MMA Schools in Washington DC Metro Area?

[TheGreenMachine]

So I'll be moving to the DC/Virginia area within the next year or so and I'm looking at gyms to train at so I can possibly move close to those areas (I'll be working downtown DC). I'm looking for primarily an MMA school or a school that has both BJJ and striking and competes a lot in both MMA and/or BJJ. From the past threads, I've narrowed it down to basically 4 choices.

Top 3 are...

BETA MMA (have heard it's expensive though, but is probably worth it?)
Ryan Hall's 50/50 (Don't think they have striking?)
Kaizan MMA (Fairfax) (Maybe the best, but it's further away from DC in Fairfax?)

4th Option is...
Yamasaki BJJ (Unsure of? Possibly in Maryland and not as competitive as the others?)

Suggestions?

 

[Jhf884]

A lot will really depend where you live. Most people commute into DC from Virginia or Maryland, but going from Virginia to Maryland or vice versa is a PITA.

 

[McA]

I have no opinion on which is best, but I can say that people from Yamasaki are good, and people from 50/50 are good.

It sounds like you have already heard distances are deceptive in the DC metro area. It takes much much longer to get anywhere during rush hour (7 am to 9:30 am, 3 pm to 7 pm) than it should. For example, Maguilla (Gaithersburg Maryland) and Crazy 88 (Elkridge Maryland) are effectively closer together than Beta and 50/50.

If I could go back in time, I would live as close to work as possible, in DC (as horrible as that is) or in Arlington as close to my job as possible, at least for the first year or two of my new job.

Although you didn't say, just in case - if you are a university student or teacher, all the schools have their own clubs. Probably be cheaper and more convenient to start there.

 

[ChrmnMa0]

A lot of this depends where in the DMV you are coming from? It is a small area, but traffic sucks.
I'd invite you to come check out my school - college park mma. We are relatively inexpensive and offer striking and grappling. www.cpmma.net. We are located just outside of the University of Maryland, College Park.
Feel free to hit me up if you need more info.

 

[anaconda]

Not a lot of true MMA programs out here, unfortunately. I'm not sure how much striking/mma is offered at 50/50 but I would choose there or Beta depending on what's more convenient.

Kaizen doesn't have a very strong bjj program relative to the other two, in my opinion. But they probably have the more comprehensive mma program than the others.

Is your focus bjj or mma?

 

[BudoPracticioner]

I grew up there, trained there. Check out Trident MMA in Woodbridge VA. I trained there about a year and a half. It's run by former SEAL Pat Tray (served on SEAL Team 6 legit for many years), has some other good instructors. Affiliated with Erik Paulson/CSW, Rigan Machado BJJ, Ajarn Chai for MT, and Dan Inosanto for JKD concepts and Filipino martial arts. Definitely some black belts rolling there when I trained there, great instruction and vibe. Only thing is it's out in Woodbridge, which can be kind of a hike if you're inside the beltway. But I've trained a bunch of places and thought the instruction there was worth the extra drive time, if that tells you anything. Theyve also moved to a newer, bigger facility since I left which looks real nice.

http://www.tridentmartialarts.com/

 

[PapaFoxtrot]

If you are located within DC, go to BETA. Nakapan is the head instructor there and he is the man; everyone is really cool, they have a great gym vibe and the people there train hard. They regularly send students to BJJ competitions and they have an MMA program with students and coaches that fight for promotions in the area.

I trained there for three years while I lived in DC and I loved it. They offer BJJ, MT, wrestling, and (not sure if they still do) they used to have a former Olympic judoka teaching Judo once a week. They are on the more expensive side of the house but I'm pretty sure its the market rate for the MD/DC/NOVA area. I'm obviously biased, but I trained at one other place while in DC, and BETA was hands down the better option.

Traffic in DC is horrendous and it's not easy to get around. So that being said, where you live/work will have an impact on your decision. Although I've never trained at 50/50, based on what I've heard if it's more convenient for you, its not a bad place to train either, though I am unsure if they are pure BJJ or offer MMA as well.

