Don Whitefield grew up in Germany where he studied Judo in his youth. As an adult he practiced boxing before moving to Canada, where he started to train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Submission Fighting in 1997. Since then Don has had the opportunity to train with some of the greatest BJJ teachers in the world and he received his Jiu-Jitsu black belt from Ricardo De la Riva in his main academy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2009. Don is also a certified Carlson Gracie Instructor.
West Coast BJJ is now working with Rubens "Cobrinha" Charles (Cobrinhabjj.com), a 8 time World Champion who has his head quarters in Los Angeles, CA. Training with Cobrinha we are part of the Alliance network representing the Alliance banner in competition.
Demian Williamson has been training in the martial arts since 1992. He practiced Judo for seven years and achieved the rank of brown belt. He began to train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 1998 in New Jersey under David Adiv who is the senior student of Royler Gracie. Demian received his RGJJ Team blue belt in 2000 before moving to British Columbia. Since then he also practiced Temple Kung Fu and Kickboxing while he continued to train in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Demian is a very patient teacher as well as a strong and technical fighter with great takedowns. He is teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Submission Grappling classes as an experienced brown belt in Maple Ridge.
Click HERE to view Demian's competition record.
MMA & Kickboxing Instructor
Shawn Albrecht has been a part of the West Coast BJJ and MMA Team since the very beginning in 2004. Shawn has always trained very hard and is a very disciplined student and fighter. He has advanced quickly and currently has an amateur Mixed Martial Arts record of 6 wins and 2 losses and a professional MMA record of 8 wins and 5 losses.
Shawn is very well rounded in all disciplines of MMA and has won several Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Submission Grappling championships. Shawn currently teaches Kickboxing, R.E.A.L. Martial Arts and Mixed Martial Arts classes as an experienced brown belt in Port Coquitlam and Maple Ridge. He also looks after the students services for West Coast Martial Arts.
Click HERE to view Shawn's competition record.
Kickboxing Instructor
Jacen Brooks is the head instructor as well as the supervisor of the Kickboxing program in the Vancouver/Burnaby location. He has extensive knowledge & experience in Kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts competion and is the Battlefield Fight League Welterweight Champion.
Jason began training in BJJ at West Coast Martial Arts in the fall of 2007 and has since then spent countless hours on the mats. Jason was awarded his BJJ blue belt in Feb 2009 and since then has accumulated many tournament and championship wins. His love and dedication for the sport lead him to begin teaching full time by the fall of 2009.
Jason spent a month in Rio De Janeiro, Brasil. After his return Jason was awarded his BJJ purple belt by Don in 2009, Jason is known for being a technical fighter, and patient instructor with a well rounded game.
Jason is teaching BJJ and Submission Grappling in Port Coquitlam as a Brown Belt. He is also responsible for the student services at West Coast BJJ and is here to help all students and potential students, both on and off the mats.
Kickboxing Instructor
Jesse Bird is overseeing the R.E.A.L. Martial Arts and Kickboxing program in Abbotsford. He is a 2010 Tigerbalm Jiu-Jitsu and Western Canadian MMA Gold Medalist who has trained for 4 years. He is an experienced West Coast BJJ blue belt and has a 3-1 record as a MMA fighter for our team.
He recently spent 2 months in Thailand where he trained and fought representing the renown Ultra Fight Gym. He is received his prajiet form the Muay Thai International Association and is certified by the Thai government and Ultra Fight Gym to represent them and teach Kickboxing for our team.
