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October 2023 by Dalton Miles
Journey is a great place to build community and a better version of yourself. I recommend their facility for anyone, regardless of age. The environment is family-friendly and is great for whichever stage of life you and your family is in.
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September 2023 by Fox Frisch
I can't praise Journey Jiu Jitsu enough, where I've been a dedicated member for two years. Coach Coleman's noon classes have been instrumental in improving my Jiu Jitsu skills. His deep knowledge, dedication to students, and passion for the sport make him stand out.Coach Alex's morning classes are equally fantastic. He not only brings expertise to the mat but infuses humor into his sessions, making them enjoyable and instructive.I've also attended Coach Bill's classes, all consistently positive experiences. Journey Jiu Jitsu boasts an exceptional coaching team, welcoming to both beginners and seasoned practitioners. It's the perfect place to embark on your Jiu Jitsu journey.
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September 2023 by Alexa Kellin
Trying Jiu jitsu was probably one of the best decisions I've ever made. Excellent environment, clean facility, and incredible coaches who are passionate about the art of Jiu Jitsu. Alex, Bill, and Coleman are warm and welcoming providing tons of knowledge, engaging classes and are patient helping you learn necessary techniques that will grow you mentally and physically. Happy to be apart of the journey family. Would highly recommend.
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September 2023 by Brian Greunke
I've been coming here, along with my kids, for 7 months now. We all love it. The kids classes are fun for the kids, yet structured and disciplined enough to be a quality learning environment. Both of my kids are learning at an incredible rate and love playing/rolling with their friends. There is a good mix of experienced/older kids, and new/younger students of all sizes.The adult classes are also great. I started from almost zero BJJ experience as an older guy and enjoyed it from the first class. The pace is a perfect fit: I feel challenged every day, but I can still keep up and progress. The coaches have developed a solid curriculum and great culture of cool people. I look forward to practice days!
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September 2023 by Lindsey Cheadle
Excellent kids program - the coaches are great at encouraging discipline and commitment along with teaching fun and thorough jiu jitsu techniques through demonstration, games, and lots of supervised one-on-one sparring. My 8-year-old son has gained so much self control, confidence, maturity, and most of all enjoyment from his classes and competitions at Journey over the last year.
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September 2023 by Jeff Mand
Love this gym. Lunch crew is a great group of guys and Coleman is a hell of a coach. All shapes and sizes are welcome.
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September 2023 by Adam Populorum
Really strong onboarding program to be sure everyone new to BJJ is up to the challenge. All coaches and members are helpful and patient in assisting newer people to improve their own form & technique, which is imperative for new people to stay encouraged. Glad I started my BJJ "journey" here and looking forward to continuing with the team!
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September 2023 by Brian Stubitsch
Excellent staff, my 13 year old is new to this and has been warmly welcomed by the other members and staff. Would definitely recommend!
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September 2023 by Jay T.
I've been able to stick with it for about 15 months thanks to the encouraging atmosphere, great teaching, and camaraderie.
