need to have an experience IN the location... And if you're there for even a short period it's essentially guarenteed to not post anything negative on Yelp about it since by that point you'd be locked in by contract and there's be no upside for doing so... Not if you intend to go back... This will be the only review I've ever posted about a studio just based on a customer service/response perspective.... So I'm trying out different schools and simply getting pricing and whatnot. I ask for pricing in my email and don't get a reply for 4 days. I think "okay maybe they don't want to reply or call because they know by my email that pricing and contract transparency is important, which could be a problem if they have really sneaky contracts or exorbitant, non-justifiable class costs. So anyways I get an email FOUR DAYS LATER ... Literally avoiding ALL my questions and simply stating "we recommend you come in" after very clearly stating "we're not the cheapest school" and saying if I don't make good money I should just go elsewhere (more politely, of course, but it was CLEARLY stated as such with zero ambiguity) What was easily taken from it, in no uncertain terms, was that I was being told "hey I know you're looking for information, but we're not going to give it to you because we won't be able to have a chance to lock you into a contract if you don't come in ... But don't come in if you're poor." Clearly a lock-in-contract, high stakes contract based on my interaction, and even if it's not, for them to wait 4 days just to NOT answer my questions in the hopes of wasting my time for their own financial benefit? (Let's be clear, they were NOT trying to be informative or helpful and it was on purpose and for financial reasons ONLY with ZERO ambiguity). Yah nah. There are month-month places I've found that don't pull this. Honestly this is the first place that did. At least brooklynbjj gave me pricing when I asked. I checked them out and .. although it didn't work out due to the contract situation, they were honest about everything from the very first contact and I appreciated that. So just giving a heads up to anyone new since this has probably happened countless times but it's never going to be something anyone would Yelp about. If I have to be the first to make a positive impact on the martial arts world, so be it. Unless you're both wealthy AND naive (or just like having your time wasted by a place that's doing it for financial reasons) go to masterskya (look him up) or some other month-by-month studio with a good, no-contract policy. No need to shell out a thousand extra per year for a place like this who refuses to answer the most basic financial question ANYONE should know BEFORE.... (let me say that again) BEFORE .... (and one more time) BEFORE you come in for the first time. Any other level of communication is an attempt to waste time and hide the financial ramifications, which is just dishonest. .... And who wants to train at a school that is dishonest at the initial point of contact after taking FOUR DAYS to reply by NOT answering any questions that were actually asked. Many put the rates right on their website. So if you're already stuck there, I'm glad your checkbook can handle the contract situation you're stuck in. If not... DONT GET TRAPPED BY A PLACE LIKE THIS. You... Can... Do... Better.... read more

The absolute best place! We take two of our kids here and they love it. Great staff all around who always helps us with everything!

Great coaches, great training. Staff is super helpful, other practitioners are welcoming as well.

Morilo has an encyclopedic knowledge of Bjj-- one of the first days of training, he had brought in some incredible competitors to teach a special three hour workshop for the group. He creates a rigorous and nuanced curriculum, and overall, seems to be incredibly engaged with his students, encouraging personal excellence over exceptionalism. The people who work here are attentive and warm- and overall it's a very welcoming and diverse community... People of all sizes, ages, and stripes. As well, the schedule provides many classes every day for every level. One feels the priorities of the gym exemplified throughout the environment- that is: Everyone is united in their love and passion for the game. This gym is a special and soulful spot , and I feel very lucky to have found it! read more

There aren't enough good things to say about Unity. I was there for their Super Seminar-which had an all-star list of black belts highlighting each of their respective unique techniques. While the place is small-and seemed smaller since the place was wall to wall with Jiu-Jitsu players from all over-met two who took a bus up from Philly and a pair of Canadians who booked a week at a hotel to train here-there was plenty of room to roll. I know their marketing point is focused on the champion Miyao brothers but Murilo Santana is their head coach, and not only is his teaching style really good for newbies and experienced people alike-there's always a little detail that he mentions even for basic moves. The European Champion: Yago De Souza is there to give you further refinement and tips. Friendly environment, great instruction and if you're looking to start training, enrolling your kids into their kids program or switching schools it's worth checking this place out first. read more

excellent place to train and learn Jiu Jitsu with people of great human quality and high sporting level

