Jose Dias

Head Instructor

Jose (Ze) Dias is a 1st degree Black Belt under Master Carlos Gracie Jr., from the world famous Gracie Barra. He started to train when he was 14 years old and hasn't stopped since.

Ze's passion for BJJ turned him into a profound scholor of the game and his attention to detail is constantly present in his teaching. As a professor, he taught at the number one school in the world, Gracie Barra Rio de Janeiro. Ze has also taught at the Gracie Barra America and Ralph Gracie San Francisco academies.

Ze is also an active competitor, having achieved the titles of Brazilian National Champion, Rio State Champion, OTM Champion, and 2nd at the US National Championship. Ze received his degree in business administration at P.U.C.

Mike Riedel

Instructor

Professor Mike began training Brazilian Jiu JItsu in 1997. He met Professor Ricardo while on vacation in Las Vegas in 1999 and has been training under him since. In addition to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Mike is also a second-degree black belt under legendary karate fighter Joe Lewis, has trained boxing under Bobby Giachetti during the '90s and volunteers as an assistant wrestling coach for Cardinal High School.

Mike is a graduate of Kent State University, a former Lake County Deputy Sheriff and currently works as an insurance agent for Nationwide Insurance company

Ante Dzolic

Assistant Instructor

Instructor Ante has been studying the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu since 2001, although his martial arts journey started nearly 25 years ago. During that time, he studied Chinese, Indonesian, Korean, Filipino and French martial arts. He has been an accomplished martial artist, reaching the level of black belt in Kun Tao and level one instructor in Jeet Kune Do.

For the past seven years, Instructor Ante has been working as a local police officer and is a role model for discipline and integrity.

Stephen McAuliffe

Assistant Instructor

Instructor Steve has been training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for four years. His journey with martial arts, like many others, didn't begin with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He started out with Karate, Boxing, and Muay Thai. Although these arets were all effective, he was always aware of the hype that was surrounding Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. After being shown by a 123lb brown belt how effective it could be as self defense, he was hooked. As a devoted student of the art, Instructor Steve currently holds the rank of purple belt.

Stepehn is a father of four girls who all train and a son who will soon bew joining them on the mats.

Doug Kulbis

Muay Thai Instructor

Doug Kulbis served four years in the United State Marine Corps infantry, where he also assisted as an instructor in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP). He later applied his training to Muay Thai and ultimately Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Mr. Kulbis has been training Muay Thai for eight years, the last two under internationally ranked and UFC veteran Ryan Madigan.

Doug has also trained with world champion kickboxers, such as Rob Kamen and Duke Roufus. Doug is the former NAAFS national amateur champion, with a very impressive amateur career remaining undefeated throughout. Since turning pro, Doug has shown the versatility and technique that has made him such a suyccessful fighter and instructor.