Ralph Gracie, Chicago

I’ve trained BJJ at a few different schools and at RG Loop for the last two years. I think this is the best school for beginner because the curriculum is focus on helping you build a solid foundation in BJJ. The techniques Choung/Cherk teach are not overwhelming/easy to understand and very useful in sparring. School offer both gi and no gi which is important to train in both. The loop location is affiliated with ChicagoMMA so you can go to CMMA for additional training on weekend. Best price and training in Chicago in my opinion. BJJ is hard sport but if you commit to training for 6 months and build a solid foundation you will see guarantee results.

Fantastic location and excellent instruction. I have been training under the instructor here for just over three years and compared to other instructors I've tried, I can honestly say that Chuong is top notch in combining a great balance between gi and no gi, and stand up with ground training. In addition to great instruction, the members here are respectful and patient with beginners. If your looking to develop a strong well rounded Jiu Jitsu game, I strongly recommend giving this location a try.

I would highly recommend giving "Ralph Gracie Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu - Chicago" some consideration. It's a good mix of drilling (technique), positional rolling and free rolling. The atmosphere is not pressured and kept loose. A typical class stimulates you mentally and physically. Chuong, who runs the program is a unique instructor. He has passion and patience with his students. He's very detail orientated and has immense insight regarding technique and Jiu-Jitsu philosophy. Chuong gives lots of opportunity to ask questions and is very thorough with his explanation. He's very generous with sharing his knowledge. He's also flexible regarding your physical abilities. Chuong is a good guy, the dude lives and breathes Jiu-Jitsu. I honestly had a hard time swallowing the Jiu-Jitsu pill at first, not knowing if Jiu-Jitsu was the right fit for me but after watching one of Chuong's classes and trying a class, I was hooked.

In the 4 years that I have been training BJJ, one of the most important things that I've learned is that good instruction is not as easy to come by as you would think. There are a number of gyms out there now but, in my opinion, you'll be hard pressed to find instructors that are able to recognize and convey the fine details of BJJ better than this team. What is equally important is that they are as dedicated to their students as they are in advancing their own knowledge and they are as good at working with the chump who's never hit a mat before (me) as they are with teaching higher belts a thing or two. I got in to BJJ as a more satisfying way to get fit but thanks in very large part to these guys it's now an obsession.

If you are female, do not take Chuong's class. He has a very long history of being very inappropriate with female students. I did not know this when I started. I started at CMMA's Lincoln park location and then trained here for 7 months and he took advantage of me. I am not saying all the guys there are bad. The other instructors and students there are great guys. Little by little he pushes boundaries and if you mention anything he will ignore you in class and the only instruction you receive is from your partner. He cares very little for his student's safety. When I got a concussion from the negligence of another student all he had to say was "not my problem white belt" and walked off. Back when I first started and I was struggling with the warm ups he just stood there and laughed at me until a blue belt came over and gave me a hand. I probably should have left then but I was determined to prove my worth. It wasn't worth it. Go train somewhere else.