Jake

Jake has been training jiu-jitsu since mid-2019 and proves that with application and understanding you can get good in a small period of time.

You can find Jake running the No-Gi and Fundamentals programs at The Club. He is here all the time. If you notice a polished social media post or video, it is Jake’s work.

Who are your main instructors or influences?

Heavy influence from Josh Allsopp of Kumite and Luke Martin of SWMA and always watching Gordon Ryan/John Danaher.

What are some of your competition achievements, highlights and lessons?

Competed in ADCC Trials getting a submission win and losing to one of the top seeds afterward. Bronze at the IBJJF New York open and a gold at a bunch of random tournaments.

What is your coaching or teaching philosophy?

Teaching the room what they need to learn. I don't just show a bunch of random moves, I explain why and the context of why what I'm showing is valuable. Otherwise it's just random garbage that isn't useful to anyone.

What do you focus on most when teaching students?

I try and get beginners to first understand the broad strokes of the sport and then to give them tools that they will use from White to Black Belt.

What’s the most important lesson you try to instill in your students and what advice would you give to someone just starting out?

Don't learn moves, learn how to think and you can solve any problem that comes your way. Try and understand the sport at a conceptual level before anything else. If you understand the general idea of thing, class will make a lot more sense.

What got you started in Jiu-Jitsu?

Watching my little brother who was 5 or 6 at the time train, made me want to get on the mats and join him.