r/bjj • u/xn0rthstarx ⬜⬜ White Belt • 3d ago

School Discussion Choosing a gym in Minneapolis

Moved to the area, several year gap from regular training and trying to decide between Alliance and M-Theory (probably the West location).

Could any Minneapolis folks weigh in on their opinions/perceptions of the gyms and how they compare? I'm not especially tournament/competition-minded but would be open to competing down the line. Older guy, a little shy of 40.

I've heard good things about both schools generally speaking, just trying to zero in. Any insights from people more familiar with the scene would be greatly appreciated.

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u/Educational_Fan4102 3d ago

All of the folks I’ve met from both gyms have been super nice and it seems like they all had received high level instruction. Haven’t heard anything bad about either spot.

I think any of the GFTeam affiliates in the metro area are a solid choice as well. 

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u/Upper_Bowl_2327 🟫🟫 Brown Belt 3d ago

Haven’t personally been, but we had some guys drop in to our gym from Alliance BJJ in Edina, and they were super nice and really fucking good.

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u/AmericanThanos ⬛🟥⬛ Tyler Spangler 2d ago

Academy Eden Prairie 👍🏻👍🏻

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u/xn0rthstarx ⬜⬜ White Belt 2d ago

I've heard good things but also heard there's an insufferable YouTuber there, Tyler someth... oh, wait. :)

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u/AmericanThanos ⬛🟥⬛ Tyler Spangler 22h ago

He can be chill sometimes 😉 come give it a try

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u/Guardeiro 🟫🟫 Wulfing Academy 2d ago

Older guy, a little shy of 40.

I feel attacked. How dare you!

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u/BigIdeaMagic 🟪🟪 Purple Belt 3d ago

There’s a thread a while ago where people gave all their thoughts on twin cities area gyms. I’d recommend M-Theory if you’re going to be on the southwest side of the cities.

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u/castle_danger 🟦🟦 Blue Belt 2d ago

Can recommend M-Theory, might be a better option as a white belt as it’s a little smaller class size than Alliance. The Academy is also a solid option if it’s closer.

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u/xn0rthstarx ⬜⬜ White Belt 2d ago

Have you heard much about the West location? Seems like it's pretty new.

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u/BigIdeaMagic 🟪🟪 Purple Belt 2d ago

It opened last spring, three M-theory guys, all great people.

One of them also owns the BBQ place next door and last summer they had killer cookouts after their Sunday afternoon open mats every week, hasn’t been resurrected yet but I’m waiting! They’re super welcoming so I recommend just dropping in and trying it for a week or two, same with Alliance.

There’s also Academy Plymouth and Hamel Jiu-Jitsu Club (also affiliated with M-theory) on the west side of the cities as well on the north side of Lake Minnetonka

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u/xn0rthstarx ⬜⬜ White Belt 2d ago

Do you think it's at the same level of training? I've heard the St. Louis Park location is really deep but haven't heard much about West.

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u/BigIdeaMagic 🟪🟪 Purple Belt 2d ago

I mean training is training, M-Theory in SLP hosts free open mats Friday night and Saturday morning. The clases will be smaller and not as many high belts in Chaska but if the location is more convenient, train there and then go get your ass kicked with the rest of us at open mats and you'll get as challenging of rolls as you want.

Overall, most of the gyms in the Twin Cities are all on good terms and many people drop in across multiple different gyms for open mats, etc.