Empire Defense & Fitness Inc
Empire Defense & Fitness Inc is a boxing gym located in Albany, Vermont. Specializing in MMA. Rated 4.8 out of 5 by community members.
Specialties
Reviews
Alan and Cheryl are Great. Being a Novice in the martial arts/Self Defense, they really made me feel welcome and comfortable. Good Workouts and lots of training make it very enjoyable.
I debated on writing this review for quite some time. However, after only receiving $500 back out of the $717 I paid, despite offering to return the gloves and the cheap ghi bottoms, I felt compelled to share my experience. Realistically, that left me with a T-shirt, a backpack, and three group-style classes costing $217. For those unfamiliar, most all academies and schools charge $25-30 per class, if you’re training with other students. In today’s economy, people’s time and money matter, and that simply did not sit right with me. For context, I train at multiple schools and across multiple martial arts disciplines. To be fair, they were upfront that this is not a school geared toward competitive fighters. However, I believe there also needs to be honesty about what this place actually is. They operate more as a fitness-style gym with martial arts elements rather than a true fight academy focused on developing capable fighters or structured self-defense practitioners. It became very apparent to me that the curriculum is designed in a way that keeps students continuously coming back to learn more “essential” techniques later on, rather than building a solid and practical foundation upfront. This is unacceptable, and a despicable practice. I also noticed similar feedback from others regarding the Muay Thai program. Martial arts is a disciplined practice, not something that should be actively monetized and commercialized. Overall, I would not recommend this gym to any experienced martial artists at all, for any reason. Equally so, I would not recommend this place anyone looking to compete, or anyone seeking a traditional academy or structured fight-school environment. This is a casual gym setting where very basic techniques are taught, including repeated groin-strike drills, that would immediately get you disqualified in most legitimate combat sports competitions. RESPONSE TO THEIR RESPONSE Your response basically confirms my point. You openly admit you are not a competition-based school and focus on slow, prolonged progression rather than producing capable fighters quickly and efficiently. That may work for hobbyists, but it is not what serious martial artists or fighters are looking for. As for the refund, keeping over $200 for a few group classes, a shirt, a $10 cup, and $10 ghi bottoms and gloves I never used, and offered to return, is wrong. I voiced concerns by leaving the program and requesting a refund almost immediately after less than 1 week. I simply chose to remain respectful instead of sending poor feedback through text messages while I was still attending. There’s a difference.
Sore already.. and can't wait until next session...one of best decisions I have ever made . The people and trainers are all welcoming and kind. I would 100 percent recommend
Highly recommend, Alan and Cheryl are honorable and knowledgable people who will provide you with all the tools you need to exceed your goals. This is training you cannot find anywhere else. You will be surprised with the results! Call them today!
I've been in Cheryl and Alan's world for a few months and they are impressive. Not only are they training you but I found out they're constantly working on training for themselves. Making themselves better to make us better. That's impressive. I look forward to watching them and everyone around them grow. You can't go wrong with people who invest in themselves. I highly recommend this power couple!
