IIRC the gym got him over to the UK to teach, the gym then shut and he moved back. (Im not 100% on that though!) Both gyms youve mentioned are good, Simon Mcgovern is a great guy too.
Is there anything in particular that put you off? we get quite a few people who try out and only do the one class, I think its the physical contact and rolling that puts them off, but id appreciate your view point!
We've done so, people who dont come back, and reply, generally think its too much hard work (especially MMA) or didnt know what it involved before, but most everyone who stays after one class, stays long term, so all in all its ok.
