Gracie Thornwood

VS

Most "MMA" & "Self-Defense" Schools

World Class Striking -- Our kickboxing coaches have been coached and trained extensively under world renowned trainer Ace Rimirez. Ace trained for many years in Thailand and was able to bring the art back to America in its true form. Ace is also the creator of KRU Muay Thai a brand of Muay Thai that ensures expertise in technique for MMA and Self Defense.

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Mediocre Striking -- A lot of MMA gyms have decorated and proven jiu-jitsu practitioners; however, their striking is often mediocre at best. They spend years and years developing their submissions but just a few months to a year learning striking from a non-qualified coach... and then they pass it on to you!

World Class Takedowns -- You will find amazing wrestlers and judo practitioners at Thornwood MMA. Thornwood MMA is known around the country for possessing very strong takedowns and its instructors have utilized them against the world's best submission wrestlers! Thornwood MMA Head Instructors learned to wrestle from certified wrestling coaches, Division I College Wrestlers, Erik Paulson, Judo Black Belts, and world class wrestlers!

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Weak Takedowns -- Unfortunately, a lot of grapplers learn their takedowns from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu... and any educated grappler can tell you that BJJ has weak takedowns - their specialty is once the fights hits the ground... not before! Just watch their classes, their advanced students begin all their submission matches from their knees! This is a practice only done by beginners at FFA - all our students with over three months training begin from their feet. And if a MMA school does have strong takedowns - sometimes they end up not having good jiu-jitsu... or bad striking.

World Class Ground Grappling -- All of our head instructors are certified Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belts who have learned directly from Helio Gracie the creator of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

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Kimono Grappling or Poor Ground Grappling -- Normally it is rare to find quality ground grappling but in the south Florida area there are some good grapplers to choose from. However, be aware that a lot of them are not qualified in the previous two areas! And also keep in mind that many of these grapplers train with the kimono (traditional uniform) and if fighting and self-defense is your goal - STAY AWAY. In south Florida, you are not going to encounter people wearing thick jackets. To train for self-defense, t-shirt and shorts is far more realistic. Also keep in mind though, there are still some MMA schools with non-qualified grapplers... and more will be popping up soon with the popularity of the UFC on the rise.

World Class Fighting -- What good is knowing striking, takedowns, and ground grappling if you can't put it together! At Thornwood MMA, our head instructors are decorated professional fighters with titles earned in the ring or cage. They have been hit in the face before and know what works and doesn't work in a real fight - no theories, just proven facts that they can vouch for themselves. Our instructors can teach you what to expect as the adrenaline goes through your body and how to handle real fatigue as it sets in during a real confrontation - from their own firsthand experience.

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Mediocre or Non-Existent Fight Experience -- If you have been reading this report, then you understand that hardly any schools are qualified in the three major areas of fighting... which means they are not fully qualified to teach true mixed martial arts or complete self defense... period. And be careful with the instructors who possess certifications under respected fighters but have not entered the cage or ring themselves! People like this, in my opinion, are completely nonqualified to teach MMA or self defense. It would be like taking swimming lessons from an instructor who has never jumped in the water himself! Knowing that this instructor was taught on a chalk board by a swimming Olympic Gold Medalist wouldn't make me feel any more comfortable about his abilities! Furthermore, what does that tell you about his commitment to learning fighting and self defense? Fighting and self-defense are not all about techniques - it is also very mental... and someone who has never fought is missing out on a big piece of it. And remember, instructors with only competition grappling experience... have ZERO fight experience! They are not the same! They know the difference, that is why they have only competed in grappling!

An Organized MMA Ranking System – Gracie Thornwood provides an organized curriculum and has thrown out the old ways of picking up ranks in different martial arts and trying to combine it on your own... a few years ago the Gracie Thornwood MMA head instructors sat down and developed the ultimate style of fighting and self-defense – Gracie Thornwood MMA System, which incorporates the three major areas of fighting into one system. Our ranking system is strict and only people deserving of being promoted will earn it. Along with the MMA rank, our students are co-promoted in muay thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

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No MMA Ranking Whatsoever -- From my personal knowledge, we are the only gym in New York with a Mixed Martial Arts ranking system, a Muay Thai Ranking System in addition to the traditional BJJ ranking system. Many gyms that advertise "MMA" are Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu schools that throw punches and kicks once in a while - and promote through their kimono BJJ ranking system... The BJJ ranking system has been known for years to have a very poor wrestling and striking curriculum... so if they are claiming to be qualified in MMA based solely on their BJJ rank... ask them who coached them in kickboxing and what was their credentials... ask them who they learned how to wrestle from - if they say another BJJ person, this doesn't leave them off the hook!

