Ralph Gracie Jiu-Jitsu

My young son has been taking BJJ at Ralph Gracie for several months now and I can’t believe the difference it has made for him already. He is stronger, more confident and somewhat better at paying attention. (He’s still a little boy!) He is is not only learning BJJ, he also is learning discipline, self control, and how to be part of a supportive, yet competitive team.
The classes are among the best kids’ classes I’ve ever seen. There are always at least two and up to four teachers for the class. Each class tends to have the same basic structure: first they have different strengthening and coordination exercises that double as practice of basic BJJ moves. Next they learn new BJJ techniques. Finally –if there is time at the end– they play some kind of game that supports the kids’ development of the martial art. They emphasize the values of BJJ too, such as it being for defense and feeling confident, but not for hurting other people.
As a long-​time student of a very disciplined form of yoga, I appreciate the discipline of their approach and how specific the instructors are about the moves and «poses.» For instance, they explain, say, why you need to have your knee straight to avoid injury if someone gets on top of you.
The instructors have high *age-​appropriate* expectations for the kids. They are kind and gentle but also absolutely 100% firm and strict. No messing around. They treat the kids respectfully and expect the same from the kids. The kids know they need to follow instructions, behave well and have fun. The kids are having a great time the whole time, not in overly hyped way, but in a focused way. My son loves it… and is exhausted when he gets home!

This place is super clean. William Diaz runs a tight ship at this school. Good solid techniques without the thug mentality. The warm ups are pretty brutal but you will thank him for it later.

I don’t usually write Unilocal reviews… but this place is so good thought I’d give people some info.
The head instructor, Will, Is one of the nicest guys you will meet. As far as jiujitsu goes… hes the real deal. A real blackbelt. Super friendly guy, teaches moves to the begginers all the way up to the higher belts.
Begginer classes are tueday thursday 6 – 7. You warm up. and do a martial arts workout… its tiring and grueling but doable. You then learn a technique and drill it.
The all belts classes consist of a similar style, with harder workouts. at the end of the class is open mat where you can roll.
So if your a begginer as I am… this place is perfect, dont be intimidated by jiu jitsu… every one is a sweetie and so friendly. Great place for kids.

Had to stop training in March because I had to have surgery at Stanford for a brain tumor. Have a titanium plate in my head now so no more training. I had paid 6 months of lessons back in Nov 2012, but they have refused to refund me the last 3 months of class fees.
Not a knock on the quality of instruction, but was very disappointed that they cannot refund my lessons fees even though I cannot train for health reasons.

I went to San Fran for a few days and was looking for a place to train. My instructor (Shawn Williams) recommended going to Ralph’s and a few others. This location was about 2 miles from where I stayed so I decided to drop by.
Right when I walked in, Prof. Will Dias introduced himself and was extremely nice, friendly and welcoming.
The mats: Clean, well maintained, good quality.
The instruction: Will was great, very detail oriented and answered questions thoroughly.
The students: Every student I came into contact was nice, courteous and had a positive attitude.
Highly recommend this place. Sometimes when I go into a new academy, the guys can be a bit stand-​offish or just flat out ignore me, but I didn’t find any of that here. I wish I could have made it in for more training, next time I’m in town I’ll definitely be going back.
As a side note, they were wrapping up a kid’s class before the adult class. All the kids seemed to really being enjoying themselves. I was impressed by their level of respect towards the Professor and their fellow students.

We just signed up my 9 year old for another six months. The enthusiasm is really contagious. Hats off to the great instructors. If you’re looking to get into this sport, this is the place to be. Master Will really engages the students to learn and he takes his job seriously. worth the money and definitely worth the time. I’ve never seen my son so excited and he’s never missed a class. Does wonders to his confidence too. I highly, highly recommend it.

Great place for beginners. I had no experience when I started training here. Everyone has been friendly and helping me out.
Will teaches the techniques very well and keeps us going so there is never a dull moment.

I’ve trained here for about 3 years now, and I love it here! Everyone is extremely friendly and helpful. Head instructor Will Dias (Ralph Gracie Black Belt) definitely prides himself in creating a family atmosphere with a «leave your ego at the door» attitude to make sure that everyone has a pleasant productive experience while training here. Will ensures that all his adult and children students get the most out of their training while having a good time in the process. The academy has a bunch of students at all levels, and all of the students feed off Will and each other to improve their jiu-​jitsu games. The training schedules are very accommodating, and there is a lot of room for students to train. If you are new to the area and need a GREAT place to train, or have been thinking about trying out jiu-​jitsu out for the first time, go check it out!

