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Fernando Huguett

Fernando Huguett moved from learning jiu-jitsu in Amsterdam to coaching and competing with IMMARTIAL’s Curaçao team.

Biography

Fernando Huguett was introduced as IMMARTIAL’s head Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach in April 2019, in a teaching arrangement connecting the Curaçao school with Medina Grappling. Chris Tjon provided guidance, while Huguett led the program. His own training began at UCT in Amsterdam in 2013, according to IMMARTIAL’s biography. Seminars with Clark Gracie and Marcelo Garcia were among the learning experiences it credits with his development. In 2016, he moved to Curaçao as a blue belt and continued at Medina Grappling under Tjon. The published 2019 timetable offered practice in the early morning and evening. Morning practice depended on meeting a minimum attendance requirement. The school offered training both in the gi jacket and without it. Its course description placed belt examinations with Tjon through the Medina collaboration, giving the program a connection to his supervision as well as Huguett’s teaching. AJP’s Willemstad club entry also lists Huguett as an IMMARTIAL administrator alongside Gideon Jonker. According to his academy, Don Whitefield awarded him his black belt in December 2023. The biography describes the promotion as a surprise and presents him as continuing his technical development while sharing his knowledge at IMMARTIAL. By November 2024, his coaching was visible in a trip to Barbados with Baris Namlioglu and Chris Soeterboek. In nu.CW’s account, Huguett singled out Namlioglu’s arm-triangle choke, technique and perseverance. Huguett also linked the outing to sustained work in the training program and the commitment both athletes brought to it. Preparing for Colombia in February 2025, he described a different test ahead. Huguett and five other IMMARTIAL athletes were planning to enter the AJP event in Bogotá on March 1. After several weeks of preparation, he expected a larger and stronger field than the one they had encountered in Barbados. He wanted to see how their skills held up against it. Dick Drayer’s preview also placed the trip within the team’s ambition for BJJ to gain wider recognition and a more professional footing in the region. The May 2026 Panama report documents Huguett traveling with IMMARTIAL’s Curaçao delegation as both coach and competitor. Speaking to nu.CW, he saw the outing as a sign that the island’s developing jiu-jitsu community could hold its own against other countries.

Sources for this profile

  • IMMARTIAL, Huguett biography.(opens in a new tab)

    • IMMARTIAL’s biography dates Huguett’s BJJ start to 2013 with UCT in Amsterdam, his move to Curaçao as a blue belt to 2016, and joining its staff to April 2019. It names Chris Tjon at Medina Grappling as a teacher, describes seminars with Clark Gracie and Marcelo Garcia, and identifies its head BJJ coach as a December 2023 black belt under Don Whitefield, still developing his technique and sharing it.

      Where in the source: About Fernando; Experience.

      Accessed:

  • IMMARTIAL, BJJ class, 3 April 2019.(opens in a new tab)

    • IMMARTIAL’s April 2019 class announcement named Huguett head BJJ coach under Chris Tjon’s guidance in a collaboration with Medina Grappling. Its timetable offered early-morning and evening practice, with a minimum attendance requirement for the morning session.

      Where in the source: Class introduction; three timeslots.

      Accessed:

  • IMMARTIAL, BJJ course.(opens in a new tab)

    • The school’s course description includes gi and no-gi training and says Chris Tjon conducts the BJJ belt examinations through its Medina Grappling collaboration.

      Where in the source: Programme; belt examinations.

      Accessed:

  • nu.CW, Barbados report, 11 November 2024.(opens in a new tab)

    • In November 2024 nu.CW reported Huguett coaching Baris Namlioglu and Chris Soeterboek at a Barbados tournament. He praised Namlioglu’s arm-triangle attack, technique and perseverance, and described the trip as evidence of continuity in their training programme and the athletes’ commitment.

      Where in the source: Coach’s assessments of the two athletes.

      Accessed:

  • Dick Drayer, Curaçao.nu, 27 February 2025.(opens in a new tab)

    • In February 2025 Huguett was preparing with five other IMMARTIAL athletes for a planned AJP appearance in Bogotá on 1 March. He described the prospective field as larger and stronger than Barbados and said the team had prepared to test its skills. The report linked the trip to hopes for wider regional recognition of BJJ.

      Where in the source: Delegation, preparation and intended challenge.

      Accessed:

  • nu.CW, Panama report, 4 May 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • nu.CW’s May 2026 Panama report identified Huguett as both coach and participant with IMMARTIAL’s Curaçao delegation. He saw the outing as evidence that the island’s developing BJJ community could compete internationally.

      Where in the source: Delegation; concluding coach’s comment.

      Accessed:

  • AJP, IMMARTIAL club entry.(opens in a new tab)

    • AJP’s IMMARTIAL club entry lists Huguett as an administrator of the Willemstad academy, alongside Gideon Jonker.

      Where in the source: Location; Contact Persons.

      Accessed:

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