BAM Academy

My six year old spent his first week of the summer in camp here and loved it! All of the staff are super nice and the gym is a kid’s paradise. Great way to keep the kids moving.

One of the only places in Austin that offers an adult tumbling course where they have an instructor actually teaching. It was a great class and the coach is very experienced and he coaches very well.

My daughter decided that for her 12^th birthday party, she wanted an «American Ninja Warrior Party.» In mid-​September, I found BAM Academy online, and called the North location to book the party at the South location, which was scheduled to open in early October.
Unfortunately, in setting up the database for the south location, our party reservation was lost, so they weren’t expecting the 15 kids that showed up for my daughter’s party. After a few minutes of trying to figure out what happened, the owner scrambled for, us, and MADE IT HAPPEN.
Even hosting a party on-​the-​fly, the owner was AMAZING with all the kids, and the staff there was fabulous at encouraging the kids, and talking them through several of the moves. Everyone had a GREAT time, and we look forward to going back!

My son took lessons at the north location a few months ago and loved it! He literally asks everyday to go to parkour. They recently moved the 3−5yr old classes to the south location, which is fine. Great instructors who take this sport/​craft very seriously and are helpful, even with little kidos.
Good times!

My entire family LOVES this place. My kids, ages 6 and 8, are obsessed with the show American Ninja Warrior. When I googled ANW in Austin, Bam Academy popped up. I immediately signed them up for a free trial class. They were hooked. I was hooked! I had to join the fun, so I do Parent’s Fitness while they do Youth Parkour. The instructors/​coaches are amazing. Fun, encouraging and they get results. I went in not being able to do one single push-​up and after less than 2 months I can do 10+. My kids idolize their coach and are learning the skills the right way. Bam Academy has inspired us to build our own home gym so we can strengthen the skills we are learning there, but we definitely won’t stop going to BAM! It’s our favorite place in Austin!

My boys can’t handle team sports, but want to be ninja warriors. BAM is a great place to for ninja warrior training. There are obstacle courses similiar to what you see on the «American Ninja Warriors» show.
The instructors are young and friendly, but most importantly, my sons enjoy being there. Unlike other classes, where you «pay» for testing to «move up» to the next level, BAM is all about learning skills. There are no fees for testing, and they won’t pass your kid unless he/​she has mastered the skills.
The online reservation system is a bit awkward and I really wish they have central A/​C. It can get really hot on the training floor, especially during the long summer in Austin.

I’ve been coming to this gym for over a year now. I think that should tell you something.
The coaches here are amazing. They all really know their craft and teach it well. And they’re a pretty cool bunch, which is a plus. After taking the parkour classes and training here, I just see everything as obstacles to play on and move around. If you train long enough, you’ll face bigger and harder challenges that will mentally and physically stretch you. Ballistic Movements with Ruben and Justin is awesome too. I was fit before, but after going through the paces with them I have more functional strength. The other classes are great too. I dabble in the different classes, not all of them were for me, but the training is still amazing. I’m really excited for the new location to open, and they’re expanding the type of classes they’re offering so there’s something for everyone.
If you want to physically and mentally challenge yourself, this is the place to go.

I tried to go this Friday with my daughter to open play 6 – 8 but the website was wrong I drove all the way from Oak Hill to get DENIED

This place is growing all the time. If you came here even just a few months ago, they have changed. More staff, more training, and more obstacles await your next visit. I have been going here for almost 2 years now and I am proud of the time and effort the owners have placed into making this a premier location for kids and adults to interact and learn from one another.

I’ve been interested in Parkour for awhile now and found BAM Academy via online searching. After taking a free intro class, meeting with the staff, and getting a better understanding of Parkour, I ended up signing up for 6 months of the adult classes (that was not required, I just had a great feeling about the place). 6 months in and I love it and continue to practice!
The team took me from being uncomfortable with many obstacles, to being much more comfortable, learning the proper techniques so that even when I make mistakes, miss landings, etc. I don’t injure myself and can get back up and try it again.
Overall, if you are interested in Parkour, natural movement, ballistics, etc. I’d highly recommend BAM Academy. The team here is comfortable working with you, coaching each person on their individual techniques and how to improve, and the atmosphere is very open and laid back. BAM academy has a very Austin/​local feel and it’s a fun place to work out in a very different manner. If you are into martial arts like me, I suggest you give Parkour a go, it is quite fun and you learn a lot about moving more effectively.

The BEST place ever for an active group of kids! Keeping life fun, fit, healthy, and strong!
Jacob was the most energetic, patient «coach» we could ask for and immediately related to the kids. 90 minutes was not long enough… these boys could have stayed all night. We will definitely be back again.

I’ve told at least 10 people about this place. It’s awesome! Although typically I’m not a fan of clambering all over stuff and jumping around and generally defying gravity BUT if YOU are, this is a great spot. Not familiar with Parkour? Here’s the skinny:
You run around, surmounting obstacles, using your body weight and momentum to push you over things in one fluid motion. It’s like a weird magic but even i could do some of the things. This is a class that flies by because you’re learning and growing. Also, for you folks with kiddos, they do incredible classes for kids that are looking for something interesting and athletic that isn’t Texas football.

