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Two training partners meeting on the mat.Drawn in cream, forest green, and muted terracotta. People and objects are symbolic illustrations.
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Jeff Higgs

Former Navy SEAL who found jiu-jitsu on deployment, taught at Fabio Santos's newly opened San Diego academy and gave Dean Lister his black belt.

Biography

Jeff Higgs found Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a Navy SEAL in the early 1990s and later joined Fabio Santos's newly opened academy in San Diego, where he worked and taught, and trained alongside Dean Lister and his own classmate from SEAL basic training, Jocko Willink. He became a black belt under Santos and in turn gave Lister his. Much of this story rests on what Higgs and Willink have said themselves: Willink in a 2015 interview with Tim Ferriss, and both of them in a June 2020 episode of the Jocko Podcast with Higgs as the guest. Higgs said he grew up in the West Brighton housing projects on Staten Island, New York, and was in the Navy almost as soon as he had finished high school. His path through BUD/S, the SEALs' basic training, was interrupted. By his account he was medically dropped after a bout of hypothermia, kept training alongside his class on his own, and was let back in on the understanding that he would put on weight. He gave his weight then as about 153 pounds at six foot one. Willink, who went through BUD/S in the same class, said Higgs received the class's Fire in the Gut award, which Willink described as going to the trainee who had to dig deepest and who inspired everyone else. The two said they reported to SEAL Team One in early 1991. Higgs credited SEAL master chief Steve Bailey with introducing him to Brazilian jiu-jitsu on his first overseas deployment with SEAL Team One, in the early 1990s, in Thailand and then on Guam. After the deployment, Higgs said, he kept training with Bailey three times a week for at least two years: a day of striking, a day on the ground and Friday sparring among SEALs, all of it without the gi, the jacket and trousers worn in traditional jiu-jitsu. At a tournament, Higgs recalled, Royce Gracie gave him a blue belt after reading a letter from Bailey. His first match there was also the first time he had worn a gi, and he lost it heavily on points, without being submitted, to Craig Cole. After that, Higgs said, he heard that Santos was opening a school in San Diego. Santos, who received his black belt from Rickson Gracie, had settled in the city and set up a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu affiliate there around 1994, according to BJJ Heroes. Higgs began training with him in the spring of 1995 while keeping up his sessions with Bailey. By then he had left the Navy and was preparing to start college on the GI Bill. To get as much training as he could, he said, he took work at the academy, cleaning the mats, teaching the introductory class and running classes morning and night, so that he and his roommate were in effect Santos's assistants. Willink named Dean Lister and Craig Cole among those training there with Higgs in the academy's early days. BJJ Heroes also names Higgs as a training partner of Lister's at Santos's academy. Around 1995, Higgs, newly promoted to purple belt, came by Willink's place in Coronado, and the two trained on the grass across from it. Willink told the story to Tim Ferriss in 2015 and again on his own podcast in 2020: Higgs caught him over and over, with triangles, armlocks and chokes. Higgs was training with Fabio Santos, and Willink said he signed up there for unlimited classes the next day. Willink also remembered Higgs winning a match at Neutral Grounds, in the Los Angeles area, with a triangle choke against a much bigger opponent, whom Willink described as one of Rickson Gracie's leading purple belts. At the time, he said, purple was the highest rank most Americans had reached. Higgs eventually earned his black belt, which BJJ Heroes records as a black belt under Santos. Both BJJ Heroes and Willink name Higgs as the one who promoted Lister to black belt. Lister, whom BJJ Heroes credits with the open-weight title at the 2003 ADCC World Championship, later promoted Willink, so the line runs from Santos through Higgs and Lister to Willink. In the 2020 conversation, Higgs called competition a useful test of skill but said that, because of Bailey and where he grew up, his own focus in jiu-jitsu was self-defense. His training also reached outside jiu-jitsu. He said he took up capoeira about a year after leaving the Navy. Willink recalled Santos's remark that nobody else had gone from jiu-jitsu to capoeira. Higgs trained as a personal trainer through San Diego Community College's fitness specialist program, and later took a circular strength training course in Bellingham, Washington, with a sambo instructor, which he said led him to judo. He went on to train judo at Judo America. By 2020, Higgs said, he had taught jiu-jitsu at Studio 540, which had since closed, and was carrying on with private lessons and personal training. A Russian judoka who trained with him at a friend's school in Coronado had invited him to teach in Russia, and since then, he said, he had traveled to Vladivostok about every year or two, often going on from there to train with a school in Hamburg, Germany.

Sources for this profile

  • BJJ Heroes, 'Dean Lister', BJJ Fighter Database profile.(opens in a new tab)

    • BJJ Heroes describes Jeffrey Higgs as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Fabio Santos.

      Where in the source: Dean Lister profile, biography paragraph on how Lister got his black belt — 'a black belt under Fabio Santos'

      Accessed:

    • BJJ Heroes names Jeffrey Higgs as the man who gave Dean Lister his black belt, placing Higgs between Fabio Santos and Lister in Lister's lineage.

