Beacon Mixed Martial Arts and Fitness 1970 Old Cuthbert Road, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034

"Everyone is treated equally and as family. The coaches are always pushing you to become better than you were. You learn skills that are not only applicable on the mat but also in my everyday life such as control, balance, and patience. I love the bonds that I have made over the years and am really happy to be part of this family. I couldn't imagine my life now if I hadn't made that big step 11 years ago."

"I’ve been training at this gym for 7 months at this point and so far my experience here has been amazing. This mixed martial arts gym is well suited for all experience levels and is very welcoming to newcomers. The classes are well structured and follow a curriculum led by coaches who posses a wealth of knowledge in martial arts."

"Great atmosphere for training for the whole family. We have 2 in the children's program and myself in the BJJ program. Adult jiu jitsu classes follow kids, so it's really convenient that we can all train on the same days!!"

"They only allowed live training as an optional activity after class. The result of this policy was that most students did not roll, since they were already tired from the exercise class. They did not want to participate in any optional training. Of the people who opted to roll, they would only roll with a minimal number of opponents, since they also were tired from the exercise class. And because it was already late into the night and they had to leave. This policy effectively minimized the variety of sparring partners (and sparring experience) that any given student could get. Furthermore, the teachers generally refused to roll with the students during the live training session. Instead of sparring with students, the teachers would prepare for their next MMA fight in the boxing ring - while the students were rolling (what few students would roll). Teachers would not roll with students or coach students who were rolling. This general policy - of cutting into live training - also took place on another night when school representatives were competing in an MMA event. During that night an employee of the school announced that there would only be "open mat" (implying that there wouldn't be any class). Then during the so-called "open mat", he ordered everyone to do breakfalls down the mat and then run up the mat on the return. Only after this activity was complete would he "allow" anyone to start training live. By ordering students to do a drill and an exercise during a timeslot designated as "open mat", this 4-stripe blue belt employee was taking upon himself to redefine the term, "open mat". This improper behavior was congruent with the general policy of cutting away from live training in order to have more group fitness. Live training is the most crucial aspect of the BJJ curriculum. There is no substitute for it. By eliminating the rolling from class in order to spend more time on conditioning, they were essentially using exercise as a substitute for live training. This is the most common way that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gets watered down. It is also disrespectful to the student's time, which is not being put to good use."

"I was able to train here twice as a visitor, and I can't recommend the gym enough! The classes are very well structured and instructors have always got an eye on everyone to ensure that everyone is learning well and is safe. I enjoyed the attention to detail and coach Peach's straightforward approach. When sparring with the kickboxing and Muay Thai people I felt that everyone adjusted to my level. The mats are really nice too, and there is also a small dedicated warm up are and even a cage. So overall I had a great experience!"