BAIRRO 124 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

To be honest, I was going to give up and say "BJJ is not for me" but I kept practicing and I'm starting to like it, it has taught me to respect people and to have discipline and control. It has helped me control my body and become stronger. Bairro is the best option to practice BJJ.

This grappling gym is situated inside the downtown Evolve Strength gym. Just walk right thought the main door for Evolve, grab a towel, and head left to the grappling room. Evolve Strength is a modern, clean, wide-open, all-encompassing gym, with steam rooms, towel service, astro-turf area, olympic weightlifting area, tons of squat racks, pull up bars, and free weights. Athlete-focused health services are also co-located with the gym (which takes up the whole area that the old MEC was occupying). The grappling room is supremely clean, and has the highest quality mat infrastructure I ever had the chance to train on. The mats are nice, but what is exceptional is that they are installed over a secondary shock absorbing layer in a setup very similar to what you find in high level competition judo mats or a gymnastic floor. Dynamic takedowns that would often take your breath away (for the wrong reasons) in many gyms would feel quite nice and safe at Bairro 124. The odds of you getting slammed down by a Bairro training partner are slim though, as the core group of Hoss' students are super respectful and the overall atmosphere is quite chill and favorable to solid learning. Overall I'd say the average skills/experience of Bairro's members hovers around the blue belt level. That means that as a beginner, you'll have plenty of challenging, yet not too out of reach partners to roll with. I expect the overall skill level of this place to increase quite rapidly over the next few months and years. Once you start training at Bairro, it's very likely you'll want to keep training there and not elsewhere, so the core group of members will for sure continue to progress together to reach higher levels. Hoss, the founder of the gym, runs his business with enthusiasm and brings a very positive vibe to his gym. He is welcoming and definitely instills the core fundamentals of grappling to his students, both with regards to technique and attitude. The gym has classes or open mats 7 days a week. Prices are competitive, and being located inside such a modern gym is a big plus for Bairro compared to many other BJJ/MMA gyms. If you live in Edmonton, the membership fees are totally worth it. If you're in town only now and then, the punch pass is a sweet deal: 20 classes for 300$ is cheaper than most other places. I think the punch pass expires after a little while though, so that could potentially be a problem, depending on how often you can make in into town. Talk with Hoss if that is the case though. He's a stand-up guy that will figure out something that works for you. As a wandering grappler myself, I know that Bairro will become my premium grappling spot when I find myself in Edmonton. Cheers!

Great facility, located inside a unique weight training gym. Great instructors with a welcoming environment. Edit: I have been training with Hoss (owner and head instructor) for a little bit over a year now, it has been amazing to watch the gym grow, and see how well Hoss takes care of the training space. His personal touches to creating an atmosphere that is calm, organized, and functional are conducive to training successfully and enjoyably. I look forward to continuing training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu here, and wouldn't hesitate to recommend training here to any one else.

I was visiting from BC and the staff at Bairro let me train with them during my stay! I had an awesome time doing so. Hoss is a great teacher, mentor and he helped me with my technique and focus. Next time I'm in Edmonton again I'm coming to say hi :)

Bairro 124 is hands down the best BJJ gym in Edmonton. There are so many classes and it’s very convenient to fit it in my schedule with school. The community is super welcoming and Hoss is an excellent teacher and I really feel like he cares about each and every student. Highly recommend anyone who wants to try out BJJ to come to here!

I have tried out a number of different BJJ schools throughout Edmonton and none have matched Bairro 124st BJJ. The quality of instruction is incredible. Hoss provides a thorough discussion and demonstration of moves including the details that turn a passable move into an awesome move. In addition to teaching the moves he also discusses tactics. Yet somehow he keeps the instruction in his beginner classes easy to understand and accessible to all. His teaching is great with lots of encouragement and the right about of constructive criticism tailored to the individual student. Every class ends with situational sparring so you can immediately practice what you have learned. The atomsphere at Bairro is amazing and I quickly started to feel like part of the team. Everyone is friendly, very respectful and I felt encouraged to excel. Cleanliness was top notch. A significant portion of students are women which I find is a usually a good indicator of how welcoming a martial arts school is. I am unfortunately working outside of Edmonton for the foreseeable future but it's given me a chance to test my skills against others. I am proud to say what I learned at Bairro has allowed me to hold my own against many more experienced sparring partners. I look forward to being back in Edmonton and rejoining Bairro. With classes and/or open mat everyday of the week it is very easy to fit training into most people's schedules. Regardless of if you are looking at BJJ as a hobby, for self improvement, or to start competing, I cannot recommend Bairro 124st strongly enough.

Such a great learning environment. Being new to BJJ, I really did not know anything but everyone is super friendly and willing to help. The classes are fun and they make me feel more confident in my daily life.

Great facility, fantastic owner, and awesome members. The intimidation inherent with starting bjj disappears about half way into your first class. That’s not to say learning bjj isn’t challenging, it absolutely is, but the combination of the instructors, senior belts, and members makes the challenge rewarding and approachable. In the last 5 months I’ve been to the early morning, noon, and evening classes. In each class the instruction was great and and the members I trained with were super positive and supportive. Hoss is a great instructor but I think it’s even more important that he’s built a great culture. I couldn’t recommend Bairro highly enough.