Park Slope Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Excellent place to take your child (or yourself, they have adult classes too) to help develop body awareness, discipline, and self-defense skills. The instructors are great - very good with the kids, the perfect balance of pushing them to excel and meeting their needs for encouragement and support. This is a 'yes, sir' environment (not harsh, just disciplined) and the right kind of kid will really respond well to it. In a world of everyone gets a trophy just for showing up, PSBJJ is a great way to expose your child to the idea that hard work and fun can go hand in hand. Somewhere in this list of reviews someone bemoans the 6 month commitment you're required to make. The school is 100% transparent about this commitment and you sign on the dotted line with full knowledge of what you're getting into. You can do an intro class for $20 (including a uniform) and they let my son take a free group class as well to make sure he would feel comfortable. After that, yes, you've got to commit to 6 months no matter what. And you know what? That's a GOOD THING. You don't end up with a room full of one-timers. Everyone is there to learn and to work. Yes, kids get bored and frustrated learning new things. This is a great environment to teach them to push through that - sticking to something is a LIFE skill, after all. We've been there 5 months now and we've turned the corner from 'do I have to go' to 'when do I get to go' and it's great to see. Highly recommend.

Buyer beware, no refunds! Read the contract carefully. If you sign your child up for six months (which is the only option), and they change their mind, there are no refunds, not even partial. PSABJJ kept the full $1,000 tuition though my child stopped wanting to go after the first session. They deserve more stars for the program because the teachers and classes are great. They worked really hard to get my child interested and participating. I have no complaint about the teaching, but the contract is worse than your typical gym membership scam and parents need to be warned.

BE AWARE AND DO NOT ENROLL YOUR CHILD AT THIS SCHOOL unless you're certain that your child will stick with jiu jitsu for a while. My family's experience was fine for the first six months. However, after that, they convinced me to enroll my 7-year-old in an advanced class, and if I paid on the spot I would get a 10% discount. Given the discount, I registered my child. They mentioned it was a 12-month program, and I wasn't surprised at that given that a lot of other after school and extracurricular activities I have come across and enrolled my children in run for 10 to 12 months. However, they conveniently failed to mention that I could not withdraw my son from the program at any time during those 12 months. After a few advanced classes, it was clear that they were not a good fit for my child, and I asked them to withdraw my child from the program. They would not do it. It is unbelievable, but they are making me pay for the full 12 months of the program, even though my child only attended a few classes. No other extracurricular activity in the neighborhood has similar terms. All the ones I'm aware of allow you to withdraw your child by giving 30-day notice or have reasonable terms. The Park Slope Academy of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is not a preschool or daycare -- the kind of business that usually makes it clear they will not return fees that are paid if a student withdraws after committing to the year-long program. They are simply an extracurricular activity. They give you a contract to sign, and the contract outlines the mandatory 12 months in fine (small) print on the back. If they did what's right, they would *verbally* mention the impossibility of withdrawing your child in the 12-month period. Here are your rights to cancellation after your child begins the 12-month advanced program (quoted from the contract): "Student [may withdraw] because of significant physical disability for a period in excess of 6 months; if you die, your estate may cancel this agreement and shall be relieved of any further obligation for payment under agreement not then due and owning; if you move your residence more than twenty-five miles from any school studio." I hope that they don't have many studios in the country. If they do, they must be ripping off a lot of other parents too.

I joined recently as a complete novice in the martial arts and couldn't be more impressed with the consistent level of professionalism maintained by the professors and the students. There is no room for egotism here, all that matters is what people bring to the mat. Guaranteed to improve moods and attitudes. Highly recommended.

This place is the best. All of the instructors are respectful, approachable and down to earth. The great attitude of the instructors trickles down to all of the students. Everyone is willing to help and there are no inflated egos. I always look forward to my training days.