Jake Mackenzie
A Canadian from Truro who settled in Rio in 2010, turned the half guard he once saw as his weak point into a trademark, then came home to teach in Halifax.
Biography
Sources for this profile
BJJ Heroes, "Jake Mackenzie" (fighter profile, undated).(opens in a new tab)
Competing internationally, he began travelling to Brazil regularly and picked up Portuguese quickly.
Where in the source: Biography, third paragraph, opening sentences (travel to Brazil, language)
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Jake Mackenzie's full name is Jacob Williams Mackenzie; he is a Canadian-born jiu-jitsu black belt.
Where in the source: Fact box — "Full Name: Jacob Williams Mackenzie"
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Mackenzie received his black belt from Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu on June 12, 2010.
Where in the source: Biography, final paragraph — promotion dated "June 12, 2010"
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Mackenzie grew up in Truro, Nova Scotia, and began training jiu-jitsu there after his father advised him to learn self-defence.
Where in the source: Biography, first paragraph (Truro, Nova Scotia; age 14; his father)
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He trained at a gym Chuck Sproule had recently opened near his home; his first coach there was Márcio Feitosa, who stayed about five months, followed by Márcio Canário, who coached him for the next two years.
Where in the source: Biography, second paragraph (Chuck Sproule, Márcio Feitosa, Márcio Canário)
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In Brazil he came to regard the half guard as his weak point, and used a favourable dollar-to-real exchange rate to book private lessons with several half guard specialists over a four-month stay; the half guard, and the deep half guard in particular, became his signature position.
Where in the source: Biography, third paragraph — "Achilles heel"; fact box, favourite position
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In 2007, as a purple belt, Mackenzie joined Roberto Abreu's team: the two had become friends through repeated meetings, and when Abreu opened a gym in Florida he invited Mackenzie to train with him. Mackenzie trained almost exclusively with Abreu for several years before his black belt promotion.
Where in the source: Biography, final paragraph — "In 2007 purple belt"
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After his black belt he moved to Brazil and joined GFTeam, where BJJ Heroes says he became one of the leading figures of the Rio de Janeiro-based team; BJJ Heroes lists his team as GFTeam.
Where in the source: Opening paragraph; fact box — "Team/Association: GFTeam"
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BJJ Heroes lists his main black belt titles as the CBJJ Brazilian No-Gi Nationals (2013, 2014), the Brazilian Team Nationals (year not given), the IBJJF South American Championship (2017), the IBJJF Asian Open (2019), the IBJJF São Paulo Open (2013, 2015, 2017), the FJJR Rio State Championship and the FJJAM Amazonas State Championship (2016), plus second place at the 2018 Abu Dhabi World Pro.
Where in the source: Black belt "Main Achievements" list
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- Conflicting accounts
In masters divisions, BJJ Heroes lists gold at the 2018 IBJJF World Masters (Master 1), the 2022 IBJJF American Nationals (Master 1), the 2022 CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (Master 2) and the 2020 AJP Brazilian National Pro (Master 1, weight and absolute), and silver at the 2019 Abu Dhabi World Pro (Master 1).
Where in the source: Masters achievements list
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As a coloured belt he won the 2008 IBJJF Pan Championship at purple belt, the 2009 IBJJF American Nationals and the 2010 IBJJF European Open at brown belt, and the Abu Dhabi Pro US trials in 2009 and 2010, according to BJJ Heroes.
Where in the source: Coloured belt achievements list
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BJJ Heroes lists his weight division as lightweight (peso leve, 76 kg).
Where in the source: Fact box, weight division — "Peso Leve"
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Ceilidh Millar, "This Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion ... he's from Truro, N.S." (headline shortened), CTV News Atlantic, 17 February 2023.(opens in a new tab)
MacKenzie described jiu-jitsu to CTV as "kind of like a therapy" and "a game of human chess".
Where in the source: Opening quote
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- Conflicting accounts
He started at 12 with his father's encouragement, and told CTV that from 16 he travelled back and forth between Canada and Brazil for training camps and competitions to see whether he could make a career of it.
Where in the source: Quote beginning "I started traveling back and forth"
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In 2023 CTV reported that MacKenzie, then 37, had won more than 100 championship medals and more tournaments in Brazil than any other foreigner in the sport's history.
Where in the source: Paragraph beginning "MacKenzie has since won"
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He told CTV he won the São Paulo Open three times in three different weight divisions, which he called one of the hardest tournaments to win in Brazil.
