Drop-in training for visiting practitioners
Passing through Amsterdam, or just arrived? Carlson Gracie Amsterdam takes drop-in visitors at €25 a class. Bring your gi, book online, arrive 15–20 minutes early, and you can be on the mat the same day. All adult classes are taught in English.
You can use the free trial scheduler to book your drop-in class.
When you can drop in
| Day | Time | Class | Who |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | 18:00–19:00 | Beginners & Intermediates | Anyone |
| Tuesday | 19:00–20:30 | Advanced | Blue belt and above |
| Wednesday | 08:00–09:00 | Beginners & Intermediates | Anyone |
| Wednesday | 18:00–19:00 | Beginners & Intermediates | Anyone |
| Thursday | 18:00–19:00 | Beginners & Intermediates | Anyone |
| Thursday | 19:00–20:30 | Advanced | Blue belt and above |
| Friday | 08:00–09:00 | Beginners & Intermediates | Anyone |
Those are the sessions that take a paid single class. Three things are not on the list, and it is worth knowing why before you plan a trip around them:
Monday is for first-timers. Both Monday classes — 08:00 and 18:00 — are free, once, to anyone walking in for the first time. That is what those two hours are for, so they take no paid drop-ins. If Monday is your only day in Amsterdam and you have never trained here before, that free first class is yours. Monday's Advanced class, 19:15–20:30, is for members — it starts a quarter of an hour later than the others precisely so the people who came for the first time that evening get their questions answered first.
Friday evening is closed to visitors. The 18:00 Women's Only Class and the 19:30 No-Gi class are for members of the academy.
Open Mat is members only — Wednesday at 19:00, and Sunday 09:00–11:00. The Sunday session is not bookable by visitors under any circumstances. It is where the team trains together, and it is the one thing on the timetable that membership buys and a visit does not.
The Advanced class
Tuesday and Thursday, 19:00–20:30, €25, for visitors at blue belt or above. There is a third Advanced class, Monday 19:15–20:30, and it is for members only.
That is a straight safety rule rather than a velvet rope: ninety minutes of advanced training is not the room to learn how to fall, and a mismatched partner is a risk to both people. If you are close to the line, or unsure how your grade travels, send a short WhatsApp — belt, academy, how long you have trained — and you will get an honest answer rather than a sales one.
The room you're walking into
Carlson Gracie Amsterdam trains in the lineage of Master Carlson Gracie, under head instructor Marcos Flexa — a 6th degree black belt, the highest degree currently held in the Netherlands, who received every belt from blue to black from Carlson Gracie himself. Sixteen black belts have been developed here (the lineage, if you want the full chain), and the coaching team includes Professor Olga Lyashevska and Professor Desmond van den Berg, both 3rd degree.
What that means for a visit is simpler than it sounds: organised classes, technical teaching, and a mat culture built by people who have trained in the same room for years. Leave the ego at the door — the house rule every visiting practitioner already knows.
The practical details
| Price | €25 per class |
|---|---|
| Gear | Clean gi and belt. Every drop-in session is a gi class |
| Language | English, all adult classes |
| Arrival | 15–20 minutes before class — you will be met, shown around and introduced |
| Booking | The booking form on this page, or WhatsApp +31 6 81911917 |
| Address | Burgemeester de Vlugtlaan 125, 1063 BJ Amsterdam (Nieuw-West) |
Directions, parking and what is inside — 120 m² of mats, showers, changing rooms: plan your visit.
Visiting etiquette — the short version
Nothing exotic. A clean gi, arrive early, introduce yourself, and train the way you would want a visitor to train in your own academy. If your instinct is to bring a patch and shake every hand on the way out, you will fit in fine.
Staying longer than a visit?
If Amsterdam is home for a month or a season, drop-in arithmetic stops making sense quickly. A 5-class pack is €100 (valid one month) and a 20-class pack is €250 (valid three months) — same classes, better maths.
Living here now? The memberships are all public, and members get what visitors do not: the Open Mats and Friday's No-Gi.
Never trained at all? The Free Trial Class runs on Mondays at 08:00 and 18:00, free — the schedule shows which Mondays. Women joining the academy for the first time can also start free in Friday's Women's Only Class; after that, the Women's Starter Package — ten classes for €100, valid four months — is the way in.
Book your class
Prefer to ask first? WhatsApp +31 6 81911917. Messages are answered Tuesday–Friday 10:00–17:00 and Saturday 12:00–16:00.