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This place is awesome ! I trained with Jackson for years, he's the best trainer around. Extremely knowledgable about the sport, super encouraging! Jackson makes training fun, while pushing me to do my best. I highly recommend !
Coach Jackson is a great instructor who takes on friendly students who are eager to learn. At no point did I feel uncomfortable with the speed or the level of difficulty and the group of people who I am getting to know all seem to enjoy the workouts due to the positive atmosphere that Coach Jackson has created.
Starting with no martial arts experience at all, I've been training at North Star MMA for about 2 months now. It's become something i look forward to every week. Coach Jackson has a great way of describing the intricacies of muay thai in exceptionally easy to understand ways. Lots of personal instruction and the other people in the gym really help with training. I really like the skills I've picked up so far all while getting a good workout in.
North Star MMA is by far the best training I have received as well as the best MMA facility. Fantastic atmosphere to learn, try, fail and ultimately succeed.
Jackson Galka's expertise and technical instruction easily qualifies him as a "fight nerd." However Jackson's passion and wit will have you kicking, striking and probably laughing too.
Jackson does a great job of integrating all levels of training with all levels of fighters.
Doesn't matter what level you are, you will learn each and every training session.
Top notch instruction, astounding technical expertise, challenging sweat soaked training sessions and a wicked sense of humor make for an unbeatable training academy.
I moved to Philadelphia in October and did a lot of shopping around for a new gym. After checking out NorthStar MMA, I quickly knew it was a perfect fit! I didn’t have much Muay Thai or BJJ experience at the time, but I felt both programs were very welcoming for beginners. Coach Jackson and the rest of the coaching staff have been super helpful in helping me to develop my skills and reach my fitness goals. Coach Jackson has created a great sense of community within the gym and does a great job of keeping the classes interesting, fun and effective! I look forward to each class and I couldn’t be happier to call NorthStar MMA my gym home!
Me and my brother came to train at North Star MMA, and we love it. Very good exercise, really good for getting in shape. Classes are very personal and with very good instructions. I would recommend this place to anyone who is interested in learning Muy Thai, BJJ and looking to get in shape in one of the best ways. It is also a very fun environment with great people.
Jackson is a huge asset to the combat sports community with years of experience as a fighter and trainer under his belt.
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE: TECHNIQUE WEEK OF 02/23/2026 This week’s Junior Samurai stripe challenge is GREEN for technique! Watch one jiu jitsu match and report back on who you watched and what kinds of guard work you saw during the match. Easy peasy! Remember, you can ask coaches for help!
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF FEBRUARY 16th, 2026 Monday Mindset, Junior Samurai Stripe Challenge, Membership Updates, and Facility FAQ Links all available at the bottom! Happy Monday team! Writing this actually on a Saturday afternoon (4pm here, 10am your time) in the […]
MAINTENANCE IS PROGRESS WEEK OF 2/16/26 When I first staked out on this journey of gym ownership and coaching, I made wildly inaccurate predictions about the challenges of coaching. I obsessed over technicalities in the subject matter, gym layout, schedule, and so on. All of these are important, of course. But what I didn’t […]
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE: INITIATIVE WEEK OF 02/16/2026 This week’s Junior Samurai stripe challenge is BLUE for Initiative! Assist someone in your home with a project of their choosing. This could be cleaning a common room, organizing a closet or helping with dinner. Make sure it’s completed to their satisfaction.
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF FEBRUARY 9th, 2026 Monday Mindset, Junior Samurai Stripe Challenge, Membership Updates, and Facility FAQ Links all available at the bottom! Happy Monday team! We have an awesome week of training on the horizon! I will be off […]
DON’T LEAVE IT TO THE JUDGES WEEK OF 2/09/26 You hear this all the time in combat sports: never leave it to the judges. And, admittedly, that’s a great perspective to have. But it can cut in two ways. On one hand, judges are fallible, and they sometimes get it wrong. Leaving it to […]
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE: FITNESS WEEK OF 02/09/2026 This week’s Junior Samurai stripe challenge is RED for Technique! Design a 5 minute workout to exercise your core and perform it three times over the course of the week. Suggested exercises include situps, planks, leg raises, bridges, and Russian twists. Ask a coach if you need […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF FEBRUARY 2nd, 2026 Monday Mindset, Junior Samurai Stripe Challenge, Membership Updates, and Facility FAQ Links all available at the bottom! Happy Sunday team! What a challenging week to basically get anything done! Snow, freezing temperatures, and so […]
DIALING IN WEEK OF 2/02/26 We’ve all heard the old expression, “practice makes perfect.” This really couldn’t be farther from the truth. We should really think of it more along the lines of “perfect practice, with perfect consistency and appropriate intensity, makes perfect.” There’s a lot to unpack there! When we step onto the […]
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE: TECHNIQUE WEEK OF 02/02/2026 This week’s Junior Samurai stripe challenge is GREEN for Technique! Introduce the game of head tag to a family member or friend and play a few rounds. Make sure to explain why it’s important to clear the legs in BJJ (there are many right answers!).