Darson Barrington Hemmings
Darson Hemmings developed his jiu-jitsu across Ontario and the United States, combining international competition with teaching.
Biography
Sources for this profile
BJJ Heroes, Darson Hemmings.(opens in a new tab)
The biography identifies Darson Hemmings as Darson Barrington Hemmings, a Jamaican/Canadian grappler.
Where in the source: Opening and Full Name.
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He was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in 1989.
Where in the source: Biography first paragraph.
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He moved to London, Ontario, as a child and began karate at nine before adding high-school wrestling and MMA.
Where in the source: Biography paragraphs1–2.
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Sam Zakula and Misha Cirkunov introduced him to no-gi at Xtreme Couture; Rob DiCenso later awarded his purple belt.
Where in the source: Biography paragraph3.
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He trained full-time with Ryan Hall in the United States; Hall also introduced him to gi jiu-jitsu.
Where in the source: Biography paragraphs3–4.
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Shawn Williams promoted him to brown belt, and he later joined Toronto BJJ.
Where in the source: Biography paragraph5.
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Jorge Britto awarded his black belt at Toronto BJJ on 5 December 2015.
Where in the source: Biography final paragraph.
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The profile lists berimbolo and the no-arm triangle as his favoured techniques.
Where in the source: Favorite Position/Technique.
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IBJJF official results, event 149.(opens in a new tab)
At the 2012 World No-Gi Championship, Hemmings won men’s adult purple-belt light-feather gold for Nova União.
Where in the source: Male / Adult / Purple / Light Feather (136.00lb),1 Darson,2 Jordan Che Landry,3 Gabe David Sagman/ Henrique Eiji Prates Itikawa.
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IBJJF official results, event 162.(opens in a new tab)
He won men’s adult brown-belt rooster at the 2013 Pan Championship, representing Open Mat Mixed Martial Arts.
Where in the source: Male / Adult / Brown / Rooster (122.60lb),1 Darson,2 Henry Iribe,3 Dustin M.Ordinario/Yahya Abdul Khaliq Afenir.
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IBJJF official results, event 232.(opens in a new tab)
He won the 2014 European Championship’s men’s adult brown-belt light-feather division for Open Mat.
Where in the source: Male / Adult / Brown / Light Feather (61.50kg),1 Darson,2 Mathias Jules Jardin,3 Alex Ecklin/Danilo Barbosa Moreira.
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IBJJF official results, event 352.(opens in a new tab)
At the 2015 Europeans he placed second in men’s adult brown-belt light-feather for Toronto BJJ.
Where in the source: Male / Adult / Brown / Light Feather (64.00kg),1 Mani Tavanaei Tavanaei,2 Darson,3 Axel Kristinsson/Carlos Saquic Perez.
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IBJJF official results, event 358.(opens in a new tab)
He finished second to Michael Musumeci Jr. in men’s adult brown-belt light-feather at the 2015 Pan Championship, under Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu.
Where in the source: Male / Adult / Brown / Light Feather (136.00lb),1 Michael Musumeci Jr.,2 Darson,3 Antonio Jose Gutierrez Casarez/M.Woolf Barnato.
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IBJJF official results, event 1136.(opens in a new tab)
He took bronze in men’s master1 black-belt light-feather at the 2019 Pan Championship for Jiu-Jitsu For Life Team.
Where in the source: Male / Master1 / Black / Light Feather (141.60lb),1 Ivaniel Cavalcante,2 Jordan BurtonIII,3 Darson/Rafael de Freitas.
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IBJJF official results, event 1986.(opens in a new tab)
He earned bronze in men’s master1 black-belt feather at the 2023 Pan Championship, representing Jiu-Jitsu For Life Team.
Where in the source: Male / Master1 / Black / Feather (154.60lb),1 Felipe Linhares Arruda,2 Esdras Félix Bezerra Júnior,3 Darson/Gabriel Marangoni.
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IBJJF official results, event 3027.(opens in a new tab)
At the 2026 World Master Championship he won bronze in men’s master2 black-belt light-feather, representing Cicero Costha Internacional.
Where in the source: Male / Master2 / Black / Light Feather (141.60lb),1 Reiss Bailey,2 Wanki Chae,3 Antonio Marcos da Fonseca Santana/Darson.
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TXMMA,17October2012, North American Championships recap.(opens in a new tab)
Hemmings won the 2012 ADCC North American qualifier in San Diego, listed first at under65kg ahead of Jeremy Spry and Jacob Sandoval.
Where in the source: Full 2012 results, Under65Kilos.
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Graciemag Newsroom,19October2013, day-one results.(opens in a new tab)
At the 2013 ADCC in Beijing, he lost his opening under66kg match to Rubens Cobrinha Charles by rear-naked choke.
Where in the source: Male -66kg openinground, followed by quarterfinals.
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BJJEE,30January2014, Eric Cong Phan interview.(opens in a new tab)
In a January2014 interview, Eric Cong Phan credited training with Hemmings at Open Mat with helping his jiu-jitsu mature.
Where in the source: Questions2,3,5 and instructorcaption.
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The Berimbolo Kid,29April2015, original Mikey Musumeci interview.(opens in a new tab)
Mikey Musumeci described the 2015 brown-belt Pan final against his friend Hemmings as probably his toughest match up to that point.
Where in the source: Question What has been your toughest match; adjacent caption2015Panfinal.
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Yorkdale Martial Arts Academy, About.(opens in a new tab)
Yorkdale Martial Arts Academy lists Darson Hemmings as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor.
Where in the source: Meet Our Instructors, Darson card.
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The academy identifies him as a black belt.
Where in the source: Darson card, 2nd Degree BJJ Black Belt.
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The academy lists his black belt as second degree.
Where in the source: Darson card, 2nd Degree BJJ Black Belt.
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Thicc Boy Fight Club#34, tbfc archive,25November2021.(opens in a new tab)
He recalled living around gyms and fight houses to maximise training time.
Where in the source: 5:04–5:59
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He said jiu-jitsu gave him confidence and a way of learning that he carried into other activities.
Where in the source: 8:43–9:15
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He described a shift from wanting to fight toward studying the art, and encouraged students to discover new techniques.
Where in the source: 10:22–11:22
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He said training with unfamiliar partners at different gyms had helped prepare him for competition.
Where in the source: 16:03–16:42
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In2021 he described teaching at Legends MMA in Brampton and Absolute BJJ in Hamilton, alongside private lessons in Toronto.
Where in the source: 14:23–14:38 and30:26–30:51
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He recalled years of predominantly playing guard and using berimbolo, and said teaching had sharpened his jiu-jitsu.
Where in the source: 20:42–21:37
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He recalled studying Marcelo Garcia’s matches and being drawn to his effectiveness against larger opponents.
Where in the source: 25:09–25:50
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In2021 he said an IBJJF gi world title remained his competitive ambition.
Where in the source: 28:32–28:50 and31:00–31:15
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Lineage
No teaching connections are shown on this page.
Open lineage