3475 Woodward Ave, Santa Clara, CA 95054, USA
Experience Krav Maga, Muay Thai, Jujitsu and group fitness classes! Sign up for in-person or online classes today!
If you’re looking to be challenged, grow stronger, and become part of a truly supportive community, this is the place for you. The staff in the lobby are always so kind and welcoming. The coaches here—Ramiro, James, Manni, Shane, Gemma, and more—are not only incredibly knowledgeable, but also deeply passionate about what they do. Their constant encouragement, focus on technique, and attention to form help you improve one class at a time, no matter your starting level. The environment is welcoming with a great variety of classes suited for both beginners and advanced. Whether you’re stepping into the ASD for the first time or looking to push your limits, there’s something here for you. If you ever get the chance to do a personal training session, take it—you’ll gain more than just a workout. The one-on-one guidance is invaluable for refining your technique, building confidence, and achieving your goals. Keep in mind: Not all battles are fought in the ring—many happen within ourselves, in our everyday lives. Training here helps you face both. If you’re ready to dedicate yourself and rise to the challenge, I highly recommend this place. You won’t just find coaches—you’ll find mentors, teammates, and a second family
Posted 1 year ago
We took a 1 time class “Women's Self Defense” and learned exactly what we were hoping to learn. Instructor was great and staff was so accommodating!
Posted 1 year ago
I joined the gym in 2016, my first impression was the friendly environment. I initially was signing in for Muay Thai, but instead I stuck to KM. I like to see families ( parents and their children) participating in all the different activities and events. I enjoy family fight nights/ potluck's and salsa contests. Overall, ASD it's a great place to train self defense disciplines in a friendly atmosphere.
Posted 1 year ago
So far I’ve had an amazing experience at ASD. I’m currently on my 2 week trial and it’s a no brainer that I will commit afterwards. There are so many different classes to choose from and all the instructors have been so understanding and encouraging. 10/10
Friendly instructors, amazing vibes, clean spaces… definitely try their two week free trial!
Really enjoyed class with James. He's a great instructor: upbeat, encouraging, offers modifications.
The women's self defense class was excellent. My niece, Keira, enjoyed it and hopeful she will not have to use the techniques taught while away to college, but we feel much better after having her complete the class. Everest was wonderful. Using real world examples mixed with a healthy dose of humor thrown in. Thank you Tim Barnett
Everyone is so friendly! I liked how clean the gym was, the atmosphere, and the quality of training. The 2-week trial is also great. 🔥
Awsome place to learn Martial Arts. It’s perfect from 8 years old kids. Adults also learn Martial arts. It’s worth the money to spend and the coaches are top notch. Facilities are also very good and clean.
Great gym with reasonable pricing. Been going to the boot camp classes and the Coach James and Andrea are amazing. Andrea goes the extra mile in explaining exercises and making sure you get everything. Great way to start your day.
I had an amazing experience with instructor Manny Cardenas at the Academy of Self Defense. He was incredibly motivating and helped me stay on track throughout the class. He is definitely one of the best instructors I have had in a long time. I highly recommend taking any of his classes and visiting the academy for a friendly and helpful environment.
The instructors are fun. Even among so many people, they give individual attention. They let us grow slowly and eventually. Beginners are respected.
I love this place. From daily the Muay Thai classes to free Sundays with friends and kids, this place offers the best workouts that are fun and engaging!
Everything about the gym makes it world class. The coaches are positive, inspiring and encouraging for all students to build their confidence in self-defense. It's as if their goal is to train warriors! The staff is like family, the facility is very well-maintained and students are just so friendly!
I have been attending classes at ASD for a year now and it's a highlight of my day. Good coaches and a positive environment. An awesome workout guaranteed!
The coaches were excellent. Explained things in a very simple way to understand and went around checking our form to assure we are exciting it correctly
Great instructors and classmates are helpful and supportive too!
I learned difficult techniques, I learned easy techniques and through that discipline I came to understand more about myself.
I recently took a couple months off because of an injury (not sustained at ASD 😁) and upon my return Amit was accommodating and made me feel at home again instantly. I love this place!
This is a great program to learn each level with each segment explained in a manner that’s easy to follow. And Ev and James are fantastic in the way everything is explained.
Great people, environment and class choices. It's a Fully loaded gym and i love it!
Very good gym. Instructors are all invested in improving the students abilities.
Hands down one of the best places to sweat! Friendly, clean, and very supportive coaches. Good for all levels
Rick, instructor for shooting class, was awesome! Very knowledgeable, tough and funny. Highly recommend.
they broke my neck but they gave me $5 off.
Practical training for self defense. Wonderful instructors that are really invested in helping you learn proper techniques. Everyone makes you feel welcome throughout the training. I was nervous at first since I had no background in self defense but they have created a wonderful learning environment where the teachers and students all help each other. Strongly recommend this place for self defense training and/or just a great workout!
great community, awesome instructors, feels safe and supportive and empowering!
