Gracie Fighter

We signed up our 5 year old son for Jiujitsu. He picked the black gee with white belt, he looks cute as hell BTW.
On his first day, he was extremely shy. He was so nervous that he wanted to cry, but Cameron was cool. He came over to talk to him and sat next to him on the mat.
It’s nice to see him engage with my son even when he has a full class to teach. It’s been a week since my son joined and I can tell he’s finally opening up.
He loves to practice at home too. He is still shy, but I’m sure he will be out of that stage once he feels more comfortable & make some friends in there.
The giant mat is clean, the floor looks clean as well. There are cubbies where you can place your shoes and socks in. There’s a few chairs around the side so you can sit and watch.

Love this place! Started training BJJ at age 52 and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Great people, great classes, and a sea of talent available to help anytime! Great for the whole family too! My wife, son and daughter all train here! Did I say I love this place!

Love the classes, instructors, students & brand new renovation of this historic BJJ school in Norcal! The talent of the athletes that walk in everyday & train on the mats is humbling to anyone in martial arts. It is always worth the 45-​minute commute for me to train in a comfortable «no ego» environment, which is not always the case for women in BJJ. In addition, to entice more women to join, Cesar even offers a discount for women & weekly classes for women taught by women. Thank you to all the staff in Pleasant Hill, esp Cesar & Tina! Ossss…

Great gym with good hard training. Always a high level instructor at the academy. When you earn a new belt here it is recognized as a well deserved one. Great place to stay in shape, learn self defense, or just to pick up a hobby.

Great place to train jiujitsu. All of the students and instructors are world class. Everyone who seriously trains here are like brothers to each other and truly enjoy helping and encouraging other students. Not only will you gain confidence and fitness you will also acquire a tremendous hobby that will be part of your life forever. Cesar has a great intellect that translates into his jiujitsu. He makes teaching personal and knows everyone’s game and what they need to do to improve it. He is a true master of his craft and surrounds himself with highest quality black belts that share those qualities. Just train and observe how not only your body but also your character is molded into something tougher and more resilient
In response to one reviewer who had problem canceling his contract. You have the copy of the contract. Call that number and talk to the personnel directly. The will go over the conditions. Usually you give them a 3-​month written notice. I did the same thing when I moved to SoCal for graduate school. This is a standard procedure for many gyms.
Train here if you want to learn a serious brand of Brazilian Jiujitsu.

I have been training at Gracie Sports Center for several years and found it at great gym with fantastic instructors and supportive senior students.

Hands over best Jiu Jitsu gym

I am not shocked that other people are having the same issue with charges not being stopped or removed. They charged us for six sessions in August when we only have two kids, and have perpetually promised to fix and end billing without following through. These people are clearly dishonest and we are about to take legal action and report them to the BBB so this never happens to anyone else.
Call your credit card or bank and have them block charges if this continues for anyone else. This type of practice is despicable.
Update: BBB notified. «This case will be reviewed by a complaint specialist at the Better Business Bureau, and then forwarded to the business for their response. It is our policy to allow the business 10 working days to respond to your complaint. You will be notified when the business has responded.»
For others who would like to notify visit:

Hi this is Joey I was working the Dragon House 11 event, I just want to say my apologize’s to the Gracie Family & Bjj instructors for any offensive verbal words that
Were exchanged first of all I was only do my job & I never said
To anyone to shut up or that I would choke them. That information was way put out
Of text by Kevin .L.. So I just wanted to clear that up & I’m not a black belt only a brown in Bjj & 3^rd degree black belt in taekwondo & I’m a ex US Marine of 6 years. I l look foward to seeing everyone at the future fight events in the bay area, we’re all family through the world of Martial Arts God bless
Joey s

Love this place!!! Cesar and all of the guys are great. I feel very comfortable here and find my workouts here to be the best part of my day. The boxing and muay Thai classes are amazing. Kids classes are always full here and they always have fun

This is a good facility if you are looking for training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ). The BJJ instructors are excellent and know what they are teaching. There is also a world-​class boxing instructor (separate personal trainer at the gym) that I would highly recommend to anyone.
The atmosphere in the gym is very laid back, which takes some getting used to. The adult classes rarely start on time and lack a strict structure; I was informed this is the Brazilian way. If you can get past the cultural differences then you can train with some great people and really learn some BJJ.

This review is specific to the kids Jiu Jitsu program as it is the only aspect of the program that I have experience with.
Our son has been training at Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for four years now… the last two at the Gracie Sports Center. Hands down the best kids jiu jitsu program I have ever seen. The kids’ coach, Moses Baca, embodies a rare combination of discipline and kindness that is perfect for teaching young people Jiu Jitsu. The program is very focused and serious, with careful attention to safety. Moses is not just an exceptional Jiu Jitsu instructor, he is an amazing role model.

I did sign up my 14 years old son for Mai Thai for period of 3 month. But after 3 month they keep charged my bank account. The owners wife promised me to fix the problem, but nothing changed so far (almost a year). They never returned my emails or phone calls. I did block my bank account. Recently I received a formal notice from debt collector and not able to solve the problem because cant get a copy of my original contract. Never join this Gym!!!

