A relationship between R1 Academy and Swain Martial Arts mats has persisted over the last 20 years! We love to look back and chat with our most loyal customers – Here’s a look into R1 Academy out of San Jose, CA.

About R1 Academy

R1 Academy is part of the Ernie Reyes West Coast World Martial Arts Association and we opened this particular location in 1992. Hector Rodriguez is the head instructor of this location and has been a student of Master Ernie Reyes for over 40 years. We offer Kids classes starting as young as 4 years old all the way up to adults in their 70’s! We have a variety of programs from Taekwondo, Jiujitsu, Kickboxing and a Fitness Circuit training class.

The R1 Academy Team

Our team is Hector Rodriguez as Master Instructor, Gloria Telles as Head instructor and Adriana Rodriguez as fitness instructor. When classes get tough for the adults, we like to ask “How do you feel?,” and the response is “I feel good, I feel fine, I feel like this all the time!” For the kids, we want them to develop a positive mindset towards their training. One of our mottos is “Habits you train are habits you gain,” so we ask the kids - “Habits you train are?…” and wait for the response “habits you gain!” This helps get everyone in the right mindset for performing their techniques and pushing themselves from beginning to end of classes.

Dollamur & R1 Academy

The flooring we use is actually 20 years old! Can you believe that? We have 1” Swain Tatami Mats in our studio. To preserve our mats for such a long time we made sure no shoes were worn on the mats and that they got their daily vacuuming and sanitizing. We also have a padded wall and we use the Dollamur FLEXI-Roll Wall Pads for that.

Working with the Dollamur Team

Tell us about it if anything/anyone in particular stood out! EVERYONE HAS BEEN AMAZING. From the old school days of Swain Mats in Campbell, CA to the new Dollamur team. We are so thankful for your kindness and the prompt customer service that you have given us.

The Future of R1 Academy

Our future goal as an Academy is to be able to continue to spread the benefits of martial arts training through everyone. Imagine if every child and adult practiced martial arts and used the philosophy in their everyday lives? We feel fortunate to have found the gift of martial arts training and to be inspiring and helping people reach their full potential on the mat!