Lineage:
Mitsuyo Maeda –> Carlos Gracie Sr. –> Helio Gracie –> Carlos Gracie Junior –> Renzo Gracie –> Alex Henley –> Kirk Phillips
Kirk Phillips – BJJ Instructor
- BJJ Black Belt
Kirk Phillips is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt (by Luiz Palhares) and a former Marine Corps Close Combat Instructor originally from Rockford, Michigan. He began training Jiu Jitsu in 1997 while stationed in Japan. Upon returning to the states, he progressively pursued Jiu Jitsu both in Jacksonville, NC and Knoxville, Tn. He was promoted to Black Belt in 2022 and had previously instructed for Shield Systems Martial Arts in Knoxville, TN. He is also a traveling black belt instructor for the international BJJ Globetrotter Organization. He recently moved to Somerset, KY and is eager to love God and love people, by way of Jiu Jitsu.
1997 – Began learning Jiu Jitsu while stationed with the U.S. Marine Corps in Okinawa, Japan.
2000 – Started training in Jacksonville NC at an affiliate school of Gustavo Machado.
2001 – Became a Marine Corps Martial Arts Program instructor and taught combatives.
2005 – Started Training at Knox BJJ (Pedro Sauer affiliate School).
2010 – Started Training at Shield Systems (Luiz Pallhares Affiliate School)
2022 – Promoted to Black Belt and teaching at Shield Systems in Knoxville, Tn.
2022 – Started as a instructor for the BJJ Globetrotter Organization.
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