Unity Jiu Jitsu School

If you are looking for a place to train BJJ, or hoping to start the sport, you won’t find a better place to train than here. I recently joined after moving from Boston to NY, and I could not be happier. I had tried out many of the big-​name BJJ gyms in Manhattan before deciding on Unity, but it took one hour and a half long class here for that decision to be made on the spot. This gym is not only great for the competitor, but also a great gym for the everyday jiu jitsu athlete. Whether you are in-​shape or out-​of-​shape, you will have fun, you will train hard, and you will be amongst the best instructor and athletes in the game.
BEGINNERS: If you are just starting out, you will receive a free intro class taught by Ana Lowry, a seasoned brown belt competitor, and the co-​founder! A lot of academies don’t offer 1-​on-​1 instruction for your first class (you usually just get tossed in with the class), so this is a really awesome aspect to anyone trying out the sport, to learn the basics and get comfortable. You are then encouraged to join the class after your private lesson!
LOCATION & SCHEDULE: If you’re moving to NYC, visiting NY, or looking for a new gym in the area, definitely swing by and check out Unity. The location couldn’t be better as it is a few blocks from Penn Station, Times Square, Grand Central (essentially– Midtown!). They also have a schedule that cannot be beaten– they easily offer the most gi classes of any gym in the city (with no-​gi classes on MWF after gi). They also offer morning, afternoon and night classes that go all the way until 10:30pm. Can’t beat that!
INSTRUCTION: I think the most important part of this review, and the biggest thing to focus on when joining a new gym is the instructor, and I cannot say enough good things about the head instructor, Murilo Santana. He focuses on every detail in the technique and really tries to make sure that everybody gets it right. His teaching style and the progression of techniques learned is very unique and has been the most helpful to me in developing my game. I have never seen an instructor as invested in his students as Murilo is. You’re not just a number, or a visitor, to him. You can visit the other gyms in the city, and you probably won’t be noticed by the head instructor unless you raise your hand for a question or are there for a few months. Good luck to you if you think you can hide in the background or skip rolls during class here! Murilo walks around during the class, and is always watching every single person during drills or live-​sparring, and coaching everybody. He is a world-​class instructor and athlete.
Obviously, if you are picking a BJJ gym to join, the best thing to do is to try out different ones and pick the best fit for you. I picked Unity because of the instruction, the welcoming vibe from all the students, and the high-​level training. This gym is all about jiu-​jitsu and I guarantee whatever your goals are, whether fitness, competition, or hobby, you will meet them at this gym.
**Pro-​Tip: You haven’t trained hard until you have done the pro-​training in the afternoon here. Guarantee it will be the toughest training you’ve ever done.

Signed up on my first day trial and been having so much fun since. Started with zero experience and absorbing like a sponge.

This place is ALL Jiujitsu, NO politics! My daughter trains under the GFTeam flag but cross trains at Unity. They have welcomed us & she gets serious competitive training here. Murillo & Ana are great instructors & are very patient. This place has a beautiful vibe. Def the place to be!

I love this team! They are inviting, respectful, competitive, modest and motivating!!! I love their sense of community.
This is a hardworking down to earth husband and wife team.
The gym is small but it’s big enough to hone your skills and test your limits. It teaches you to be extremely aware of your surroundings. Murillo shouts out pointers and he knows when you are slacking so don’t do it. :) Murillo is intimidating but when you see him joke with the children of the academy, you feel prideful that you are a small part of this community who takes care of their own and traveling practitioners.
They only have one bathroom for females and one bathroom for males. Don’t complain. Some academies have none.
As for a Manhattan school, their prices are reasonable and comparable. Honestly, you can learn adequate jiujitsu for standard cost anywhere but… BUT if you want greatness, if you want to be part of something bigger than yourself, where people know you by name, this academy will be your family and push you to your limit.
Lol can you hear…
«Push it to the limit» scarface/​rocky
:) playing in the background?
Okay they don’t play that at the academy but in my mind, when I train there, I’m rocky balboa.
I digress, this is a great academy. :)

Best gym in New York possibly the world too. Everyone is so welcoming at unity they make you feel like part of the team immediately, as someone who has traveled to a lot of gyms in America I can safely say that this is my favorite, Murillo is a great instructor and really helps you, develop your game weather it’s your first week or you have been training for years I recommend going here over other gyms in New York, you won’t be disappointed

The best school for Brazilian Jiu jitsu in the city. (possibly the world) a place where a student can train jiu jitsu as a hobbyist or they can train to become a world champion. Unity brings everyone together to better them selfs on and off the mat. I’m proud to be apart of their team. If you find your self in new York. stop by, you won’t regret it! Osss

Besides having world class training partners, you will find that Ana Lowry and Murilo Santana truly care about their students. You will get individualized attention at Unity BJJ. Murilo observes his students closely, analyzes their style, and coaches them while they spar. His teaching method and curriculum are well planned out. You won’t learn disconnected techniques because Murilo has no problem repeating techniques until the whole group has a good grasp of it. These are among the many reasons why students develop good habits and improve quickly. The positive energy at this school creates a supportive learning environment that benefits practitioners regardless of experience.

