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Learning jiu-jitsu in New York City

New York holds some of the deepest jiu-jitsu in the world, and it is far too big for one guide. We cover it borough by borough. Each area gets the same treatment: verified facts per academy, no rankings, and the evidence behind every claim — including what a visit actually costs, and which free trials are fenced to residents.

What a first visit costs in New York

Of the 62 academies this guide covers, 28 print a free first class with no condition, 11 a free one with a condition, 13 print a price for it, 8 say to book and find out, 0 publish enrolment or enquiry details without a trial offer, and 2 have no readable first-visit terms.

The printed first-visit prices run from $19.99 to $99, for example:

22 academies print a standard adult monthly rate: the median is $227, the lowest $150, the highest $300.

The median printed drop-in is $40, from 21 academies.

Conditions the pages state

  • Marcelo Garcia Jiu-Jitsu NYC (MGJJ): The free trial is for tri-state residents with ID — a traveller pays the $50 day pass, but is welcome anytime: no reservation, any academy's gi accepted, no rental gis, showers on site
  • Renzo Gracie East Side: A free private intro for the never-trained; visitors pre-register for a day pass covering that day's classes (price unpublished, mornings excluded) — and no gi-color or insignia restrictions at all, the counter-example to the borough's wardrobe gates
  • Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Upper West Side: Two doors, both conditional: the free trial is NYC-residents-only, the visitor pass is 'intended for practitioners with training experience' — and no walk-ins, ever; every first visit is booked ahead. The never-trained visitor should email first

Ask before you go

  • Is the first class free for a visitor, or only for someone who intends to join?
  • Is a gi lent for the first class, and what does one cost to buy?
  • What does a month cost without a contract, and is there a joining fee?

Figures from version 2026-09-05 of the first-visit study; the study explains the method and links to the academy sources. The first-visit study, city by city · What jiu-jitsu costs per month · the printable first-visit kit

The areas

  • Manhattan 26 academies

    The island, Financial District to Washington Heights: Marcelo Garcia, the Renzo Gracie flagship and its satellites, and the country's deepest independent bench.

  • North Brooklyn 19 academies

    Greenpoint and Williamsburg through Bed-Stuy to DUMBO and Park Slope: Renzo Gracie Brooklyn, Gregor Gracie's waterfront room, and the Columbia Street corridor.

  • South Brooklyn 12 academies

    Bay Ridge through Brighton Beach to Canarsie: published rate cards, walk-in free first classes, and clubs that train past midnight.

  • Queens 14 academies

    Astoria to Bayside and Flushing: New York's widest spread of published visitor prices, anchored by Renzo Gracie Queens' full rate card.

  • The Bronx 6 academies

    Allerton to Riverdale: the city's most generous doors — a loaner gi and belt for every first-timer, and a free week that needs no credit card.

  • The Grappling Club NYC

    A Brooklyn grappling social club that publishes no address on any of its own channels, so it lives here rather than on an area page. What it does publish: $220/mo with a $30 mat fee, one named beginners hour (NoGi Beginners, Wednesday 6–7 PM), and its founder Alex Bednenko (1984–2020), whom the club outlived — no current instructor is named. Call or text 646-250-8107.

Open mats in New York

Rooms whose published schedule prints an open mat, each with the complete recorded summary of that schedule, its source and the date it was read. What an open mat is, and what a beginner does with one

Manhattan

  • Radical MMA Fundamentals at 6:30 PM every weekday — the same class at the same hour five nights running, Manhattan's most predictable timetable — plus a daily evening open mat and Sunday midday source · 2026-09-02
  • Workshop NYC A live calendar with the instructor named per class: Fundamentals five times a week (four weekday evenings plus Saturday morning), four 7 AM classes, five weekday noons, Sunday open mat. Classes are strictly capped — book ahead source · 2026-09-01

North Brooklyn

  • Brooklyn Heights Jiu Jitsu Two Fundamentals slots a week (Tue gi, Thu no-gi, 6 PM); the rest is mixed levels and open mat. Closed Friday AND Saturday — a Saturday traveler can't use the visitor pass at all source · 2026-09-03
  • Chop & Chops MMA The schedule page now prints a legible grid (active from Aug 31): 11 adult BJJ sessions a week plus a Friday open mat, with a named beginner tier, no-gi basics, on Tue, Thu and Fri evenings; all-levels classes Mon and Wed 7:15 PM and Sat 11:15 AM; kids Mon, Wed and Fri 4:30 PM and Sat 10 AM source · 2026-09-03
  • Fort Greene BJJ Adult BJJ at 7 PM every weeknight, alternating gi and no-gi, plus a Saturday morning open mat. No beginner-labelled class — every session is all-levels, by design per the room's own prose source · 2026-07-29
  • Park Slope Academy of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (PSABJJ) A self-dated grid (effective 9/9/26): Basic Fundamentals five nights a week, all-levels Monday to Thursday mornings, Saturday basics, advanced open mats on Friday, Sundays dark, and a published path: beginners go through Fundamentals before the advanced program invites them source · 2026-09-02

South Brooklyn

  • Renzo Gracie Bay Ridge The borough's only seven-day week, with a Sunday open mat and a Saturday women's-only class — but no beginner-labelled slot, and weekday adult classes run thin and late (mostly 8 PM) source · 2026-09-02
  • Sheepshead Bay Roll Three sessions weekly — Tuesday gi and Thursday no-gi from 9 PM to MIDNIGHT, Sunday midday open mat. The times are the story: useless for a daytime visit, unique for the late-shift trainer source · 2026-09-01

Queens

  • Kings Combat Forest Hills A live, dated calendar with named coaches: Fundamentals four times a week — and the Friday open mat is members-only, which a day-pass visitor should know. The class-by-class July 4th cancellations prove the calendar live source · 2026-07-29
  • Una BJJ — Forest Hills Partial by honesty — the ragged table's days below row 1 are never guessed. Safe: a Saturday Fundamentals class, an evening Basics Gi, 6 AM twice a week, a long open mat, seven-day opening source · 2026-09-01

A schedule is what the page printed on the day it was read. The academy's card carries the visitor and price facts recorded for it; where admission to an open mat, or its cost, is not published, ask the academy.

Women's classes in New York

Rooms whose published schedule or programme page prints a women's or women-only class, each with the complete recorded summary of that fact, its source and the date it was read. What academies publish for women, and what to ask before a first class

Manhattan

North Brooklyn

South Brooklyn

Queens

A summary records what the page printed on the day it was read. Whether a class is women-only or mixed, and who may join, is in the summary where the academy publishes it; visitor and price facts are on the academy's card; where something is not published, ask the academy.

What a first class costs, city by city: the study