Nor Cal Fighting Alliance Santa Rosa - Santa Rosa, California

sara marie

This is a great place to train and prepare for your MMA career. The facility is clean and the instructors are very knowledgeable. Looking forward to many enjoyable and productive sessions. Jessica is really amazing as well as the rest of the staff

Brandon Finch

My son did a drop in for two days and has really wanted to train here for awhile. Professor Dave and his wife Jessica were super awesome and open to him coming down and training. Professor Dave is a phenomenal instructor and teaches the kids just as serious as teaching adults which is really important to me. Very detailed in his teaching and patient. I also noticed there is all walks of life that are welcome here. Older, younger, athletic, over weight and out of shape. Seems to me this gym try’s and works with everyone and help them succeed at their goals whatever that may be. If we lived closer this is the gym myself and my son would want to be a part of. For now we will hopefully come back and do some more drop ins as my son gets ready for some high level competition, but this place really is amazing and doesn’t get any more high level and better then this. Thanks!

Yuriy Cherkashin

This is the best No Gi Jiu Jitsu in Northern California. I have been coming to this Gym for over 10 years now coming from Bay Area. I wish I could train there more often. I recommend this gym to everyone. If you want to learn great Jiu Jitsu, then this is the place for you. They have a great kids’ program. I can see that kids love this place.

Taylor Wimberly

This review is related to the kids class ages 4-7. I have a newly 4 year old who has lots of energy, so we tried to find a class that would get out his energy and would have structure and an instructor who would encourage. He has never been in any organized sports or preschool so this was a big step for him. If that sounds like something you are looking for I do NOT recommend this class.
For the first two weeks he was very publicly kicked out of the class (which was kind of embarrassing) because he would run off the mat to check in with me, which was too distracting for the class apparently. I would also like to add that there are was no real structure to the amount of children to teacher/volunteers. Also, when we asked for advice on the class with him he proceeded to call my son “very negative”….. y’all he’s 4 ? he was nervous. BUT we did work hard with him on using positive language (from I can’t to I’ll try).
The next two weeks we noticed a huge confidence change because other parents (not the instructor) who I guess volunteer randomly started to help him and he started to stay out on the mat the whole class.
Half the class was them doing warm-ups and the other half was practicing takedown moves. My son (which I had no problem with so far cause we were so new & there were lots of kids) was not getting picked to participate, so he would get fidgety out there just watching.
So, by the end of the first month in the middle of class I guess the teacher guy decided to again kick my 4 year old out of class and was told not to come back.
I’m all for teaching my kids consequences of their actions (like leaving class early several times). My son was not being disruptive, he was fidgety and slow on some of the exercises… which I guess was annoying?

Please, just look into all the other classes out there before taking this one. Good luck!

Kelly Cowan

As a volunteer parent helping out with the Nor Cal Fighting Alliance little kids jiu jitsu class, and someone who trains with the adults in jiu jitsu, I am constantly in a state of gratitude and amazement that we are as lucky as we are to have David Terrell teaching us the art of jiu jitsu. Not everyone realizes how elite David Terrell is in the sport of jiu jitsu (most likely due to the fact that David is as humble as he is talented). If you are in that category I would encourage you to look him up for yourself—suffice it to say he is one of the best ever.
I have been helping with the 3-7 year old class for a couple of years, and it is clear to me that David truly loves his students. It is equally clear that they love him back as is evidenced by all of the handmade cards, drawings, and notes that he receives from the little kids on an almost daily basis.
Coach Dave’s devotion to his students might only be matched by his patience; I often see him going above and beyond what his basic duty as martial arts coach would require. In the little kids class there is a wide range of personalities and attention spans, and not surprisingly, there are some kids who are locked in and ready to learn on their 3rd birthday, and others who have trouble staying focused until they are much older. Jiu jitsu is not easy for anyone to learn; it is scary sometimes, it hurts sometimes, and it requires a degree of discipline that is not innate any but the very rarest among us (children and adults included). Coach Dave has a gift for getting the most out of all of the diverse souls who embark on the jiu jitsu journey with him. Every once in a while there is a student who requires a little more patience on a given day, and where your average parent (such as myself) might fall short, David always seems to have another level of unflappability.
That being said, while it is rare that a student is unable to stay in the class due to lack of ability to focus or because of disruptive behavior, it does happen and usually all that is needed is a short break from class to gain a little maturity. There is no shame in taking a break in order to grow. Most parents find that with a couple of months off their student is able to return to class and become a successful jiu jitsu practitioner.
Jiu jitsu is not easy; it takes discipline (from your child and you alike), but it has been my experience that if you take 1 step towards meeting that challenge Coach Dave and NCFA will take 10 steps toward you. If you are considering sending your child to 3-5 days per week of one-on-one attention from one of the greatest athletes of our generation then I would highly recommend you do so, and I think you will not be disappointed.

Scott Ross

I do not write a lot of reviews (I believe that this is my third ever), but I felt compelled to write this one. My son Reid started at Nor Cal Fighting Alliance roughly three weeks ago, and at first it was really rough...he was uncomfortable and mostly unwilling to engage, but through the great support of the owners David and Jessica he turned the corner. My son now loves going to his training, and that says a lot for an almost six year old fairly shy boy to love it. Every session I am impressed with the very hands on approach of head coach David Terrell and the other instructors, and how engaged Jessica is with the kids...many times she was the reason my son got on the mat, and I cannot thank her enough for this. The parents of the other kids are awesome, very welcoming and supportive, hard to complain when we are going through it together. If you are looking for somewhere to have your child thrive and potentially shine, then you must give Nor Cal Fighting Alliance a chance. We will see where this goes and how long he stays with it, but regardless of duration this training center and its team has had a major positive impact on my son, and for that I am forever grateful.

Lorraine S

I absolutely love this place. Go to their website as I have a more extensive testimonial on my experience training MMA in this gym. My main message: don't be intimidated, train to defend yourself, train for fitness and health, train for your mental health.

Michelle Pederson

My daughter has trained her for 3 years and I started about 2 years ago. This place is our second home and honestly don't know what we would do without it. We've made some of our very best friends here and love the extremely welcoming atmosphere. There is always someone here to support you and push you to be your best. Dave and Jess are the type of people that everyone wants in their community. They give back so much and do their best to be as involved as possible with making this area the best community it can be.