I had no idea what Parkour was before I came here. The folks at BAM academy definitely enlightened me and I had an awesome time! They teach you how to use your body’s momentum to move through obstacles efficiently. We learned how to jump hurdles, land softly, and run up walls. They also have a neat foam pit for you to practice your flips! The owners here have a lot of passion for what they do and built their equipment and the academy from the ground up. They also offer strength training classes with kettle bells and ropes. I would definitely recommend this place for people who want to improve their coordination, balance, and strength. It’s a fun way to get a workout and to learn how to move your body in ways you probably never imagined possible. Check this place out!

It’s been a week since we visited here. All I think of when I walk on crooked terrain is keeping my hands forward and looking to keep my center of balance in a streamline. Great idea for a workout and a lifestyle change. Lots of bars, hops, and obstacle courses to keep your adrenaline running and your sympathetic system wild.

I came to the Unilocal event here over the weekend, and had an awesome time! The staff is very helpful, laid back and friendly and took us through some stretches and warm ups to get loosened up before giving us some basics about safety and introducing us to what parkour is all about.
There are quite a few obstacles, things to climb on, and even some stuff you might be familiar with from watching Ninja Warrior like the Salmon ladder and the Warped Wall. We got a lot of great advice on how to efficiently and safely get through obstacles with lots of demonstrations, time for practice and we were even set loose with free reign over the place to explore at the end.
From the pictures it seems as though they’re constantly adding to and changing the place around so there is quite a bit of variety. I will most definitely be coming back to do a month pass after Christmas and am looking forward to getting a fun, and exhausting workout here!

What a fun way to work out! Remember being a kid and climbing trees, jumping over fences, swinging from bar to bar, and balancing on ledges? Well, just because you’re grown doesn’t mean you can’t do that stuff any more. If you’re already reasonably physically fit and getting bored of your same old gym routine, a parkour workout might be just the thing to get you excited again about your fitness regimen. Also, if you’ve seen American Ninja Warrior and are curious about attempting some of those Mount Midoriyama challenges, you can try them at BAM.
I was fortunate to try out BAM on a December Saturday morning during their Unilocal open house event. My 8 year old and I both had a blast trying out the various obstacle and monkey bar set-​ups to test our agility, balance, strength, and coordination. The coaches (Ruben and Matthew) leading our group of about 12 participants were great at dealing with all skill levels, from parkour beginners like me to the more experienced wall climbers & jumpers in attendance. We worked on safety vault technique for most of the session and I was surprised to learn a few things about how to improve efficiency and reduce risk in movements I’d been doing all my life.
I really like the approach to injury prevention taken by the BAM coaches. Yes, you sign a big waiver when you enter the facility — there is the possibility that you can get hurt, but the level of risk-​taking is up to you, and the coaches will be there to guide you on technique so that your risk of injury is minimized. Each workout starts with a stretching and warm up period, and the coaches observe all of the students closely to assess which level of intensity/​difficulty to recommend for the next set of moves being practiced. Only when you demonstrate mastery of a lower level of difficulty/​risk will the coach encourage you to try the next one.
My upper body strength & coordination are no where near where they need to be yet to take advantage of most of the equipment in the BAM gym, but I look forward to coming back here to work on that. BAM has open gym time, as well as specific classes for kids and adults on weekday evenings and weekend days. You can check out the monthly schedule online here
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So you’ll remember one of the owners approached me about my concerns re: age-​appropriateness for the camp. They invited me to try the «intro class» (age 3 – 5) with Coach Curt.
FIVE STARS FOR COACH CURT AND THIS CLASS. They were kept safe, while encouraged to take risks. There was a lot of movement and the coach managed to know all of their names and where they were in the gym at all times. They incorporated elements of yoga, gymnastics and agility without ever being boring or slow. All the kids had fun. Another parent who has two kids in class said the coach is «insanely patient», so this must be normal for him.
(god bless people who are patient with others’ children).
I have never so fully changed my opinion about a business. Bam Academy is clearly trying to make a good experience for every age and we will consider this strongly for birthday parties and classes.
Good for Bam; this is why I Unilocal.
My son will nap today. And that’s a huge bonus.

We finally paid our first visit to BAM last week! I had heard a lot of great things about BAM and was eager to stop in on our next trip to Austin. They really enjoyed the class and even though my girl (8) and boy (6) are at different levels, Dominic made it work for both. Yes, it was hot, but Texas is hot. I think if they turned their fans around to blow the air out, the gym would be cooler, beyond that, it was August in Texas, and my kids didn’t seem to care.
My kids and I have been doing Parkour for nearly 2 years. I watched the whole class and enjoyed vicariously learning a thing or two from what Dominic taught and how he taught.
It was great to connect with the parkour community in Austin. Next visit, my husband and I will be taking classes as well. Kids shouldn’t have all of the fun! We look forward to our next visit!

A friend organized a group of us to take the Parkour 1 class from Bam. I went in with low expectations but came away happy with the facility and the staff. The staff was great about building us up from basics to doing cool stuff I never would have expected myself to be doing. They were also good about guiding us in preventing injuries. When they could, they’d even stick around after class (one time for an entire hour) continuing to help us.
Our class time included access to Open Gym where we would practice things from class or just experiment with what they had. All the people were friendly and would stop what they were doing to just help out with our practice.
I look forward to taking more classes and going to Open Gym.

Currently the Unilocal site shows bam as closed on Saturday, however there is a Saturday class and open gym.