Main :: BJJ Association :: Membership :: Tribe :: Contact Us

The SBGi Tribe

SBGi has maintained very high standards for all our Coaches and Instructors for well over Ten Years now. Although we have multiple locations, with large enrollments, you will still find the list of Coaches we have certified over the Years to be very small. The reason for that is simple: integrity.

You cannot host a seminar, pay for a weekend course, or worse, simply send an e-mail, and find yourself listed as an SBGi Coach. It is a marker of performance and teaching skill, which cannot be bought at any price, or given due to association with an individual or group. It must be earned. In order to receive a Coaches certificate with us you must meet extremely high standards, not only in the realm of personal performance skill, but also in terms of teaching and coaching ability.

We have maintained these standards for well over a decade now, and we are very proud of that fact. This is why you will see so many world class Coaches who have received their training from our Organization listed below.

We do not ‘revoke’ certification. Earning your Coaching or teaching certificate through SBGi is much like a belt in BJJ. Once given, it cannot be taken away. However, not everyone actively continues to Coach year after year. And not everyone works for, or with an SBGi branch Gym. As such, for sake of clarity we have listed those who are actively coaching at a SBGi location in Black. Those who have received training certification through us, but who are no longer teaching, or who are not working at a SBGi facility, are listed in gray. Coaches who have completed the Instructor Candidate Course held in Oregon (or other selected Gyms) have a red ICC after their name. And our Regional Directors, who are responsible for a large area of members, are listed at the top.

*(Certification as an SBGi Coach is separate from BJJ rank within our organization. Most people hold both, as we demand very high levels of BJJ skill from our Coaches. But you can also seek BJJ belt testing through us, by itself. For a list of members who have received belts through our BJJ association look at our BELT TREE).

SBGi Administration & Regional Directors

• Matt Thornton (President)
• Luis Gutierrez (Vice President)
• Karl Tanswell (Vice President Europe / UK Director)
• John Kavanagh (Head Coach BJJ Assoc. / RD Ireland)
• Mike Sweeney (SBGi Business Manager / RD Canada)

• Travis Davison (Regional Director Midwest USA)
• Steve Whittier (Regional Director East Coast)
• John Frankl (Regional Director Japan/Korea)
• Harry Powell (Regional Director Southern USA)

Coaches & Instructors
(names listed in GREY are no longer active in SBGi)

Full Instructor / Coach:

Instructor / Coach:

Instructors:

SBGi Principles:

Aliveness

Performance Integrity

Freedom of Learning

Athleticism 

Ethical Business Practices 

Adaptability

Coaching 

Attitude

Conditioning