A Structured Beginner Course -- When you start out at Gracie Thornwood MMA, you will be going through a special beginner friendly course. In this class, you will be learning from an organized curriculum that balances striking, takedowns, and ground grappling. The classes are designed to work at a pace that beginner's can absorb. The beginner's class also takes into account that you may be totally out of shape - one of its principal designs is to get you into good shape and allow you to train harder in the next level.

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Straight to the Wolves -- Many martial art programs mix you in with the regular class on your first day! Just think about it... how can someone teach a class of people who have been training for two to three years... and then teach you your first class at the same time? That is like getting a calculus and algebra class in one room and trying to teach both at the same time! Either the advanced guys are missing out or the beginners are missing out...

Student Safety -- A common misconception about MMA training is that to learn effective MMA, you have to get into wild and crazy sparring matches. FALSE. At Gracie Thornwood MMA, most of our students have families and jobs and can't afford to leave the gym with black eyes! The grappling and sparring that is done at Thornwood MMA is done with utmost control and in only when you are ready. Your first sparring sessions take place after you graduate from the beginner course and in the beginning you would only be sparring with an instructor or advanced student, so that you can get comfortable. The idea is to train smart and have fun. Only our amateur and professional fighters do some hard sparring - but because they have to prepare for a cage fight. Safety is our number one concern.

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Brawling Time! -- Many MMA schools have this misconception that the only way to learn how to fight is to put on boxing gloves and swing for the fences! This is not true... and actually can be counter-productive, besides dangerous. Many gyms also lack the technique to spar with control and spar hard to compensate for their lack of technique. Brawling during training proves nothing and only hinders the learning process and injures people. If you really want to brawl, save it for the street or in the cage.

Weapons Training -- After you graduate from our beginner course, you become eligible to train in our weapons class - which teaches how to use and defend against weapons such as knifes, sticks and guns.

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No Weapons Training -- The vast majority of MMA gyms have no weapons training... and the one or two gyms that do offer weapons training offer very unrealistic techniques. If self defense is important to you - then this is a serious issue.

30 Day Free Trial -- 30 Days Free, Free Uniform, Free Private Lesson, Free Video, and nothing to buy or sign! Can't beat that!

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Only One Free Class -- Good luck finding another quality gym willing to give you a free month, free uniform, free video, and free private lesson!

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Amazing Facility – Gracie Thornwood MMA is one of a kind. A 2,000+ square foot facility with two large mat areas, monkey bars, heavy bags,, a Pro Shop, showers, men and women locker rooms, and much more! Plus, we are the most clean school in New York - we disinfect our mats three times a day with hospital grade disinfectant. We also have a cleaning crew which cleans everything every morning and night.

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Inadequate or Dirty Facility -- If you are going to learn self-defense or MMA, you are going to need certain things. For instance, for striking you will need heavy bags, punch mitts, and a boxing ring or padded wall. If there isn't a boxing ring or padded wall - then you can't properly learn how to strike. Why? When was the last time you got into a fight in the middle of a football field? Where ever you fight, you will encounter boundaries - such as walls, fences, cars, and even groups of people like in a club... so you need to know how to fight with your back against a boundary. For wrestling and grappling - you need high QUALITY mats. Mats are usually not a problem... the problem is that most gyms don't clean them! I know some gyms that clean their mats only once a week with a wet towel! The gym needs to be sanitary for your health.

Open All Day Everyday! – Gracie Thornwood MMA is open all day, seven days a week! This makes us one of the most accessible and flexible academy in the world. We're making it as convenient as possible for you to train. We currently offer 37 classes a week! For those with awkward schedules, such as night shifts, you have finally found a place you can train at.

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We're Closed! -- A lot of MMA schools only offer classes at night and only open during class hours. Some even only teach one class per day! And most schools are not open on Saturday and Sunday.

Great Customer Service -- Above anything, this is what we take the most pride in. Our goal is to go above and beyond what you would expect from us. We are constantly trying to find new ways to please our students. It is hard to explain this because it is really the little things that makes our customer service stand out... you will notice it just from the way our staff will greet you when you arrive!

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Customer Service? -- I didn't say "bad customer service"... I think the question mark is more fitting... because most martial arts schools don't seem to even know what customer service is! I've walked into schools and had staff stare me down like if I was walking in to challenge someone! Egos, bad attitudes, and insecurities fuel bad customer service.