Joao Crus Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

My son (age 12) and I began taking jiu-​jitsu classes from Joao Crus and his instructors about a month ago. Overall, we’re both very impressed. The quality of instruction is top-​notch, and we like the classes on Monday and Wednesday evening. I think their introductory offer of a private class, weekly group classes, and a uniform for $ 99 is a really good deal. We’ve only gone to their southwest Austin location, but I’ve heard from other parents that their Dripping Spring location is also pretty good. It’s always been a dream of mine to get my black belt, so perhaps in a few years it may become a reality. :)

As a customer of both Joao’s children’s program and adult private classes i have been very impressed with his ability to teach a wide variety of people. His kids program is excellent. He has a unique ability to conduct a class with children ranging in age, skill, attention span and background. In my own personal experience i have found him to be kind, caring, firm, and knowledgeable. It was because of his success with my children i decided to train with Joao Crus as an adult. After over a year and a half of training with him, I can say this Carlson Gracie-​trained jiu-​jitsu instructor is absolutely great.
I also like that Joao often offers a «First class free» program. What most people aren’t aware of is if you want to check out what Brazilian Jiu-​Jitsu is like, come in and watch. Its fun, technical, exciting and a chance for kids and adults to learn valuable skills like problem solving and self-​defense. I’m so glad we train with Joao.

This review has nothing to do with the quality of his training, and I have actually heard favorable comments about that. This review relates to his business practices and is a warning to others considering signing up. He does not offer any sort of trial class or other way to check out the program besides signing up. He uses a member agreement associated with «member solutions» or MSI. We signed our kids up based on info from another parent, but our son quickly decided after the first class that this was not for him. Our daughter decided not to participate without even attending a class based on her older brother’s feedback. Even though we immediately notified Mr. Crus less than 48 hours after initially signing up, he said he could not refund the money (almost $ 230). The form agreement said that we could cancel if we notified him within 72 hours but he did not honor that. He blamed the people that handle the billing (I’m assuming he means MSI), but it was his choice to use them and customers shouldn’t be penalized for that. I cannot recommend a business that doesn’t watch out for its customers and has poor business practices.