Where in the source: Quote on the São Paulo Open
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After living abroad, MacKenzie and his wife Melissa Britez Costa, herself a medallist at the IBJJF World Championship and the AJP World Pro, returned to the Maritimes as coaches and gym owners and, by February 2023, had opened Jake MacKenzie's School of Jiu-Jitsu in Halifax.
Where in the source: Paragraphs on returning to the Maritimes and the new school
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CTV reported that Brazilian athletes had begun travelling to Canada to train with MacKenzie and Britez Costa, among them Ademir Araujo, who said MacKenzie had been training with him a lot.
Where in the source: Paragraphs naming Ademir Araujo
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He told CTV the jiu-jitsu scene in Atlantic Canada had grown, with many tournaments drawing 300 to 400 competitors.
Where in the source: Quote on the Atlantic Canada scene
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BJJ Fanatics, "Jake Mackenzie" fighter page (blog, undated).(opens in a new tab)
BJJ Fanatics says he met Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu on a trip to Rio de Janeiro; Abreu took him under his wing and invited him to his new school in Miami, where Mackenzie studied directly with him from purple belt to black belt.
Where in the source: Biography section, third paragraph
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After receiving his black belt from Cyborg in 2010 he returned to Rio, joined GFTeam with Abreu's blessing and has represented GFTeam since, while BJJ Fanatics says he remains loyal to Abreu for his mentorship.
Where in the source: Opening summary (Cyborg's blessing); biography section, final paragraph
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BJJ Fanatics says that while living in Brazil he spent any spare money on private lessons with high-level teachers to fill gaps in his game, much of it studying their half guard, which shaped his half guard system.
Where in the source: Biography section, second paragraph
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His instructional series on BJJ Fanatics include "High Precision Half Guard and Reverse Half Guard" (two volumes), "Gringo Passing", "Killer Counter Attacks" and "Competition Closed Guard".
Where in the source: Instruction section and related tutorials list
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BJJ Heroes, editorial feature on Jake Mackenzie, 29 April 2016.(opens in a new tab)
In April 2016 BJJ Heroes called Mackenzie the most accomplished jiu-jitsu athlete Canada had produced, while noting that the sport's media rarely covered him; it attributed his low profile to his having lived in Brazil for most of the previous ten years.
Where in the source: Opening paragraph — "not often covered"; second paragraph (living in Brazil)
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BJJ Heroes described the Canadian Jake Mackenzie as one of GF Team's most respected middleweights and a multiple-time Brazilian national champion in gi and no-gi.
Where in the source: Fourth paragraph (GF Team middleweights); later "the Canadian Jake Mackenzie"
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- Conflicting accounts
Mackenzie first competed in Brazil at 17, travelled there often afterwards and settled in Brazil permanently in 2010.
Where in the source: Third paragraph — "age of 17"; "settling for good in 2010"
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BJJ Heroes listed his 2015 results as including the South Brazilian title, won with every match by submission, a second IBJJF São Paulo Open gold (gi and no-gi) and the IBJJF Rio Open.
Where in the source: Second paragraph — "2015 brought him"
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On April 24, 2016 Mackenzie won the Amazonas State Championship in Manaus, which BJJ Heroes reported made him the first non-Brazilian to win it; he built a 42-point lead against his first opponent and submitted Eduardo Paiva in the final.
Where in the source: Fourth and sixth paragraphs — "April 24, 2016"; final against Eduardo Paiva
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Colleen Jones, "Brazilian jiu-jitsu champ shows his skills on trip home to Truro", CBC News, 24 February 2016 (Internet Archive snapshot of 27 December 2016).(opens in a new tab)
- Conflicting accounts
He began jiu-jitsu as a 12-year-old in Truro because his father got him into it, and he told CBC he did not really want to do it at first.
Where in the source: Paragraph following the training-partner section — "didn't really want to do it"
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In February 2016 CBC reported that MacKenzie, then 30, had moved to Rio de Janeiro, where he said jiu-jitsu was as big as hockey is in Canada; he was back in Truro visiting family and teaching seminars during his winter break.
Where in the source: Opening paragraphs — "playing hockey in Canada"
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He told CBC he had taught seminars across Europe, the United States, Canada and Brazil, and that his life then consisted of seminars, training and competing.
Where in the source: Fifth paragraph, quote on seminars
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In 2016 he told CBC he had won more than any other foreigner in Brazil, listing wins at the Pan Ams, the Europeans, the American Nationals and four Brazilian national team trials.
