Northern Colorado Jiu Jitsu and Self Defense

“I've been training here for a few months now and it's been absolutely great! The scheduling of the classes work well with my work schedule, and the Fundamentals of Jiu-Jitsu class is my favorite, as I'm new to BJJ and getting detailed instruction of techniques is so awesome! The Professors and other students are absolutely great to work with! So glad I started my BJJ journey here!”

“I've been training here for about 18 months. It is a fantastic environment - the staff and students are encouraging and helpful and genuinely care about each other. The instructors are terrific. Professor Troy is great at helping each student recognize their strengths and work through weaknesses to improve your skills and personal development.”

“I cannot comment on their Jiu Jitsu program, however I can speak to the judo program that they host: Earlier this year, after over a decade of being out of the martial arts scene, I decided that I wanted to re-enter it by learning some judo. Judo had just always struck me as being so technical, effective, and beautiful at the same time. Previously, I had looked into possibly practicing this in Fort Collins (where I live); however, upon checking again, it seemed that that club had closed down, and the nearest judo club was instead in Loveland at NCJJ. I reached out to NCJJ about getting started and Emily invited me to visit for a free intro session on a Monday. They were totally cool with me wearing my old dojo's jiujitsu gi, thin though it was, and we spent that first class reviewing ukemi (break falls). Since I already had some experience in this, I was able to get in some o soto gari practice that class and even got to participate in randori at the end. As I mentioned, I have practiced several martial arts in the past and have even participated in a number of sport jujitsu tournaments in my teens; however, grappling with judoka was (is) just a whole different game. The grip strength, explosiveness, and the cardio of these guys is wild, and I walked away from that class quite sore in a good way—to be fair, I could have gone lighter too, so I definitely got what I gave. I immediately signed up for a membership, invested in a heavier judogi, and have been attending classes regularly ever since. Each class we drill away at ukemi, uchikomi, and full throws, and often randori. There is great emphasis on mutual benefit and safety of the practitioners, which I super appreciate. The instructors are phenomenal teachers and extremely kind and patient. And, perhaps the best part: There are so many new students in this class just starting out at judo, so it feels like we are learning and advancing as a cohort. To be clear, there are several orange/green/black belts who help guide those newer judoka. But it's really invigorating to learn alongside others at my same or similar skill-level, and of varying ages. In short, please come check out Iwayama Dojo at NCJJ so we can all throw each other. This club should be a martial arts staple of Northern Colorado.”

“Matt and Emily are a very great duo. My boys started going to Jiu Jitsu at a very young age and phased out due to Covid, now they are back and it has been such a wonderful experience for our whole family- my daughter even decided to join. Matt is so good with the kids and Emily is so kind and very detailed oriented. Will not go anywhere else.”

“A place to clear your head and get moving. Incredibly safe and supportive environment. You get what you put in. Students are always willing to help each other learn new techniques. Laid back and fun atmosphere. Happy to be part of this jiu-jitsu crew.”