Steve Haydock Jiu Jitsu

"I've been training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at Kokoro for about 5 years now. As a woman who has never been naturally athletic, I have always felt completely accepted and safe here. There’s no pressure to do anything I’m not comfortable with, the classes are fun, and everyone is friendly. The lessons are all accessible to beginners with no prior experience because of the focus on fundamentals and because Steve is a great teacher and good at breaking concepts and techniques into manageable steps. Within just a couple of weeks after starting regular classes I started noticing myself progressing and became addicted! And it’s far more fun than most types of exercise because your brain is engaged while you’re sweating—the time always flies by for me. For anyone in the Springfield area who may be on the fence about trying this martial art, I recommend just coming to a class or two and you’ll see what I mean! :)"

"The best Brazilian jiu jitsu gym I've been to! The instructors are top-notch, and the atmosphere is super friendly and welcoming. If you've been considering trying martial arts, whether you're young or old, male or female, this place is for you!"

"In my humble opinion, Kokoro is the best jiu jitsu school in Springfield. Steve and his staff have created a wonderful, open environment for both men and women (a lot of women love training here). Steve is also very detail oriented, having a background in education and as a crossfit trainer, he really knows how to teach the finer points of jiu jitsu to make sure your technique actually works on larger or stronger opponents. Lastly, something I really appreciate about starting out at Kokoro was the fact that we had a super clear curriculum, which meant everybody knew what they needed to learn and be able to perform to get their next belt. A lot of gyms operate on a "bro code", when the coach thinks your ready type of promotion system, or just promote based on competitive ability... my wife and I both appreciate the clarity."

"Kokoro is an excellent gym. The coaches are great, very knowledgeable, and the members are welcoming and amazing training partners. They offer a lot of time slots for classes and private lessons,which makes it easy to attend if you have a busy schedule. Would recommend to anyone."