Gracie Barra Calgary
Head Instructor – Black Belt
Professor Josh Russell (an Alberta native) was the first Canadian to receive a black belt under Master Carlos Gracie Jr., accepting the honor from “Carlinhos” in front of his Rio academy at a year end Xmas barbeque celebration on December 18th, 2004. Earning all of his belts from white to black at the infamous Gracie Barra of Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, all the while learning to speak fluent Portuguese, was an amazing achievement accomplished by Josh in only 4 years. Returning home to Calgary in 2005, Professor Russell became one of the first high level instructors of authentic Brazilian jiu-jitsu in Canada.
Josh is the current and 3 time consecutive Mind Body Soul (the largest grappling tournament in Alberta) absolute submission grappling champion as well as the victor by submission of the first ever black belt gi super fight held in western Canada. “The Gringo” (Josh’s nickname in Brazil) holds a professional mixed martial arts record of 3-1 (along with an amateur record of 3-0), having competed once in Heat XC and three times in Canada’s largest MMA promotion The MFC Maximum Fighting Championship. Several of Professor Russell’s MMA and jiu-jitsu matches have been featured on both HDNet and The Fight Network.
Professor Russell has additionally trained and cornered numerous amateur and professional mixed martial artists at countless MMA events throughout North America. He has been a close friend, trainer, and cornerman to UFC veteran Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald for over 4 years and has been with him for all 10 of his Ultimate Fighting Championship matches.
Josh is also the author of a BJJ instructional DVD entitled “The Turtle” (produced by On The Mat in 2005), having established a reputation in Brazil for his turtle guard and for being very hard to submit from his back.
Professor Russell is the proud father of a 4 year old son named Téo.
Assistant Instructor – Brown Belt
Garrett Curran (Professor Russell’s first brown belt) proves every night on the mat why he is the top student in the club. Under 5′7 and weighing only 143lbs, Garrett exemplifies the Brazilian jiu-jitsu philosophy of using positioning, leverage, and superior technique to subdue much larger and stronger opponents.
Garrett has won numerous provincial jiu-jitsu and submission grappling tournaments, placed third in the 2009 North American Abu Dhabi Pro Trials, and holds a professional mixed martial arts record of 3-0 (he fought twice in the MFC Maximum Fighting Championship in Edmonton, once at Proving Ground 3 in the Cayman Islands, and ended all 3 of his matches by submission).
With a broad array of martial arts experience, including 8 years of grappling along with secondary training in Japanese ju jitsu, judo, and muay thai, Garrett is a true mixed martial artist and one of our most valuable assistant instructors.
Garrett is a proud member of I.U.E.C. local 130 and works full time as an elevator mechanic.
Assistant Instructor – Purple BeltWith 4 years of Brazilian jiu-jitsu experience, a black belt in karate, advanced wrestling skills, and the ability to do a standing back flip at 205lbs, Clifton Baker is one of our most gifted and athletic assistant instructors.
Clifton primarily assists Professor Russell with the instruction of our Advanced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Submission Grappling classes.
“Clif” is in his 4th year of school at the University of Calgary and is working towards his degree in Education.
Assistant Instructor – Purple BeltJeff James is a proud member of the Gracie Barra family and has been studying Brazilian jiu-jitsu for over 6 years. In addition to the technical training he receives under Professor Russell at GBC, Jeff had the pleasure of extensive training under Gracie Barra black belt, four-time world champion, and Professor Russell’s long time jiu-jitsu mentor Bruno Fernandes at Xtreme Couture in Toronto.
“JJ” assists with the instruction of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Fundamentals and Advanced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Jeff is employed at TD Bank where he is a Commercial Credit Manager for the TD National Real Estate Group.
Assistant Instructor – Blue Belt
At 6′4″ and a weight of only 155lb’s, combined with an insatiable passion for jiu-jitsu and quick learning ability, Chris “Slim” Mattock is rapidly making a name for himself as someone very difficult to handle on the mat. Chris has achieved numerous accolades in both gi and no gi competition (taking first at 2008 Mind Body Soul and first in the 2009 Summer Submission Series) and recently won his mixed martial arts amateur debut at Calgary, AB’s Hard Knocks Fighting Championship 2 (submitting his opponent by rear naked choke in only 48 seconds).
As one of the most dedicated members of the team, Chris assists with the instruction of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Fundamentals, Advanced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Submission Grappling, and Kids Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Chris is a kinesiology student at the University of Calgary.
Assistant Instructor – Blue BeltHaving been a member of Gracie Barra Calgary since virtually day 1 (Jon was there in the days of basement Dragon’s Den classes), Jonathan Liu brings a wealth of Brazilian jiu-jitsu knowledge and experience to the team. With his extensive grappling background combined with a selfless personality, Jon was an easy choice to have lead our children’s program.
As impactful as his BJJ instruction is, Jon’s influence on the club as a professional graphic designer has been just as significant. Jonathan is responsible for the design of all company logos, promotional and marketing materials, as well as our newly created website.
Jon also recently started his own design service company “Design Gorilla”, specializing in print, logo, graphic and web design.
Assistant Instructor – Blue Belt
Benjamin has been training at Gracie Barra Calgary since June 2007. A true student of the game, Ben is constantly trying to improve his ability and performance by drilling technique and working on functional fitness after class. Ben is a true ambassador of the sport who is always ready and willing to help anyone that is of need or asks for it. Benny is a regular member of the GBC competition team and has won or placed in many tournaments across Alberta; he has gained a reputation for being a tough match under any kind of circumstances. Ben has also started cornering teammates in mixed martial arts matches.
“Olhos Azuis”, which means blue eyes in Portuguese, instructs and assists in both the youth as well as the fundamentals program.
Ben is currently pursuing his masters of teaching at the University of Calgary.