This place is a world-​class training facility for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I’d like to write this review so you know how it compares with previous experiences of other places I’ve trained: I’ve trained at Renzo Gracie’s and Ralph Gracie’s and I’ve trained all over the Judo map – from Olympic and University facilities in South Korea, to UCMAP in Berkeley, to Cahill’s Judo, to NYAC, various tournaments and training camps, and International Training Centre. All of the Judo facilities I’ve been to have a welcoming feel and this dojo reminds me more of what it’s like to train in Judo than it does to train in Jiu Jitsu.
Ana Lowry runs the front desk, and Murilo Santana teaches most of the night classes that I typically attend. He teaches from about 5:30 pm until 9:30pm at night, usually running a pro-​class during the day. On some days, he teaches a high school class, with my students that I teach during the day, and this adds to his already arduous workload. He is a committed instructor, and wants to spread Jiu Jitsu, and its positivity to as many people as possible. You can sense this in his work ethic, and his determination to spend as much time with black belts as he does with the white belts. He does not offer any distinction based on rank in his treatment of people, and his academy, based on his actions, has a true start-​up feel.
Here’s what you will not get at Unity: you will not get a lot of egos. It’s a small environment and it won’t take you longer than a week to know everybody here. It is impossible to train with a big ego knowing who you are training with on a daily basis. People will greet you when you get in. You will also get individualized attention from many champions. You will also get various athletes just visiting. Murilo (and the Miyao Brothers) have an interesting trek to their competitive careers, and they oftentimes have many people visiting, and challenging your technique to grow. You will always be here with high level guys. Even at white belt, you’ll feel the competitive nature of the academy.
What you won’t get: large facilities. It’s small. And this makes it hard to train at times when you want to do tachi-​waza (stand up), and use the no gi time for wrestling from the standing position. But it doesn’t get in the way of learning. And it often prevents the ever-​present ducking of training partners as is seen at other dojos. Murilo does a good job of managing the small space, but small space doesn’t get in the way of a true champion.
From my experience, you should get in on this opportunity now before the place grows. It inevitably will, as the commitment to his students will only make this place be a known commodity soon. I am happy that I made the change from a bigger, well-​known academy, as in only a few months, my game has drastically improved. But most importantly, I feel safe and comfortable in my new Jiu Jitsu family. You will be welcome here too!

Unity is a great BJJ gym! Everyone there is so nice, and it has a great female-​friendly atmosphere. There’s a great, positive vibe at the gym, it’s so supportive. And the instruction is world-​class!

Great place to train; there is a friendly relaxed vibe, but training is demanding enough to suit all levels. Murilo is ready to offer detailed advice, and there are lot of different classes to chose from. They need to open up a place here in London!

This is an amazing gym. The classes have really good details and there is lots of good training partners. The vibe at the gym is very positive and it is a really fun place to be!

If you want a great workout from incredibly knowledgable and talented martial artists, here’s the place to go!
I went and did an introduction with Ana, who was so nice and great at explaining how their studio works and listened and answered all of my questions.
I also stayed for the 6:30 — 8:00pm class. It was incredible. The warm up was a great cardio workout and really stretched out the body!
We then learned specific techniques, that we did with a partner. They did a great job of pairing me with someone that made it so that even as a brand new beginner I was able to do the technique and felt comfortable and excited getting to see the more advanced version that the other students were working on.
At the end they did sparring, or actual practice fighting, and they let me join in with that as well, which was super fun and also I just felt like I was already really apart of the class.
This studio and style of fighting is superb. This style provides a low risk of injury, unlike other martial arts I have trained in that use lots of strikes and in sparring it is then easy to get hurt. Everyone in the class was friendly, and used again, a safe method of tapping out before there is pain, but when the technique is done correctly. And yet, because of the method of fighting, you are still able to really fight hard and by the end of the matches/​techniques are exhausted.
And the instructor, Murilo, is like a hawk in how he really watches what everyone single student is doing and nicely correcting, checking-​in, and making sure you understand the technique. He really cares that you are getting what you need out of the experience and walk away with a real understanding of how the studio, and this style of fighting, works.
Plus it is a lot of fun and you are training next to prize winning champions!
I honestly don’t think you could find a better place to learn this style of fighting in a more comfortable, safe, deeply knowledgeable, and fun environment and community… while also getting a really great workout!
CHECK THIS PLACE OUT!!! YOU WON’T REGRET IT!

Updating to say that as a woman in jiu jitsu, there’s a lot of intimidation and we have to deal with a lot of crap, but there’s no intimidation or crap at Unity. In fact I’ve never gone to a class where there wasn’t another woman on the mat with me, and after two months of training, I would call all of the regular Unity women my sisters. Every Sunday we get together for an all-women’s open mat in the morning, which is open to everyone not just Unity women. Add to that that we get to count champions Luiza Monteiro and Ana Lowry as Unity women, and that we are treated with respect as equal training partners and that makes Unity the best place for NYC women who want to try jits.