Really strong and technical jiu jitsu. everyone wants to see you get better. Professors are very patient and give good details to everyone. read more

Low key culture with legit lineage. First month is free and you won't need to look anywhere else for your dojo. Professor gave my family (2 kids, 2 adults) a personal introductory lesson during an intro class. read more

Unity Jiu Jitsu School - Martial Arts Near Me - New York, New York

See all

I've been to a lot of gyms but within 30 seconds I knew this was one of those special places.....Right out front and center on the wall is the mission statement which talks about improving the lives of the practitioners....The singular qualification that was mentioned to me in my first visit was that they were looking for good "people"... Need I say more? The school also produces world champions so they walk the walk with their values. read more

Great spot. Integrity and hardcore. Solid teachers. Also great with kids. Facilities all you need and they have hot coffee.

I have been going to Unity for two weeks now and couldn't be having a better experience. The instructors learned my name very quickly. Everyone is personable. I am really enjoying my jiu jitsu journey!!! read more

Unity Jiu Jitsu is a great school for all levels of jiu jitsu. When you walk in - you can smell & feel the intensity (but fun) environment that you are about to step foot into. Ana or any of the fellow coaches will greet you with a big smile and amazing enthusiasm. I thought I break this review into a few common questions that anyone visiting a school would have: 1. I am new, do I need anything? All you need to do is give Unity a ring and wear some comfortable athletic clothing. The staff will greet you at the front door & you will go through a 1 on 1 session breaking down some of the basic concepts of jiu jitsu. 2. How is the culture? It's easily summed up in a word - amazing. Simply put, everyone is super helpful all the way from white to black. The environment and culture is infectious. You may walk in mad from a hard day's work but I can almost guarantee that you will walk out feeling better. Just being around everyone at this school will make you want to come and train more often. 3. Who teaches classes & what's the schedule like? Classes are mainly taught by Murilo Santana and he does a really good job of breaking down the information in a way where recreational hobbyists like myself can really understand it. Murilo genuinely cares about his students. Let's put this in perspective - I am a nobody in jiu jitsu. Just another kid on the block who barely competes and is nothing special at the sport. Murilo still takes the time to get to know my name & helps me out. All the coaches provide equal treatment regardless of your skill/talent/etc. The schedule is super flexible. Everybody understands that NYC is a place where you sell your soul to your company. They offer morning classes twice a week and multiple classes at night. I really think that is a game changer because I have an unpredictable work schedule where I may need to stay late but still want to train. They offer 8pm and 9:30pm classes throughout the week. If you can take a long lunch break & want a challenge - we offer a pro style training class(no teaching) during the afternoon. Be ready for that class. 4. Pricing & Visitors? Pricing is standard compared to other schools in the area. Visitor? We accept visitors. Ana will help take care of any concerns regarding these matters. 5. Locker Room? The locker rooms are a bit small and can get crowded. However - you are here to learn & train jiu jitsu, not to be at a spa. They also have a shower available to get rid of the sweat. 6. Kids Program? Absolutely. read more

Awesome place. Awesome people. Always hard training and world class instruction. Everytime im in town i make sure to come and train! Murilo's understanding of the game is incredible, i always get amazed and honored to learn from him read more

