Bankens Mountain Martial Arts Academy

I’ve been to numerous martial arts studios in my travels over the years and Bankens Mountain Martial Arts Academy is a gem of a place! I live several states away, but I travel through the area often. I’ve had the pleasure of being a drop in student for their BJJ classes, but have observed the childrens, fitness, and kickboxing classes which occur before BJJ on various nights. Professor Bankens brings his unique blend of experience studio, competition, and real world, humor, and infectious enthusiasm to those as well. The Jiu Jitsu taught at Bankens is classic Gracie style. The professor is a black belt under the one and only Royce Gracie! Lineage aside, I was impressed by how efficiently Professor Bankens is able to convey techniques. There’s a warm up every class and after that he steps the attendees through several self defense and ground techniques all in one hour. Often there’s a game at the end to safely pressure test one or more of the techniques taught. Safety is definitely of prime importance at Bankens. I found everyone I rolled with at open mats to be conscientious as well as skilled appropriate to their belt level. There are several purple belts as well as blues, whites, and a few browns that are in attendance every time I drop in. I think it’s a real testament to Professor Bankens himself and his teaching method that he has several dedicated students that have stuck with him for years. I highly recommend Bankens Mountain Martial Arts. Go try it out, you won’t regret it!

I've been going to this Academy for over 3 years and I have both of my children enrolled. Great environment with great people and great classes. Update: Still cruising after all of these years and still the same great atmosphere.

I love this place. My daughter has been student for a few months after training in CA, and I am now a student myself. The focus on self defense vice tournament/point grappling is what sets this school apart from most. Professor Bankens' extensive experience coupled with his natural teaching ability and ability to connect with kids is amazing. If you want quality, well rounding self defense instruction on the hill, you can't go wrong with Bankens' and his martial arts "family".

I have been training here for the past 7 months. Within the first four months I have lost ~23lbs. I went from barely able to keep up with my kids to kick ass mom! Nothing is too hard now, I can do it all. I also feel more confident and know that if needed I would be better able to protect myself. Professor Bankens is a great motivator and humanitarian. He will bring out the best in you! The spirit of acceptance and respect percolates from Professor to the children that train there. All the kids look after one another and both my kids who train there, ages 5 and 3 thrive in this environment. Being able to try all the classes made me feel comfortable as I did not feel pressured to sign up. My son is looking forward to his next birthday as he wants to have a Jiu-Jitsu birthday party there too! Highly recommend trying this place out.

My kids 9 year old boy and 7 year old girl have taken lessons from Professor Bankens for 7 months. We actually arrived in his class by accident - we were looking for the karate instructor in the same building, but after an introductory class, we were hooked. Professor Bankens is a remarkably talented teacher...so much so that we were happy to make the hour-long drive from Santa Fe to Los Alamos twice a week for practice. If you are looking for a fun and supportive yet challenging jiu jitsu class for your children in Los Alamos, you could not find any better.

This is a great place with great people. Professor Bankens has a lot of patience and is really an excellent, considerate teacher. Everyone is very welcoming. My daughter and I have no previous experience and are really loving this place. We have been going for a couple of months now and the experience continues to be wonderful.

The academy is very inviting and supportive. My entire family go to the academy and we all enjoy the classes. Professor Bankens is an amazing teacher for both the adult and kids. He also takes very good care of the academy; the mats are always clean.

I can't speak highly enough of Professor Bankens' class. He's an excellent teacher. He's kind, patient, extremely knowledgeable, and he truly cares about his students. If you want to train BJJ in Los Alamos, this is the place to go.

My experience at Bankens MMA Academy has been extremely satisfactory. Professor Bankens is really knowledgable in various types of martial arts and self-defense in general. He is very patient, humble and is a great teacher. Oh, and the core workout they offer is super good. I followed the workout three times a week, and it has been very rewarding. Within one month, I lost 8 lbs 215 to 207 of weight, and gained a LOT of core strength. Also, because the core workout is oriented towards the ground work of Jiu Jitsu, it is super helpful when it comes to rolling. I strongly recommend this academy.

I have been a student at Bankens Combat Jiu-Jitsu for 5 years and I must say it is a 5 star experience. They teach you everything from punching to breaking shoulders and test fights. I have used these techniques in real world situations and it worked out amazingly.