MMA Gym Near Me in West Kendall: AKI Miami's Homegrown Coaches Since 1983

American Karate Institute has never hired an instructor from outside: every coach on its mats, from the head instructor to the youngest assistant, started there as a student. The school, known as AKI Miami, is at 12981 SW 112th Street, Miami, FL 33186, in the Crossings Shopping Village in West Kendall, and it is open Tuesday to Friday from 4pm and Saturday from 10am to 3pm. New students start with a free trial week, which makes it an easy first stop on a mma gym near me search in southwest Miami-Dade.

Angel and Regina Gonzalez could not afford a shopping-center lease when they arrived in Miami, so in 1983 they opened American Karate Institute in the recreation center at Ron Ehmann Park in Kendall, next to Killian High School. They built the school by word of mouth, and in 1989 the following was big enough to move into the Crossings Shopping Village, where AKI still trains today, more than 35 years later.

In 1991, before the UFC made mixed martial arts a household term, the couple switched the school to an MMA curriculum after Angel met Royce and Rorian Gracie in Tampa. That is why a school with karate in its name now teaches jiu-jitsu, judo and wrestling alongside striking. Angel was named instructor of the year by the North American Grappling Association in 2003.

Angel Gonzalez, born in Havana in 1956, started judo at age six because he was being bullied at school, later earned a GoJu Shorei black belt in Tampa and then a Tae Kwon Do black belt under Grand Master Jhoon Rhee in Washington, DC. He now holds a 7th degree black belt. Regina Gonzalez, a 5th degree black belt and the program director, was ranked number one by the North American Sport Karate Association in forms and fighting in the 1980s.

Head instructor Master Darryle Lipsky enrolled in 1984 at age 12, after his mother signed him up to steer him away from trouble, and earned his black belt at 15. He is a 5th degree black belt who has competed in the kickboxing ring and in grappling tournaments, and the founders chose him as successor. Their son, Sensei Ulysses Gonzalez, began training in March 2000 at age five and is known in the school for his jiu-jitsu.

The newer instructors followed the same path. Sensei Nicholas Rios started at six, Sensei Alejandro Bermudez at five, and assistants Miss Emma and Mr. Zak joined at 11 and six. The school says instructors and assistants spend years in training and mentorship before they are allowed to lead a class, and that adults who trained as children now bring their own kids, and sometimes grandkids.

The curriculum blends karate, boxing, Muay Thai, kickboxing, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, judo, taekwondo and freestyle wrestling into one copyrighted system with belt ranks. The adult program is built around drills of striking, grappling, throws and submissions aimed at real-world self-defense. AKI has dropped katas and traditional weapons such as nunchakus, bo staffs and kamas, so every technique taught is meant to work under pressure.

Traditional structure stays. Classes follow the seven principles of the samurai code, from honesty and integrity to courage and justice, and students recite a pledge before each session. Teens train without the bloody nose, in the school's words, and at advanced levels learn to disarm an attacker holding a knife, a club or a baseball bat. MMA classes start at age six, and jiu-jitsu takes students from age five.

AKI says plainly that it is not a black belt school where everyone who enrolls is guaranteed a belt. The test covers balance, conditioning, grappling, sparring and advanced punching and kicking combinations, and the student has to fight with control and spirit under pressure. A May 2026 post on the school's blog names flexibility as one of the hardest requirements, because it cannot be rushed or faked.

The school's longest story about what that training produces belongs to the late Sensei Daniel Otero, who started at 13, earned his black belt at 17 and won gold in forms at a Junior Olympics taekwondo tournament in Orlando. He became a teacher at Calusa Elementary, was named Teacher of the Year in 2009, and in 2013 came back to AKI to win first place in two weight divisions at a NAGA tournament.

The school's home page offers a free trial week, booked through the form on the website, and you can choose to be contacted by text, phone or email. The doors open at 4pm Tuesday through Friday, with Thursday running until 9pm and the other weekday evenings ending at 8:15pm. Saturday hours are 10am to 3pm, and the school is closed Sunday and Monday.

Expect a tidy room. AKI says a professional cleaning service disinfects the school every day. The striking equipment includes the Ultimate Striker, a training tool that Angel Gonzalez patented in 2010 to build punching and kicking power and conditioning, and the school says it is the only facility in Miami with one. The blog was still publishing in August 2026, with back-to-school advice for families in Kendall.

The Crossings is a census-designated place 16 miles southwest of downtown Miami, bounded by Kendall Drive, SW 120th Street, Florida's Turnpike and SW 137th Avenue, with 23,276 residents at the 2020 census. It takes in the neighborhoods of The Crossings, Devon Aire and Calusa. The plaza itself is about 110,088 square feet, anchored by a recently expanded Publix along with CVS Pharmacy, Five Below and Youfit Gym, so errands fit around a child's class.

Most families arrive by car from SW 137th Avenue, which carries roughly 48,000 vehicles a day past the center, and park in the plaza lot. For a bit of history, head east toward Killian High School and Ron Ehmann Park, the county park where AKI held its first classes in 1983. Today it hosts the Tennis 305 program and, in summer, Camp Curiosity, a STEM camp for ages 5 to 9 run with Frost Science.

American Karate Institute (AKI Miami), Crossings Shopping Village, 12981 SW 112th Street, Miami, FL 33186. Hours Tuesday and Wednesday 4pm to 8:15pm, Thursday 4pm to 9pm, Friday 4pm to 8:15pm, Saturday 10am to 3pm; closed Sunday and Monday. MMA programs for kids from age six, teens and adults; jiu-jitsu from age five. Free trial week. No public price list. Founded 1983.