BJJ in Chicago!

Oh you're coming nice! I paid up for that as soon as Patrick announced it. One of those experiences you can't pass up and the price was good too
 
Got some good content on there man and it's a great idea. Would love to see a site like this on the SD area as well.
 
for sure cody, i'll have a review of the galvao seminar up next week and after that, i'll also be able to start my gym tour.

being a teacher, most of this will take place in the summer, but i want to get a good amount of gyms reviewed prior to then as well.

the weather up here has been miserable lately.
 
Say you just wanted to take the standard fundamental class a few times a week, can someone give me a ballpark figure for how much I should expect this to cost? ty.
 
Hey Dragon, awesome idea :icon_chee

Let me know when you review Pow!MMA, I've been training there and would love to read your review on it.
 
Say you just wanted to take the standard fundamental class a few times a week, can someone give me a ballpark figure for how much I should expect this to cost? ty.

it depends on the academy really.

for example
- valko bjj lowers the cost as you rise in belts. white belts start around 100/mo. for 6mo. paid in advance.
- torres martial arts is 120/mo.


most academies are similar in this aspect and charge between 80 and 130/mo.
 
Hey Dragon, awesome idea :icon_chee

Let me know when you review Pow!MMA, I've been training there and would love to read your review on it.

thanks for posting! i'll definitely drop you a line before i come out to visit. it's always great to know somebody before going somewhere. and thanks for visiting the site!
 
I got excited and couldn't wait. I posted a preview and some contact information for the Andre Galvao seminar coming up in the region. I'm shocked/amazed/disgusted(?) that even at my home academy, so many people have no idea who Andre Galvao is nor have they ever seen him compete / teach.

ANDRE-galvao.jpg

Andre Galvao Seminar Preview! | BJJ in Chicago!


BJJ in Chicago! | Covering Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Chicago and Northwest Indiana
 
Just wanted to bump this up to remind everybody about the seminar (and since the IBJJF Open has its own thread). People in town for the IBJJF should definitely stay Saturday night and come to the seminar Sunday!

 
Last edited:
Oh you're coming nice! I paid up for that as soon as Patrick announced it. One of those experiences you can't pass up and the price was good too

Great to have a chance to roll with you on Sunday. Wish we had more time. There were SOOOO many top guys from the area there. A bunch of guys from Serafin, Champion Jiujitsu, Choke U, two of us from Torres, a group from Corral's, and some guys from Force. The coolest part was that there was only 3-4 white belts out of nearly 50 people (that being said, there were probably more black belts than white belts there).

Official review will be posted within a day or two.
 
great idea, will check it out. i've got some friends in chicago that would be interested in this...
 
That is a great review of Valko bjj! I hear really good things about Jay as an instructor. I really like the way Valko places a big emphasis on Judo and wrestling, something that is missing from alot of bjj schools. I know first hand that they have a good competition team also.

Jay also showed great jits against a good bigger purple belt. I really liked that sweep Jay hit on him from closed guard. I never get that sweep against bigger guys.

The only thing that I didn't care for was that Valko is located in a gym. I think it would be better if they had a place that was strictly a bjj gym with some free weights on the side.
 
I agree with Mick. From all of the logs here on sherdog, it seems like quite a few of the academies are located in fitness centers in Brazil.

I saw some of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen in my life while at HiFi fitness. It's all personal trainers and i'd say 1/3 of them were dressed like fools (seriously, I tried to take pictures), and another 1/3 had their clients doing the most ridiculous exercises I've ever seen in my entire life. What business does a 120lb kid have doing band pin bench press lockout negatives? does anybody have business doing that? ever?

Hands down the best people watching ever. seriously.

I'll be visiting New Breed Tuesday, April 5th (hopefully!), but I'll definitely make it out to Barra and Carlson's at some point too! What is the best way to get in touch with your instructors to see if that would be okay??
 
Thanks for the review, Dragon!

Regarding being in a gym; a lot of schools are in gyms, but we are right square in the middle and in the open. I'll admit that it took a few classes to get used to. We used to be at a different gym and our area was more secluded, when we moved to HiFi we rented space right in the open. After a few classes though people came to see it as a positive. There's a lot of energy in the air when you have that much open space and people working out around you. My biggest problem now is the guys getting distracted by all the pretty girls who are working out when we're training.
 
Back
Top