In addition to being a new father, Ray Casias is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt and is a Robert Drysdale affiliate. Ray is the most decorated Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt in Middle Tennessee. He is a 2009 Pan American Champion in the GI and NO-GI and in 2010 he is a silver medalist in the Black Belt Absolute Division. Ray is also one of the first pro MMA fighters fighting in Tennessee fighting for various organizations including Gameness and Hook N' Shoot. Ray has conducted MMA, BJJ, and Self Defense seminars all over the country and now brings his skills to TBJJA as Owner and Head MMA and Jiu Jitsu Instructor.
Cory "Checkmate" Robison, a BJJ Brown Belt, is the Head Instructor for the Lil’ Rhinos Jiu-Jitsu Program at TBJJA(Tennessee Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy). He has lived, trained, competed, and won in Brazil, and "Checkmate" shows no signs of slowing down. Cory is a World Champion, being one of only eight Americans to win at the Mundials. Cory has competed in just about every national and international tournament circuit and currently holds several titles. An undefeated MMA fighter and BJJ World Champ all before the age of 22, Cory will make his Strikeforce debut on January 7th in his hometown of Nashville, TN.
Championships/Titles:
2010 WKA Bantamweight World MMA Champion
2009 World BJJ Champion
2009 Pan-American BJJ Champion
2009 European BJJ Champion
2008 Brazilian National Champion
2x C.A.G.E. Fighter Absolute Champion
Mr. Grappling 155lb Light Weight Champion
Mr. Grappling Absolute Champion
In addition to being a BJJ Black Belt, Joe "El Gallo Blanco" Langford also holds a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering. Joe is the assistant instructor for the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Submission Grappling Program at TBJJA (Tennessee Brazilian Jiu-JItsu Academy). Joe has trained many grappling and MMA champions on the ground game over the past 13 years and has a 10-1 MMA record himself. Joe also promotes BJJ and Submission Grappling Tournaments in Chicago and soon Tennessee.
Dave Brocklehurst is our Head BJJ instructor at the academy running our Gi classes. Dave is Black Belt under Shawn Hammonds and has been training in BJJ for over 10 years. Coach Dave is a student of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and makes sure all our students have all the basics of jiu jitsu before they move to our advanced program. Coach Dave is a father of two boys and as with all of our instructors keeps his family first.
George Ortiz is our Head instructor of our Intro To MMA program. Geogre is A Black Belt in Combat Muay Thai, and a Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Coach George's class is very intense and is dedicated pushing people to learn all aspects of martial arts. A student can expect to learn jiu jitsu, muay thai, wrestling, sambo, and boxing. Coach George is an experienced MMA fighter and brings that to his classes.
Womens BJJ Instructor:
Rachel Morrison Casias is Tennessee's only womens World Champion in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. She is a seasoned competitor in Jiu jitsu and is one of our female Thai instructors also. Rachel started Jiu Jitsu in 2008 as an alternative to weight training. She heads up our womens team and we are proud ot have her as our women's instructor:
