Drop in Washington DC

[Forceof1]

Hi F12 ers-

I'll be at a 4 day conference in Washington DC from Sunday the 22nd to 26th (Thursday morning) of June. Any suggestions on where to drop in for training? I may not be able to pack my Gi, but if place rents or someone would loan me one, that would be awesome. I'll have no-gi stuff.

Just a hobbyist 2 stripe blue belt- but I'm always up for a good roll.

From what I can see online- it looks like BETA and Yamasaki are closest to where I'll be staying (Fairfax hotel on Embassy row).

I'm not 100% sure what my schedule will be yet, but Wednesday night is probably when I'd train for sure.

Any suggestions, insights, etc would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[yovan]

I would check out BETA. I dropped in last summer. Very friendly environment and the guys roll hard.

 

[bigkick]

You can walk or ride the metro one stop north to Woodley Park to go to Yamasaki's. Luis is a cool instructor and the school has a great vibe. Not sure about the extra gi situation, though.

If you're feeling adventurous, head out to the West Falls Church metro to drop in at Ryan Hall's school.

 

[dalexan242]

Yamasaki DC just moved locations and has a new schedule as of earlier this week, so I would make sure to check out their FB page in case the website hasn't been updated.

 

[beeran1]

I used to drop in at 50/50 in Arlington (right by the metro stop) when I'd travel there for work. Great gym.

 

[ajf]

Stop in at BETA. We'd love to have you train with us. The new Yamasaki DC location is almost walking distance from us, so make su r you stop by and train with them as well.

 

[Forceof1]

Thank you everyone for the ideas. ajf- appreciate your response and will send you a message.

Would love to drop in at 50/50- but not sure the time frame having to take the public transit will work out. Have a couple of Ryan's DVD's and really enjoy them.

 

[anaconda]

Thank you everyone for the ideas. ajf- appreciate your response and will send you a message.

Would love to drop in at 50/50- but not sure the time frame having to take the public transit will work out. Have a couple of Ryan's DVD's and really enjoy them.

They've also moved out of Arlington to Falls Church so it would be even further. I'm not sure how far they are from the nearest metro, but I don't think they're as close to a metro stop as before.

 

[ajf]

5050 is absolutely worth visiting.

 

[SAMURAI SPIRIT]

You want to come and train with the man who certified Gabriel Gonzaga. His name is Leo Dalla and he is in Woodbridge VA.

 

[Tirofijo2001]

You want to come and train with the man who certified Gabriel Gonzaga. His name is Leo Dalla and he is in Woodbridge VA.

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but going to Woodbridge isn't a very good option for the OP if he's using public transportation.

Just FYI - 50/50 is a ~15 minute metro ride from downtown DC followed by a 15 minute walk. (Also, don't get the wrong idea about the word "adventurous" used above. Falls Church is a very safe area. I don't think the poster meant to imply that you'd be in an unsafe area - which do exist in the DC area. But Falls Church isn't one of them. )

I bet you'd get a ride back to the Falls Church Metro stop after the open mat from someone at the gym. I know if I heard you had walked to my gym I'd give you a ride back to the metro.

 

[Forceof1]

If I get to train Monday, right now it's probably BETA because someone connected with me and I think I can walk there in about 20 minutes.

If I can finagle a ride of some sort, I'd really love to drop in at 50/50 on Wednesday- maybe I can call my cousin who lives close to that area and talk him into it.

Does anyone know if Ryan would be there to teach the advanced nogi class on Wednesday the 25th?

Thanks for all the input gents-

 

[Forceof1]

Just as an update- was able to train one night at the BETA academy.

I had a fantastic time. Issac was teaching, and lead a good warmup heavy on drilling armbars and passes.

Then we covered a variation of a DLR guard pull which was nice, followed by a couple of sweeps and a cool transition into X guard and an ankle lock.

The guys rolled hard but were not out to injure or prove how tough they were. Everyone had solid technique and were great guys to train with. Issac's running commentary was worth the price of admission (free 1st time drop in).

All in all- a great drop in experience, cool gym atmosphere and I will be sure to get back there if I ever have the chance.

Thanks to all the dudes at BETA!