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Head Instructors
Black Belt
John Dudley is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) under Samuel Puccio, a black belt under Rodrigo Medeiros who, in turn, is a black belt under Carlson Gracie.More About John
John’s interest and passion for the martial arts began at a young age. It was in 1993 when he enrolled in a Chinese Kenpo School in Cape Girardeau, MO when he was 15 years old. John went on to receive his black belt in Chinese Kenpo in May of 1996 and received his third-degree black belt in the system under now Grandmaster Roger Arpin in February of 2001. John is also a member of the Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto-ryu, a traditional form of Japanese swordsmanship and one of the oldest surviving Japanese martial arts; having received his Mokuroku (advanced student certification) in 2009 after many years of training under the tutelage of Dr. Robert Dillon.
It was during his time as a Chinese Kenpo student when John first became interested in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. As with many martial artists during that time, an extreme fascination with BJJ came about on November 12, 1993. It was on this day that Royce Gracie shocked the martial arts world by defeating several renowned martial artists in the first ever Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Black Belt (1st Degree)
Darren Jones is a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Professor Michael Geery of New Port Richie Jiu-Jitsu Association located in New Port Richie, FL.More About Darren
A southeast Missouri native, Darren began studying BJJ in 2006, making frequent trips to St. Louis to train and compete until moving to the Tampa Florida Metro Area in 2010.
After a two year hiatus from training, Darren began studying under Professor Israel Rodriguez, and remained under his tutelage until 2016. While training under Prof. Rodriguez Darren began teaching and competing regularly and developed a passion for helping others begin their Jiu-Jitsu journey. From there he went on to train with Olympian Judoka Franklin Cisneros at Top Brother USA in Zephyrhills, FL.
While training under Prof. Cisneros, Darren developed a love for Judo and learned to incorporate many of its principles into his BJJ training. In 2016 Darren received his brown belt from Prof. Cisneros at Top Brother USA.
Since moving back to Southeast MO in April 2020, Darren’s goal is to help spread BJJ in the local community while teaching the art to the men and women of that area. Darren and his wife Anne have two children, Asher and Harper. When not on the mats Darren can often be found spending his time outside in the woods, on the water, or with his family.
Assistant Instructors
