MARTIAL ARTS FOR BOTH CHILDREN AND ADULTS!

Martial Arts & Karate Classes Iowa City | Citadel BJJ

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Iowa City's Best Martial Arts & bjj school

Find out why so many people in Iowa City turn to Citadel BJJ for their martial arts training. Parents just like you have discovered how to maximize their child's potential and accelerate their development! Request more information or Get Started Today with our Exclusive Online Only Offer!

Kids Jiu Jitsu
in Iowa City

Join our Kids Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu program! For 7-13 year olds, classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday focus on self-defense, discipline, and fitness. Ages 4-6 have special sessions on Tuesday and Thursday to boost coordination and basic BJJ skills. A fun and safe way to build confidence & Self-Defense

Adult Jiu Jitsu | Citadel BJJ
in Iowa City

Join our Adult Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes to enhance your ground game, regardless of your experience level. Our program covers techniques, strategy, and sparring to improve your fitness, self-defense, and Jiu-Jitsu. All in a supportive environment.

Adult No Gi Grappling
in Iowa City

No-Gi BJJ in our Adult No-Gi classes. Focus on leverage, technique, and submissions without the gi. Perfect for those looking to transition to MMA or improve their grappling skills in a no-gi format. Tuesday & Thursday day & night!

Adult Wrestling
in Iowa City

Join Coach Jim Kelly, a lifetime wrestler and BJJ Black Belt, for our Adult Wrestling class every Saturday at 10 am. This unique session not only sharpens your wrestling fundamentals but also integrates BJJ techniques, offering a comprehensive grappling experience. Ideal for those looking to enhance their competitive skills, cross-train, or boost overall fitness.

why CHOOSE Citadel BJJ?

Since we’ve opened, we’ve been dedicated to changing the lives of people one person at a time, through martial arts, education and coaching. We strive to provide a safe, comfortable and welcoming atmosphere for all students and family members in Iowa City. We take pride in creating an environment for individuals to achieve, develop and succeed in their personal goals.

We strongly believe that martial arts can be for everyone, regardless of age, gender or experience levels. Throughout all of our programs, students will not only learn the necessary skill sets to protect themselves, we stand behind our realistic and practical approach, confident it will enable every member to achieve greatness and live their best life.

"My kids started 2 years ago and I joined last fall. I have had only positive experiences at Citadel. Coaches Matt and Jim helps us with any questions we have and even willingly stay after practice to help us on technics. Highly recommend."

"Tonight was my sons first night. He loved it. He has wanted to try this for a couple years. Coaches were great, welcoming and supportive."

"My children love this place, the teacher is very professional ,my daughter says she loves to take classes because she is learning more than she wants to know. I am happy to they really like ... "

"Best gym you will find anywhere with an incredible environment that is inclusive and builds you up both physically and mentally.."

"The culture at this gym is awesome. Two world class coaches that know their stuff and both compete at high levels. All levels welcome and all goals acceptable."

"Citadel has a diverse, dedicated, and disciplined team of students with a range of skills and experience. Citadel's welcoming training environment prioritizes safety, camaraderie, and fun."

About our programs

Kids Jiu Jitsu
in Iowa City

Discover why parents love our Preschool Martial Arts program in Iowa City. It's the perfect blend of gross motor, personal development and character enrichment. Find out why 100's of families, just like yours, trust Citadel BJJ

Adult Jiu Jitsu
in Iowa City

Parents love our Kids Martial Arts program in Iowa City, because it's the perfect blend of self defense, personal development and character enrichment. Find out why so many families, just like yours, love and trust Citadel BJJ

Adult No Gi Grappling
in Iowa City

Fitness and Self Defense, two major goals parents have when looking for Teen Martial Arts in Iowa City. It's time to give your teenager a work out and get the results that they need.

Adult Wrestling
in Iowa City

Fitness and Self Defense, two major goals for anyone looking for Adult Martial Arts in Iowa City. It's time to change up your work out and get the results you've been looking for.

