Extreme Jiu-Jitsu & Grappling's Head Coach John Donehue travelled to the United States in February of 1990 with a predominantly boxing and kick boxing background. Once there he trained almost daily with his friend, World Champion Bill "Super foot" Wallace, at the famous Jet Centre in Los Angeles.
It was there that Bill introduced him to the legendary Gene LeBell who was teaching Judo and Grappling at Los Angeles City College. John started training with Gene immediately once he saw what was being offered.
He quickly became friends with Gene and was invited to train with him at his cabin in the mountains every weekend. At the early stages before grappling had really become big in the United States there was usually only Gene, John, Silvio Pimenta and John Lewis,who are also black belts in both Gene's system and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It was like getting private lessons every weekend. They would train from about 6pm until sometimes 2am or 3am.
At one of these training sessions, Rigan and Carlos Machado were invited up to the cabin to train with Gene. This is where John first met the Machado brothers. Gene suggested training with them so he could get more mat time, as they offered classes six days a week.
Now John was training with Gene LeBell and Carlos and Rigan Machado. He kept training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, competing for the Machado's on their U.S.A. Competition Team winning the Nationals twice and also receiving a Gold and Silver medal in the 1997 Joe Moriera Internationals.
John was also Rigan's main training partner in preparation for competitions, as they are around the same build and play a similar game since Rigan was his coach from white belt to black belt.
After being asked to referee The Extreme Fighting Championships and The Contenders, John met Rico Chiapparelli. Coach of the R.A.W. (Real American Wrestling) Team.
Rico is one of the best wrestlers America has ever produced. He received a scholarship to the University of Iowa to wrestle under the legendary coach, Dan Gable.
Rico was the NCAA Division 1 Champion, U.S. Freestyle Champion and World Cup Champion. John and Rico started working out back in Los Angeles 4-5 times per week. Rico teaching John wrestling and John teaching Rico Jiu-Jitsu and Gene's finishing holds.
Rico then would ask John to coach his team in finishes and defence of finishes to try and broaden their game for the no holds barred ring. Together John and Rico would travel around the United States and give joint seminars to different groups of martial artists.
The Machado's selected John to teach their form of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the famous Inosanto Academy in Los Angeles. John would also privately coach the legendary martial artist, Dan Inosanto on a weekly basis at Dan's home.
After a decade of living in the U.S. John is the only Australian to live overseas and train from white belt to black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and one, of only four black belts in the World and the only Australian under Gene LeBell.
He also obtained a Shodan (black belt) in Judo from Gene and the United Stated Judo Association and was the submission coach and training partner to Rico Chiapparelli and the R.A.W. Team.
John has returned to Australia as the most qualified and experienced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and grappling practitioner and coach who's goal is to bring a higher level of training here for anyone who has an open mind and is willing to learn.
"With Extreme Jiu-Jitsu and Grappling I am looking at the long term development of my students which is more important than anything else. My aim is to create open competition amongst all schools so we can raise the level of everyone in Australia so then we can honestly say that we can compete on an International Level"
In 1914, Esai Maeda (Count Koma) arrived in Brazil. He was a World Champion in Jiu-Jitsu and would travel Japan as a professional wrestler and fight all challengers. Once in Brazil, Esai became friends with Gastao Gracie and as a show of friendship he taught Gastao's son, Carlos Gracie, the art of Jiu-Jitsu.
From that point Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu kept on developing and was spreading all over Brazil. It is a style based more on leverage than strength, so it appeals to people from all walks of life. It is the world’s fastest growing martial art and it will continue to be this way as more and more people are recognizing the need for the grappling arts.
Nova Uniao are the World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champions. We are setting the standard around the world for the best competitors and coaches. This is seen in results both locally and internationally. Whether you are doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for self-defence, fitness, personal development or to compete, who better to do it with than the best? Nova Uniao sets a higher standard as all the representative academies are run by black belt instructors with years of competitive and teaching experience. This ensures that our standard stays at the highest possible level. New techniques and innovations are constantly being developed and are integrated into the syllabus on an ongoing basis, making sure our academies and students are always getting the best, most up to date information and instruction.
