1984
First contact with combat sports
It all starts with the film “Enter the Dragon” with Bruce Lee. Mirosław Okniński signs up for his first classes.
Over 40 years in combat sports
The Academy is run by Mirosław Okniński and his sons. We train complete beginners and fighters preparing for competition.
What the Academy is built on
It did not grow out of a single discipline
What we teach today came out of many years of experience across different combat sports and martial arts. Each part of it was tested in practice: in training, in competition and in preparing fighters for their bouts.
We learned from the best in the world, at seminars and on training trips. What worked stayed and was organised into one coherent system. The rest fell away.
That is why an ordinary session for a beginner rests on the same foundation as a fighter's preparation for a bout. It differs in intensity and scope, not in method.
We train with competition in mind
Akademia Sportów Walki Wilanów is a club focused on sporting development. Our fighters compete regularly, and preparing for competition is a constant part of the work.
The road to competing runs step by step, from the beginner group to the competitive one. Joining the competitive group is decided by a conversation with the coach and his agreement. Anyone who does not plan to compete can simply train here.
The biggest promotions
Fighters who made it to the very top
Mirosław Okniński trained and developed fighters who later competed in UFC, KSW, ONE Championship and OKTAGON MMA. Below are the four who reached the UFC.
UFC · Worked together: 6 years.
One of the most important long term students. They entered the UFC together.
While they worked together
- Entered the UFC with an unbeaten 14-0 record
- A UFC fighter for years, with 11 wins in the promotion
UFC · Worked together: about 3 years, until November 2021.
Mirosław Okniński was his head coach during an important stage of his UFC career.
While they worked together
- A 4-2 record in the UFC while they worked together
- Wins over Gadzhimurad Antigulov and Shamil Gamzatov
UFC · Worked together: about 2 years, until November 2021.
He prepared at the club under Mirosław Okniński.
While they worked together
- FEN champion
- Bouts in OKTAGON MMA
UFC · Worked together: about one to two years, until November 2021.
He developed and prepared for bouts as a fighter of Akademia Sportów Walki Wilanów under Mirosław Okniński. The coach also cornered him during earlier wins.
While they worked together
- The FEN welterweight title, won on 27 November 2021 at FEN 37 after a unanimous decision over Aigun Akhmedov
- A submission win over Jacek Bednorz at Armia Fight Night 7 in 2019, with Mirosław Okniński in the corner
The path
Three levels, one after another
Three consecutive stages, not three parallel options. Level and intensity rise step by step, and every move further is a decision made by the coach and by you.
01
Beginner group
For people who have had no previous contact with combat sports. The whole group learns the same material at the same pace.
What we work on
- Stance, movement and working with distance
- Basic technique at a pace that lets you understand it, not just copy it
- Falling safely and the rules of working with a partner
- The rhythm of a session and the terminology, so that moving up to the advanced group later feels natural
How to get in
Just turn up. There is no entrance test and no required fitness level. Call before your first session to confirm the right group and time.
02
Intermediate group
A higher pace, a fuller range of technique and preparation for amateur competition. This is the stage where competing stops being an abstraction.
What we work on
- Linking techniques into sequences instead of drilling them one by one
- Working against a resisting partner and controlled sparring matched to the level
- A wider range of positions, transitions and finishes
- Competition preparation for those who want to try competing
How to get in
The move up from the beginner group is decided by the coach, looking at technique and how regularly you train. People with experience from another club join after the coach has seen them in a session. At this stage we encourage first amateur competitions.
03
Competitive group
Training aimed at competition and organised around the fight calendar. Joining requires a conversation with the coach and his agreement.
Requires the coach's agreement
What we work on
- A plan built around the competition date rather than general condition
- Sparring under conditions close to competition
- Tactics for a specific opponent and weight class
- Work on weight, recovery and competition workloads
How to get in
Wanting to compete is not on its own enough to join the group. It is decided by a conversation with the coach and his agreement. Technical level, regularity and readiness to compete are all taken into account.
Not everyone walks this whole path and not everyone has to. The Academy does make it possible though, and encourages fighters who are ready to compete and represent the club.
History and legacy
Where the Academy came from
A few dates that explain why we teach the way we do.
1993
The first UFC event, watched in Germany
While staying in Germany, Mirosław Okniński watches the first UFC event on television. It changes the way he thinks about training. The advantage comes not from a single discipline, but from combining several of them well.