Best gym in terms of value and quality in the South Bay, if not the entire bay area. Fitness class truly targets people of all ages and fitness levels. You can get great physical and mental training while learning various self-defense techniques from great coaches. There’s also true sense of community and belonging.
After moving from the east bay to SJ, I was sad to have to find another Muay Thai gym. I've trialed different ones all around SJ, but decided to go with ASD. ASD has great vibes, great instructors, and a welcoming atmosphere. Cleanliness is also important to me. I like the class structure & the fact that I can get a good workout in from the Muay Thai class. All for a great membership price! Highly recommend! The only thing is the parking (tricky) and wished they had more time slots for MT
Been consistently going for a year, and next to a sixpack, also grew skills in Muay Thai. This gym changed my life.
ASD is my second home; the amount of passion, hard work, dedication, I see here in coaches to get ourselves ready for the outside world is amazing. Everyone is so welcoming, friendly and supportive which pushes us to the next level and helps keep continue to train.
Great instructors clean facility and an overall great place to hone your craft!!
I had a lot of fun! I learned so much on my first day, and I felt welcome by everyone at the training session.
I've joined Sunday morning class. It was a very nice class that everybody can join to get some work out and have fun together.
Experience: Fun, challenging, safe, positive student camaraderie, organized curriculum, empowering Testing optional, but an amazing way to test your grit and skills! Instructors: skilled, personable instructors, encouraging, inclusive, uniquely humorous. Ev is amazing and sets the tone for it all. Environment: large space, good air flow, good quality equipment, regular cleaning protocol of pads, music! Admin: organized, helpful addressing questions, knowledgeable about equipment recommendations. Pro-Shop: Array of equipment for purchase or rent.
The coaches and front desk staff are super nice and the family package is a good value for a wide selection of classes.
Ev is an incredible teacher! It feels like home there, like a big family. It's rare to find a place where women are comfortable training, let alone celebrated. ASD is that place.
My kids (started when they were 4 and 6) simply love coach James. It’s amazing how well he understands kids and adults. He adapts the class to the kids, like a few minutes of games, some learning, always holding their attention while they have immense fun.
ASD is the Best Place to Get Fit, Get Strong & Increase your level of confidence in a safe environment! Coaches and Friends become your 2nd family. Whether in Person or Online, ASD is perfect for Children and Adults.
My husband and I went to this gym years ago, we moved out of state or we would still be members. Ev, the owner, is one of the most wonderful people we have ever met. Day 1 you feel like you are a part of his family. Best Krav gym around, no question. They have a great team at ASD, I highly recommend them.
I love this gym. The price is great for the challenging, rigorous workouts. I've made friends here and have always felt valued as a customer. The owner responds well to feedback and is onsite a lot. Instructors like Shayne, Michael, and Natasha push you to do your best. The boot camp classes with Ev and James are a great mix of cardio and weights. I love this gym!
Started Cross Pit classes a couple of months ago. Still there... it says a lot :) Pricing is reasonable and environment is very friendly. Love it!
I signed up with this Gym one year ago with my wife. I can go to any class with 7 days a week, they have many classes and professional trainers available in every class. Eve is nice guy. I recommend this place for families.
This gym is incredible, from the classes they offer to their coaches to the affordable pricing. Even better yet is the people who train at the gym. When you train their you not only get stronger and more in shape, you become part of something special. I have lived all over the country and this is by far the best gym I have ever been apart of. Simply the best!
Excellent gym, great instructors, great work out, been coming here for 5 months now - highly recommend it!
Great place to learn self defense. Kids go here. And live it.
Great gym, awesome instructors, and a genuine sense of community
Lots of classes at different times. Knowledgeable staff. Clean gym. Low pricing.
There are pretty good classes here. They give good attention to students. Some of the teachers are very pro. There are junior teachers that are not that good too. Totally recommended in general
Everybody is friendly and the atmosphere and equipment are phenomenal.
Great friendly gym with a variety of classes to choose from. Classes can get big - 15 to 20 people but the instructor recognizes everyone so will pair you with an experienced person if need be, everyone is very welcoming and very patient in teaching. Classes vary as well, sometimes more technical, sometimes more of a workout. The price is great compared to other Martial arts places!
Recently joined in and im loving every bit of it..this place has it all..this place has well trained and one of the most technically proficient trainers to coach you..whether it be muay thai, ground grapling and submission style fighting, self defense krav mega classes, weapon handling and defense classes this place has it all under one roof..if you wanna try it all and see which one suits to your best, they always have the free two week trial classes where you can try out any disipline of the mma sport be it kickboxing, self defense or the ground mma..if you are here to up your mma skills or simply to lose weight, stay in shape or to increase your cardiovascular this is the place for you..i wish they had this sort of mma facility in every state or city in the US..
