He was fortunate enough to begin his journey learning in the вЂњGracie GarageвЂќ in Torrance, CA from Grand Master Rorion Gracie, Master Royce Gracie, Master Royler Gracie, Master Carlos Machado, Master Rigan Machado, and of course, Master Rickson Gracie.Black Belt in Combat Jiu Jitsu under Master Pedro Sauer Lead Instructor - Total Defense Coach Level 2 in Combat Submission Wrestling under Sensei Erik Paulson.Beverly Hills Jiu Jitsu Club (Los Angeles, CA) Benign Hypermobility Joint Syndrome (limb pain) Bishop Hall Jubilee School (Hong Kong) Brighton and Hove Junior Youth Orchestra (UK) Babcock-Hitachi K.K. Excellent Jiu-Jitsu seems to run in Professor FernandoвЂ™s blood.Dave Kama has been a student of Jiu Jitsu since the mid 1980s. He has been teaching and training at the Kama Jiu-Jitsu Laguna Niguel (previously Rickson Gracie Laguna Niguel) for over 22 years. He received his black belt in 2008, and now is a 3rd degree black belt under David Kama / Rickson Gracie Jiu Jitsu.

Dave Kama also #2 of the вЂњDirty DozenвЂќ, a moniker given to the first 12 non-Brazilians to earn the coveted black belt.Baylin Legner - Sunset Hills Dr, O Fallon, MO. Dave is one of the very few people to have trained under Master Rickson and have all his belts awarded to him by Rickson, blue belt through black belt. Rigan and Carlos Machado opened RCJ Machado, Royler returned to Brazil, and Rickson opened his original Pico Blvd studio in West L.A. Rorion and Royce ran the Gracie Academy.

Ryan made the transition to Master RicksonвЂ™s academy shortly after he opened his own academy in West L.A. Upon moving to California in 1992, he began training at The Gracie Academy in Torrance, where he met Dave Kama.They immediately became friends due to their common Hawaiian heritage. In 2012, upon Master RicksonвЂ™s retirement, Dave officially changed the name of the school from Rickson Gracie Laguna Niguel to Kama Jiu-Jitsu, part of the Rickson Gracie Team of Academies.Professor Ryan began his journey under Master RicksonвЂ™s older brother, Grand Master Relson Gracie in 1989. Dave has been running this location ever since. Fitness and discipline for.In 1993, Master Rickson asked Dave to take over as head instructor at the Rickson Gracie Laguna Niguel location. We offer children, teen and adult programs.

It was here, that he joined the Kama Jiu-Jitsu team in 2016. Given the stresses as a young college football coach, Zack took up Gracie Jiu-Jitsu as a hobby while coaching at UNC Chapel Hill where he earned his blue belt.Wanting to be closer to family in Oklahoma, Zack took a promotion to head up the the football as well as the entire universityвЂ™s Sports and Conditioning Program at UNT in Denton. In 2015, Kama Jiu-Jitsu Dallas Fort Worth relocated to its current location in Flower Mound, TX.Professor Young attained his 3rd degree Black Belt from Master David Kama on July 17, 2021.Oklahoma born and raised, Prof Zack makes his living as a Division I NCAA Football Sports and Conditioning Coach. In the mid-2000s, he also studied Judo under Japanese Judo legend Nori Bunasawa (8th Dan Kodokan), until he was sidelined by injury.In 2009 he was reunited with and settled in to his ultimate jiu-jitsu home at Professor DaveвЂ™s academy where he became an instructor and learned to teach what is called вЂњThe Dave Kama Way.вЂќ Ryan became вЂњProfessorвЂќ Ryan in May 2012, when he earned his professor bars on his black belt from Professor Dave Kama.Prof Dave and Prof Ryan opened KJJвЂ™s first academy outside of California in October 2013, when Kama Jiu-Jitsu Dallas Fort Worth opened its doors in Highland Village, TX. At these other academies (Dirty Dozen member Ken GabrielsonвЂ™s Combative Fighting Systems, and Brad JacksonвЂ™s Ralph Gracie OC), Ryan met and studied under other prominent black belts such as Rodrigo Gracie, Roger Machado, Mauricio вЂњTinguinhaвЂќ Mariano, Renato Migliaccio, and Eduardo Fraga.During this time, he spent a significant amount of time learning the competition game until he retired from active competition in 1996.

In March of 2021, вЂњInstructorвЂќ Zack became вЂњProfessorвЂќ Zack when he earned his Kama Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt - KJJвЂ™s first black belt awarded since 2012!Professor Zack continues to offer his decades of experience teaching and coaching at the highest levels of sports to current Kama Jiu-Jitsu students both in our group classes as well as in select 1-on-1 sessions. He also offered up his coaching/teaching skills to KJJ and entered our Instructor Training Program (ITP) after mastering our White to Blue Belt Curriculum to begin his teaching journey.

Black Hills Jiu Jitsu