Where in the source: Paragraph beginning "Now at 30 years of age"
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Training with him at his old high school, Cobequid Educational Centre, Dan Vanderlans told CBC that MacKenzie sharpened techniques he thought he had known for ten years, and called him Canada's best-kept secret.
Where in the source: Section under the subheading "Canada's best-kept secret" (Dan Vanderlans)
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He told CBC he had once started MMA training and liked it, but it was not something he wanted to do every morning, so he returned to jiu-jitsu.
Where in the source: Paragraphs on MMA and UFC
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At 30 he said he believed an athlete's prime falls between 30 and 35 if injuries are avoided, and described injury prevention, diet and conditioning as part of his routine.
Where in the source: Closing paragraphs, on athletic prime
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- Conflicting accounts
"Truro athlete Jake MacKenzie sheds light on his future in jiu-jitsu", Truro Daily News (SaltWire), 12 March 2018.(opens in a new tab)
In March 2018 MacKenzie said he would turn 33 that year, which places his birth in 1985.
Where in the source: Quote on the future — "I'm going to be 33 this year"
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In 2018 he was living in Rio de Janeiro and competing full-time while coaching on the side, including a couple of young athletes he took to tournaments about twice a month; he expected to switch to full-time coaching within a few years.
Where in the source: Quotes on coaching — "in the next few years"
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He told the paper he had been ranked number one in the Brazilian federation the previous year.
Where in the source: Quote beginning "I was ranked number one"
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During the 2018 visit home he gave seminars around the Maritimes, with two more scheduled in Bathurst and Saint John before his return to Brazil, showing techniques he said tend to develop in Brazil's crowded competition scene before they reach Canada.
Where in the source: Paragraphs on seminars
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He trained at his old high school, Cobequid Educational Centre, during the visit and donated a signed gi to its martial arts room.
Where in the source: Paragraph naming Cobequid Educational Centre
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Jake MacKenzie School of Jiu Jitsu, home page, "Meet your instructors" section (page last updated 3 January 2026 per the site's sitemap).(opens in a new tab)
His school describes him as its head instructor and a third-degree black belt under Julio Cesar Pereira.
Where in the source: Instructor entry — "third-degree black belt under Julio Cesar Pereira"
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According to his school, he has trained for more than 25 years, ten of them living, training and competing in Rio de Janeiro.
Where in the source: Instructor entry, first paragraph
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His school states that he was for many years one of the assistant coaches at the GFTeam headquarters in Rio de Janeiro and has coached and trained several world champions.
Where in the source: Instructor entry, second paragraph — "longtime assistant coaches"
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His school calls him the most accomplished Canadian gi competitor ever, says he has won more tournaments in Brazil than any other foreigner, and says he is the only Canadian to reach a World Pro final at adult black belt.
Where in the source: Instructor entry, third paragraph — "only Canadian"
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His school says he has taught seminars in more than 20 countries and returned to his home province of Nova Scotia to teach in the Halifax area.
Where in the source: Instructor entry, fourth paragraph
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The school's other instructor, Melissa Britez Costa, who trained mostly at the GFTeam headquarters in Rio, is described as a black belt under Jake MacKenzie and Julio Cesar Pereira, promoted in 2022.
Where in the source: Instructor entry for Melissa Britez
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Coastline BJJ Collective, "Club Spotlight with Jake MacKenzie School of Jiu Jitsu" (the club's answers to 15 questions), 12 April 2023.(opens in a new tab)
The club stated in April 2023 that Jake Mackenzie School of Jiu Jitsu, on Lady Hammond Road in Halifax, is affiliated with GFTeam and owned and led by Mackenzie and Melissa Britez Costa.
Where in the source: Answers 1 and 2 — "Affiliated with GFTeam"
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The club said they opened after years of travelling and competing, choosing Halifax to be close to family and friends; in April 2023 it had been open a couple of months, was growing fast, and its members were about half experienced and half beginners.
Where in the source: Answers 5 and 9
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The club described a typical class: a short stretch, line and partner drills, a review of the block's topic with one technique drilled for 20 minutes, then specific or situational sparring from that position, and finally free rounds.
Where in the source: Answer 10, typical class
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In April 2023 all classes were in the gi, which the club said would remain its main focus; kids and teen classes were to start on May 1, 2023, and no-gi classes were planned.
Where in the source: Answers 7 and 8
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Mackenzie said he started training jiu-jitsu in 1997.
Where in the source: Answer 15 — "started training jiujitsu in 1997"
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He said he would like tournaments in Atlantic Canada to use IBJJF or AJP rule sets, with referees trained by one of those organisations.
