Chris Hughes - Gracie Barra Brazillian Jiu Jitsu Instructor
Chris Hughes began his martial arts training at the young age of 9 and has his black belt in Karate.
Chris is a purple belt in Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu under Carlos Gracie Jr. and Marcio Feitosa. He has been training Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu since 1998 and started with Royce and Rorion Gracie in California. Chris has trained with some of the best schools such as Rigan Machado's, Allan Goes' and Carlson Gracie's. Since that time he has dedicated his studies to the art of Jiu-Jitsu and his loyalties are with Gracie Barra.
Chris became involved with Jiu-Jitsu after realizing that stand up fighting played just a small part in honing his skills. He began to understand that he had to learn how to fight if an altercation ended in a clinch or someone taking him to the ground. He found that traditional stand up arts usually always ended in a clinch after a couple of punches or kicks were thrown. It always frustrated him because he wanted to take them to the ground, but would have been penalized. Jiu-Jitsu was the complete package.
Chris feels the art of Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu is like a chess match; you are always trying to think a couple of moves ahead of your opponent. For every attack there is a counter-attack; for every offense there is a defense. It is about leverage and technique. It is about using your body movement not your brute strength; because of this a person of any size or stature can excel. It is never boring or monotonous; you are always learning new moves and improving your base.
Chris has witnessed Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu increasing his students self-confidence and changing their lives in a positive way. That is what the art of Jiu-Jitsu is all about -- changing lives for the better, which in turn makes it a way of life.
