Alisha Ahmad
Alisha Ahmad built a Karachi jiu-jitsu academy from free classes at a judo club, maintaining his connection with Carlson Gracie London.
Biography
Sources for this profile
BJJ Eastern Europe, interview with Alisha Ahmad, April 6, 2015(opens in a new tab)
Ahmad grew up in Karachi and moved to London at eighteen to attend university.
Where in the source: First answer, opening sentences about Karachi and university.
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His early interest in kendo came from watching Akira Kurosawa films; he then looked for an unarmed martial art and found Carlson Gracie London through his interest in the UFC.
Where in the source: First answer, kendo and the search for a martial arts school.
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He began Muay Thai with Atilla Varga around 2008–09, struggled with the combinations, and preferred the jiu-jitsu class he tried with Simon Hayes.
Where in the source: First answer, Muay Thai training and the first jiu-jitsu class.
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University distractions initially interrupted his training. After returning to Karachi in 2011, he missed jiu-jitsu and accepted an opportunity to work in London, where he trained five or six days a week and competed.
Where in the source: First answer, inconsistent university training and the return to London.
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Simon Hayes promoted him to blue belt in December 2013; Ahmad moved back to Karachi shortly afterwards.
Where in the source: First answer, blue-belt promotion and departure from London.
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By April 2015 he was teaching twice weekly at a Karachi judo club and trying to build a regular student group while hoping to establish a dedicated Carlson Gracie school.
Where in the source: Second answer, classes at the judo club and the proposed academy.
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He was not charging for those early classes because he had no costs, but said fees might become necessary as demand grew. Maintaining students’ regular attendance was one difficulty he described.
Where in the source: Five-year goals answer, free classes, possible future fees and inconsistent attendance.
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He maintained his connection with Carlson Gracie London through visits roughly once a year and credited Wilson Junior, Simon Hayes, Dickie Martin and Alain Pozo with supporting him.
Where in the source: Second answer, London visits; final answer thanking his coaches.
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He wanted gi training to develop alongside the no-gi scene in Pakistan and believed a successful local competitor on the international stage could help attract wider interest.
Where in the source: Answers about the sport’s growth and the need for a local international competitor.
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Carlson Gracie Team Karachi, academy history and instructors(opens in a new tab)
The academy dates the beginning of Karachi Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy to 2014 and its opening as Carlson Gracie Team Karachi to May 2, 2016, describing the latter as Pakistan’s first dedicated BJJ academy.
Where in the source: Opening history beneath the introduction, before the lineage section.
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The school states that it joined the official Carlson Gracie Federation two years after its 2014 launch.
Where in the source: Opening history, second paragraph.
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Ahmad received his blue, purple, brown and black belts from his instructors at Carlson Gracie London, where his teachers included Wilson Jr. Cretaro, Dickie Martin and Simon Hayes.
Where in the source: Continuing the lineage, paragraph on his London teachers and belts.
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Carlson Gracie Team Karachi identifies Ahmad as its instructor and lists his black belt under Wilson Jr. Cretaro of Carlson Gracie London.
Where in the source: Continuing the lineage; belt-ranking card headed Alisha Ahmad.
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The academy describes its teaching approach as taking an opponent down, establishing control and then seeking a submission.
Where in the source: Opening history, paragraph describing the Carlson Gracie approach.
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Its published safety arrangements designate separate officers for women, children, men and the facility.
Where in the source: Safety officers section, role labels and named staff.
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Carlson Gracie Team Karachi, children’s programme and instructors(opens in a new tab)
Ahmad is listed as a black-belt instructor in the school’s children’s programme.
Where in the source: Meet the instructors, Alisha Ahmad card.
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The school lists Ahmad’s rank as first-degree black belt.
Where in the source: Meet the instructors, rank immediately below Alisha Ahmad.
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The children’s programme combines technical jiu-jitsu with grading, goal-setting, behavioural guidance and communication with parents, and separates ages five to seven from eight to twelve.
Where in the source: About CG Juniors and structured progress sections.
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Thrive Collective, founder and origins(opens in a new tab)
Thrive Collective identifies Ahmad as its founder and links the project with Carlson Gracie Team Karachi.
Where in the source: Project Thrive origins and Meet the Founder.
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In Thrive’s founder account, Ahmad describes himself as a former Pakistan national swimmer and says that competing in jiu-jitsu in his late twenties led him to pay greater attention to recovery.
Where in the source: Meet the Founder, first-person paragraph about swimming and competing.
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He says his exploration of recovery included sauna, cold plunges, compression, massage, mobility and yoga, and that he created Thrive to offer athletes a dedicated recovery space.
Where in the source: Meet the Founder, recovery methods and reason for establishing Thrive.
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Lineage
No teaching connections are shown on this page.
Open lineage