Frequently Asked Questions

Most frequent questions and answers about our Martial Arts Programs

A specific part of our preschool and kids martial arts classes at Citadel BJJ in Iowa City is teaching respect, and teaching when to use their new self defense training and when to NOT use it. We find that our students become more confident to stand up to bullies and have more humility and kindness to others though their martial arts lessons.

Parents are not allowed to watch classes for a variety of reasons. First, the kids always end up looking at the parents; the kids should be paying close attention to their coaches and/or their training partners during practices. The kids in our program will build independence and toughness, and our “No Parents Allowed In Practice” rule is part of that development process.

This program is for the KIDS, first and foremost. We take care to build an atmosphere of trust between the coaches, the parents, and the kids. The happily-involved parents here like the ‘me-time’ they get while their kids are training. Most parents drop their kids off and go grab a coffee, or go somewhere to relax a bit; then after class, your kids will greet you with a huge smile when you return, because they had SO much fun!

Even better… join into some of our martial arts classes for adults. We actually have some parents who train in the adult classes right after the kids classes! Your kids will love that you have something in common. It will build a stronger family bond!

No, not at all!  We find that people start at varying fitness levels.  But, you will find that you do get fit by doing our Iowa City martial arts classes.  Isn’t that the point though? A fun workout that gets results!

Truthfully, the journey to Black Belt is an individual one.  Everyone can progress at a different pace.  There is no judgement on students for how long it does take.  What we can tell you, is that it is SO WORTHWHILE! 

The self defense skills you will master can truly be life-saving!
However, the other benefits of striving for Black Belt, like perseverance, never giving up, commitment and self discipline lead to life-long success.

You will find that your Instructors at Citadel BJJ Iowa City are dedicated to helping you on your journey to Black Belt or whatever your personal goal may be.

BJJ is a practical self-defense system: BJJ is a grappling-based martial art that emphasizes leverage and technique over brute strength. This makes it an effective self-defense system for people of all sizes and abilities. BJJ is also heavily focused on ground fighting, which is where most real-world altercations end up.

Read more about our Iowa City BJJ School

We do only have a certain amount of space in our martial arts training area. To take advantage of our limited time offer…. The fastest way is to fill in the form at the top of this page, here. NOTE: (*****Please make the word “here” a clickable link that sends them back to the top of the page, if you can do that; if not, no big deal.****)

Additionally, you can always call us at 319-855-8110. We would love to chat with you about what we do, and if our Iowa City martial arts classes would be a great fit for you and your family!

All you need to bring is a set of comfortable workout clothes, your own water bottle, and your ID, and you’ll be all set for your first martial arts class with us!

You will find Citadel BJJ in Iowa City has martial arts classes for kids and adults that are a great workout and lots of fun! Most students are grinning from ear to ear by the end of the class. We are sure you will be too!

Not at all. In fact, many students starting in our adult martial arts classes would describe themselves like that before they started. So you will fit right in!

Give yourself some time, and you will be astounded at how much you improve! You’ll find that our very experienced martial arts Instructors are trained to keep their teaching simple. So even the most uncoordinated person will develop adequate skills! Our coaches here, along with the great teammates you’ll have, will help build you up along the way. Come see for yourself!

****Please add the following question and answer:******

Yes! Not all of our students care to compete, but the ones that do are in good hands with our coaching staff and team. Our head Jiu Jitsu coach Matt Leighton is one of America’s best-credentialed black belts, and he leads our competition team.

Jiu Jitsu tournaments are an exciting challenge! Anyone can compete in Jiu Jitsu! (Of course, you want to be as well-prepared as possible when the time comes, if you choose to compete.)

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu has become more of a mainstream sport here in the United States, so there are plenty good opportunities to compete all over the USA, and even locally right here in Iowa!

Citadel BJJ

Iowa City

We’re located at 4172 Alyssa Court, Suite A, stop by and say hello!

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