 

[bigkick]

Aaron Riley, former UFC fighter, teaches the MMA classes at Yamasaki in Springfield, VA - and maybe some of the other locations. He has a pretty devoted team, a lot of whom are active competitors. The Muay Thai coach, Mark, is excellent as well. And the BJJ instruction is just top notch. If you can manage the commute from wherever you end up living, go there.

 

[ChrmnMa0]

Sorry bout the screw up. The website for my school is www.cpmma.net Godaddy hasn't been able to get the .com routing there.

 

[TheGreenMachine]

If you are located within DC, go to BETA. Nakapan is the head instructor there and he is the man; everyone is really cool, they have a great gym vibe and the people there train hard. They regularly send students to BJJ competitions and they have an MMA program with students and coaches that fight for promotions in the area.

I trained there for three years while I lived in DC and I loved it. They offer BJJ, MT, wrestling, and (not sure if they still do) they used to have a former Olympic judoka teaching Judo once a week. They are on the more expensive side of the house but I'm pretty sure its the market rate for the MD/DC/NOVA area. I'm obviously biased, but I trained at one other place while in DC, and BETA was hands down the better option.

Traffic in DC is horrendous and it's not easy to get around. So that being said, where you live/work will have an impact on your decision. Although I've never trained at 50/50, based on what I've heard if it's more convenient for you, its not a bad place to train either, though I am unsure if they are pure BJJ or offer MMA as well.

What's BETA's prices like compared to the others? I've heard they may charge up to $200 for unlimited classes. Wherever I go, the chances are good I'll just sign up for unlimited classes so I'm expecting to pay more, but I just want to get an idea of pricing in the area.

 

[anaconda]

If you want to stay in or around DC, beta is your best option. As mentioned, nakapan is a really cool guy with legit skills and they have a solid gym.

 

[the heed]

What's BETA's prices like compared to the others? I've heard they may charge up to $200 for unlimited classes.

welcome to the DC area.
$200 unlimited for everything? Seems actually cheap for DC proper school.
I used to live there awhile back, but I go back here and there.. and from what I have seen even only unlimited BJJ will run you around $200 inside DC.
Isn't 50/50 around that price and they are in Arlington/Falls Church?

 

[PapaFoxtrot]

What's BETA's prices like compared to the others? I've heard they may charge up to $200 for unlimited classes. Wherever I go, the chances are good I'll just sign up for unlimited classes so I'm expecting to pay more, but I just want to get an idea of pricing in the area.

My information may be a little dated in regards to pricing, but around 200 is the going rate for the entire DC area if you want unlimited everything. That's about what it was for me this past summer so I can't imagine its changed.

 

[Kenny from MD]

If you live in DC, go to BETA. The extra money you spend in tuition versus another school will balance out from the lack of commute, and certainly be worthwhile for the time savedand convenience of not having to be on the beltway. They have a few MMA fighters, a dedicated striking program, and a strong jiu jitsu team.

I commute from PG County in Maryland to Falls Church in Virginia to go to 50/50, and it fucking blows. Obviously it is worth it, because i do it, but it sucks shit.

 

[TheGreenMachine]

Thanks guy,s for the advice, I'll probably go with BETA then! I just wanted to make sure they were legit since I saw some vids and it seemed kind of mcdojoish a bit with everyone wearing the same gym shirt. I know it's a Lloyd Irvin affiliated school (or used to be), so it has to be legit, I just didn't know if all that drama passed yet or not and wanted to be sure.

If you live in DC, go to BETA. The extra money you spend in tuition versus another school will balance out from the lack of commute, and certainly be worthwhile for the time savedand convenience of not having to be on the beltway. They have a few MMA fighters, a dedicated striking program, and a strong jiu jitsu team.

I commute from PG County in Maryland to Falls Church in Virginia to go to 50/50, and it fucking blows. Obviously it is worth it, because i do it, but it sucks shit.

How's 50/50? Is it straight grappling or is there any striking or wrestling at all?

