JW Wright

Main Achievements

Grappling & BJJ Accolades:

• 1st Place — IBJJF Pan American Champion (2010 Master 1)
• 1st Place — IBJJF Chicago Open Champion (2013 Master 1)
• 3rd Place — IBJJF Las Vegas Open (2010 Bronze Medalist)
• AAU Sambo National Championship Medalist — Secured a podium finish on the traditional Russian style circuit.

Combat Sports & Entrepreneurial Highlights:

• Co-Founder of FUJI BJJ — Scaled a regional 8-event circuit into one of the country’s largest tournament franchises, conducting nearly 80 events annually.
• Founder of Respect Pro — Masterminded a high-profile professional stage explicitly engineered to celebrate traditional gi grappling.
• Midwest BJJ Pioneer — Established Gracie Humaitá St. Louis, the premier flagship grappling pipeline across Missouri.

Overview

[JW Wright](https://bjjbloodline.com/teacher/jw-wright/) is a highly respected Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Master Royler Gracie and a vital, foundational pioneer for submission grappling in the American Midwest. Serving as the master general of Gracie Humaitá St. Louis, Missouri, Wright has spent decades meticulously carving out a world-class reputation as an elite coach, talent scout, and athletic mentor. Beyond his profound technical guidance on the mats, he operates as a titan of sports industry infrastructure, co-founding the massively successful nationwide FUJI BJJ tournament franchise.

Martial Arts Roots & Cross-Training Foundations

JW Wright was born on January 1, 1976, and raised in the rural municipality of Steelville, Missouri. His lifelong dedication to physical combat disciplines ignited during his early teenage years. Undeterred by the complete lack of martial arts infrastructure in his immediate vicinity, Wright famously began driving multiple towns over simply to absorb traditional Karate striking mechanics, subsequently diversifying his upright baseline by training in Taekwondo and full-contact kickboxing circuits.

In 1995, observing the historic, leverage-based open-weight dominance of the Gracie family inside the early Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events completely revolutionized his sporting trajectory. Deeply eager to learn submission grappling but entirely restricted by the complete absence of local BJJ academies at the time, Wright strategically pivoted to Sambo in 1996. He excelled rapidly within the elite Russian system, capturing a bronze medal at the AAU Sambo National Championships and officially securing his Sambo black belt rank in 2001. When his foundational head coach formally retired from the room, Wright stepped onto the mats to inherit the program, marking the official genesis of his master coaching career.

Connecting with the Gracies & Mid-American Pioneering

Throughout his grueling Sambo tenure, Wright maintained an unyielding desire to acquire authentic Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu knowledge. Profoundly fascinated by the technical mastery of multiple-time World Champion Royler Gracie, JW traveled to attend a regional Gracie Humaitá seminar in 1999. In a massive stroke of luck and timing, he managed to successfully book a private, one-on-one masterclass directly with Royler himself.

Deeply impressed by the young Missourian’s immense physical work ethic and kinetic intelligence, Royler personally connected him with top US-based senior instructor David Adiv. From that defining historic milestone forward, Wright dedicated his entire professional vacation time to executing exhaustive training trips—commuting between New Jersey to study complex passing scripts under Adiv, and Rio de Janeiro to imbed himself inside Royler’s elite room at the historic Humaitá headquarters. In 2002, under their direct guidance, he officially opened his independent grappling collective in St. Louis, establishing a pioneering vanguard academy for the entire Midwest. His years of exceptional dedication culminated in 2008 when he was awarded his BJJ black belt directly on the mats by Master [Royler Gracie](https://bjjbloodline.com/teacher/jw-wright/).

Industrial Entrepreneurship & The “Fat Sneaky Raccoon”

Following a brief competitive foray into professional mixed martial arts (MMA), Wright shifted his profound focus entirely toward macro sports promotion and event production. In 2015, he joined forces with Vince Anzelone, World Judo Champion Jimmy Pedro, and Lia Hatashita to formally launch FUJI BJJ. What initially materialized as a modest, regional 8-event circuit was rapidly scaled via strict organizational discipline into one of the largest sport grappling tournament franchises in North America, successfully executing nearly 80 high-profile events nationwide every year. Concurrently, Wright spearheaded Respect Professional Jiu-Jitsu, an elite, invitation-only pro stage explicitly engineered to champion traditional gi artistry under a customized ruleset.

One of the most uniquely charismatic and endearing elements of Wright’s identity within the global grappling community is his official association with the raccoon. The legendary inside joke was birthed after an academy student playfully teased him regarding his off-season nutritional habits, noting his fondness for donuts and energy drinks, joking that he looked “like a fat, sneaky raccoon” when he wasn’t locked into a strict championship training camp. The humorous moniker rapidly took on a creative life of its own; students initially integrated a stuffed raccoon wearing a miniature gi into their tournament podium pictures, which eventually blossomed into official, highly sought-after team uniform patches and the beloved central mascot for his entire coaching lineage, including top-tier champions like [Jena Bishop](https://bjjbloodline.com/teacher/jw-wright/). Today, Professor JW Wright continues to expand his Midwest empire, seamlessly balancing world-class business operations with elite, traditional submission instruction.