MMA Gym Near Me in West LA: Dynamix MMA on Santa Monica Boulevard

Dynamix MMA has taught mixed martial arts at 11870 Santa Monica Blvd #102 in West Los Angeles since 2010, and the first class is free: the gym's own instruction is simply to drop in. MMA Fundamentals runs at 7am on Tuesday and Thursday and again at 6pm on those days, so office workers can train before or after the 405 commute. If your mma gym near me search lands on the Westside, this is the gym built by a Dutch kickboxer and a jiu-jitsu black belt who both wanted one system instead of two.

Antoni Hardonk started kickboxing in 1990 at the Vos gym in Amsterdam under Johan Vos, training beside world champions Ernesto Hoost and Ivan Hippolyte, and fought professionally from 1997 before competing in the UFC. In 2010 he and Henry Akins opened Dynamix to merge his striking with Akins's jiu-jitsu into a single curriculum, teaching everyone from self-defense beginners to professionals preparing for a fight.

In 2012 Vladimir Matyushenko, another UFC veteran and a long-time training partner, joined to run wrestling, which completed the three-part system. Today Hardonk and Edward Walrath are listed as co-owners. Walrath began as a wrestler in Orange County in 1989, coached high school wrestling, and in 2000 started no-gi grappling under the pioneer Chris Brennan before becoming the jiu-jitsu coach here. During the 2020 shutdown, when every gym in Los Angeles closed, the gym says its members organized ways to keep training safely, and that loyal core is still visible on the mats.

The schedule breaks MMA into its pieces. MMA Fundamentals runs Tuesday and Thursday at 7am and at 6pm; it is the entry point, focused on technique and safe form rather than hard sparring. MMA Jiu Jitsu runs Wednesday and Friday at 7:15pm and Saturday at 9am. MMA Wrestling is an all-levels class on Tuesday and Thursday at 10am and Saturday at 12:15pm.

Kickboxing classes fill the gaps on the same calendar, and Jordan Wright, who coaches kickboxing, MMA and wrestling, also runs the kids side. The gym publishes its timetable as a live Google Calendar on its schedule page, so check the week view before you go rather than relying on the old PDF, which is labelled 2025.

The coaching list mixes fighters with long-time students. AJ Barnala was literally the gym's first student in 2010 and now coaches kickboxing and jiu-jitsu. Sean Crenshaw joined in 2012, trained every MMA component and doubles as a strength coach. Gustavo Gasperin arrived in 2015 and received the second degree on his black belt in 2017; the gym describes him as a perpetual student known for a friendly personality and a patient manner with new members.

Steve V., Owen Leone and Kate McGray round out the striking and jiu-jitsu classes. The gym's mission statement puts technique first, on the stated grounds that proper form lowers the risk of injury, and it promises members a friendly, professional room for people from all walks of life and experience levels rather than a fighters-only culture.

The free-class page asks you to leave a name and number, and staff will call to help pick a class, but you can also simply turn up. Arrive ten minutes early for the waiver, wear athletic shorts and a fitted shirt or rash guard, and bring water. For MMA Fundamentals you will want a mouthguard and, once you continue, MMA gloves and shin guards.

Prices are not published online, so ask at the desk about memberships and private training; Dynamix offers personal sessions with its coaches if you want to catch up faster. Our honest take: skip the Saturday wrestling class as a first visit unless you have a wrestling background, because it moves quickly; the Tuesday 6pm Fundamentals is the friendliest door in.

Children have their own track. MMA Tikes runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3:30pm, and MMA Youth follows at 4:30pm on the same days, with a youth wrestling class on Saturday at 11am. The after-school slots suit parents working on the Westside, who can drop children at 3:30pm and stay for an adult class later.

The youth program teaches the same striking, takedown and ground basics as the adult classes, scaled for age, and the kids' coach is Jordan Wright.

The gym is on the busy stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard just east of Bundy Drive, between the 405 and Santa Monica. Metro bus Line 4 runs along Santa Monica Boulevard and stops nearby, and the closest rail station is Expo/Bundy on the E Line, about a mile and a half to the south.

Evening traffic is the real obstacle: the 6pm class lines up with the worst of the Westside rush, so commuters coming from Downtown or the Valley often find the 7am session easier. Most members park on nearby residential streets, so read the posted permit and street-cleaning signs carefully before leaving your car for a full evening of classes.

Sawtelle Boulevard's strip of Japanese restaurants, ramen shops and dessert bars sits a short drive east, and it is the obvious place to refuel after an evening class. Santa Monica's beach and the Ocean Avenue bluffs are about ten minutes west outside rush hour if you prefer a sunset walk after a morning session.

If Dynamix's schedule does not fit, Uprise MMA at 12320 Venice Blvd in Mar Vista teaches MMA alongside other styles, posts its membership prices online and offers a free trial week.

Dynamix MMA, 11870 Santa Monica Blvd #102, Los Angeles, CA 90025. Founded in 2010 by Antoni Hardonk and Henry Akins. First class free; drop in or request a callback through the website. MMA Fundamentals Tuesday and Thursday 7am and 6pm; MMA Jiu Jitsu Wednesday and Friday 7:15pm, Saturday 9am; MMA Wrestling Tuesday and Thursday 10am, Saturday 12:15pm. Kids MMA Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3:30pm and 4:30pm. Live schedule on dynamixmartialarts.com.