Selva Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and MMA

I am not new to jiu-​jitsu, nor am I anything close to a black belt. My experience with BJJ has been more sparring emphasized and little to no review on the techniques that were demonstrated in the previous class. I was recommended this place by a friend after bringing up how much I missed practicing BJJ. Now that I’ve taken classes here, I can safely say that this place is amazing. I’ve only taken the adult fundamental classes for BJJ and it is intense and well organized. The classes start off with an intense warm up using various excersises. You will be out of breath and sore from the workout. Anyone looking to lose weight or trying to stay fit will definitely benefit. The next step would be stretches, then the teaching of new techniques. These techniques will be reviewed constantly throughout the month as you will be tested on them at a given date. I feel like I am learning the small details that I missed when I took BJJ 2 years ago. This place also has a family friendly atmosphere so anyone should feel welcome. All in all, a fantastic place to learn BJJ.

Won’t give the price if you call. Red flag. Several Better Business Bureau complaints that they do not respond to. Red flag. Just look at their website and tell me it doesn’t look like a red flag.

I’ll start off this negative review by saying that I actually enjoyed this place. I signed up my 3-​year-​old son in hopes of having him burn off some excess energy and have him learn something constructive at the same time. I was sold when I was told that if my son didn’t like it or, for whatever reason, we wanted to cancel, we could do so under their 60-​day money back guarantee. I thought, What could be more reassuring than that? WRONG!!! My husband’s job relocated us to Colorado and, obviously, I needed to cancel. So we contacted Jonathan at Selva BJJ to let him know that our situation had changed and needed a refund. Basically what we were told is that whenever we decide to come back to CA we will have credit with them, or we can give this «$ 1,000 credit» to a family member or friend that’s in the area. WTF?!
I’m currently in the process of disputing the charges as well. We had agreed to pay the remaining balance in cash since I didn’t want to do monthly payments, but came to find out that they had taken it upon themselves to charge my cc for the full amount without any authorization.
I really wish I would’ve seen the negative reviews on here and their other Unilocal account. I definitely wouldn’t be out $ 1,000 if I had.

This place pisses me off. I am new to the area and I wanted to find a good gym to jitjitsu and I called to get prices because some gym have high prices which I can’t afford. When I call they refuse to give you a price and say it varies for every person (BS). I get it if you are new but I am a blue belt that wanted Unlimted monthly session, what’s so hard about giving me a price. I went to the gym and prices were to high which was a complete waist of my time. If they can just tell me a price you would be getting a good review.

Trained here for a couple months and it was cool. Took the adult fundamentals classes and I had a great time. I learned cool techniques that I could actually use in real life. Coach Brian is nice and very patient and my classmates were cool as well. Everyone is there to help you!

I’ve been going to this school for over 2 years and I know many people have very strong opinions about this school one way or another so hopefully mine will help people who are inquiring or currently attending.
I’m a super petite female and it’s often hard to find someone my same weight or height let alone gender to roll with. I find that the school however, did a good job at making sure I got the most out of my training and everyone I’ve encountered at the school is very helpful and considerate. There are a lot of great people and coaches at this place whom I respect and like very much.
I’ve heard from people that they don’t like the coaches and how the teachers are rough, to be honest I’ve never had a single issue with it. If you want to get better, you need to be pushed. The coaches just have a lot of expectations of their students and they don’t want them to slack off. With that being said, each person needs to find a martial arts family with the right environment for THEM. So you need to decide if that’s something you’ll like. I personally like it a lot and Master Jason does a great job making sure you push yourself to be better every day. I think in order to really excel, you need to toughen up and learn discipline. With that being said, even though some of the coaches enforce tough love, I have never been disrespected or degraded there. If fact, many times the coaches have been there for me personally or understanding when I attend class or have personal conflicting issues.
I have to credit Selva for getting me into a lot better shape than I was. I still do a lot of other physical activities, but the conditioning and sparring at Selva I loved and definitely help me be in my best shape. The main school at Alhambra is huge and I like all the open mat space, which is bigger than any other place I’ve been to.
I know that their billing and contracts have had a lot of bad rap and to people interested in coming I would say, make sure you COMMUNICATE everything and just get everything in writing. There are other schools more expensive and also others that are cheaper. I’ve always enjoyed training at this school and don’t regret coming, so again I would say to people interested… just figure out which school is right for you. I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve been with Selva to this day and I owe a lot to them.

I was a loyal customer for 2 years. When I had to relocate my family and cancel my contract they gave me attitude. At that time. The pre-​ordered GI that I had ordered 3 months prior still hadn’t arrived. I let them know I didn’t want it anymore. Specially since it didn’t arrived in the time they said it would. I’m still waiting on them to refund my money. They keep giving me the run around. Not a decent place anymore. It’s a shame. This is the way they treat an old customer who was there for 2 years. It’s disgusting.

