Professor Young

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Professor Young has been involved in martial arts his entire life, most recently under Carlos Gracie Jr., head of the Gracie Barra Association and son of the founder of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Carlos Gracie Sr.  In the past Professor Young trained and received his Black Belt under Master Carlos Machado, the nephew to master Carlos Gracie (1900-94). He was born and raised in the DFW metroplex.

He is a retired police officer of 25 years, having served in both the Gang and Narcotics units and earning numerous commendations for outstanding performance for his work in training foreign police forces, school programs, and contributing to large scale investigations.  From there he became a Defensive Tactics instructor and implemented a self-defense curriculum that is still being used today.  In 1994, Professor Young began his journey in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after meeting world-renown Master Carlos Machado of the Machado Brothers while working security on the set for Walker, Texas Ranger. He then competed both nationally and internationally for Team Machado USA, winning a Bronze medal in the Pan-American Championship in his division.

After retiring from the police department, he decided to revisit his dream of sharing martial arts with the community and opened his first Jiu Jitsu Academy in Mansfield, TX in late July of 2010. Then in 2014 Professor Young joined the Gracie Barra Association under Master Carlos Gracie Jr. Professor Young believes in the push-pull methodology of learning and encourages students to strive for excellence in both martial arts and everyday life. By sharing his knowledge and experience with his students, he hopes to impart a positive tool to change the quality of life in each student, no matter what age and believes that everyone deserves the chance to do so.

To learn more about how Professor Young got his start in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, read his blog post: “How I Got My Start in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu”.