Rio Jiu Jitsu Academy

Super friendly, clean, and respectful environment. Pete is a top notch instructor. Come train here it’s great!

So, to be completely honest I wanted my child to do martial arts but I didn’t know the difference between them all. Rio Jiu Jitsu opened up behind my house & I was still reluctant despite my husbands excitement to enroll our daughter there. Probably because I didn’t know a lot about Jiu Jitsu. Well the first day we brought my daughter I fell in love with this place! Changed my mind in a second! They are so great there! Their kids classes are awesome! My daughter has grown so much in the short time she’s been doing this! The coaches are so great with the kids! Firm but gentle. They give the children discipline & goals. I am so happy that we are there. There’s a real sense of community there too. Everyone is welcoming! I can’t wait to see my daughter grow there. She is determined to win a medal one day and I believe she can there!

The same great instruction, the same great training partners, now with a huge mat space, plenty of parking and anything else you could need. It’s one of the nicest gyms out there, we have visitors from all over the country and they say the same thing. Pete is awesome and is always adding new things to our game, he really makes an effort to keep us on the cutting edge of jiu jitsiu and self defense. Still the best place to train.

I have trained at 4 different gyms and Pete knows his stuff! The way he teaches moves even a beginner can learn advanced moves here. If you are really looking to learn Jiu Jitsu this is your place! The atmosphere is fun and positive… I love it and you will too!

By far THE biggest mat space in the midwest, great new facility, great group of guys/​girls, no meatheads here. If you’re a working professional that’s a little older like I am this is the place for you.

If your looking for top notch Jiu Jitsu instruction in Chicago this is the place to go. They just moved to a very clean brand new facility near Irving Park and California where they will be able to meet the needs of the person looking for fitness, self-​defense, and/​or sport jiu-​jitsu. This place has produced results for me and that is what you want when you are spending your hard earned money to train somewhere. I also noticed when I started that there was no ego here. The higher belts always took time to show me things and answer questions and this is also very important. Safe learning environment and no ego are very important here. I recommend this place for both men and women.

Checked it out and it’s awesome! Very laid back style. Everyone is extremely friendly and respectful. I’m joining! They are working on moving to a new huge location off Irving park and California. More details as my journey with Rio progresses.

The place to go for quality Brazilian Jiu Jitsu training.

Pete the Greek knows is a BJJ encyclopedia and knows his stuff. This is a great school to learn BJJ and self defense.

Definitely will recommend, I have had my oldest son there for 2 years and he loves it, my youngest has been there for a year and they both have learn new techniques, and discipline. The teachers work well with the students and take their time to teach them so they are able to learn. Great place for kids and adults as well.

I started taking my kids here a couple of months ago and they love going to class. I raised my kids to be respectful young gentlemen but I wanted to make sure they had the self confidence that can only come from the martial arts. What I really like about Rio JJ is that Pete and his older students build the kids self confidence through positive reinforcement. This makes them less likely to get bullied and hopefully less likely to ever get in a fight. They also get the skills needed to defend themselves without punching and kicking. That means that if they can’t walk away from a fight, at least they can defend themselves without hurting anyone and potentially walk away as friends. That is part of the beauty of The Gentle Art.

My kids are taking a class there and I LOVE it! Pete is great with the kids and lets the class go in a flow. I love how my kids are learning REAL techniques to defend themselves as opposed to mechanical moves. Love it!

My kid loves it here. Pete is extremely good with all the kids and invites parents to stick around and watch. It very organized and the kids are not only learning a great self defense but they are also learning respect for others.
Rio is doing a great job for such a new program. I can’t wait to see the kids grow up here! I would recommend this program for not only kids but teens and adults.

Rio Jiu Jitsu is a great beginner friendly gym. Everyone there is very helpful and welcoming of newcomers. The kids classes are also very good and has many assistant instructors to help with the instruction. Rio provides for a good atmosphere with both men and women students training here.
In addition the instruction here is top notch and Pete is very dedicated and always enthusiastic. Other advanced students are always willing to lend a hand and help out with new techniques. The quality of training here is sub par to none. I’d highly recommend you give Rio a try if you’re interested in jiu jitsu or martial arts in general!

