Instructors
Our Chief Instructor: Jeremiah Jackson
Kid’s Instructor and assistant: Ryan Ferguson
Jeremiah Jackson
Jeremiah Jackson began his Jiu-Jitsu journey in 2008, with a singular focus on obtaining his Blue Belt. Through determination and tremendous effort Jeremiah was able to achieve his Blue Belt in 6 months! By his own admission to achieve this Jeremiah "Ate, drank, slept, and dreamt Jiu-Jitsu." This promotion occurred on the last day to edit his registration for the 2009 Hoosier Open and compete in the Blue Belt division, learning A LOT!
While not an avid competitor, Jeremiah would compete on occasion to judge his abilities and progress against people that aren't his training partners. "Competition experiences help you to understand the nuances of what techniques work in a competition ruleset, and why those same techniques won't keep you safe on the street."
As his love and appreciation for Jiu-Jitsu grew, Jeremiah realized that his love for the art was as much about teaching Jiu-Jitsu as it was doing it. This behavior was more than appreciated by his training partners, drilling with an individual who has an excellent understanding of the foundation and mechanics of techniques allow for refining technique to a level of precision that everyone seeks. In January of 2014 Jeremiah became an instructor and began teaching. “Becoming an instructor was a huge milestone for me in my life. I was never a good student in school, always just getting by, problems comprehending… Jiu-Jitsu is different though. It’s a practice in the body, always ‘doing’ after ‘listening’. I always understood mechanics, and it was so satisfying to know that this shy kid could use angles and leverage in the body to move another person. Earing that certification was so rewarding! And, again, feeling that reward and satisfaction when I created my first Blue Belt.”
In 2020, Jeremiah made the decision to begin teaching full-time. With a decade of teaching experience he takes pride in teaching children Jiu-Jitsu and guiding them on their journey, and helping adults find the "answer" for why a technique just seems "off".
Jeremiah earned his Black Belt in June of 2021: “I earned my Black Belt on a journey that started when all I wanted was a Blue Belt! I still walk on the the mat every day as a White Belt, seeking knowledge and trying to perfect my basics. They say Jiu-Jitsu is a journey. Everyone’s journey is different, and my journey has been an amazing ride, serving as many humans as I can.”
Ryan Ferguson
Ryan Ferguson began his Jiu-Jitsu journey in 2022. When he started, Ryan's goal was to become so proficient in the fundamentals of Jiu-Jitsu that they became second nature. Shortly after receiving the second stripe on his white belt, Ryan realized how tall of an order this is and is still working on this goal today!
Ryan has a love/hate relationship with competitions. Ryan loves the comradery of having a group together supporting each other, and seeing his training partners and himself tested against competitors from other academies when everyone is playing to win. "I'm not a fan of points because too many competitors build a comfortable point lead and move just enough to avoid stalling penalties. When I compete I want my opponent to come at me with their best submissions, not their best point strategies." A self-identifying submission hunter, Ryan would prefer a submission only tournament instead of a conventional competition with points.
With an analytical mind, Ryan was often sought out as a training partner helping to identify where hang-ups were when a technique went wrong, or modifications when a person's mobility or body made the technique as prescribed difficult. On top of that, Ryan wouldn't move on from a drill until the technique was just right, "If I tap on a technique that isn't effective, I'm doing my training partner a disservice. I want my training partners to have fantastic technique and be deadly on the mat."
In 2025, Jeremiah approached Ryan about ideas on starting kids classes. Ryan took this and ran with it, creating the Mat Monsters curriculum and building out the curriculum. While a bit older than the kids, Ryan is still a kid at heart and takes great pride in seeing the improvements of his students and loves to sell when his younger students are applying a technique on him. "Children learn best from a place of joy. And while we deal with self-defense and bullies, it's important that we keep it fun and playful. It doesn't matter if it's the best instruction in the world, if a child doesn't enjoy doing Jiu-Jitsu, they won't stick with it. It's my goal that the kids love it so much that they're disappointed when they can't make class."
Ryan earned his Blue Belt in January of 2024. "Every time I tie on my Blue Belt, I still feel like a White Belt, with so much to learn. My goal is to get better on at least one thing every time I step on the mat."