Jeff Shaw

Jeff Shaw began jiu-jitsu in North Carolina in 2010. His earlier professional work included communications for the Sierra Club. Writing in 2019, he recalled starting in the later part of his thirties. His advice placed careful movement ahead of forcing an escape: practise getting out of a position through technique rather than an explosive effort. He credited Andrew Smith’s example and treated repeated drilling as part of continuing to learn. Shaw’s school retrospective dates Bellingham BJJ’s opening to 2018. Washington SBDC’s client account places his return that year alongside his wife Betsy O’Donovan’s Western appointment. After teaching at another MMA gym, he planned dedicated premises with adviser Sherri Daymon in early 2019. A former printshop became the school’s home, with expert instructor pay and goals tailored to individual students. The academy identifies its owner and head instructor as Seth Shamp’s 2019 black belt and a former Triangle assistant. SBDC describes pandemic assistance sustaining payroll and outdoor teaching. Shaw left his day job in late 2022, and the school expanded in March 2023. His September 2020 teaching plan shows how he intended to extend the outdoor and online classes already held. Beginners would practise remotely with a partner or a borrowed grappling dummy. Repeated lessons and an archive of demonstrations would offer ways to revisit the material; individual video feedback would address students’ own practice. Limited training appointments were also planned. In October 2023 he returned to the question of progress. The school would make its promotion requirements visible, asking students to demonstrate knowledge and use it in practice. He encouraged them to work toward particular skills rather than train solely for a belt, and to recognize improvement during periods when their progress felt stalled. The academy credits McNab’s training to Shaw and Dave Porter before his 2021 black belt, and Long’s March 2025 black belt to Shaw. Its selected testimonials offer personal perspectives: Kim Rice values explanations for beginners, Adi Necali describes adaptable detail, and Lindsey Thompson remembers early classes and extra attention to individual questions. Shaw also hosted and produced Dirty White Belt Radio. Cascadia Daily’s 2022 Marcel Senger portrait puts Shaw on the mats at six in the morning. His teaching concerns included technique adaptable to different opponents, learning beyond youth competition rules and helping newer partners. Senger’s account of practising triangle defense before Dublin describes the pupil’s own preparation. In his Winter 2026 faculty update, Shaw connected journalism teaching and advising The Planet with research into martial-arts history. He reported two papers published in 2025, international presentations and London suffrage-archive work informing a history seminar. His practical teaching also extended beyond the academy: he and Bellingham colleagues offered free workshops for LGBTQ participants, veterans and families, and activists in Auburn. He described teaching Seattle seminars and launching Fighting Matters with friends, placing the podcast alongside his work on the wider culture surrounding martial arts. That interest in the wider community also took an outdoor form. Cascadia Daily reported that he created Gi to Sea to bring Bellingham training together with art and local businesses. The June 2026 festival required work with the city on permits and a grant, alongside contributions from partners and guest instructors Bernardo Faria and Dominyka Obelenyte. Inclusive outdoor practice was part of the event; a rollathon raised more than $4,000 for Growing Veterans.