Disciple MMA Academy
UPDATE: DISCIPLE HAS MOVED NEW REVIEW COMING SOON
I attended Disciple MMA & BJJ because it’s across the street from where I live and they had a great Groupon that was about to expire for 1 month unlimited training. I knew they have a huge presence in the MMA scene and trained some really good fighters so I was eager to give them a try.
1st Glance – They are located on the end of a ground level building so there are windows exposing almost all of the physical part gym. When u first walk in you’re greeted by all the awards their various fighter-athletes have won hovering above the front desk. I have the attention span of a gnat so while I was being given paperwork to complete I was staring at the mats, boxing ring, and the cage present. They have two nicely matted areas with a smooth wrestlers mat type finish. The mats are sectionals so watch your toes getting caught. The front mats area is primarily where the BJJ magic happens. The other mat towards the back area is where the Judo is taught…sometimes these classes are happening at the same time, which can be confusing especially if you’re running late and you might see some BJJ fighters in the Judo class or vice versa because both arts incorporate many of the same techniques with emphasis turning to the amount of time focused on standing or ground fighting. There’s were times the whole BJJ class visited the Judo class to work specifically of Judo take-downs. Just check before you bow in and join a class you didn’t plan to attend.
Disciple offers BJJ, Judo, Boxing, Muay Thai, MMA, Tae Kwon Do and Wrestling so there are lots of athletes walking around during busy hours and many of the athletes are doing back-to-back classes.
Right behind the front desk is the unisex rest room, followed by a wall of cubby holes for storage of personal gear. There’s two curtained changing stalls off to the side of the cubby hole area. There are no lockers but the cubby holes face the training area and I could see my cubby hole and personal belongings from all over the school but again why would any one bring valuables to BJJ class?
There’s also a well-equipped and updated training area/weight room right by the changing booth called Beyond Strength Performance and they offer group and individual fitness training there for fighters or …regular people not into any martial art.
Schedule – BJJ (gi) classes are Mon & Wed with open mat on Fri & Sat and sometimes I’ve even seen Sunday meet ups planned over the school’s online chat. Tues & Thurs are No – Gi.
I know they have had noon classes during the weekday but they weren’t being offered during the time I was there; however, when I only inquired about noon classes the BJJ coach immediately found some guys that were also looking for some BJJ sparring opportunities at noon and next thing you know I was sweating out my chik fil a sandwich on the mats.
Lineage – This school is overseen by a Leo Dalla Black Belt – Professor David Reeves – Fluffy BJJ
Class Structure – The Mon & Wed class is taught by Coach Maggie (Brown Belt). Class began with many of us stretching and “catching up” for a few minutes as late stragglers came in and then the warm began. We did about a dozen BJJ related exercises and then….some more exercises. I was feeling pretty beat and dizzy as hell after the “warm-up” but in a good way.
We went over the evening’s technique followed by a good deal of time drilling each technique. I really like that Coach Maggie broke the explanation of the techniques down for the white belts so that they could understand and then the technique was built upon that class & that week so that upper belts didn’t get bored and white were exposed to the growth potential of a basic technique. The coaches wouldn’t let us move on until they saw everyone complete the technique and made adjustments, if necessary.
After drilling, we went into live-action drilling and usually some game was played to essentially provide a round robin of body type exposure and to get people to exert a little more energy through the competition. The games reminded me of my high school football days in that they were practical and helpful in play but I was always wondering who the hell thought of this game and how did coach remember the rules to all these damn games.
The last half hour is dedicated to open sparring and like many schools this is the break time that people dismiss themselves if they have to leave early….but this is when coaching matters to me. I went go to Coach Maggie to say goodnight she quickly asked me, “what time do you need to be where you need to be?” Feeling her sense of urgency I answered…”in about 15-20 minutes”…she said, “can u roll with XXX for just…,” she glanced at the timer…”3 minutes?!!” I thought for only 3 minutes? ….”sure.” I rolled with the guy and as soon as the buzzer sounded and I sat up, Coach Maggie is on her knees with a big smile and introduces me to someone squatting beside her and ask me to quickly show him a technique, after a few demonstrations and his practice attempts …it’s like 2 minutes on the clock so we sparred and when the buzzer rung, a guy I had been talking to earlier invites me to roll. After that sparring session, I stood up thinking of how to explain why I was running late to my wife and I spotted Coach Maggie and realized she was “working the room” to keep athletes from leaving the floor without sparring a little….well played Coach Maggie…well played indeed.
Coaches are supposed to teach you how to do something you don’t know how to do but also get you to do things you dont really feel like doing so the best you can rise to the surface.
Mon & Wed class are 2 1/2 hours.
The No-Gi class is structured a little different because it’s only for an hour. It is taught by MMA fighters Coach Neil (purple belt) & Coach Kenny (purple belt) Both of these coaches also have an extensive knowledge based in wrestling and it’s always good to learn the differences of approach and finish for wrestlers as opposed to BJJ.
Professor David Reeves – is present on site a couple times a month. And when he taught class, many more people were in attendance and it almost felt like a seminar as everyone was intently listening …people still made jokes and laughed but just not as much as a regular class.
Music – You can hear the music here. It’s not too loud but is a part of class during opening warm up, drilling and rolling. The music is mostly younger popular hip hop or reggae. I enjoyed the musical vibe and saw the energy increase during sparring when popular songs fell into rotation.
Attendance – Attendance to the gi classes were fairly steady and generally a good group and several women in attendance every time I was there. Many of the participants seemed to be in the 20-35 year old range but I felt comfortable as I’m old as hell.
Vibe – This is a very close knit club/team/family. The team really sticks to together and are very welcoming to new-comers. I walked to class once (in 10 degree -Fahrenheit ) and there was a team member in attendance to class but he was injured. I asked him why he came and he responded that he just wanted to help support attendance and the team. He later gave me a ride home and always checked on my transportation situation after class. I liked the close-knit family/team environment so much that I allowed my teenage daughter to take classes there and she loves the family feel as well. Lots of former military and veteran friendly.
There are lots of young people at Disciple but there was enough maturity and passion maintained by the coaches and instructors that this old man didn’t feel out of place or offended.
Bathroom – the bathroom is unisex and clean. You can change in there if you don’t feel comfy with the curtained changing rooms
Water – there are stacks of cases of bottled water there. I brought my own but was told everyone’s welcome to them. It would be a nice gesture to take a case to drop off when you go as Im pretty sure they all just pitch in and bring cases of water.
Women Friendly – Yes. The head coach is an awesome fighter that happens to be a female. Coach Maggie is also a well known fixture in the BJJ community and because of that there’s always other fighters (men & women) visiting to give outside perspectives.
Website – www.disciplemmaacademy.com
