Professor Larry “Pops” Shealy began studying Gracie Jiu-Jitsu in 1995 at the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Torrance, California. He is a Black Belt under Carlos Gracie, Jr . He is a Certified Instructor in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, confirmed thru the Confederation of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, and is a Certified Black Belt Instructor thru the Florida Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation.  He is a Certified Instructor, is on the Board of Directors and is on the Black Belt Council of USA Jiu-Jitsu. (http://www.usajj.com) Professor Shealy was also recently awarded a IBJJF Referee Diploma from Master Alvaro Mansur. (Director of Referees for the IBJJF and the CBJJ) at the Mundials in Long Beach, CA..

He has had the good fortune to train or take seminars with the best in the world, including: Rorion, Rickson, Relson, Royce, Rolker, Royler, Rodrigo Gracie, Marcio Feitosa, Aparecido Bill, Flavio Almeida, Charles dos Anjos, Rigan Machado...having traveled all over the U.S. and to Brazil to train and learn Gracie Jiu-Jitsu from some of the greatest fighers of all time.

In 2003, Professor Larry began developing the “Kid-Jitsu” program along with the “Kid-Jitsu Values Program”. These trademark registered programs allow traditional martial arts instructors to teach children the fundamentals of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, while weaving targeted values into each lesson within the “Kid-Jitsu” Curriculum. To date, Professor Larry has certified over 350 Instructors in over 150 schools in the U.S. and Europe to implement Kid-Jitsu and BJJ Team United for Adults into their traditional martial arts curriculum.

Professor Larry has a Bachelors Degree in Marketing from Florida State University and a Masters Degree in Business (MBA) from Jacksonville University. He retired from the corporate world after 20 years and is now concentrating on sharing the many benefits of his traditional martial arts background along with Gracie Jiu-Jitsu to children and adults. He is a former elected official in Neptune Beach, Florida having served on the Neptune Beach City Council. He is married to wife, Gail, and has 3 children Todd, Kristi, and Joshua.

Nate Lang is a full time college student, Purple Belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, and a Certified Black Belt Instructor in the Haganah F.I.G.H.T. System. Nate is also very active in our Muay Thai, and MMA programs.

Phil Koo is a military veteran.  He is the silent warrior at JaxBJJ.  His emphasis on technical ability is a true testament to what Gracie Jiu-Jitsu is all about.  Phil assists in our BJJ fundamentals classes and our Kid-Jitsu Program.  He is also active in our Muay Thai and MMA Programs.

Dr. Morris has been training in BJJ for over 12 years.  He has assisted hundreds of students over the years in our fundamentals classes, and continues to do so.  He is a Black Belt and is a Certified Instructor in our Fundamentals Classes.

Chip Coffey is back as our submission wrestling Instructor. 

Chip Coffey has been training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for over 8 years and is a Brown Belt under 2x Word Champion, Abu Dhabi Absolute Champion and UFC Veteran, Roberto “Spider” Traven. He teaches full time at D.S.G.B. Combat Sports (Coffey Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu / Team Roberto Traven) in Barnesville, Georgia, and has recently signed back on to teach the submission wrestling/no-gi program at JaxBJJ.  Chip has competed in the Mundials, The ProAms, NAGA, Casca Grossa, and MMA events. Chip has also trained extensively in Judo, Wrestling, Boxing and Muay Thai. He was recently one of two Americans invited to Manaus, Brazil for the Amazonas Combat Invitational tournament.  Attached are a few of his achievements.

2009 BJJ World Championship Brown Belt Adult Quarterfinalist
2009 Pan Am Brown Belt Adult Absolute Quarterfinalist
Pro Am Champion
NAGA Champion
Casca Grossa Champion
2 x Master BJJ Tournament Champion
2nd Place U.S. Nationals
2nd Place GA Grappling Championships
2nd Place Jackson Fight Night Tournament
3rd Place Abu Dhabi World

As JaxBJJ Traditional Muay Thai Instructor and MMA Fight Team Member, KRU Tyle brings our school an extensive striking background based in Traditional Muay Thai Kickboxing (มวยไทย), Muay Boran (มวยโบราณ), and Gōjū-ryū Karate. He focuses on body mechanics and technique to produce maximum speed, power, and effective striking. Trained by Lumpini Stadium veteran Thai Fighters and American experts, KRU Tyle is dedicated to produce seasoned Muay Thai Specialists and well conditioned athletes.

Ben Ressler is a Purple Belt in Jiu-Jitsu.  He came to us several years ago from Iowa with a great wrestling background.  Ben assists in the Kid-Jitsu, BJJ, Muay Thai, and MMA classes.......yes, he is a gym rat. 

John Williams, affectionately known as Blue is a Brown Belt in BJJ.  Blue has won several tournaments and won the No-Gi Pan Ams, Brown Belt, last year in NYC.  He is the Wrestling Coach at Fernandina Beach High School, and teaches wrestling for us in our No-Gi/MMA Program.

Shegog is a BJJ Blue Belt and a tremendous athlete.  He trains and assists in our BJJ and MMA programs.  He is also a Certified Kid-Jitsu Instructor. 

Marc Dillon is our Assistant Head Kid-Jitsu Instructor.  Mark is a BJJ Blue Belt and is also instrumental in training our new fundamentals students. Marc graduated from FSU and is a Geologist by day, and a BJJ player and Instructor by night.

Mark “The Professional” Dilworth, has been instrumental in growing JaxBJJ since 2002-2003.  The ultimate professional in all areas of his life, he is a brown belt and is an assistant instructor in BJJ and Kid-Jitsu.  He is also quite active in our MMA program.  Mark is a Real Estate Broker here in Jacksonville.

Josh trains in BJJ, MMA and Muay Thai.  He is works extensively with new students in all three disciplines.  He is currently a student at UNF.

After a 2 year hiatus, Kohl has come back as an Assistant Instructor in our BJJ program.  Kohl is an accomplished wrestler, a purple belt in BJJ and is assisting in our BJJ/MMA and wrestling programs.