Coach McVicker is one of the best instructors I have experienced in martial arts. A great teacher and competitor and very informative. His classes are fun and have a nice atmosphere for beginners and advanced. Highly recommend him and his school!

I first started training at McVickers BJJ my senior year at the University of Illinois. Saying that youre being coached by one of the best martial art instructors is an understatement: I became a better person because of this place. I feel like I became more humbled while also developing close bonds with my training partners and my coaches. The atmosphere was always supportive and fun, but we all had respect for Coach Jack because we knew how knowledgable he was and how detailed he could explain a drill. There are so many things that I can say about this place, but you would only be able to understand if you visit one of their training sessions. I completely recommend this place.

Great instruction and welcoming environment! Jack is an amazing instructor, competitor, and person who has created a top level school full of humble killers. Welcoming to LEOs.

Everyone there is very supportive, and all of the coaches willing to help you with any questions or challenges that you have. If you are worried about training martial arts for any reason, come here. I have a mild disability and they were willing to give me personal advice on how to work around it and improve!

I have experiences with quite many different mats in different parts of the world, and I have met many excellent coaches and training partners due to my international status. Simply put, Coach Jacks McVickers BJJ is one of the best places to learn. Not to mention his professionalism as a competing BJJ athlete, coach Jack engages very actively on the mat. Coach Jack is one of the nicest person I have worked with. There are many colored belts on the mat, including several blacks, browns and purples nicely dispersed. Everyone is very friendly, eager to train and respect one another. Its been a little less than a month since I began my training with coach Jack, and I look forward to being part of the team for the long run. Oss.

I was very lucky to start my grappling journey at McVicker Martial Arts some 1.5 years ago. One regret I have in my BJJ journey is that I did not it start earlier (because of a combination of fear and self-doubt). That being said, I could not have asked for a better place to start my BJJ journey.The classes are generally split as follows: 2-3 min warmup, about 30 minutes JKD/boxing/kali sticks, 30 min BJJ drills and 15 min open mat. The beginner’s classes are held every Tuesdays (5.30 p.m.) and Saturdays (10 a.m.), which should accommodate most people. My training partners were as diverse as they come: different age, sex, built, physical capacity, grappling/wrestling experience, ambition to compete (or not). The atmosphere was very laid-back, and everyone was respectful of each other.The main coach is Jack McVicker. Coach Jack is a down-to-earth person with a positive outlook on things. In addition to being a high-level competitive grappler, he genuinely cares for his students and always preaches taking care of each other. Coach Jack frequently draws analogies between BJJ and life, and constantly reminds us where we started and how far we have come in our grappling journey. This is a tremendous confidence boost in itself. In short, the academy provides a platform to toughen up physically and mentally, all in a supportive atmosphere.The staff – coaches Mark, Peter, Mike and Lew – are all high-level martial artists, knowledgeable, patient and helpful. I am very happy I got to interact with them!Whenever I am back in Champaign, a trip to the McVicker academy will be on the list of things to do for sure.Oss!

Coach Jack is one of the best BJJ coach I have ever met. He taught me a lot BJJ techniques and gave me a lot detailed instructions. After few months of learning, I started to get used to rolling slow which helps to improve my techniques. I even joined some tournaments which I didnt even think about before. The most important thing I learned from coach Jack is Be humble and help others. I have a great time training here and made a lot of friends. This academy and the coaches here gave me a valuable memory in US.

I have experiences with quite many different mats in different parts of the world, and I have met many excellent coaches and training partners due to my international status. Simply put, Coach Jacks McVickers BJJ is one of the best places to learn. Not to mention his professionalism as a competing BJJ athlete, coach Jack engages very actively on the mat. Coach Jack is one of the nicest person I have worked with. There are many colored belts on the mat, including several blacks, browns and purples nicely dispersed. Everyone is very friendly, eager to train and respect one another. Its been a little less than a month since I began my training with coach Jack, and I look forward to being part of the team for the long run. Oss.