Where in the source: Answer 15, closing sentence
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The club's summary of his record: ranked in the top 10 of IBJJF, FloGrappling and AJP rankings several times at adult and masters black belt; World Pro silver medallist; IBJJF South American and Asian champion; five-time Brazilian National Teams champion; two-time Brazilian No-Gi champion; three-time São Paulo Open champion; 2018 IBJJF Masters world champion; two World Pro masters medals; more than 600 matches in international competition.
Where in the source: Answer 3, instructors
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The club's first seminar was taught by Abu Dhabi World Pro champion Ademir Araujo.
Where in the source: Answer 11, seminars
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Truro Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, "Our Instructors" (undated; mentions a 2024 promotion).(opens in a new tab)
Truro Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, whose head coach is Brad Sullivan, says it operates under the affiliation of Jake Mackenzie and GFTeam; one of its coaches received his purple belt there in 2024.
Where in the source: Coach Adrian entry — "under the affiliation of Jake Mackenzie and GFTEAM"
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Jiu-Jitsu X, "Jake MacKenzie" instructor profile (undated).(opens in a new tab)
His Jiu-Jitsu X instructor biography says he was born in a very small town in rural Nova Scotia, started jiu-jitsu at 12, and over the past 25 years of training lived and trained in Brazil for more than ten years.
Where in the source: Biography, first paragraph
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On Jiu-Jitsu X he teaches two courses titled "Lord of Half Guard": the first covers knee-tweak entries to half guard, deep half, reverse half, transitions to De La Riva X, proto guard, the half guard worm and ways to protect the half guard; the second adds grips and hand positions, knee-cut defence, further deep half and reverse half details, and material on lapel slayer defences and fishnet attacks.
Where in the source: Paragraphs describing Vol 1 and Vol 2
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BJJ Fanatics, "Brazilian National Champ Jake Mackenzie's Half Guard" (blog, undated).(opens in a new tab)
In his demonstrated half guard he avoids the knee shield, which he treats as a defensive position; he grips the belt to control the hips, sets his knee in the opponent's armpit, pulls the elbow in, and works for a low underhook, holding the shin with his shoulder forward for base.
Where in the source: Section "Half Guard Basic Positioning", second paragraph
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The same article describes other techniques he demonstrates: a butt drag to double leg, a half guard pass using the opposite underhook, a reverse half guard sweep finished with a leg drag, an elbow-lock roll against a back-step, and a counter to the top player's underhook that relies on timing and a bridge.
Where in the source: Sections following "Half Guard Basic Positioning"
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BJJ Fanatics, "The Journey of Jake MacKenzie" (blog, undated).(opens in a new tab)
- Conflicting accounts
BJJ Fanatics says he made his first trip to Brazil in 2003, at around 16, having just earned his blue belt.
Where in the source: First paragraph, sentence beginning "Beginning in 2003"
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- Conflicting accounts
IBJJF, "Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2008", official results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's official results for the 2008 Pan Championship list Jacob Mackenzie first in the adult male purple belt lightweight division.
Where in the source: Division "ADULT / PURPLE / MALE / LIGHT", place 1
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IBJJF, "American National IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2009", official results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's official results for the 2009 American Nationals list Jacob Mackenzie first in the adult male brown belt lightweight division.
Where in the source: Division "Adult / Brown / Male / Light", place 1
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IBJJF, "European Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2010", official results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's official results for the 2010 European Championship list Jacob Mckenzie first in the adult male brown belt lightweight division.
Where in the source: Division "Adult / Brown / Male / Light", place 1 (spelled "Mckenzie")
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IBJJF, "Campeonato Sul-Americano de Jiu-Jitsu 2017", official results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's official results for the 2017 South American Championship list Jacob Williams Mackenzie of GF Team first in the adult male black belt lightweight division (76 kg).
Where in the source: Division "Male / Adult / Black / Light (76.00kg)", place 1
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IBJJF, "World Master IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2018", official results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's official results for the 2018 World Master Championship list Jacob Williams Mackenzie of GF Team first in the male Master 1 black belt lightweight division.
Where in the source: Division "MALE / MASTER 1 / BLACK / LIGHT (168.00LB)", place 1
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IBJJF, "Asian Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2019", official results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's official results for the 2019 Asian Championship list Jacob Williams Mackenzie of GF Team first in the adult male black belt middleweight division (82.3 kg).
Where in the source: Division "Male / Adult / Black / Middle (82.30kg)", place 1
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