Selva BJJ will not honor their promotions as is advertised on their website.
Its a bait and switch tactic.
My friend and I went in to ask about the 30 day promotion. We got to talk to coach Vu who was pretty cool. He actually trained and coach with our female student counselors at Mark Keppel high school. He was really cool. showing us the gym and the pictures on the wall. We were told to come by the next day in work out clothes for a free day trial.
So on to the next day, we arrived at the time for class. We were waiting for Coach Vu to see us but apparently he wasn’t teaching that day. We talked to Jason and got the run around saying we would have to sign up for 6 – 12 month contracts. we weren’t allowed to try out just ONE class to see if we liked it. We weren’t ready to commit without seeing how one class was. Thanks but no thanks.

After my trial class I decided to join Selva Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and probably made one of the best decisions of my life. Thanks to their full schedule of classes, I’ve been able to train 3 times a week even with my busy schedule. In the first 3 months I went from 210lbs to 185lbs. On April 17^th 2011 at the ripe age of 32 years old (yes 32), I went to my first tournament and competed at the 165lbs weight class.
Although it’s an individual sport, after my first tournament I realized how important the team is and I can’t say enough good things about the support I received from my teammates and most importantly the coaches at Selva Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The bottom line is I feel and look a lot healthier and stronger than I did 10 months ago, plus I’m learning how to defend myself and having fun doing it.
They also have an amazing kids program. My son and daughter attended the summer camp and since then my son has been going 3 times a week. He is 7 years old and it’s really helped him on the mat, but more importantly as a person. Coach Alex teaches the kids program for my son class and he goes above an beyond just martial arts. He has activity packets about proper behavior, motivation. etc. And keeps a watchful eye on everything going on in the class.

I signed up for this gym a long time back, but quit shortly after and I’m still having problems with these guys. First off, I was double billed during my short stay. My payment plan was set up for automatic monthly debit, but somehow I got debited twice in the same month, which tells me there is definitely something wrong here. They would not credit back my account, so I left, but now I’m getting threats of being sued? I was also refused a copy of the my contract. I have a feeling I’m not the only one this has happened too, so I had to Unilocal again to share my story. Very disappointed is an understatement in this place.

I decided to try something new for exercise. I don’t have any martial arts skills but this place is for anyone, don’t need to be a UFC fighter to be in this place. This was great for me since I didn’t know much about brazilian jiu jitsu. Coach Alex was the instructor, and he’s a very friendly guy who was patient throughout the whole thing. He went through some moves with me and made sure I understood what was going on. He will work at your pace. The other part of being on the mat was seeing how far I could push myself and even I was surprised! It was because of Coach Alex’s encouragement and how he made it into a fun environment. He is also an instructor for kids which is perfect for parents who want to drop their kids off somewhere to learn something new and be healthy/​active. I would recommend this place for people to try out! To me it’s something new and interesting.

I am happy to say that Selva jiu jitzu has been nothing but positive reinforcement for our son. I mispoke in saying that they are not empathetic. Instructor Alex is a great instructor & has a lot of patience with the kids. Thank you Selva BJJ!!. This has been our son’s 3^rd month and he really enjoys it.

Like some of the previous reviews, it’s a little bit hard to find because it’s in the back part of the building. (Hopefully this makes it a little easier for people to find the place.)
I got interested in brazilian jiu jitsu because I have a friend that trains (and dayum is he in good shape) but I always have class conflicts with the KIN classes that CSULA offers. So, I decided to try out this place and didn’t know what to expect since I haven’t been into any type of martial arts before. The people there made it very easy to understand what is going on. Unfortunately I’m not able to make the schedule that this place has to offer because of my work schedule but that doesn’t mean it was a bad experience. I was able to see how the classes are ran and understood how they would be able to help me with my goals.
⁴⁄₅ for not being able to make the schedule. I would most definitely rate ⁵⁄₅ if I could!!!

Kinda hidden, but once found. It’s the spot! The gym is well kept and all ages are welcome. Everyone is friendly. The instructors teachings are very effective, and if you keep practicing what they teach, you’ll be a pro in no time!

Selva BJJ is stacked with high level grapplers. Jason Selva, who is an ADCC qualifier, is an excellent instructor. In my visit here, I learned a bunch of get passing techniques that will be a big help for me.
Facility is nice and clean, plenty of mat space, bathrooms with showers, and a fitness area as well. It has pretty much everything you need to learn Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in a safe environment.
I will be coming back for sure!

