Jiu Jitsu Royalty

Our school prides itself on learning great martial arts skills from the best trainers and teachers in the world.  Our goal is to make these principles and training methods accessable for everyone, in an age appropriate manner.

I have been so fortunate to train with martial arts legends and masters.  I have also had the pleasure of training students who have become lifelong friends and in many way surpassed me in their skills and training.  Chris Blanke is one of those students.  I met Chris in 1984 at the school I was training at in Michigan.   Chris was so animated and excited about martial arts when I first met him, and he is still that way to this day.  We trained together whenever we could, at health clubs, in my parent's basement, we always trained hard.   Chris was there when I made my first trip to the Pacific Northwest in 1987, to train with James DeMile, one of Bruce Lee's first students.   We have taught Police Officers, Women's Self Defense program, we where even role play dummies at a police academy in Ohio. That was a fun day where new police academy graduates tried to arrest us and we where charged with trying to disarm the police officers.  So two or three officers would wrestle us to the ground and we had to try and disarm their weapons.   I received two broken ribs that day as payment!

Chris has also been there for some of the most important days of my life.  From me becoming and instructor in Wing Chun Do to being a groomsman in my wedding 15 years ago.  Chris and I have a long history.

Chris is a World Champion Sport Jujitsu Champion as well as a Pan American Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Champion.  When I left for Seattle in 1993 Chris immersed himself in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  Eventually helping bring legendary Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Champion Saulo Ribeiro to America.  Saulo could be equated to the Michael Jordan of Jiu Jitsu.  Amongst grapplers he is a legendary competitor and coach.  Saulo coaches athletes at the highest level of Jiu Jitsu and MMA.  Diego Sanchez, former UFC Champion,  is a student of Saulo's as well as many other top athletes.  Saulo and his now World Champion brother Xande literally lived with Chris for years back in Ohio.

Here is a video of Saulo discussing the "zen" of Jiu Jitsu.

Chris Blanke will be coming out to do a seminar in the near future.  You will be hearing much more about Ribeiro Jiu Jitsu in the near future.