Your Third Place in Philly: Martial Arts for College Students Near Temple, La Salle and Saint Joseph's

New apartment. New neighbourhood, maybe a new city. A week split between lectures, a part-time job, a group chat that never sleeps and a laptop that's always open.

It's a lot of time spent somewhere. Not much of it spent somewhere that feels like yours.

If you're one of the many Philadelphia college students who just signed a lease near Temple University, Saint Joseph's University or La Salle University, here's an idea worth trying this semester: find a third place.

What is a "third place"?

Your first place is home. Your second place is where you work or study. A third place is everything else that makes life feel full: a spot outside both where you show up regularly, people know your name, and you leave feeling better than when you walked in.

For a lot of people that used to be a café, a church, a barbershop, a pickup court. For students, it's often the thing that's missing. Home is a room with a desk in it. Campus is deadlines. The rest of the day disappears into a phone.

The Garden is a martial arts academy in Germantown, and for many of the people who train here, it's that third place. You come in, take your shoes off, step onto the mats and spend an hour with people who are working on the same thing you are. After class there's a traditional sauna for recovery. For that hour, nobody's checking their email.

Why martial arts is good for college students

You don't need to want to compete, and you don't need to be in shape before you start. Here's what students tend to get out of it.

Stress relief that actually works at exam time. It's hard to think about a problem set while someone is trying to pass your guard. An hour of jiu-jitsu or Muay Thai forces your attention into the present, and most people walk out calmer than they walked in.

Structure when your schedule has none. College weeks can be shapeless. Regular class times give your week an anchor, and the habit of showing up carries over into everything else.

Fitness that isn't boring. No treadmill, no counting reps in a mirror. You're learning a skill, solving problems with your body, and getting stronger and fitter as a side effect.

Confidence and self-defence. Living alone for the first time changes how you think about safety. Training teaches you to stay calm under pressure, understand your own body, and handle physical stress without panicking. That carries into how you walk down the street and how you carry yourself in a room.

Real friends, offline. It's hard to stay a stranger to someone you've trained with three times a week. The people you meet on the mats come from every part of the city and every walk of life, which is a good thing when your whole world has shrunk to campus.

Better sleep and focus. Hard training plus a sauna session tends to make a tired brain easier to switch off at night, and a rested brain is easier to focus the next day.

What you can train

All of our adult programs welcome complete beginners, and training partners look after each other while you learn.

• Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Gi and No-Gi). Grappling-based martial art built on leverage and technique. Smaller people learn to control bigger ones. It's a puzzle you can spend a lifetime on. Learn about BJJ at The Garden
• Muay Thai. The art of eight limbs: punches, kicks, elbows and knees. High-energy, great conditioning, and a real stress valve. Learn about Muay Thai at The Garden
• Women's BJJ. A beginner-friendly jiu-jitsu class on Thursday nights (RSVP required).

Class times that fit around school

Most adult classes run early in the morning or in the evening, so you can train before your 9am or after your last lecture:

• Monday: No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu 6:00–7:00am · Muay Thai 6:30–7:15pm · No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu (beginner friendly) 7:15–8:15pm
• Tuesday: Muay Thai 6:00–7:00am · Gi Jiu-Jitsu 7:00–8:00am · Gi Jiu-Jitsu 6:30–7:30pm
• Wednesday: No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu 6:00–7:00am · Muay Thai 6:30–7:15pm · No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu 7:15–8:15pm
• Thursday: Muay Thai 6:00–7:00am · Gi Jiu-Jitsu 7:00–8:00am · Gi Jiu-Jitsu 6:30–7:30pm · Women's BJJ 7:45–8:45pm (RSVP)
• Friday: No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu 6:00–7:00am · Muay Thai 6:30–7:15pm
• Saturday: Gi Jiu-Jitsu (beginner friendly) 11:00am–12:00pm · Open Mat 12:00–1:30pm

Times can change between semesters, so always check the live class schedule before you come in.

Getting to The Garden

We're at 4537 Wayne Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19144, in Germantown, and easy to reach from Temple University, La Salle University and Saint Joseph's University.

• By train: Wayne Junction station is a 5-minute walk from our door. Like Temple University station, it's on SEPTA Regional Rail.
• By bus: Routes 23, 26 and 53 stop nearby on Germantown Ave.
• By car: Free parking in our lot (enter from Apsley St) and free street parking on the surrounding blocks.

Full directions are on our location page.

Student rate and how to start

Students train at $81 every two weeks.

The easiest way to start is a trial class. It's $35, covers any class on the schedule plus sauna access, and there's no commitment. Come in, try a class, meet the coaches and the people you'd be training with, and see if it feels like your place.

Book your $35 trial and ask about the student rate →

Or browse the class schedule and pick the class that fits your week.

The Garden is an independent martial arts academy. We're not affiliated with or endorsed by Temple University, Saint Joseph's University or La Salle University. We just like having their students on the mats.