This place is a world-class training facility for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I'd like to write this review so you know how it compares with previous experiences of other places I've trained: I've trained at Renzo Gracie's and Ralph Gracie's and I've trained all over the Judo map--from Olympic and University facilities in South Korea, to UCMAP in Berkeley, to Cahill's Judo, to NYAC, various tournaments and training camps, and International Training Centre. All of the Judo facilities I've been to have a welcoming feel and this dojo reminds me more of what it's like to train in Judo than it does to train in Jiu Jitsu. Ana Lowry runs the front desk, and Murilo Santana teaches most of the night classes that I typically attend. He teaches from about 5:30 pm until 9:30pm at night, usually running a pro-class during the day. On some days, he teaches a high school class, with my students that I teach during the day, and this adds to his already arduous workload. He is a committed instructor, and wants to spread Jiu Jitsu, and its positivity to as many people as possible. You can sense this in his work ethic, and his determination to spend as much time with black belts as he does with the white belts. He does not offer any distinction based on rank in his treatment of people, and his academy, based on his actions, has a true start-up feel. Here's what you will not get at Unity: you will not get a lot of egos. It's a small environment and it won't take you longer than a week to know everybody here. It is impossible to train with a big ego knowing who you are training with on a daily basis. People will greet you when you get in. You will also get individualized attention from many champions. You will also get various athletes just visiting. Murilo (and the Miyao Brothers) have an interesting trek to their competitive careers, and they oftentimes have many people visiting, and challenging your technique to grow. You will always be here with high level guys. Even at white belt, you'll feel the competitive nature of the academy. What you won't get: large facilities. It's small. And this makes it hard to train at times when you want to do tachi-waza (stand up), and use the no gi time for wrestling from the standing position. But it doesn't get in the way of learning. And it often prevents the ever-present ducking of training partners as is seen at other dojos. Murilo does a good job of managing the small space, but small space doesn't get in the way of a true champion. From my experience, you should get in on this opportunity now before the place grows. It inevitably will, as the commitment to his students will only make this place be a known commodity soon. I am happy that I made the change from a bigger, well-known academy, as in only a few months, my game has drastically improved. But most importantly, I feel safe and comfortable in my new Jiu Jitsu family. You will be welcome here too! read more

My son is 4. We signed him up this month. The kids program is amazing. His professors compose interesting classes mixing things up with games, exercise and technique practices to keep them engaged and playing while learning. My son looks forward to his classes every week. He's learning patience, respect and how to listen and follow instructions. The professors have a lot of patience! We are fortunate the school has kids program. Thank you professor Sebastian and Laura! read more

The superb staff at Unity Jiu Jitsu School has brought a little taste of Brazil here to New York. And that's the difference! NY has a variety of options to get good Jiu Jitsu training. But if you want to be the best, you need to train with the best. Murilo Santana is the mastermind behind this project and is by far the best instructor I've ever had. A world-class competitor and instructor, his attention to detail -even through basic 101 techniques- separate him from the rest. Everything is explained in finite detail and sequential order linking techniques...meaning your game will improve rapidly. Ana Lowry's beginners integration program "Able Approach" cuts the learning curve to allow brand new students to adapt swiftly. Did I mentioned on any given day you can roll with World Champions? (Like the Miyao Bros, Leandro Lo, Luiza Monteiro, Yago de Souza and more) If you're serious about your Jiu Jitsu training, whether you want to be a world champion, recreational athlete or simply looking to get in shape; Unity School of Jiu Jitsu is the place for you. Come roam with the lions of NYC! read more

Great gym for beginner and experienced BJJ players alike. You won't a learn a technique here that doesn't work at the highest level. It's a competitive environment that will teach you a lot about yourself if you stick around. Cant recommend it enough! read more

I love this team! They are inviting, respectful, competitive, modest and motivating!!!!!! I love their sense of community. This is a hardworking down to earth husband and wife team. The gym is small but it's big enough to hone your skills and test your limits. It teaches you to be extremely aware of your surroundings. Murillo shouts out pointers and he knows when you are slacking so don't do it. :) Murillo is intimidating but when you see him joke with the children of the academy, you feel proud that you are a small part of this community who takes care of their own and traveling practitioners. They only have one bathroom for females and one bathroom for males. Don't complain. Some academies have none. As for a Manhattan school, their prices are reasonable and comparable. Honestly, you can learn adequate jiujitsu for standard cost anywhere but..... BUT if you want greatness, if you want to be part of something bigger than yourself, where people know you by name, this academy will be your family and push you to your limit. Lol can you hear....... "Push it to the limit" scarface/rocky :) playing in the background? Okay they don't play that at the academy but in my mind, when I train there, I'm rocky balboa. I digress, this is a great academy. :) read more

I'm completely new to Jiu Jitsu and Unity really lives up to its name. I was a little nervous at first but from the moment I entered Ana did an excellent job of making me feel welcomed regardless of my experience level. Hands on instruction and correction from Professor Mirulo Santana, a good mix of belt ranks, world class training partners, and an atmosphere of hard work and respect are just some of the reasons I'm super excited to start my Jiu Jitsu journey with Unity. Come find out for yourself tho. Oss! read more

