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Sometimes we begin somewhere and end up at a completely different and new place. That's exactly what happened to our very own Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Tom Knox. Originally a black belt in Judo, one of his training partners began to train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and asked if he was interested. After some time, Knox was hooked and did BJJ full-time. On top of being a black belt, he's also a professional skater. For him, skating and BJJ balance him out by keeping his life at a vari …

Arnaldo Oliveira's grappling career started at only 16 years old with Coach Gilberto Gabas in his hometown Aracatuba, São Paulo. Gabas supported him ever since, guiding his career until he received his black belt on December 2013. Shortly after, he moved to the United States to be more involved in the BJJ community and become a professional athlete. He became a competitor under the world famous Leonardo Vieira at Checkmat HQ (Long Beach). Arnaldo also became an instructor at Gooch' …

The family who trains together, succeeds together. The Oranday family is a huge testament to that! Bambi, her 2 sons and daughter all manage their own academy together (Oranday Bros Jiu-Jitsu), train together, and most importantly, support each other. Bambi's children began training on September 21, 2009 when they Damion was just 11, Austin was just 10, and Camryn was 4. After training for 7 years, Damion is now a purple belt, Austin is blue, and Camryn is an orange/black belt. Al …

Pro Surfer & BJJ Purple Belt Eli Olson (North Shore, Oahu) has been making a name for himself not only as the "pipe guy," but also hitting solid barrels on a worldwide scale.   Known for riding large waves, Eli is also a solid BJJ Purple Belt from Sunset BJJ (North Shore, Oahu).  Eli credits his Jiu Jitsu skills to surf and his surf skills to BJJ, a true balance that compliment both sports. Recently Eli headed up our BJJ Gi Care Instructions Campaign, a campaign to max …