Skip to content
The BJJ Story
Search
Back to people
Two training partners meeting on the mat.Drawn in cream, forest green, and muted terracotta. People and objects are symbolic illustrations.
Portrait unavailable. General BJJ illustration; not a likeness of this person.Illustration: The BJJ Story

Andy Medcalf

Andy Medcalf taught Alberto Ismail, later an Osmosis BJJ coach.

Biography

Andy Medcalf’s family had a Gracie Barra gym in Britain before opening a school in New Zealand’s Bucklands Beach. A 2025 Times feature describes how watching Andy teach inspired his son Ryan to become a teacher himself. His own promotion appeared in Serge Morel’s Auckland BJJ blog in September 2018. Morel reported that Raphael Dos Santos had awarded him his black belt and identified him as Buckland Beach BJJ’s owner and head coach. He also noted Andy’s fundraising events for Variety, the children’s charity. Another connection appears in Osmosis’s biography of coach Alberto Ismail. It recalls Alberto’s time at Bucklands Beach, where he trained, competed and coached under Andy. This is a later coach’s account of learning within Andy’s school.

Sources for this profile

  • Times, May 2025.(opens in a new tab)

    • Times’ 2025 account identifies Andy as Ryan Medcalf’s father and former Bucklands Beach BJJ/MMA owner, tracing the family’s Gracie Barra gym in Britain, subsequent New Zealand school and Ryan’s desire to teach after watching his father.

      Where in the source: Family schools and teaching inspiration.

      Accessed:

  • Auckland BJJ, 2018.(opens in a new tab)

    • Serge Morel’s September 2018 Auckland BJJ post reports Medcalf’s black-belt promotion by Raphael Dos Santos, identifies him as Buckland Beach BJJ’s owner/head coach and mentions his fundraising for children’s charity Variety.

      Where in the source: Promotion, school and fundraising.

      Accessed:

  • Osmosis, About.(opens in a new tab)

    • Osmosis’s biography of coach Alberto Ismail describes his time at Bucklands Beach BJJ and says he competed, coached and trained under Andy Medcalf.

      Where in the source: Alberto Ismail’s biography.

      Accessed:

Lineage

No teaching connections are shown on this page.

Open lineage