Ok, let me start off by saying I know nothing about jiu jitsu. But my husband does. From what I know, he’s been doing this (what seems like grown men just rolling around in sweat) for over 4 years now. But to tell you the truth, I’ve never seem him enjoy it THIS much in the past 4 years as he is now in this new school. While it is a bit annoying at times that he spends A LOT of time there, it is amusing and encouraging to see him change for the better! He’s eating a lot healthier, he’s sleeping better, and most of all, he seems to be overall a happier and a more energetic person! I can’t speak for specifics of the school itself but what I CAN tell you is that I see real positive change in my husband and that alone makes this place 10 stars! Thank you for being so great for my husband!!!

After training for 5 years out of state, I had been searching for the right Jiu-​Jitsu school in NYC. When Unity opened, I was eager to check them out. From the first day, I have been blown away by the instruction, attention to detail, camaraderie, and positive vibe. For me, the environment and instruction are equally important, and Unity is off the charts on both accounts. Not only is training there fun, it is also the best instruction I have ever received. In the short time they’ve been open, my Jiu Jitsu game has vastly improved. I recommend Unity to everyone I know, whether they are complete beginners or black belts.

I came here for a trial class on 3÷17÷2014 and it was incredible. Its not at every school that as a beginner you can be in the same class as two world champion black belts (The Miyao brothers) and still get individual attention from the instructor black belt (Murilo Santana). Murilo had a well thought out lesson plan, and made sure to pay attention to every student and give out pointers and encouragement. The front desk staff were so incredibly nice and polite too! PS this place has a shower, and it was much needed after that session!

Best place to train hard Murilo Santana is a perfectionist and he gives details wich we ll never have in anywhere else.
Miaus are awesome and they are ready for a fight ²⁴⁄₇ is incredible!!!
Luiza Monteiro is there to train and gives tips from another school
Iago is one of the bests brown belt ever êh is always attentive and disposed to give tips
Anna Lowry is not only a great competitor is a great teacher
Kids Adults Teens athlete non athlete are welcome well received and well spent
Go train Jiu jitsu and conquer the world

Noting to add to other reviews here… Ana and the guys already know what I think. Signed up and loving it. This will be my home for next few years… if they’ll have me.
Murilo has been there every day since opening and so were Miyao bros. I’m little stiff still after two years hiatus but the level of instruction and attention is superb.

Relaxed vibe great instruction and training with a group of world class practitioners… Murilo Santana is the head coach with the Miyao Bros. Leandro Lo amazing guy they are very hands on if you want to learn traditional and modern techniques this is the place for you i love it

The superb staff at Unity Jiu Jitsu School has brought a little taste of Brazil here to New York. And that’s the difference! NY has a variety of options to get good Jiu Jitsu training. But if you want to be the best, you need to train with the best.
Murilo Santana is the mastermind behind this project and is by far the best instructor I’ve ever had. A world-​class competitor and instructor, his attention to detail –even through basic 101 techniques– separate him from the rest. Everything is explained in finite detail and sequential order linking techniques… meaning your game will improve rapidly. Ana Lowry’s beginners integration program «Able Approach» cuts the learning curve to allow brand new students to adapt swiftly.
Did I mentioned on any given day you can roll with World Champions? (Like the Miyao Bros, Leandro Lo, Luiza Monteiro, Yago de Souza and more)
If you’re serious about your Jiu Jitsu training, whether you want to be a world champion, recreational athlete or simply looking to get in shape; Unity School of Jiu Jitsu is the place for you. Come roam with the lions of NYC!

There aren’t enough good things to say about Unity. I was there for their Super Seminar-​which had an all-​star list of black belts highlighting each of their respective unique techniques. While the place is small-​and seemed smaller since the place was wall to wall with Jiu-​Jitsu players from all over-​met two who took a bus up from Philly and a pair of Canadians who booked a week at a hotel to train here-​there was plenty of room to roll.
I know their marketing point is focused on the champion Miyao brothers but Murilo Santana is their head coach, and not only is his teaching style really good for newbies and experienced people alike-there’s always a little detail that he mentions even for basic moves. The European Champion: Yago De Souza is there to give you further refinement and tips.
Friendly environment, great instruction and if you’re looking to start training, enrolling your kids into their kids program or switching schools it’s worth checking this place out first.

This school is amazing! You have world class athletes on the mats everyday and you are always getting attention to make sure you are doing the techniques correctly. The high level upper belts also roll with everyone which is an amazing experience. This school will evolve your game to a whole new level

Awesome school, they had a great opening with a no go seminar that I attended which included instructions from the Miyao brothers! #unityjiujitsu i hope that I can attend some weekend sessions to advance my training!