Noting to add to other reviews here... Ana and the guys already know what I think. Signed up and loving it. This will be my home for next few years... if they'll have me. Murilo has been there every day since opening and so were Miyao bros. I'm little stiff still after two years hiatus but the level of instruction and attention is superb. read more

Best place to train hard Murilo Santana is a perfectionist and he gives details wich we ll never have in anywhere else. Miaus are awesome and they are ready for a fight 24/7 is incredible!!! Luiza Monteiro is there to train and gives tips from another school Iago is one of the bests brown belt ever êh is always attentive and disposed to give tips Anna Lowry is not only a great competitor is a great teacher Kids Adults Teens athlete non athlete are welcome well received and well spent Go train Jiu jitsu and conquer the world read more

Dropped in to my first class at Unity today just to give it a try with my friend. Murilo was really nice and his instruction was top notch. He taught a few passes that I for sure want to use. I would definitely go to their open mats on Sundays which is free for women! read more

Unity JJ is an excellent school. It's clean, and welcoming, the staff and instructors are friendly, professional, and very knowledgeable. It has showers which is a huge plus, and a schedule that works perfectly for someone like me with a 10-6 working schedule, and they're right off a train stop, so I don't have to schlepp my things for blocks. read more

Awesome school, they had a great opening with a no go seminar that I attended which included instructions from the Miyao brothers! #unityjiujitsu i hope that I can attend some weekend sessions to advance my training! read more

Unity Jiu Jitsu School - #unityjiujitsu awesome no go seminar - Martial Arts Near Me - New York, New York

What an amazing school. Murilo Santana as the head coach. What else do you want? Oh, you want to train with the Miyao brothers or Leandro Lo? No problem... They're resident athlete's. You want to train with Luiza Monteiro or Ana Lowry? Luiza is a resident athlete and Ana is a co-owner. You want to train with Yago De Souza, a world class brown belt who's won Euro's, Sao Paulo open, Rio open, Brazilian nationals, and a bunch of other things? He's there as well. read more

If you want a great workout from incredibly knowledgable and talented martial artists, here's the place to go!! I went and did an introduction with Ana, who was so nice and great at explaining how their studio works and listened and answered all of my questions. I also stayed for the 6:30-8:00pm class. It was incredible. The warm up was a great cardio workout and really stretched out the body! We then learned specific techniques, that we did with a partner. They did a great job of pairing me with someone that made it so that even as a brand new beginner I was able to do the technique and felt comfortable and excited getting to see the more advanced version that the other students were working on. At the end they did sparring, or actual practice fighting, and they let me join in with that as well, which was super fun and also I just felt like I was already really apart of the class. This studio and style of fighting is superb. This style provides a low risk of injury, unlike other martial arts I have trained in that use lots of strikes and in sparring it is then easy to get hurt. Everyone in the class was friendly, and used again, a safe method of tapping out before there is pain, but when the technique is done correctly. And yet, because of the method of fighting, you are still able to really fight hard and by the end of the matches/techniques are exhausted. And the instructor, Murilo, is like a hawk in how he really watches what everyone single student is doing and nicely correcting, checking-in, and making sure you understand the technique. He really cares that you are getting what you need out of the experience and walk away with a real understanding of how the studio, and this style of fighting, works. Plus it is a lot of fun and you are training next to prize winning champions! I honestly don't think you could find a better place to learn this style of fighting in a more comfortable, safe, deeply knowledgeable, and fun environment and community...while also getting a really great workout! CHECK THIS PLACE OUT!!! YOU WON'T REGRET IT!! read more

Friendly and the most affordable option compared to the other schools I did trial sessions. There are also free Sunday classes for women and discounts for students. It was my first time doing bjj and the women in the group made me feel welcomed! read more

This place is ALL Jiujitsu! My daughter trains under another flag but has cross trained at Unity. They have welcomed us & she gets serious competitive training here. Murillo & Ana are great instructors & are very patient. Def the place to be! read more

See all