I have been training here a little over 2 years and I absolutely love it. The atmosphere is very welcoming and positive at all times. I do not have much natural athletic grace so learning BJJ has been a real challenge but I have always felt encouraged and motivated to continually improve. Pete The Greek is one of the very best, and there are also several higher belts at the school who are always awesome to train with and very eager to help me learn.
My physical condition has improved a lot since starting here but almost more importantly, it’s been great for my mental health. When I am stressed out, putting everything in my mind on the back burner for an hour or two to focus on jiu jitsu is a pretty amazing stress reliever. The camaraderie here at the school is worth mentioning as well. It’s a totally douchebag-​free atmosphere, which I imagine is hard to come by in the UFC era. I’m genuinely happy to see all the people I train with when I arrive for class.
If you’re interested in training BJJ, or just looking for a new method of self defense, physical fitness, and/​or mental health, check this place out.

Outstanding gym for those looking to improve daily life. Training has drastically improved my cardio conditioning and has played a significant element in decreasing body fat while increasing lean muscle mass. At 27 I am at the best shape of my life and only getting stronger. I have trained for almost 2 years and the improvements in ground work, stand up, and transitions are immeasurable and the before and after is incomparable. I can assure that these techniques work and are as real as it gets. A great place to learn the gentle way for self defense, competition, and life in general.
People from every direction and path walk in the door and those who stay are sure to experience significant increases in health, discipline, self esteem, and over all well being.

I started training here about a year and a half ago, and it is nothing short of fantastic. I came into the sport as someone who couldn’t tell an armbar from an americana and Pete The Greek has definitely changed that for the better.
Pete does all the instruction himself in a friendly and relaxed environment full of helpful and dedicated men and women. THE place to go in chicago for a beginner in BJJ looking for a respectful atmosphere and a top flight intstructor.

I have traveled around going to many BJJ schools and i can tell you this one is top notch. Maybe it doesnt have all the fancy stuff but if you want to learn from a true great Black Belt that studied the art in brazil with the gracies this guy is one of the best. I was impressed with how helpful Pete, the instructor there, was with everyone. Even me the new guy there he spent a lot of time with me. Thanks Pete!
I really suggest trying this place out.

I was looking to get into some sort of self-​defense-​ish training and my fiancée suggested that we both take Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He had former MMA training but other than watching UFC, I was completely clueless. Rio Jiu Jitsu is close to our house and we decided to check out the school. I was a little apprehensive that I was going to be surrounded by a whole lot of meat heads trying to break my arms.
However, I was pleasantly surprised that Pete and the rest of the students there were all very nice, very respectful and very welcoming to both me and my fiancée. As one of the ladies there, this was very important to me.
He can train all levels of students but specializes in beginners and is the best instructor I could hope for. He teaches all the classes himself and makes sure that everyone in the room understands and is comfortable with what they are doing. All of the higher level students are also willing to lend a hand to beginners and spend time helping them learn.
Rio Jiu Jitsu is really a hidden gem in Chicago. I would recommend it to anyone looking to get into jiu jitsu or to continue your training. The prices were much, much lower than I expected. I’ve been there less than a month and so far the whole experience has been incredible. Thanks to Pete, I am now thoroughly addicted to jiu jitsu. :)

I started coming here about a month or so ago. I have taken classes at 2 other jiu jitsu schools and knew right after taking my first class at Rio that this was the place for me. Pete is an excellent instructor and takes great pride in providing the best Jiu Jitsu education you can get. I’ve taken a few years of boxing/​kickboxing/​jkd with different instructors and would rank the instruction at Rio in the top tier.
There is a great deal of camaraderie amoungst the students. The guys are friendly and willing to help out anyway possible. The price is very reasonable in comparison to other martial arts schools in the city.
Overall I would recommend this school to anyone interested in learning jiu jitsu in a comfortable and friendly environment.