1998
Vale Tudo Grudziądz is founded
His first own club, later known as Okniński MMA Grudziądz. The programme covered MMA plus elements of boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and wrestling.
2000
The Vale Tudo Warszawa club is founded
The foundation of the entire later MMA and Brazilian jiu-jitsu scene in Warsaw. At the time there are no competitions in the country, no leagues and nobody teaching the sport methodically.
The Gwardia Warszawa years 2002
The first official MMA bout in Poland
Organised by Okniński alongside a bodybuilding fair in Warsaw. Grzegorz Jakubowski faces Temistokles Teresiewicz, with Okniński refereeing. After 45 minutes the bout ends in a draw.
The full story of this fight
The cage set up in the middle of the hall
Influence on Polish BJJ
The first generation of Warsaw Brazilian jiu-jitsu produced coaches who later founded their own clubs: Copacabana Team, Dragon's Den, Unity Team, Piranha Grappling Team and Academia Gorila.
Competing
We go out and compete
Preparing to compete is a standing part of the work here. Below are four photographs from tournaments and championships the Academy's fighters entered.
Patryk Kowalczyk after a win 
Natalia Pałat, first place at the Polish MMA Championships 
Wojciech Małkiński, first place at the Baltic Open Wushu Championship 
Maciej Gajewski, a win at an ALMMA tournament
The coaches
Who runs the classes
Each of them has competed and teaches combat sports day to day.
Mirosław Okniński
Founder and head coach
A pioneer of MMA in Poland. Over forty years in combat sports.
Life at the Academy
It does not end when training does
Some people have trained here for years and know each other from the mat longer than from work. Below is what happens outside the class timetable.
Camps and trips
Training camps and trips to competitions that the whole group goes on, including when only one person is competing.
Seminars and gatherings
Sessions with guests, club gatherings and holiday events, attended also by people who are not training at the time.
Mixed groups
Women and men train side by side, people in their first month next to people with years behind them. Pairing up for a drill is the coach's call.
Support instead of competing in the room
The more experienced person corrects a less experienced partner rather than using the advantage. This is the way of working we hold people to.
News
What is happening at the Academy
Competition results, seminars, camps, event reports and schedule changes.
For parents
Before you sign your child up
We have gathered the most common questions in one place. We answer them concretely, including when the honest answer is “it depends”.
Control of the body
Coordination, balance, deliberate movement and control of force. This is the base on which anything else can later be built.
Working with a partner
Working with a partner, responsibility for another person and respecting agreed rules. A drill ends the moment the partner gives the signal.
Regularity
Progress comes from repetition, patience and gradually increasing difficulty. The child sees that the result comes from turning up.
What our students say
Reviews from the Google profile
A few words from people who train here and from parents who bring their children to class. The reviews are in Polish, the language they were written in.
4,8 from 89 Google reviews
„Miła atmosfera. Syn ma 8 lat i uwielbia ćwiczenia z Panem Mirosławem Oknińskim. Ćwiczenia mają dobrą formę, rozgrzewka, ćwiczenia koordynacyjne, wzmacniające i rozciąganie. Wszystko co dziecko potrzebuje w tym wieku. Polecam każdemu rodzicowi to miejsce.”
Andrzej Łahoda
Google review · 5 miesięcy temu
„Jedna z najlepszych szkół walki w jakich miałem okazję ćwiczyć. Zajęcia z Trenerem Mirkiem O. są fajnie prowadzone. Czuć uwagę trenera na nas i na wykonywanych przez nas ćwiczeniach. Akademia w której uczą się najlepsi! To na tej macie uczyły i uczą się gwiazdy KSW czy UFC…”
Dariusz Banasiak
Google Local Guide · 6 lat temu
„Polecam zajęcia MMA w każdy piątek o 18:00 dla ojców i synów, jedno z niewielu miejsc w Warszawie, które oferuje tego typu zajęcia.”
Jerzy Fulara
Google Local Guide · 2 lata temu
Contact
Wilanów, Wiertnicza 26A
Call before your first visit. We will confirm the time and tell you which group will suit you.
Phone
606 686 939Address
ul. Wiertnicza 26A, 02-952 Warszawa
Centrum Sportu Wilanów, level -1
opposite the Wilanów bus terminus
Reviews
Training with us? Leave a review
A Google review is the simplest way for someone looking for a club in Wilanów to find out what our classes are really like. The button opens the review window straight away.
Finding us
The club is on level -1 of the Centrum Sportu Wilanów building, opposite the Wilanów bus terminus.