Great Harwood · Lancashire
Striking, wrestling and no-gi jiu-jitsu, six nights a week. A back-street gym with front-line standards, and a first session that costs you nothing.
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Your first session is free and nobody is judged on it. Complete beginners drill on the same mats as fighters who compete at Cage Warriors, and the room looks after the new face every time.
Classes
Six disciplines, six nights a week. Take one, or train the lot.
See the timetableStand-up from boxing, Muay Thai and kickboxing, coached by Ian Longson.
Anyone who wants to learn to stand and strike
Submission grappling without the gi: positions, escapes and submissions.
Grapplers at every level
Takedowns, takedown defence and control, drawn from catch and submission wrestling.
Anyone who wants to decide where the fight goes
Strength, conditioning and the engine a hard round asks for.
Fighters, and anyone after fight fitness
Controlled rounds that put the week's work together.
Every level, from first rounds to fight camp
Open training time on the mats, with coaches around.
Often the fight team and anyone looking to compete
Timetable
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:30–20:00MMA striking | 18:00–19:00Strength & conditioning | 18:30–20:00Wrestling | 18:00–19:00Strength & conditioning | 18:00–19:00Striking | Closed | 11:00–12:30Open mat |
| 19:00–20:00No-gi jiu-jitsu | 19:00–20:00No-gi jiu-jitsu | 19:00–20:00Sparring |
Weeknights from 6pm, Sunday open mat 11am to 12:30pm. Closed Saturdays. Come ten minutes early on your first night.
Coaches
Coaching MMA since 2007, and 27 years training and competing himself
Jimmy has trained and competed across Sambo, jiu-jitsu, amateur MMA and kickboxing, has owned and run several gyms, and has had fighters compete at the highest level at home and abroad. He opened Apex in 2014 and has given Great Harwood and the wider Hyndburn community a safe, productive and diverse club ever since. He runs the mats and heads up the coaching across every discipline.
Known as “Ebo”: a very experienced kickboxing coach who has fought on the big stage himself
Ian takes our striking sessions twice a week. He has competed under K1 rules, including a 75kg bout for Evolution Kickboxing on the UK Fighting Championships 11 card, and brings that ring experience to the stand-up side of the game.
3–0 as a professional bantamweight
Ali is unbeaten as a pro: a rear-naked choke at Anarchy Fight Series 3, a unanimous decision at Cage Warriors 202 and a first-round TKO at AFS 5. Accrington born, he fights out of Apex.
Born in Accrington and brought through by Jimmy, Ian signed for the UFC in 2014. That December he won Performance of the Night with a heel hook submission of Anthony Birchak at UFC on Fox 13.
His UFC profile still lists Apex MMA, Accrington as a training base. Ian now coaches MMA and grappling in Phuket. UFC profile
Pricing
Your first session is on us. Just turn up ready to train.
Drop in to any class on the timetable.
Every class for seven days.
Every class on the timetable, including the Sunday open mat. No minimum contract.
New members pay a one-off £5 sign-up fee when they join. Your first session is still free.
Inside the gym
Members
“Great atmosphere with the lads, you have a proper laugh whilst learning self defense! Very welcoming gym, not the conventional skin head trying to take your head off environment. Also if your an athlete wanting to improve your game Jimmies toolbox has allot of knowledge!”
Yusuf · Facebook
“Fantastic”
Chris · Google
“Perfect”
Adam · Google
“Good experience gained for MMA Training. Classes available in evenings, owner is friendly and can easily be talked to.”
Nina · Google
“Great atmosphere with the lads, you have a proper laugh whilst learning self defense! Very welcoming gym, not the conventional skin head trying to take your head off environment. Also if your an athlete wanting to improve your game Jimmies toolbox has allot of knowledge!”
Yusuf · Facebook
“Fantastic”
Chris · Google
“Perfect”
Adam · Google
“Good experience gained for MMA Training. Classes available in evenings, owner is friendly and can easily be talked to.”
Nina · Google
“Perfect”
Adam · Google
“Good experience gained for MMA Training. Classes available in evenings, owner is friendly and can easily be talked to.”
Nina · Google
“Great atmosphere with the lads, you have a proper laugh whilst learning self defense! Very welcoming gym, not the conventional skin head trying to take your head off environment. Also if your an athlete wanting to improve your game Jimmies toolbox has allot of knowledge!”
Yusuf · Facebook
“Fantastic”
Chris · Google
“Perfect”
Adam · Google
“Good experience gained for MMA Training. Classes available in evenings, owner is friendly and can easily be talked to.”
Nina · Google
“Great atmosphere with the lads, you have a proper laugh whilst learning self defense! Very welcoming gym, not the conventional skin head trying to take your head off environment. Also if your an athlete wanting to improve your game Jimmies toolbox has allot of knowledge!”
Yusuf · Facebook
“Fantastic”
Chris · Google
Quoted word for word from our Google and Facebook pages. Read or leave a review on Google
Questions
No. Every class is open to all levels, and your first session is free.
No. Most members train for fitness, skill and the team. Competing is there if you want it, never expected.
Yes. Everyone agrees to our participation agreement before their first session. You can do it on the booking form below so you're ready to train the moment you arrive, or on the day.
Water, a gum shield if you have one, and training kit if you have it. If you don't, we have some you can borrow.
No. There's no minimum contract on any of our options.
Yes, a one-off £5 sign-up fee when you become a member. You pay it once, not every month, and your first session is still free.
Ask us. Register your interest with the form below and we'll let you know what's running.
On-street parking nearby, wherever you can find a space.
Yes. We're on Waverledge Street in Great Harwood, BB6 7EA, a short drive from Accrington, Blackburn, Clitheroe, Burnley, Clayton-le-Moors, Rishton, Whalley and Padiham. Members travel in from right across East Lancashire and the Ribble Valley.
All of them. MMA striking and kickboxing-style striking, no-gi jiu-jitsu (BJJ without the gi), wrestling, sparring, and strength and conditioning. Take one discipline or train the lot.
Free session