New York City Ninja Academy

I just finished taking the 7:30p “Adult” class. I think I was the only proper adult in the room apart from the instructor, but that was fine. The other three students were high school students. We started mostly on time and I got a brief run down of the rules. We did 10 laps as a warm-up; the area is roughly the size of a basketball court if I had to give you a mental model of the size of the space. After the jog we did a brief period of stretching then went into the Ninja training.

Within 1.5 hour, I was pretty able to sample most of the exercises; at least the ones I was capable of doing.  There wasn't any rigid structure and programming, and I got to hop in and out of the different obstacle courses. A lot of the exercises require a decent amount of upper body strength. If you aren't used to swing and hanging off things, then your grip strength will definitely be challenged. They also have a balanced based obstacle course if that is more your forte. They rotate parts of the obstacle course on the weekly basis, so there are always new challenges to try.

The instructor, Sebastian, was wonderful and very encouraging. My only regret is that I wish they had things like this when I was younger. I had so much fun, and I'm happy something like exist. They also had so much fun.

There is another location in Gowanus called Brooklyn Ninja Academy. Which might be more convenient for any Brooklynites. This one is a bit tough to get to if you're taking the train because it's all the way on 12 Avenue and 55th street, but the closest train is located on 59th and 8th Avenue.

Some recommendations that, I felt, could have the experience even better:

Provide locker rooms to change. The only place to change in privacy is the one unisex bathroom, which was clean, by the way.

A vending machine with drinks or water cooler would be great since this is a gym.

A courtesy email reminder sent out 24–72 hours before class is always a nice touch.

Overall, I would highly recommend trying this out. They make it look so easy on TV!

I'm such a huge fan of this place. I've taken quite a few of their adult classes and have loved every coach (especially Darion & Sean!) for their patience and expertise. I had no experience with Ninja gyms previously, but the small class sizes and flexibility of the coaches to tailor activities to each student helped me build confidence in my weaker areas. Been great for training for Spartan races, but also general strength, agility, and focus - not to mention lots of fun!

Instructors are off the charts amazing. My daughter was nervous for her first class, within ten minutes they had her scaling ramps and jumping through hoops like a pro. We'll definitely be signing up for a semester.

What a fun place for the kids to work out and develop their ninja skills! The coaches were amazing and supportive that kids as young as 2nd grade can conquer the ramp.

I’m not a very athletic person, but was gifted a private session with Coach Sean for my birthday and decided to give it a whirl. I was nervous and prepared to be embarrassed, but he walked me through every step and it wound up being super fun! I even hit the buzzer!! I’ve told all my friends to check it out, even if they aren’t interested because it’s something different. The gym itself is very clean and spacious, with lots of light. They have a wonderful ambiance with music playing and very friendly coaches. For my personal session, I was so happy to see so many kids lining up excitedly getting ready for their class which was after mine. This is a great place for kids and adults alike, which challenges you physically, but also mentally. They also opened a new location in Brooklyn that I would like to see and bring my friends who live in BK for our own class!