The Best Jiu Jitsu in the Bay they have a great muay thai coach Dan Black and mma champions for a reason. Super program for kids Moses is a class act First class is free

Like the below reviewer I have had nothing but problems with this highly unprofessional gym. As an advanced Marine Corps Martial Arts Instructor I thought I would work on my skills at this gym. I became skeptical after waiting around for 1.5 hours after my first class was to begin, then having nobody present to actually enroll me in the gym, followed by being told the class they had me wait 1.5 hours for was not the intro class. A few days later I mentioned my experience to a local advanced jiu jitsu instructor. He stated he was not surprised and stated that he knew of several individuals who had been seriously hurt at Gracie due to the gym’s lack of professionalism. At this point I informed Gracie that I was no longer interested in attending their gym. Almost a year later they are still charging my card (over $ 1000 at this point) and not returning my emails or phone calls and nobody with authority has been present after multiple return visits to the gym. The owner, Cesar Gracie (after pushing his business responsibilities on to his overwhelmed wife, Tina) finally responded and gave me his word that he would end the charges. Still nothing and still no response from him. DO NOT JOIN THIS GYM!!!

I have to agree with the second poster, Lucas T. I have wanted to train BJJ for quite some time and looked at several schools in the Bay Area and just joined up here a couple weeks ago. I am very new and definatly the worst student in my class, but that is where the positive experiences begin.
I have found the students here to be very friendly and helpful to the new guys… no egos and «You suck» attitudes. Noone taking advantage and intentionally embarrasing or applying painful holds and ignoring your tapping just to be a jerk. any question I have had, i can just ask another guy with more experience and they are all ready to help me out. Believe me, finding a school with so many guys willing to help even the weakest guy improve is a gem in itself.
As far as the instructors… they are out of this world. First rate Professors (and I say professors… because the word teachers would be an understatment). Even when I have difficulty learning something… they are always positive and work very hard to help me and the other beginners. Never made to feel inferior and always full of positive encouragment.
I can’t really say anything that Lucas didn’t say… he said it so well… but even being «the new guy» I already feel like this is a family… and one that I plan to stay a part of for a very long time.
If you are looking to try BJJ… come join us on the mat and see for yourself.

I’m posting this review after reading the most recent post. I feel that there is some clarification that is needed as most people have no idea what to expect when they first walk into a BJJ gym. This isn’t your typical Karate Dentist strip mall school, so one can’t approach it that way.
Let’s get the negatives out of the way, the original poster is correct, the bathrooms are bad. On a daily basis there are at least 100 people who train at the academy, probably a lot more. I have not seen any type of janitor on duty and doubt that there is so it is difficult to properly maintain the bathrooms during the day. Every night the entire facility is cleaned, vacuumed and moped. As for the mats that students roll on, they are cleaned in between classes when time permits. Most of the time that means the mats are being swept as classes are stacked upon one another and there isn’t enough time to mop/​dry. As for air conditioning, this is Brazilian Jiujitsu. If you want to physically better yourself you’re going to sweat, especially wearing a 5lbs gi that’s only going to get soaked with sweat. If you’re a germaphobe, might want to consider another sport. The last and final negative, the instructors are all Brazilian and their grasp of the English language varies. There are so many people that come by the academy to prospect that it is difficult for an instructor to answer questions from those off the street and teach a class. My advice, be respectful and wait till the instructors attention isn’t on a class to ask questions. Better yet, ask the students what they think. Mind you, just because an instructor isn’t teaching a technique doesn’t mean that they aren’t observing free rolls or other exercises to offer assistance. What one should pay attention to is whether or not the instructor was answering student’s questions, encouraging questions and offering the situational direction to students while they train.
So there’s the dirt. Are you still reading? Good, now for the good stuff. Joining this gym will change your life. I mean that with every ounce of my being. I’ve been training for a little more than a year and a half and I felt exactly like the previous poster. I’d visited at least 10 different schools before picking the Pleasant Hill school. This school eats, sleeps and breaths Brazilian Jiujitsu. The only thing that is absolutely 100% incorrect about the previous review is that the gym focuses on MMA more than BJJ. I’m not going to say our gym is better than the other guys, only that the focus is mainly on BJJ. Don’t be surprised if you walk through the front doors only to find a group of Brazilian Jiujitsu practitioners hovering over a heated chess match. Brazilian Jiujitsu is also referred to as physical chess. Aside from the instructors being world class, it’s the students that define this academy. Here’s a major factor that people overlook: the students are your training partner. If they are too aggressive, you’ll get hurt. If they are too lazy, you won’t effectively learn. If they don’t show up to class, you don’t have a training partner. If they don’t care about you as a training partner, they won’t point out when you make a mistake. This school has awesome students. Let me expand on that. Cesar Gracie of Pleasant Hill has good, wholesome, and trustworthy students who have a thirst for instruction and a drive for perfection. I started BJJ because I wanted to better myself physically but more importantly I wanted to expand my social network. I’ve done so with flying colors and I’ve made lifelong friends. Shed blood, sweat and tears with some guys from the gym and you’ll know what I mean.
Cesar Gracie’s is a family. Not to mention, there are so many affiliates with Cesar Gracie that you can train all over the greater San Francisco area and pay one fee. This isn’t for everyone but I promise you that no matter where you train, if you stick with Brazilian Jiujitsu (3 days a week minimum), it will change your life.
**Parents: I’m throwing this in here because I noticed a «Good for Kids» survey. You couldn’t ask for a better instructor. He truly cares about his students and it shines through in his teachings. A simple conversation with any parent waiting for their child will affirm what I’ve said, I’m confident of that. Hell, you might even find yourself enrolling after seeing how much fun your child has.
Come feel young for life, do Jiujitsu!

Our first attempts to cancel lessons here have not gone well. I’m going to politely try again and repost what I hope will be a retraction.