Instructor

Born in Dec 1985, in Anchorage, AK, Stephen began his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu journey when he was 22 years old, to replace high school wrestling for physical fitness. Stephen discovered an instant love for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and martial arts. Training and competing in tournaments all over the world and eventually earning his black belt. In his 15 years of Martial Arts training, Stephen discovered that the best part of martial arts is both the individuality and togetherness that martial arts can bring to people. Togetherness in a community, but building up your individuality, confidence, and self-worth at all levels of martial arts. Committing to a positive environment and atmosphere of learning and joy. When he’s not at AGA, Stephen loves spending time with his wife, Tristian, and his son, Diomedes. He loves the outdoors, hiking, ice bathing, and weight lifting.

Instructor

Lilan first stumbled upon martial arts when her dad made her start Tae Kwon Do at age 8 and started instructing at age 16. She took a 7-year break but has been training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and practicing Acro Yoga since 2013, minus some time on the couch in honor of Covid. She loves what the balance and precision of Acro Yoga has added to her Jiu-Jitsu game. Lilan has discovered that Jiu-Jitsu is the ultimate way to clear your mind when the going gets rough and the most fulfilling way to spread joy when life is good! 

Instructor

Coach Nick is the head coach for our kid’s striking program.  He’s been practicing and competing in a wide variety of combat sports for over half his life.  

He started wrestling in 7th grade, then added Judo and Jiu-Jitsu not long after.  In 2010, he placed 4th in Alaska in freestyle wrestling and competed in the Nationals in Fargo, ND that year.  In 2011 and 2012 he places 1st in the state in Judo.

In 2018, after some time away from the gym, Nick had both his amateur MMA and boxing debuts, weighing in at 250 pounds at the time.  He finished as an amateur at 5-1 in MMA and 2-2 in boxing.  In 2020, he made his professional MMA debut, winning by submission in 14 seconds and setting a new Alaska Fighting Championship record for "fastest win by submission".

He’s currently 3-0 as a professional and a top 10 ranked fighter at both lightweight and welterweight.  He’s also a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Instructor

Coach Jeremiah Williams has been involved in martial arts on and off for most of his life, but didn't get serious until he started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2007. Since the start of his journey, he has competed in BJJ frequently and at every level. As a white and blue belt, he won tournaments all over the Pacific Northwest; as a purple belt, he won both bronze and gold medals at the Pan-American Championships.

Along with BJJ, he has also trained in wrestling, boxing, and kickboxing. While competing as a mixed martial arts fighter, his record was 3-0. He received his black belt certification in 2017 from Mauricio "Tinguinha" Mariano. Since then, he's competed in both Pan-Am and Master's World's as a black belt, while continuing to train, coach, and grow.

Instructor

Brandon started practicing martial arts at age 5 under his father, Kung Fu master, Bruce Bibee.  For black belt degrees, Bruce would encourage his students to study other martial arts and teach a class about what they learned.  In the mid-90s one of those martial arts was Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.  Bruce incorporated grappling to be a major part of his kid's class curriculum.  Brandon began training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at age 8.

 

Brandon is now a second-degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and a first-degree Kung Fu San Soo black belt.  He is a three-time Alaska state submission grappling champion.  He has over 20 years of experience teaching.  He has taught adults and children's Jiu-Jitsu and Kung Fu classes, he has also instructed and assisted with many self-defense workshops.  

 

Brandon is excited to be a part of the Anchorage grappling academy co-op.

Instructor

James Marchetti is a purple belt. He’s thicc AF & teaches our lunch class at 11:30 am, so he can consume any unlikely. He pastors a local church so you may refer to him as The Pastor of Disaster, or The Patron Saint of Violence. He owned a construction business for almost 20 years, so he places a high value on having a strong foundation, the proper order of operations, &… frames! He has parented 21 kids - so he’s prepared for pretty much any weird question or confusion you may have. Be wary of his growling stomach during the after-class rolls, lest ye be devoured.

Assistant Kids Jiu-jitsu Instructor

Matthew is a purple belt who helps out with the kids jiu-jitsu classes. He started jiu-jitsu in 1999 and trained for three years before taking a long break. He recently rediscovered the joy of "playing" jiu-jitsu with his own children.