Jason is involved in:

• BJJ – Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Crazy 88 offers a full array of Mixed Martial Arts classes including Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai Kickboxing, Kids Martial Arts, No Gi Submission Wrestling, Mixed Martial Arts, and Womens Only Classes. The academy is open 7 Days a week, with classes running from 6:30 AM to 11 PM.

Eight months later and we’re all still helping each other to improve. I started out in the womens-only classes, and I now do the coed classes as well. I come to 88 about 5 days a week, for 2-3 hours a day, I’m addicted! I’m having so much fun doing both muay thai and brazilian jiu-jitsu (gi and no-gi). I keep improving, I’m gaining confidence, getting into a different kind of in-shape than I could have ever done at the gym on my own, and I’ve met some absolutely amazing people. I’ve never met so many nice people in one place. The friends I’ve made here I will probably have for life. I always recommend Crazy88 to every woman; the self-defense aspect of everything we’re learning here is fantastic and practical. You cannot put a price on the awesome people, the great work out, the crazy amounts of fun, and the confidence in your ability to defend yourself that you will find at Crazy88.

My name is Stephanie and I’m the Marketing Coordinator for a global jewelry brand. I was getting sick of hating how out of shape I had gotten but the monotony of getting on a treadmill isn’t very motivating! My husband saw how down I had gotten and found an alternative to your standard workout routine. He pitched the idea of Crazy 88 to me and I was immediately intrigued. I went to my first class in December of 2009 and was so nervous I made my husband tag along and wait in the lobby!  Having never participated in any organized sports before and being completely oblivious to the world of martial arts, I was expecting to fail.

To my surprise, before I even made it into the room for my first class, two students approached me and welcomed me to the school! All of the students helped me get through the class and the instructor was extremely helpful and even went as far as relating the things I was having trouble understanding to dance moves, animals and anything else that would help me get it. That’s just how Crazy 88 is and I was hooked after my first class! I started out doing the women’s only program attending all 4 classes 3 days a week – now 7 months later I participate in both the Women’s and the co-ed Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes and am at Crazy 88 4-5 days a week!

I won’t lie and say these classes are easy but they’re definitely fun – after my very first class I woke up the next morning with muscles I didn’t even know I had aching. I was shocked. How could I have had so much fun and actually gotten a work out? Now after months of training I still feel the burn during every class and I love it! The people here are going to push you to not only meet your expectations but to exceed them. Without the staff and students here, I never would have continued – on the days that I’m just not in the mood to exercise I still attend classes because I want to see the friends I’ve made and don’t want to risk being the only one who didn’t learn a new combination in Muay Thai or submission in Jiu Jitsu.

The school has turned into more than just a place to get healthier though, it is also a home away from home. I’ve met some of my closest friends at the school and have recommended it to everyone I know! I walked in to Crazy 88 knowing absolutely nobody and now I couldn’t imagine my social life without the amazing people I’ve met there.

My experience at Crazy 88 has been wonderful! A few months ago I was feeling un-motivated to go to the gym. I was bored with my routine of cardio and lifting, and I felt like I was slowly losing my physical drive.  Crazy 88 has helped me shake those feelings and train harder!

From day one everyone on the Crazy 88 team has made me feel like there is a place for me at the gym!  Classes can be intimidating to a beginner, but instructors and classmates take the time to help me better understand the fundamentals of BJJ and Muay Thai.

The most exciting yet challenging part of training is that there is always something new to learn; this helps keep me on my toes!  Thus far I have learned that, for me, training with others is the most motivating environment!  My goal now is to continue to train and learn the fundamentals and hopefully once I am comfortable get into a competition!

Thank you!

Alex participates in our:

• Womens Only Classes
• Muay Thai Kickboxing Classes
• Brazilian Jujitsu Classes

I came to Crazy 88 looking for something to do with my free time instead of just sitting at home playing video games. I did not have much experience with martial arts or wrestling before but decided to try out the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu class.  I have been doing Jiu-Jitsu here at Crazy 88 for almost five months, staying in shape, learning to defend myself, and making lots of new friends.  I never was much of a competitive person but 3 months into training I decided to compete and won 1st place in a Novice No-Gi NAGA tournament.  Now with each class i look forward to learning new techniques and becoming the best I can be.  I would recommend Crazy 88 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to anybody looking to get in shape, make new friends, compete, or even just as a fun hobby to keep you away from wasting time playing video games.

Josh K trains in our:

• Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes

My decision on choosing a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school was based on team unity. I found that team unity at Team Lloyd Irvin taught by Julius Park. Everyone was friendly, and helped me understand the concepts of all the techniques we would learn each class.

Even during sparring, its not about how fast or how many times you can submit someone.   The goal is to help each other achieve proper technique. After my first introductory class I knew this was the school that I wanted to be associated with.

Mike F participates in our:

• Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes

I’ve trained with schools in Philadelphia to Mississippi, with instructors that would have you drill only techniques without sparring, to instructors that only gave instruction when you’d ask. For the most part the techniques were the same, where a choke was a choke and a pass was a pass. The body only had specific ways to move and the only difference between schools was the subtlety of the explanation.

I would question why is it that the body was most effective moving one way over another, why it was important for me to know how to fall, how does this work, what’s the point of this gi? Whenever I would ask why the answer was always “Because it works” or “Because it makes you a better fighter.” There are very few schools out there that explained the mechanics of how position works, but Crazy 88 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is among that elite group.

You don’t need to look far to see the science behind Julius Park’s method of instruction because it’s apparent with the success & growth of his pupils as well as the at-home feeling you get when you step onto his mats. There have only been two times I’ve gone to schools and walked away knowing that I’ve improved. The first being when I started at MMA / BJJ in Philly and the second is now.

There isn’t anything else that can be said to support what I know about this camp, so if my testimonial and the accolades of others aren’t enough; I’d say come and check it out for yourself, then find a school somewhere else and compare the two — the difference will be almost immeasurable.

Khalil trained in:

• BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu)

My name is Eric McCrory, I have been in the U.S. Army for 17 years. After leaving an overseas assignment I found that my next assignment would be as an instructor to NCOs on many basic Army subject areas, one being a system called the Modern Army Combatives (M.A.C.) which is based on Jiu-Jitsu. Not knowing anything but hand to hand combat techniques from basic training and experience as a JV wrestling dummy in a school of 125 kids 20 years prior, I knew I needed to find a subject matter expert quick.

Knowing that I would be soon sent to Army Combatives School, I searched a 4 state area with the powers of the internet. I searched every forum, chat room and read every magazine article related to the Modern Army Combatives system and Jiu-Jitsu. In my search the Lloyd Irvin School kept popping up and there was one just up the road from my house, so I gave it a try, after all you can’t learn what a school is really about from a website alone. The hardest part was getting out of my car and into the gym the first day…honest. I explained what I needed to get out of this class to Julius on the first day and it seemed as though he wrote a lesson plan specifically for me from then on out.

In the next three months I went as hard and often as my aging body would deem possible at 88 BJJ and learned as much as I could in the short amount of time. I was also sent to Army training for Level 1 and Level 2 Combatives courses which I no longer was worrying over so I was able to enjoy and welcome the training. I actually felt ahead my peers in a sense because I had already seen these moves and how they are properly employed and linked to other moves.

The instruction, conditioning and experience that I got from 88 BJJ in just three months gave me that extra boost and confidence I needed, when I needed it. It allowed me to couple this specialized training in Jiu-Jitsu with my official Army training in M.A.C. making me a more effective soldier. While I don’t claim to be great, I am still learning but I feel great inside just for what I have learned and experienced so far. I will continue to go to class and soak up all the knowledge possible so that I can achieve my new goal of competing in an Army Combatives tournament sometime this year. I don’t have to place as I have already won.

While stationed at Fort Meade, Eric trained in:

• BJJ – Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

My name is Cynthia Santiago and I am 34 years old. I have been training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for about a year now. As a teenager I trained a bit in Tae Kwon Do and Judo, but gave it up to compete in high school and college basketball. After my basketball career ended, I didn’t do anything athletic for many years. However, I was always looking for something to fill that void. A few years ago I was watching a UFC fight and knew I wanted to do something like that. I kept thinking about it throughout my teaching year with every intention to research if women could get in on MMA. Last summer I did a search for MMA schools in the Baltimore area and Crazy 88 was the first to come up. I signed up on the website and received a call within a day. I remember thinking to myself, “Wow, that’s fast service!” I visited the school and was immediately impressed by the friendliness of the staff and by the fact that there were women training at the school.

Since that day last summer, I started training in Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu. I loved doing both, but as a busy prep school English teacher and mom, I decided to focus more on jiu-jitsu to get more training in. Jiu-jitsu has definitely filled the void I used to have. I feel mentally and physically challenged in every class I attend. Crazy 88 has everything anyone can ask for: excellent teachers, a lot of classes offered to fit your schedule, a variety of classes offered, and the largest number of women training in the area.

Jiu-Jitsu has definitely changed my life. It has given me a personal purpose. It has also motivated me to get in shape, has provided an outlet for my competitive spirit, and has relieved a lot of my general stress and anxiety that used to consume me. I even recently convinced my partner to try a class and she is hooked. I can’t say enough about what a great school Julius Park is running. My only suggestion is to come in and try out a class. Trust me, you will become addicted like the rest of us.

Come join our FamLI!!

Cynthia is involved in:

• Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Training
• Muay Thai Kickboxing Training
• Womens Only Training