Extreme Jiu-Jitsu & Grappling is associated directly with Nova Uniao in Brazil and in the U.S.A. When we take a team over to Brazil or the U.S.A for competitions we compete together under the same banner. We are proud to be part of the World Champion Team.
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There is not much than can be said about Gene or his style that hasn't been said or written around the World by people who have felt his type of grappling. It is based on the old-time pro-wrestling moves of the early 1900's and pre-Olympic Judo where their newaza (mat work) had to be as good as their tachiwaza (stand up.)
Gene, who has been a World Champion in both, is a virtual encyclopaedia of grappling. When he was young his mother owned the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles where every week there would be World-Class boxing and pro-wrestling matches.
Gene also studied judo from a young age and would travel to Japan to train and compete. He became A.A.U. Judo National Champion in 1954 and 1955 in the Heavyweight and Overall Divisions. The Champions of all the different weight divisions competed against each other for the title of Overall Champion.
An incredible achievement as Gene only weighed 156 pounds (70kgs). Gene went on to win the Internationals in Judo, which was the equivalent to the Olympics, as Judo had not yet become an Olympic sport.
Gene then took up Pro-Wrestling back in the era where the old-time pros were actually incredibly tough and skilled fighters. Long before the Ultimate Fighting format and other no rules competitions came these old time pros who would travel around the country and take on all comers in no holds barred competition for prize money. It's not surprising why people like Chuck Norris, Bill "Superfoot" Wallace, and Benny "The Jet" Urquidez have all described Gene LeBell as the toughest man alive.
The techniques of the R.A.W. Team are based on collegiate, Freestyle and Greco Roman wrestling. This is their base of fighting, with all of the team members being champions in their own right in at least one of the three disciplines of wrestling.
They also cross-train in boxing, kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and finishing holds. Armed with this arsenal of techniques has made them a force to be reckoned with in the no holds barred arena.
With Champions like Tom Erickson (Brazil Open Heavyweight Champion), Frank Trigg (Vale Tudo Japan Champion) and Vladimir Matyushenko (Vale Tudo Japan Champion) Fernando Vasconcelos World Jiu-Jitsu Champion) on the team, along with their coach, Rico Chiapparelli, their style of fighting adds a whole new dimension to the sport.
Translated from the Portuguese language, Vale Tudo means, "anything goes".
Steadily, it has gained popularity in the United States, Japan and Europe over the past 10 years. It has been popular in Brazil for a long time but gained notoriety overseas with major events like The Ultimate Fighting Championship, Extreme Fighting, and Vale Tudo Japan. In Australia it's popularity will continue to increase as time goes on also.
'Extreme Vale Tudo' involves training with a blend of both stand-up kicking and punching techniques, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling, and Gene LeBell's finishing holds. This enables the student to become comfortable with any range and any level, whether it be standing or on the ground. In these classes you are taught not to rely on the gi, like in sport Jiu-Jitsu, as the training is done with just t-shirts and shorts.
Extreme Wrestling classes are taught by Australia's best ever wrestler Cris Brown.
Cris has represented his country at 5 Olympic Games in Freestyle Wrestling: Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992 & Atlanta 1996.
Some of his other achievements are:
Students now have the chance to cross-train with the two most qualified and experienced competitors and coaches in their respective fields. John Donehue for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Cris Brown for wrestling.
Extreme Kickboxing classes are taught by Mark Mullan.
Mark has been kickboxing for over 10 years and has worked with elite athletes including Tosca Petridis, Gurkan Ozkan, Daniel Dawson and Sam Soliman.
Some of his other achievements are:
Kickboxing offers a total body workout, which is great for those wanting to lose weight and improve overall fitness. In addition, you'll learn a variety of invaluable skills for self defence.