GRACIE JIU-JITSU ATHENS at American Black Belt Academy

The instructors do an amazing job of building personal connections with each student, which contributes to the positive learning environment in a HUGE way! 'Mat chats' are especially valuable learning moments for younger students during which thematic values of respect and responsibility are discussed with real time applications and learning points. Because of such diligent care to the form of instruction, students gain knowledge that serves them on a personal level far beyond the skills practiced on the mat. Our family is completely satisfied with our experience here.

Gracie Athens is where you want to train if you're interested in street effective, self defense based martial arts in the Athens area. The father/son instructor duo of Randy and Ryan McElwee can't be beaten. They're passionate, knowledgeable, organized, and excellent communicators. I dropped in while traveling from Pennsylvania, and I would gladly train here full time if I lived in the area. This school has perhaps the most organized and well constructed curriculum that I've ever seen, and I've been to a good number of schools. The student atmosphere is second to none. All students are respectful and helpful. No need to worry about getting injured or pushed too hard, but on the other hand, the training is highly realistic and covers a broad range of real life self defense scenarios, giving you the tools to defend yourself and others. I could rave forever, but the bottom line is you need to book a class here and you'll see for yourself that this is an amazing place.

Our six-year-old daughter has been training here for over a year, and my husband and I agree that enrolling her in the Little Dragon program was the best decision. She's found a supportive community and developed great friendships. Beyond the physical exercise, she's also learning essential discipline. The instructors' vibrant energy, professionalism, and patience with the kids are why our daughter always looks forward to coming back. The Little Dragon program is fantastic for children, the circle talk and teamwork activities are particularly beneficial and clearly demonstrate the instructors' thoughtful planning. We'll definitely recommend this program to other families with kids.

An excellent gym to train at. Couldn’t recommend more. Top tier gym. Moved from Athens and the training I have received here has set me up for success. The basic beginner program offered here was amazing for me starting out. Once you get settled in you are able to roll after every session which helps put the training being done into real application. If you want to go easy people will, but if you want to step it up they definitely can do that too. But be careful for what you ask for because they have some awesome guys. Super friendly. Another amazing thing is the environment. Super welcoming to newbies. Trained here all the time while I was there and they became a second family. I have lifelong friendships from here. The environment and atmosphere is incredible. I visited SBG for a little which is an mma gym in the Athens area and they dont come close to this place for me. If you are wanting to train anywhere in Athens this is the place you want to be.

Great atmosphere & great people. The beginnings of Gracie JiuJitsu at American Black Belt Academy have been wonders, and I’m more the grateful each day I get to train under Randy and Ryan, along side everyone else who is in their jiujitsu journey. I hope to continue training and developing here for years to come!