Honestly, I think it is all said in the fact that I pay them to allow me to go and get beat up. While partially true, that doesn't tell the whole story, they employ great teachers and staff. They show you what to do in a variety of situations, and make the training close enough to the real thing that you won't freeze in an actual situation. Overall I can't say enough good things about Ev Pepper the owner, as well as Nabi, Emmet and the rest of the instructors. If you are enthusiastic about martial arts this is a good place to go.
When I started work in San Jose, I was worried that there was no gym nearby- by chance, I happened to discover ASD, and it is one of the best things that has happened to me in recent history. The classes are incredibly fun, grueling in the best possible way, and very informative. The instructors hit a perfect balance of being knowledgeable, approachable, but push you to your own personal limits. Safety is always emphasized, and you could practically cut the camaraderie in the room with a knife. There is quite a diversity of classes- Krav Maga, traditional MMA...my personal favorite is their hybrid fighting-crossfit workout Crosspit, but every class I've tried has been a great experience. I cannot recommend this facility highly enough.
One of best places to train or get in shape. Either way you'll have a great time, awesome instructors! They make all the hard work seem fun. Im addicted!
Hands down, one of the best gyms I've ever been a part of. What you get in training and instructors, and the cost, is better than anything else out there. Top-notch staff, clean and well-maintained kit, and a customer base that isn't sporting the meat-head attitude you find at most MMA gyms, makes ASD a top gym in my book!
This is easily the best martial arts facility I have trained at. I like how they have all the punching bags suspended on tracks in order to be able to easily move them out of the way. One monthly fee gives you access to all sorts of good stuff that you can use in a bad situation, including krav maga, muay thai, and Brazilian jiujitsu. In my short time there (I had to leave due to a military mobilization), I mainly just attended the krav maga class with Everest (Ev) Pepper. Very good instructor and very knowledgeable, with all the scars and experiences that go along with it. First two weeks are free. Try a bunch of different classes. It's worth it. They also have special krav maga classes for military and police and give them a discount on the monthly dues. Very cool. -Eric
I recently started taking Krav Maga here, and I've been blown away at how professional, helpful, and friendly everyone is-- instructors and students alike. And, it's a great deal for the price: if I wanted to, I could show up for nine classes a week (more for higher levels), though three will hit you pretty hard. :) They've got a two-week free trial, so, if you're interested, give it a shot! (The other classes are probably just as good. I just don't have any direct experience with them.)
If you want a place that's beginner friendly or where you can get attention from the instructor, this isn't the place for you. I took boxing, and I'm not a newbie, but with 40 people in the class I felt absolutely out of place. No one cares about you. Some people were actually very rude when I tried to get my punch bag. Maybe self defence classes are different as you can see people forming a community here, but definitely needs some welcoming and instructions for new people . I suggest finding another place if you want to feel welcomed.
Posted 1 year ago
Find another gym if you're in it for the cardio, recreational, or interested in the art!!!! One of the instructor here is so gunk-ho and thinks everyone will go pro. Lol. Some of the instructors are really cool and chill. If you want to fight this might be for you, or go somewhere that they actually train pro fighters.
Posted 1 year ago
Went here for 3 years. Loved it at first, but when they disconnected from an actual certified Krav Maga organization, the curriculum changed radically. Most of the professional staff left and they really just focus on packing the schedule with trendy classes like CrossFit. It quickly became overcrowded. I switched over to a school that would actually teach me how to defend myself in a hostile situation and gave me the personal attention I was paying for.
Some of the staff is rude they don't respect customers well
You should never kick out members from the class even if they forgot their gloves. Tried to rent them but i was rejected to get them rented 6am class NOT SURE WHAT KIND IF GYM KICK MEMBERS OUT OF THE GYM
Whoever runs the school doesn't seem to have a clue about safety in general andin martial arts in particular (neither the idea about proper sport training). I had called to ask about kickboxing instruction--in particular to find out the degree of contact required during these classes for a beginner. The person who runs the school sounded evasive/hostile and would not give any information about the required degree of contact--it's a common knowledge that contact in martial arts can be "full" and of lesser degrees of force. He only would say that contact was required in kickboxing, even for absolute beginners, refusing to clarify whether this would be a full force contact with a skilled opponent. The guy I spoke to also said "amature fighters train here...our school is not for everyone" in response... implying potential required sparring with them. This was very diffrent from responses I had from schools with ACTUAL REPUTATION of producing winning fighters. Sounds like a school with a recipe for disaster aka serious sports injury (source: athlete with many years of experience in different sport). A decent school not only would not force beginners into sparring contact--they'd actually first require a level of skill and awareness learned standalone and against instructor and bags before they'd ALLOW to engage in sparrnig on premises (light sparring at first).
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