First time being here today was a great experience can’t wait till Friday for the next class
This place is very welcoming, very clean, very spacious, plus there’s a lot of parking found it easily
The head black belt Jason is an awesome instructor gave me tons of great tips will be practicing them at home.
Great place great deal for the membership
Thanks a lot

Selva BJJ does NOT honor their promotions as is advertised on their website.
Came by to try out the place (4 Years Judo Background) asking about their «Free 30 day» pass and they brushed it off. I thought, ok no problem — maybe a little later they will bring it up. They Never did, instead they tried to make me (literally, make me) sign up for a 6 – 12 month membership — prices were astronomical (compared to other bjj schools).
I have no doubt these guys are great people in their own right — but their business model is meant to get people into debt. I’m sure a majority of their students are from the local community colleges paying for the services via their financial aid.
I am very dissatisfied with their service towards potential students. If you don’t know any better then you’ll be pulled in right away.
Go to Gracie Barra or Roger Machado down in Pasadena — two MUCH better choices. I stuck with GB Pasadena — no gimmicks there, straight up, you either sign up or you don’t. No pressure.
Be careful with these guys.

I was always into martial arts and wanted a place where I can get a good workout and have fun. I signed up for a meet and greet and the whole staff was very friendly.
This place has a comfortable feel of home, you can of course go aggressive and roll with the more experienced people when you earn it but they start you off with the fundamentals so that you do not jump in and get dominated.
Master Selva, the head instructor, is not only a great teacher, but he seems genuinely interested in all of his students and takes an interest in their personal development. I’ve had to take care of some personal matters so I do not go as often as before but the staff checks on me to see if everything is okay; the people here feel like extended family.
I was a bit nervous when I first started coming here, I got wayyy out of shape after high school and have never done any form of martial arts before but every student is always willing to help and give me tips on what I am doing wrong or how I can improve, no one is out for themselves and they promote getting better as a team. Don’t worry if you’re a bigger person like I am, the coaches pushes you to achieve more but everyone can go at their own pace depending on their fitness levels so that athletic level or age does not matter.
There is no pressure to compete, you can train like a fighter here just to be in shape but if you want to compete Master Selva, the other students, and instructors will do everything in their power to prepare you for the challenge. I hope to one day compete and represent Selva Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
*note* HELL OF A LOT BETTER THAN RUNNING ON A TREADMILL! haha

Great place to get a roll on! You know me Unilocalers! I hit up every MMA and BJJ school I can find. This one is one of my new favorites. I like the way split up the classes. Place is very clean. The have multiple showers and bathrooms. Clean place is important to me. I drop in and train every place I can and I hate a dirty mat.
Here is the run down. Good warm up. I hate places that skip this. Bad Warm Up = Injuries!
Good technical instruction. We went over a few good moves, not over doing it with like 10 so you dont remember any of them. Then some good rolling but not too much.
I found everyone there to be cool and helpful. No tool bags. No Bad Ass attitudes.
They also have this one kid that is there that is a total phenom! they must have a killer kids program to produce a future champ like him.
Ill be back for sure!

I signed up at this BJJ school back in November as it was 5 minutes away from my place. When I went in for a trial class, they quoted me a good price if I pay for one year in advance. So I was sold.
The classes were a little odd. 80% of the time was spent doing conditioning exercises, and the remaining 20% would be spent going over ONE jiujitsu move. This went on for an entire month, with only that ONE jiujitsu move in focus plus some variants of that same move. I was thinking to myself, maybe this is like some kind of old school training where they really ingrain something in you until it becomes second nature. Long story short I put up with it even if I felt like I wasn’t learning much.
After one month they announced a test. The test, of course, would only cover that one move (in this case, the Kimura/​Kimura Sweep from guard). When I passed the test, they gave me a belt stripe!!! For those of you who are unfamiliar with jiujitsu, getting a belt stripe basically indicates moving up a rank, signifying that your skills have improved materially and that you’re one step closer to getting a higher color belt. So I got a belt stripe for knowing just ONE jiujitsu move and I got it within ONE month!!!
They informed me that I can now attend the advanced classes. BUT, that I would now have to pay almost double the monthly fees because the advanced classes are more expensive. I was, of course, furious. It’s a ridiculous amount to pay for the quality of instruction they are providing. Los Angeles is also a jiujitsu mecca and I can easily find world champion instructors way more qualified than them that will charge me a lot less.
I asked for my money back since they told me I had a 60-​day money back guarantee. They denied it, on grounds that it’s valid only if you don’t miss any classes. I have never missed any of the classes. The problem is they are the ones who keep all the attendance cards and they already fudged mine to show an absence.
It was a very, very horrible experience and I am still in the midst of disputing the charges. I am writing this review in the hopes that nobody else would have to go through this same experience with Selva BJJ. I am also filing a complaint with the Los Angeles Better Business Bureau and if you visit the LA BBB website you will actually find a lot of other similar complaints filed against this merchant.