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December 2022 by dorothy silverman
I can't recommend Journey enough for giving me an opportunity to try something totally out of my comfort zone. I've always been interested in fitness, but wanted to mix up my stale exercise routine. I'm a 5'2" woman, and had never pursued a high contact sport. I initially joined Journey for their six week introductory course because of the gym’s philosophy. They obviously put a lot of thought and care into how they structure their new students’ experiences in the gym. The introductory program requires new students to come for six weeks, three days a week. I believe the philosophy behind that approach is to a) help newcomers looking to get into or back into fitness develop some level of accountability and help them form a habit around fitness, and b) enable them to actually understand what Jiu Jitsu is all about. I myself quickly realized that I couldn’t have possibly judged Jiu Jitsu after a class or two. The regularity of my attendance also created a community of friends (something I’m trying to cultivate as a remote worker), since I saw the same people every week.My first day at the gym was amazing. Alex, my coach and also the owner of the studio, was very welcoming and immediately paired me with another student my size. At the end of class, he publicly congratulated me and the whole class cheered. What a supportive environment right off the bat. Over the course of the next few weeks, I started to appreciate Alex’s teaching style. Of course he taught us a variety of specific moves, but more importantly he tried to help us see patterns of movement. This quickly helped me transition away from trying to remember specific choreography (something I tend to do as a former ballet dancer), into being able to respond smoothly to opponents. By the end of my six weeks, I felt somewhat decent at defense and holding my guard.I also can’t emphasize how kind the rest of the students were. As I’m sure many people could imagine, Jiu Jitsu tends to be male-dominated. Any men I was paired with, despite size, height, or age differences, were always very kind and respectful. Whenever I asked a male student to roll with me, they never hesitated to say yes, something I’m not sure is always common. Finally, I was never the only woman in the room! NEVER! I attended 18-20 classes and there were always at least one or two other women there. So ladies, if you are interested in BJJ, you’ll have a female community immediately at Journey.For personal reasons, I decided to end my time at Journey after the six week introductory course, although I very seriously considered moving forward with the blue belt program. For anyone considering trying something totally new, I’d recommend Journey in a heartbeat.
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December 2022 by ismumm
Overall, a great gym for new or experienced people.The gym offers classes 3-4 times a day, each class taught by a different coach. I had the opportunity and availability to attend classes taught by each coach throughout my time at the gym. All the coaches are very competent and engaging, and each has unique methods, preferences, and styles when approaching jiu jitsu and teaching. This gives you the opportunity to choose which coach’s style is best suited for you, even though each coach is more than happy to show you, individually, alternative approaches to movements when confusion and struggles arise. The coaches were also eager to show and teach alternatives to movements to best suit your innate skills, strengths, and anatomy. There are also open mat times after some classes to allow more time to roll; this is especially useful when it’s nearing competition time. The fellow members of the gyms are also amazing and helpful people! As a new member and someone new to jiu jitsu the tips given by experienced members while rolling we’re just as helpful as the coaches!
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December 2022 by KCatch22
I joined Journey at the beginning of 2020 as a means of staying in shape with the side benefit of learning some self defense. I did not expect at the time BJJ was going to be so MUCH FUN. It taps into the same reward center that gets you addicted to video games and that's what keeps you coming back every week. On top of that, you meet new people every day. Some of these people become life-long friends, and it's very easy to make friends because you know there's at least one common interest you can talk about. All my friends are now people I've met through Jiu Jitsu and I would regularly hang out outside of class, whereas before Jiu Jitsu I had no social life. I watched them grow from a new gym with mostly white belts to a growing army of blue belts and purple belts. They are also likely the most female friendly BBJ gym in the area. Since there are already so many women attending, it's easy for them to find other female training partners. I earned my blue belt in September 2021. Sadly, I couldn't stay in Madison and had to say goodbye, but I will never forget them. Go Journey!
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December 2022 by Daniel Loyd
Journey is an amazing Jiu Jitsu gym that is stock full of wonderful people and coaches! Only downside is they don’t have a shower/water fountain(make sure to bring water!) on location, but do they have changing rooms and bathrooms. Overall, I can’t recommend this academy enough!
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December 2022 by shane sweeney
I have been training at Journey for just under a year. For someone who hates cardio, running, biking, etc, I find jujitsu to be a great alternative. I would recommend Journey BJJ to anyone. Their coaches are knowledgeable and experienced. They create a fun learning atmosphere. I really like their flexibility of classes and variety. Their classes are at all times of the day that can fit anybody's schedule. The facility is clean and practices are well structured. Come check it out!
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December 2022 by Marcus Bivren
I trained here for 3 weeks when i was visiting Madison. I have to give this place 5 stars even though the training area is to small in my opinion. Very friendly, very welcoming and hygienic place. And coach Bill is a fantastic instructor. Thanks guys ?
