Madison's Very Own
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It’s a Saturday morning at a youth basketball game in Madison. A dad two rows behind you is shouting at a 16-year-old kid in a striped shirt. He calls the kid a name you would not say in front of your own children. The ref keeps his face neutral. Your kid is on the bench, watching.
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Americans spent $69.3 billion on supplements last year. Most of it was expensive piss. A few bottles are legitimately useful — and none of them work if the room is set up wrong. That’s the part nobody covers. So let’s cover it.
It’s 9 PM on a Tuesday. Your eight-year-old is on the couch with the iPad, and you’ve already asked twice. Teeth. Pajamas. Bed. You crouch down. You use the calm voice. “I know you’re having fun. It’s hard to stop something fun. I get it. But …
A few years ago I had surgery to remove about 30% of my meniscus. I tried to deal with it without surgery first, and for a while I almost got away with it. Here’s what that looked like. The knee would lock up — sometimes before class, sometimes mid-roll. A piece of …
There is a TikTok genre right now where teenage boys hit themselves in the face with hammers. They call it bone-smashing. The idea is that if you bruise your jaw enough times, it will heal back wider, sharper, more masculine.
Sixty-six years ago, John F. Kennedy wrote an essay called “The Soft American” for Sports Illustrated. He thought American kids were getting weak. The country agreed. Six years later, we built a national fitness test for kids. We ran it for 46 years. We scrapped it in …
The rule set drives the action Here is the one idea that explains everything you see on a grappling mat: the rule set drives the action and the specialization. Change the rules, and the same fighters look like a different sport. Same bodies, same training, same coaches — …
Nobody walks into a boxing gym and asks if sport boxing is good for self-defense. They just ask about boxing. Boxing is the sport of punching. The sport is the thing. So why do people walk into a jiu-jitsu gym and ask if “sport jiu-jitsu” is good for self-defense? …
Tell me if this sounds familiar. Your kid is on the couch, head down, thumb scrolling, on a 75-degree afternoon. And something inside you flinches. I would never have been inside on a day like this. My mom would have shoved me out the door.
About 70% of women who survive a sexual assault report freezing — not fighting, not fleeing. Their body locked up (Yadav & Herres, 2026 ). And every weekend, in some hotel or church basement, a self-defense seminar tells a room of women that when the moment comes, one hard …
You signed up for BJJ. Now you’re lying in bed wondering if you’re going to embarrass yourself in front of strangers. Almost every adult walking through our door in Madison is thinking the same thing. They just don’t say it out loud.
Expert answers from Madison's most experienced BJJ instructors
Many MMA schools around Madison offer a "buffet" of martial arts like fitness kickboxing, self-defense, karate, etc. Not us. Our focus is teaching authentic Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. We also have a world-class facility, with clean mats. Our classes have strong focus on behavior science, and structured programming so that you maintain and continue to progress skills.
Kids of all levels and athletic abilities thrive at Journey BJJ Academy. We've found the perfect balance of letting kids have fun, but be disciplined when it counts. We have a super clean facility, huge mat-space, and convenient class times M-F.
Our classes are perfect for business professionals looking to take things up a notch and CRUSH stress, those who want a FUN way to get back in shape or learn self-defense, Military or Law Enforcement officers looking to add new skills and go home safe, people looking to challenge themselves with competition, and people looking to find a positive community and improve mental health.
Our kids classes are perfect for kids who struggle to focus or need an outlet for excess energy, kids who are being bullied in school or lack the confidence to stand up for themselves, kids with limited physical activity or who need to get in shape, and shy kids who struggle with team sports.
You can find our complete class schedule in our navigation menu above under "Schedule" or on our schedule page
Some kids who come to us are resistant at first, but we know that kids need to have fun to stick with something. That's why we play mini-games at the end of many of our classes. After a few weeks of classes, our kids are usually pumped to come to classes regularly.
You can find our complete kids class schedule on our schedule page - just make sure you filter for "Kids Classes"
Our drop in fee is $25, however, we do not have a one size fits all program / membership. Pricing varies, based on the type of program you sign up for.
We charge $25 per class for drop-ins. We also have multiple programs including our Kids Intro Program. Pricing varies depending on the child's experience level, #of weekly classes, and program type/length.
Our classes may not be the best fit for non-Madison Area residents (commute > 30 minutes to the gym), college students with heavy class loads and changing priorities, professionals with heavy/frequent travel, or individuals unable to attend at least 2 classes per week (on average).