Just awful, no point in being long winded about it, if you choose to go, don’t say you weren’t warned.

I started training at RGMV about 2.5yrs ago, simply because my son wanted a place to grapple and the studio is right around the corner from us. Will Dias, the head instructor, soon had me participating on the mat with his welcome, friendly and open attitude. I was 44 when my son and I started, and we are still going strong.
I really had NO idea what BJJ was, but soon came to see the simplicity, elegance and effectivenss of the sport. In addition, the higher belts are very helpful, openly passing on what they have learned. It amazes me how supportive the students are of each other, and this type of atmosphere has helped my son and I learn quickly and come to love the sport.
Empirically, RGMV is not only for gifted athletes (though there are plenty there), all types can participate and find this as a great way to stay in shape.

I trained in submission grappling for years with friends, but was never able to afford actual instruction at an academy. As soon as I was able to, I sought out the nearest Gracie Barra academy for formal instruction: Ralph Gracie Mountain View.
I sought out a Gracie Barra lineage school over a Gracie Humaita lineage school for the former’s particular application of the Gracie Jiu-​Jitsu techniques and it’s attacking style. I’ve been at the school about a year and have not been disappointed. The technique is effective, the conditioning is excellent and the sparring is a large part of every class.
The head instructor at the academy, Will Diaz, is patient, knowledgeable, articulate an excellent grappler. Another blackbelt, Justin «machine» Holder didn’t get his nickname for no reason and is also an excellent resource. There are tons of students at all levels of study and the school is very welcoming to new guys.

I’ve been training here for about 8 months and it’s been a fantastic experience so far. I had no prior martial arts experience before walking in, but was interested in something that would help me stay in shape and would also be practical for self-​defense. The head instructor, Will, is patient, knowledgeable, and a fantastic teacher. The students are all good people with an interest in helping each other learn and advance. Highly recommend for anyone interested in checking out BJJ.

I have trained here for many years. There are students of many different skill levels, i.e., at each belt level. The style is somewhat laid back; definitely a good place for professionals that want to stay in shape without getting their limbs ripped off. Jui-​jitsu is a great full body work out. There is more actual training here than other schools that spend more time on conditioning and theory. The mat space is large. And the focus is on teaching gi jiu-​jitsu, not kickboxing and every other form of combat.
This gym has a deep history in Bay Area jiu-​jitsu. Many many practitioners in the area have trained here at one time or another including BJ Penn and Dave Camarillo.

Classes started with around a 20 min warm up, learn new technique, spar and open mat.
I found out that whenever Will (instructor) teaches a move, he will at least repeat it like 5 – 6 times and every time he will tell you the details that you need to know to make the move most effective. As we were doing it with a partner, he will come by and ask you to show him every once in a while to make sure you did it the right way. If he does finds out some students are having a problem with part of the move, he will go through the trouble to stop the class and show everyone how that specific part had to be done. Another great thing about this place is that instead of just sport BJJ moves, Will teaches self defense techniques which is great for the street. Things that are lacking are submissions that are below the waist (which is not allowed) and takedowns; I believe it has to do with student’s safety.

When it was time to spar, Will always make the match ups the students will get the most out of. I am like the smallest guy in class, and so he puts me with blue belts which also have a size that is closer to mine. He also tells the blue belt I am new so that he does not go too rough on me, which is really helpful to learn and I am very thankful of.

As for the sparring part of class it is always fun and you get to learn a lot. Especially when you spar with higher belts they always give me a bunch of advice that really improves my game. The higher belts colors sometimes would allow you to submit them so that it’s not like you are getting beat up the whole time.

People there are very friendly and especially Will. He helps a LOT to make me feel better as a beginner. If you trained you know you get submitted almost 95% of the time, which is really discouraging.
Class times are Mon to Fri and they have morning and night classes. Saturday only got 1 morning class. Privates are available (would have got some if had more $). I wished they had Sunday classes as I am very busy during the week.
It’s already about my fifth month now and I am enjoying every bit of it. I plan to keep going for as long as I still live in Mountain View. I believe anyone that wants to learn top notch BJJ in a very welcoming environment would love this place.