Valko Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy — Local services in Chicago

I'm an older (52) blue belt (3y of training). I provide that as context in that I'm not all that flexible and as the belt would suggest, not that good either. The gentlemen with whom I trained were just wholistically good. Like good-natured. Good-tempered. Knowledgably good. In retrospect, I kind of made them sound like dogs. No intent to do so. I got caught in so many things and not one person ripped any sub or even applied immediate pressure to finish it. When I inevitably got stuck, they let me try and figure things out until they couldn't wait for me to figure it out. There were a number of stand-outs, and I'm not sure how appropriate it is to print their names, so I want to be respectful of that. To that end, I'm positive they could've ended me sooner than later and one specifically could have done horrific things to my ankle or knee. As my entire left side is "after market parts," I was immediately terrified. I stopped immediately in that position and tapped. He immediately released slowly. I explained my concern, and he was beyond respectful. I could keep going about specific people and instances. I will stop with that.

I don't know that I did my best as I'm unfamiliar with other gyms and their cultures and what's okay to do. Even more so as a guest. Your culture and students were just the best and inclusive despite me being nervous and not doing well. Thank you so much for such a wonderful experience. As I look for a new jiujitsu home, I'm grateful that I got to be a guest at...

I just moved here and immediately started looking for bjj gyms, after a year off it was time.

Reached out to some friends and 3 times Valko came up.

Of all the gyms I reached out to Jay Valko is the only one that took the time to reply, and he did so personally.

Given I came from a high-level gym in MN with plenty of accolades themselves I was a bit apprehensive in what to expect, but Valko did not disappoint.

First, it's centrally located easy to park & moments from the train. Its within a well-equiped gym too!

Next even with a class of 40+ students I still got individualized instruction and I saw other members getting the same level of attention. Jay took the time to repeat moves and even broke down the most common mistakes.

Finally the fellow students, after class I got in a number of rolls (you might know it as sparring) everyone was super friendly,very skilled and with a wide variety from white belts to black belts!

Truly I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

Whether you're new to struggle snuggles, or are a long time jiu-jitsu player looking to keep their jitz sharp, when you're in Chicago there's no where else you want to be!

Thanks Jay and the whole Valko family, you are...

Visited here for a few weeks. Trained with Valko people. Jay was great, many people at school taught me and helped me develop. Because of my work I was forced to attend advanced classes. Was very interesting and they welcomed me even when I was slow. Honestly at least four separate people literally took time out of their day to honestly and sincerely instruct me on techniques. And they taught me real good stuff, didn't ask me to do stuff that was wrong. My trap and roll escape is working better and I started playing with butterfly guard. Jay studied with Carlson Gracie. Emphasis is more on technique and rolling more than lots of exercise or warmups. One class began immediately with technique. Jay was super low key and welcoming. Didn't meet a single person who I thought would hurt me even unintentionally. Safety and rolling and technique are maybe the most important things at a gym and this place has those. Great bunch of guys (and girls). Shower on site and big weight room....