Charles Gracie Jiu Jitsu

Love the Gracie academy. Great family environment. The coaches are so nice and considerate. Always friendly and willing to answer any questions asked. Love the detail to technique taught to the kids and the individual attention each child gets. Would highly recommend them for children and adults.

Disclaimer– This review is in regards to an event from August of 2012. I have been waiting to post this so I could give a more objective, less emotional review. Also, I previously trained in Karate for 14+ years, and spent the last 3 of those teaching. I have since continued my training at another academy.
I moved up to Stockton to take a job in Tracy. I wanted to continue training BJJ, which I started earlier that summer, and thought that training in Tracy would be very convenient for me, since my hours would make it easier. Also, being quite familiar with the Gracie name, I thought this would be a great place to train.
After getting off work, I decided to stop by and visit the academy before I drove back up to Stockton. I walked in before the kids class had started, and was greeted by a purple belt. I asked for some information, and he immediately referred me to a brown belt, since the brown belt was a bigger part of the business than he.
I was asked what I was looking for, and simply replied that I wanted to observe the class for a bit. I was told, «Well, you shouldn’t be here now. This is for kids, and you should watch the adult class.» Now, maybe I was just a bit tired, but I felt like there was a decent bit of a superior tone of voice in those words. So, I politely replied that I had experience teaching karate, and felt like I could foresee what the academy’s vibe was just by watching the kids class. The brown belt replied, «Well, I guess you can stay and watch, if you want.» When asked about the monthly fees, he told me «Oh, we don’t discuss that until after you’ve signed up.» So, I stayed and watched the warmups, not feeling comfortable or welcome to sit, then left.
Now, I don’t consider myself to be a good businessman; that is not my chosen profession. However, I do feel I know a shady business when I see one, as I once had to convince prospective clients into signing up for karate classes, and did so by being very honest about any questions they asked, even about costs, and by making them feel welcome at all times. I felt very disrespected by this brown belt, and don’t have a problem saying that he lost this academy a potential member in me. I felt extremely disrespected during this meeting, and like I was nothing but a nuisance. Plus, hearing that I wouldn’t know how much the monthly fees cost until after I signed the contract made me feel very uneasy. Again, I have experience signing up potential clients in the area of martial arts, and know how they will react to such statements.
Overall, I would not recommend this academy based on my personal experience. I am sure that they will make many people very happy, but (from what I’ve read of the other reviews) for quite a bit more than other academies in the area, and likely only for the Gracie name on the door. It sounds like you could get the same experience in other studios within a half hour of Tracy, for easily over half the price.

I love this place, but it is not easy!
I have been training at the Tracy School for the past three months. I transferred from an affiliate school because the availability of classes was better for my schedule. I could not be happier as the training is top notch and I honestly like everyone I train with. It is a very positive group of really fun and supportive ladies and gentlemen from all walks of life. Charles is in the office most days and he treats you with so much genuine kindness and respect that you feel like you are really part of the team.
I have trained in other places and there is something really unique about the Tracy location. The other Charles Gracie schools seem to have attracted the same high caliber of students. I have met many of them at various competitions and it is like a family reunion. I started taking BJJ three years ago with Darin «Whitey» Cooley, (Cesar Gracie brown belt and MMA fighter) in order to get some much needed exercise and keep my Dr. from putting me on medication for high cholesterol. I made some positive changes in my diet, but BJJ is my major source of exercise. I honestly do not have much left after two classes per week. All my cholesterol is normal and my Dr. wants me to teach a class to her patients. I could not have hoped for such an amazing turn around, but something in me just believed I could do it with a little help.
I am 43 years old and in amazing health now. I credit the Gracie family with having a lot to do with my success. I will be in class for as long as my body holds out and thanks to Gracie Jiu Jitsu, I suspect for another 40 years. Thank you Charles and God bless you for all the good you have done in our community and beyond. This is a really special place, I cannot describe it. I hope you come and check if you are humble and want to better yourself.

Hands down the best academy for BJJ in the Northern California Area. The instructors are amazing with the kids and my son excelled beyond his personal goals. I highly recommend this academy for anyone who wants to learn BJJ and self defense.

If I was rating just on instruction then I would give them a four (great guidance on technique and a lot of application through sparring/​grappling). But since they say that kids are their specialty I have to give them a two due to their lack of sympathy and understanding for our situation.
My son was going here for six months and progressing right along and then he got sick with some odd stomach illness. He has not been able to attend for a couple of months although he truly wants to.
Beware before you sign your kids up: you will be required to sign a annual contract which they first told me was to make sure kids commit and don’t end up giving up along the way and say «I don’t want to do it anymore». But this situation is a lot different. My son wants to attend but can’t for physical reasons.
They continue to charge even though I tried to get them to sympathize with the situation and at least freeze the contract all together. No parent ever anticipates having their son get this sick. The best they can do is to offer you a «courtesy» two month freeze.
I would think as a supposed family-​oriented establishment that they would be a lot more understanding. This creates a strain when you are talking about more than $ 100/​month and for what! He can’t attend and wants to!
UPDATE: We ended up working something out. My son who still has some stomach problems ended up returning and actually this has helped him some with his issue. In addition my wife and younger son joined. As I mentioned before the instruction is top notch and in addition to learning self-​defense you get an awesome workout. It beats going to the gym.

Over the last couple years, this place has grown in headcount, floor space and equipment.
This place has expanded significantly since I first signed up my oldest son. I now have my two oldest boys in classes here and the biggest of the «bigs» is now about 3 years deep in to this jiu jitsu shiz… two years of which have been at Charles Gracie.
There used to be a small insurance office next door to them and they recently knocked down the wall between the two units in order to expand.
There is now a pretty huge mat space for rolling, a three panel corner of cage walls for MMA training and a row of about a half dozen punching bags.
Parking out front still sucks and it is exacerbated by impatient parents stopping in the middle of the parking lot to drop off their kids in the middle of traffic. But don’t blame the gym if some of the kids parents are effin’ lops.
Our boys love it and come out of class exhausted. Good for us. Big boy #2 is really into the kids friday class which is more of an MMA class. More tuition, more uniforms, more gear but he just wants to hit things. How can I say no to that?
There are adult classes too. And unlike a lot of the «MMA gyms» around the valley and the bay, it doesn’t seem like they are all douchey douchbags in tapout shirts that claim to be the next ultimate fighter.
It ain’t cheap. I am into it for about the equivalent of a decent car payment each month for these two to learn jits and i still have two more boys waiting in the wings to be old enough to enroll… FML.

As of the date of this posting, I have been training here for two years. This is a first class martial arts school and a high quality top notch training facility. From the first time you walk in the door as a stranger off the street to the veteran brown belt 4 stripe, everyone is treated like family and is warmly welcomed into the Gracie family. The training is demanding yet very rewarding in a sense of personal accomplishment that is achieved every time you bow out at the end of class. If you are looking for a martial arts training program that has practical self defense techniques, low stress learning environment, egoless training partners, lifetime skills development, personal challenges and a great head instructor (Charles Gracie), then this is the place for you.