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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.
NOVELTY, PLATEAU, REWARD WEEK OF 6/9/25 Novelty, Plateau, Reward. These are the cyclical stages of every endeavor. It’s funny, I am two decades into the game of MMA and I still see this cycle play out in nearly everything I do in life – sometimes the cycles are small, sometimes large. And sometimes small […]
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE: INITIATIVE WEEK OF 6/9/25 This week’s Junior Samurai stripe challenge is BLUE for Initiative! Students can earn their blue stripe by completing a minimum of 5 random acts of kindness! Write a note, open a door, help with a chore, be a good listener, stay focused, tidy up after dinner […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF JUNE 6th, 2025 Happy Monday Team! Welp, looking at the forecast, it’s apparent that we are quickly moving from “Easy Spring” towards “Humid Death Summer” here in Philadelphia. Joy! Please help us help you by remembering to […]
OWN YOUR MISTAKES WEEK OF 6/2/25 Own your mistakes. After all, you made them, right? Here’s the thing–most people have it twisted. In our hyper-connected world, we are privy to the “success” of other people. At least, a cultivated image of success that they often present on social media and other outlets. It can […]
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE: TECHNIQUE WEEK OF 6/2/25 This week’s Junior Samurai stripe challenge is GREEN for technique! Students can earn their green stripe by being able to explain and demonstrate at least four different ways to score points — including how much each achievement is worth! You can find this information in our […]
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF MAY 26th, 2025 Happy Monday Team! Saludos de Madrid! I am on a short trip across the Atlantic to train Muay Thai, eat some jamon, soak up some rays (and culture), and hike. The kickboxing scene here in […]
THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE WEEK OF 5/26/25 What is the universal language? Some would say love, music, or probably another saccharine platitude. I would, truly, say that it is violence. It is the method of communication we use when diplomacy and words fail. It’s understood across all cultures. And it’s a reality of every day […]
JUNIOR SAMURAI STRIPE CHALLENGE: FITNESS WEEK OF 5/26/25 This week’s Junior Samurai stripe challenge is RED for initiative! Students can earn their red stripe by successfully completing 15 minutes of cumulative planking over the week! We recommend sets of :60. This one is challenging!
THE RED CORNER NEWS AND UPDATES FROM THE NORTH STAR ACADEMY OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS WEEK OF MAY 19th, 2025 Happy Monday Team! Crazy — the unofficial start of Summer is just one week away! As such, we’ll be working off an adjusted holiday schedule for Memorial Day Weekend. Please make sure to mark […]
GIVE EXCUSES AN INCH.. AND THEY’LL TAKE A MILE WEEK OF 5/19/25 Excuses are powerful. They are often appropriate–some of us have injuries, or restraints on our time or finances, that prohibit us from pursuing some of our goals. But they often push their boundaries, and trick us into thinking they absolve us of […]