Wrestling:

 

Stephen Tirapelle - Head Coach of Clovis High School. He is currently in the USA Wrestling Hall of Fame & has the most state championships in the history of California. He taught me the importance of learning a system and how easy it is to win when you drill well and practice the basics. Clovis High has the most successful wrestling program in California for a reason.

 

Anthony Camacho - Head Coach of Fresno City College. I was his very 1st State Champion. He earned Coach of the Year in 2001, when my team won the state championship. Not only did I wrestle for him, but I also coached alongside him for 2 years at Clovis East High School. He taught me how to be a champion and what it took to have a solid mental game. He understood me better than anyone.

 

Dan Hicks - Head Coach of Cal State Fullerton. Coach Hicks developed his own system and was a master of what he taught. He invented his own way of getting off of the bottom called the "Quasi"and brought me the highest level of college wrestling. His system was built off of basics and he himself had been wrestling since he was 4 years old, giving his wrestlers an edge of experience that could improve even the highest level of athlete.

 

 

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

 

Phill Snavely - Phill Snavely - Head Instructor of Impact Martial Arts & my first Jiu Jitsu instructor. He competely opened my eyes to another world and really showed me what the martial art of Jiu Jitsu, was not synonymous with the sport of Jiu Jitsu. He taught everything from self-defense tequniques to pure grappling. He was an excellent instructor and made it very clear that the value Jiu Jitsu is in the art’s ability to be applied practically, in a real life situation.

 

Chris Brennan - Head Instructor of Next Generation. This is the man that I credit most of my jiu jitsu to. On top of being a world class instructor, he showed me what it was like to be apart of a big jiu jitsu family. No matter what, if you were his guy, he put everything into making you better. He taught me his philosophies and took me to a level where I was regularly defeating black belts when I was a purple belt. He is the "Master of the Kimura" and was inducted into the MMA Hall of Fame in 2014. 

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Jeremy Williams - Head Instructor at Apex & was Chris Brennan's first black belt. He was an incredible individual and continued what Chris Brennan had started. He had a great fight team, great students, and great grappling team. He also taught us to be Martial Artisits instead of hoodlums with a weapon. He was an amazinng teacher and friend that we lost in 2007 and I miss him very much.  

 

Rick Estrada - Head Jiu Jitsu Instructor of Subfighter Mixed Martial Arts & founder of Subfighter.com. He was a master of chokes and top control. He was very innovative, taught me many types of chokes, and passed on valuable knowledge that really helped round out my game.

 

 

Strength & Conditioning

 

Dr. Lee Brown - Professor at CSUF & President of the National Strength & Conditioning Association. This man broke down how to make a program in which you can peak your body on a specific day. This is one of the most valuable tools that I received from college that I have used for my own athletes, as well as myself. I also learned common pitfalls why others’ are unable to peak their body. Using his system, I was able to power clean 250lbs and snatch 190lbs while I was at a natural body weight of 162bs. Needless to say he taught me that there is a scientific approach to training...and it works!

 

 

Boxing

 

Jimmy Jackson - The "Master Blaster"... for real. This man had over 80 pro boxing fights and was able to pass on his knowledge extremely well. One of the biggest things that he taught me was that boxing and wrestling footwork are identical. This made it so much easier to use andcombine with take-downs. Learning from this man was a privilege as he really knew how to coach. He was the missing piece that I needed to help complete a total martial arts system. 

 

 

Olympic Lifting

 

Dennis Miura - Yes, my dad. He has 10 years of competitive weightlifting under his belt & still holds California State records at the 123lb weight class. I started lifting weights, under his guidance at 13 years old. He taught me how to lift correctly and I saw immediate results.