I have had the privilege of working with Senshi Gonz for over a year now. In some capacity or another, I have been involved in martial arts for 20+ years in multiple countries, and I would rate him among my top five best instructors. He is has a deep understanding of his chosen art and conveys this knowledge with both enthusiasm and clarity. His strong focus on basics is refreshing (unfortunately) in the martial arts community. He emphasizes a philosophy in class of knowing what you can do, and working with that. While yes, we have to know and demonstrate all the techniques required for each rank, he encourages his students to pick a technique or two and make them our own. My kotegaeshi is not the same as the student next to me and it is not the same as Senshi Gonz’s.Class sizes are small, and tend to be somewhat free form. This is far from the traditional McDojo that I fell many Americans are used to. Focus is placed on rolls, footwork, and the basic locks, with students working on their individual requirements at times and working on new techniques as a class at other times. Many times Senshi will have the class focus on a single basic technique, with the more advanced students having to add additional steps to get it into that technique. Senshi will sometimes wander off on a tangent during class, but these tangents tend to be the most informative moments of class.

More a club than a school. Lacks professionalism. Instructor Gomez will wander away during class to gaze at cellphone. Classes are cancelled frequently. (Recently a class cancelled due to a police incident which happened ten hours before and several blocks away from school.) Instructor will use special occasions, such as his birthday or promotion test day, to cadge a meal paid for by students. Not expected behavior from a supposed martial artist.