My information may be a little dated in regards to pricing, but around 200 is the going rate for the entire DC area if you want unlimited everything. That's about what it was for me this past summer so I can't imagine its changed.

What about like 3-4 classes a week? A bit cheaper or not based on your info?

$200 is ridiculous compared to what I pay in Florida lol. But I guess its expected for a big city and what I'd be willing to pay for a top level black belt instructor, muay thai/boxing, and a gym with plenty of amateur fighters. My gym I pay $100 for unlimited, but it is a bit out in the sticks and is more of a Rocky style gym with almost all fighters. Most of the other schools with solid curriculums and black belts from established lineages are about $125-150 for unlimited.

 

[the heed]

$200 is ridiculous compared to what I pay in Florida lol. But I guess its expected for a big city and what I'd be willing to pay for a top level black belt instructor, muay thai/boxing, and a gym with plenty of amateur fighters. My gym I pay $100 for unlimited, but it is a bit out in the sticks and is more of a Rocky style gym with almost all fighters. Most of the other schools with solid curriculums and black belts from established lineages are about $125-150 for unlimited.

I bet you pay a lot shit ton less in rent in Florida.
California, depending on where you are at pay a shit ton in rent and the cost of living is high. NYC, I think average classes are around $200-$300?
DC, actually the entire greater DC area has a high cost of living. You will realize very quickly that price isn't ridiculous. Just wait till you start paying for other stuff.

 

[Bryan from DC]

Thanks guy,s for the advice, I'll probably go with BETA then! I just wanted to make sure they were legit since I saw some vids and it seemed kind of mcdojoish a bit with everyone wearing the same gym shirt. I know it's a Lloyd Irvin affiliated school (or used to be), so it has to be legit, I just didn't know if all that drama passed yet or not and wanted to be sure.



How's 50/50? Is it straight grappling or is there any striking or wrestling at all?




What about like 3-4 classes a week? A bit cheaper or not based on your info?

$200 is ridiculous compared to what I pay in Florida lol. But I guess its expected for a big city and what I'd be willing to pay for a top level black belt instructor, muay thai/boxing, and a gym with plenty of amateur fighters. My gym I pay $100 for unlimited, but it is a bit out in the sticks and is more of a Rocky style gym with almost all fighters. Most of the other schools with solid curriculums and black belts from established lineages are about $125-150 for unlimited.

Cost of Living is a lot lower in Florida than DC. $200/month is par for the course in the DC area.

 

[UnicornFarts]

Team Lloyd Irvin is in the area and do well in competitions.

 

[PapaFoxtrot]

Thanks guy,s for the advice, I'll probably go with BETA then! I just wanted to make sure they were legit since I saw some vids and it seemed kind of mcdojoish a bit with everyone wearing the same gym shirt. I know it's a Lloyd Irvin affiliated school (or used to be), so it has to be legit, I just didn't know if all that drama passed yet or not and wanted to be sure.



How's 50/50? Is it straight grappling or is there any striking or wrestling at all?




What about like 3-4 classes a week? A bit cheaper or not based on your info?

$200 is ridiculous compared to what I pay in Florida lol. But I guess its expected for a big city and what I'd be willing to pay for a top level black belt instructor, muay thai/boxing, and a gym with plenty of amateur fighters. My gym I pay $100 for unlimited, but it is a bit out in the sticks and is more of a Rocky style gym with almost all fighters. Most of the other schools with solid curriculums and black belts from established lineages are about $125-150 for unlimited.

200 was for three times a week, unlimited might have been a few bucks more but nothing ridiculous. Keep in mind that also includes open mat time on weekends and open gym time (they have a small conditioning area with kettlebells, barbells, etc that are open for use in between classes). Also, at 3 p.m every day they have open mat for an hour where they do 10 minute rolls followed by drilling. That's open to everyone regardless of what program you're on. So between classes and open mat time, you can pretty much train every day if you really wanted to.

 

[PapaFoxtrot]

Yeah cost of living in DC was insane. I was really happy when work relocated me to....NYC for the next two years