Ares Arizona Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

"My experience of mistreatment and injury For context, I have my blue belt in BJJ, so the martial art is not new to me. I am more than a beginner but certainly not an expert. I am also aware that injuries happen, it’s a martial art after all. However, I am also aware that experienced black belt instructors are not supposed to be reckless and hurt students. I am writing this review to warn others about the conduct I experienced at this gym. Conduct that appeared to me to be condoned and enabled by others. During my very first time rolling with Coach Ramsey Green, my clavicle was snapped into 3 pieces and I had to have surgery the next week to install a metal plate and 10 screws. This injury occurred less than a minute into the rolling session, which is normally about 5 minutes. When at his first two attempts he could not take me down, I sensed he lost his temper and became frustrated. He then aggressively took me down on my side and SLAMMED his body weight onto my opposite shoulder, causing serious injury. This is a ridiculous display of immaturity and ego that this gym claims to be against. Never in my 3+ years training in BJJ have I dealt with a coach so blatantly immature and aggressive. After getting home from the ER, I called the women’s black belt coach, who happened to be there at the time of incident, to update her. During this call, she admitted that she had concerns about Ramsey herself, but was afraid to take them to anyone. She would jokingly say things like everyone has a “Ramsey arm” from being arm-barred too aggressively. And that Ramsey would have “revenge rolls” with others in class if he felt he didn’t beat them on a previous roll. All this told me that his behavior was being enabled at least by her, and very likely the owner and other instructors as well. When I told the owner, Paul Nava, what happened, he made no efforts to assure me something like this would not happen at his gym again. There was no offer of support in any way and no offer of action to prevent this from happening again. His response was that Ramsey was given a “talking to.” Whatever that meant, it certainly did not mean he was suspended from teaching in any way. To my second point: this gym boasts that they are all about supporting women in BJJ, however, when I brought the concerns to the women in a WhatsApp chat, I was immediately blocked from it. It became very clear to me that they were going to protect him and his reputation, not validate any of my concerns. I absolutely love BJJ with a passion, and I will not allow one reckless instructor to prevent me from continuing to train, but I will never train here again and I do not recommend it to anyone else. Sadly, I really enjoyed training here initially and thought I had made friends, but their response to my injury was a complete betrayal of my trust and extremely hurtful. If you are looking to train in BJJ, find a good gym that makes safety a priority, and does not just look the other way when a student is seriously injured. The very least a gym can do is to ensure that every student, no matter what rank, is practicing in a safe environment."

"It is a privilege to be Ramsey Green's student. I have been training jiu jitsu for 3 and a half years, 2 stripe blue. When Professor Ramsey came along, I began to better comprehend jiu jitsu. He ensures all of his students understand the technique he is teaching and patient with questions. He does not favor competitors; if you show up he will invest just as much time into you to help you along your jiu jitsu journey. He challenges me in the best way and I'm very thankful he came to the academy. He rolls with all of his students and it's a real treat to experience his talents. It doesn't hurt that he is also a solid person and someone to look up to. All of the countless black belts and instructors are super helpful. Everyone is happy to share their jiu jitsu. Paul Nava has built an amazing community and you won't be disappointed for checking it out. The open mats are packed and fun, too!"

"My family joined, but my three sons mainly go ages 14, 13, and 7 years old. I find the academy to be a great place for people of all ages. The coaches are patient, understanding and will knowledgeable of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu art, and a very youth friendly environment. "It's a Great Academy" ~The Espinoza Family~"