Josh Brock

Josh Brock, Gracie Jiu-Jitsu 1 Stripe Purple Belt

              Josh is a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu 1 Stripe Purple Belt with over two decades of martial arts experience. A 3rd degree black belt in Taekwondo, he began training at the age of 8. After years of training in traditional martial arts, he became curious about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after hearing about its effectiveness on the Joe Rogan and Jocko podcasts. That curiosity led him to Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Fort Wayne in 2016 where he met then assistant instructor, Cameron Price (Gracie Jiu-Jitsu North Austin). Cameron, a GJJ black belt under Chet Schemahorn, took Josh through an introduction to Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, and in Josh’s words, “It felt like he had superpowers. I had no idea what he was doing or how he was doing it, but I knew right then that I had to learn this.” That sentiment was only bolstered when he met Chet a few days later and he has been training diligently under Chet and the rest of the Gracie Fort Wayne instructors ever since.

Like many, Jiu-Jitsu became an obsession for the new grappler. After years of training solely in stand up, striking martial arts Josh was immediately taken by the sheer effectiveness of the Gracie Combatives program. He was impressed by how quickly a new student could become “street ready” but the more time he spent on the mat, the more it became apparent that Gracie Combatives, despite its effectiveness, was just scratching the surface. Jiu-Jitsu was a bottomless well of questions and riddles, and Chet and his instructors seemed to have answers to seemingly all of them. More than that it was Chet’s spirit, expertise, and selfless commitment to the art and his students that made Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Fort Wayne a new home for Josh.

Under Chet and his assistant instructors, Josh earned his blue belt in 2018. The more he learned, the more he recognized that there was a lot more to learn. This fed his curiosity and drive to continue to grow and develop. He also started to recognize and appreciate the way Jiu-Jitsu could be molded and shaped to become effective in a myriad of ways. While all practitioners are studying the same art, each and every practitioner develops a unique style that best fits their own skills, traits, and characteristics. This makes the learning process fun and exciting as everyone’s path to black belt is unique. Moreover, the culture and family-like atmosphere gave more to him than simple Jiu-Jitsu instruction.

After earning his purple belt in 2023, Josh began to help another of Chet’s students teach beginner classes at his own academy. After growing his confidence and experience with teaching, Josh officially enrolled in the Gracie Instructor Certification course in order to help teach under Chet. With Chet’s, and his assistant instructors’ help, Josh was able to successfully complete the Gracie Instructor Certification course and obtain his ICP certification in July of 2024.

Over the last eight years, Josh has had the good fortune of training with Jiu-Jitsu practitioners from all over the world. He’s been able to attend two Ryron Gracie seminars, in addition to spending a week at Gracie University Headquarters, in Torrance, CA training under Ryron and Rener Gracie. Today he continues to strive to grow and improve in the art, but also to give back to it. It’s his sincere desire to help share Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and to give back to Chet and all those who have made training at Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Fort Wayne such an amazing experience.