Next Level is a self-defense school first and a martial arts academy second. Since 1993, we have helped Valley kids and adults become more capable, more confident, and better prepared through authentic Gracie Humaita Jiu-Jitsu, practical Krav Maga, and coaching built around the individual. Honor. Family. Legacy. Those words only matter if you can feel them in the room.
We opened our first academy in Tempe in 1993 with a simple belief: real self-defense, taught well, changes more than what a person can do physically. It changes how they stand, how they respond to pressure, and what they believe they are capable of.
That standard still runs every class. Coach Joe has trained more than 10,000 students, from four-year-olds taking their first steps on the mat to adults discovering they're far more capable than they ever believed. What hasn't changed is the room itself: demanding, welcoming, and built on respect.
We carry a lineage you can trace, and we treat every student who steps on our mat like family. That's the difference you feel the moment you walk in.
Recent recognition from the East Valley Tribune:
More than five decades in martial arts. More than three decades in security and executive protection. Defensive-tactics and firearms instruction for people whose job is to protect others. Direct involvement in the training culture every week. That combination is unusual, and it is why Next Level is built around practical capability rather than performance for show.
Coach Joe didn't stumble into martial arts. He's given his life to them. He started at age four in the Korean art of Tae Kwon Do and never looked back, going on to win multiple World Championships in full-contact and point fighting and earning U.S.T.U. National Championship medals along the way. Fifty-plus years later, he's a 12-time martial arts Hall of Fame inductee who has trained over 10,000 students around the world.
Over the years he's been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, Good Morning America, and ESPN+. But none of that is why families stay. They stay because of what happens in the room.
The point is not the resume. The point is that your training is being shaped by someone who takes real-world performance seriously, and who holds himself to the exact standard he asks of his students. That is why he is still on the mat, still learning, every single week.
"You'll often see Coach Joe on the mat, training right alongside you."Train With Coach Joe
When you train here, you're not learning a watered-down version of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. You're connected, directly, to the roots of the art through the Gracie Humaita Association.
Co-founder of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Head of the Gracie Humaita Association
Your mat, carrying the lineage forward since 1993
Leads the Gracie Humaita Association our academy is directly affiliated with. The reason what you learn here traces straight back to the roots of the art.
Leads the Jiu-Jitsu program for kids, teens, and adults, and coaches private lessons. Parents on Google name him for teaching character as seriously as technique.
Professor Mike is a Gracie Humaita Black Belt and assists with daily classes for teens and adults. He has fought professionally and brings decades of experience to our programs.
Leads Krav Maga, Krav Maga Elite, and Krav Maga Accelerated. Real-world protection, defensive tactics, and firearms instruction background.
Confidence is not something we hand out. It is the result of doing difficult things with good coaching, enough repetitions, and people who want you to succeed. Everything we teach comes back to three words we live by, with one operating principle underneath all three: capability.
Respect on the mat and off it. We hold high standards and we hold each other to them.
You're not a number in a packed class. When you struggle, someone here notices, and has your back.
On the mats since 1993, more than 10,000 stronger and safer people, and a lineage you become part of the day you step on the mat.
The best way to understand what makes this place different is to step on the mat. Your first 14 days are just $14.
Start My 14-Day TrialJoseph Edmondson, known to students as Coach Joe, has been teaching self-defense in the Valley since 1993. He's a World Champion martial artist, a 12-time Hall of Fame inductee with over 50 years of experience, and he's trained more than 10,000 students worldwide. He's still on the mat every week.
Everyone from age 4 through adults. We offer authentic Gracie Humaita Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Krav Maga, and Clinch Dirty Boxing, along with dedicated kids and teen programs.
Yes. We're directly affiliated through the Gracie Humaita Association under Master Royler Gracie, so what you learn traces straight back to the roots of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Authentic lineage, self-defense that's actually pressure-tested, coaches who know every student by name, and 30+ years of doing it in the Valley. We're a family with a lineage you can trace.
2531 S Gilbert Rd, Ste 111, Gilbert, AZ 85295, serving Gilbert, Chandler, and the East Valley. Call us at 480-360-5425 or start your 14-day trial to schedule your first class.
Start the 14-day trial for $14. We'll get you booked into a class that fits your age and goals, with no obligation and no pressure.
Next Level