Gracie Cincinnati Jiu-Jitsu

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CLOSED NOW - Opens at 6:00pm

I will start by saying I had an awful experience at Gracie Cincinnati so you know exactly where this review is going. While there is no doubting they have excellent Brazilian Jiu Jitsu instruction, why they are one of the most expensive martial arts schools in Cincinnati, and they house a lot of black belts the heart of a martial arts school falls on its integrity and its focus on well being of its students. Which from what I witnessed was very little.



I took exactly 2 classes a Gracie Cincinnati, the 1st day was BJJ and it was a good class and was run by the head instructor and Owner Justin. The 2nd day of classes was run by a brown belt student, the first class was striking. This class was first off not very well structured for a new student. The instructor blasted past basics and had amateur strikers do light sparring at the end of class, even new students on their first day of striking; red flag. The next red flag was the teacher told me a mouth piece wasn’t required as we would be going light, which I’m pretty sure insurance companies require a striking martial art school to have their students use a mouth piece. The next red flag was when my partner punched me in the face as hard as he could and knocked me unconscious despite the drill be for “light” contact. The instructor wasn’t even paying attention or moderating the sparring since he was training with another partner on his own. So you guessed it, unsupervised sparring. Remember this is my first day. Instead of worrying about my health they told me to shake it off and get my gi on and get ready for the BJJ class that would be happening next. I sat on the side in a fog for about an hour before I was able to drive home.



Over the next tow weeks I had migraines due to the concussion I received as a result of the punch. Hundreds of dollars in medical and hospital expenses and a week of missed work later I was able to call the school back to tell them my condition. Additionally, they never called to check on me or even worried about the seriousness of the injury.



When I spoke to the owner Justin, no one had even told him I’d been injured and he was completely unaware of what had even happened or the drills or structure of the striking class. Apparently brain injuries aren’t important enough here to be told to the head instructor. He did however immediately realize the seriousness of the situation and refunded the money for my classes and did apologize, probably so it wouldn’t become a legal matter.



So, while the BJJ is definitely strong at Gracie Cincinnati, don’t be fooled that their best interests lay in their students well being. With their large class sizes and their high tuition costs I wonder if they concern is on the money. So, if you’re looking for a school with little to no concern for the health of new students, you’ve found your school. In my opinion there are several other schools with competent BBJ in Cincinnati at a much lower cost that put more focus on students health and well being than turning a buck.

(Note that the name of the school is misspelled in this yellow page listing). Cincinnati Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy provides instruction to people of all ages in Gracie jiu jitsu, one of the most effective martial arts for self-defense. Beginners train from the first day with owner Jim Kelly, a Pedro Sauer blackbelt with a military background. Despite his great skill and achievement on and off the mat, Jim treats everyone with kindness, patience and respect, and this attitude is reflected in the way members of the club relate to one another. A person with no previous athletic background can enter the club and feel accepted, encouraged, and can begin doing effective jiu jitsu techniques from the first day. In addition to Jim, CBJJA has several brownbelts and purplebelts who provide supplemental instruction as needed. Evening and day class sessions are available, as well as individual private sessions. Rates are very reasonable. For more information see the web site.