Jake was drafted out of high school by the Los Angeles Angels and then by the San Francisco Giants after junior college where he played three years in the Giants minor league system.

After baseball, he began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu on Maui with Luis Heredia, a 6th-degree black belt under the legendary Rickson Gracie. Jake originally started training for self-defense, but soon started to compete in local, national, and international tournaments.

Some of Jake's tournament accolades include earning 2 Bronze medals at IBJJF worlds in both 2008 and 2009 in the Adult heavyweight brown belt division , then winning both the Absolute division and his weight class at the IBJJF US National tournament in 2009.

Jake received black belt in September 2009 and immediately started his MMA career, where he amassed a 7-0 record with only a single fight going past the 1st round. He became a top prospect in the middleweight division and was selected as a "Prospect to Watch" by Sherdog, one of MMA s major news sites.

Jake retired from fighting in 2014 to focus on family and teaching at The Arena MMA, one of San Diego's premier combat sports gyms. Also, Jake has been involved as a combative instructor for the Navy Special Forces for over 7 years. His main passion is spending time with his wife and two kids, and some of his favorite hobbies include mountain biking and snowboarding. To Jake, the most rewarding thing about sharing and teaching jiu-jitsu is the positive impact it brings to peoples' lives, like being physically healthier, more confident, having better self-control, being goal driven and making a difference in the community.

Jake’s years of experience as a Jiu-Jitsu expert and instructor ensure you and your child receive the best possible instruction and guidance.

Try a free class today!