      Where in the source: Opening paragraph and the 'Lineage:' line at the top of the profile — 'Fabio Santos > Jeffrey Higgs > Dean Lister'

      Accessed:

    • BJJ Heroes says Higgs was one of Lister's training partners at Fabio Santos's academy.

      Where in the source: Biography, paragraph on Lister's black belt — 'training partners at the academy'

      Accessed:

    • BJJ Heroes credits Dean Lister with winning the open-weight division at the 2003 ADCC World Championship.

      Where in the source: Opening paragraph and the 'Main Achievements' list (ADCC World Championship, 2003)

      Accessed:

  • The Tim Ferriss Show, episode 107, 'The Scariest Navy SEAL Imaginable… And What He Taught Me' (Jocko Willink), official transcript PDF on tim.blog; episode published 25 September 2015.(opens in a new tab)

    • In a 2015 interview with Tim Ferriss, Jocko Willink described Jeff Higgs as a SEAL friend from his original group who, after leaving the SEAL teams, had devoted himself to jiu-jitsu.

      Where in the source: Transcript, Willink's answer on how he started jiu-jitsu (after the Steve Bailey story) — 'a guy by the name of Jeff Higgs'

      Accessed:

    • Willink recalled Higgs coming to his house and the two training on the grass across the street, where Higgs, who had just been promoted to purple belt, submitted him over and over.

      Where in the source: Same passage, the training session across the street from Willink's house

      Accessed:

    • Conflicting accounts

      In the 2015 interview Willink dated that session, and Higgs's new purple belt, to 1995.

      Where in the source: Same passage — 'a purple belt in 1995'

      Accessed:

    • Willink said Higgs was training with Fabio Santos, and that he himself signed up for unlimited classes there the next day.

      Where in the source: Same passage, Ferriss asks who Higgs trained with — 'Fabio Santos.'

      Accessed:

  • Jocko Podcast, episode 236 page, jockopodcast.com, 30 June 2020.(opens in a new tab)

    • Jeff Higgs was the guest on Jocko Podcast episode 236, 'There Will Be Punishment. You Will Get Beat Down. The Projects, SEALS, and Martial Arts', dated 30 June 2020.

      Where in the source: Episode page header and show notes — '0:05:49 - Jeff Higgs.'

      Accessed:

  • Jocko Podcast, '236 w/ Jeff Higgs: You Will Get Beat Down. The Projects, SEALS, and Martial Arts', video on the Jocko Podcast YouTube channel, 1 July 2020.(opens in a new tab)

    • On Jocko Podcast in 2020, Willink said Higgs went through Navy SEAL basic training (BUD/S) in Willink's class, class 177, and received that class's Fire in the Gut award, which Willink described as going to the trainee who had to dig deepest and who inspired the rest of the class.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, opening monologue, about 0:03:06–0:04:21 — 'class 177'

      Accessed:

    • Willink said he and Higgs went through BUD/S together and served together at SEAL Team One.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, opening monologue, about 0:04:21 (BUD/S and SEAL Team One together)

      Accessed:

    • Willink said Higgs eventually earned his black belt and gave a black belt to Dean Lister, who in turn later promoted Willink.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, opening monologue, about 0:04:21–0:05:08 (the belt line from Higgs to Lister to Willink)

      Accessed:

    • Higgs said he grew up on Staten Island, New York, in the West Brighton housing projects.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, about 0:07:19 — 'West Brighton'

      Accessed:

    • Higgs said he joined the Navy almost straight after finishing high school.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, about 0:49:07 (graduated in the spring, in the Navy by August)

      Accessed:

    • Higgs said he was medically dropped from BUD/S after a bout of hypothermia, kept training alongside his class on his own, and was later readmitted on the understanding that he needed to put on weight; he said he weighed about 153 pounds at six foot one.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, about 1:00:40–1:06:08 — 'medically dropped'

      Accessed:

    • Willink and Higgs said they reported to SEAL Team One in early 1991 after finishing BUD/S.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, about 1:14:54 — 'early 1991'

      Accessed:

    • Higgs said Steve Bailey, whom Willink described in the same conversation as an old master chief, introduced him to Brazilian jiu-jitsu on his first overseas deployment with SEAL Team One, first in Thailand and then on Guam, in the early 1990s.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, about 1:19:46–1:21:10 — 'Steve Bailey'

      Accessed:

    • Conflicting accounts

      In 2020 Willink placed the session in which Higgs beat him, in a park across from his Coronado apartment, in late 1995 or early 1996, saying Higgs caught him with triangles, armlocks and chokes.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, about 1:30:29–1:31:26 — 'Coronado'

      Accessed:

    • Higgs said that after the deployment he kept training with Bailey for at least two years, three times a week, with a striking day, a ground day and Friday sparring among SEALs, all without the gi.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, about 1:23:00–1:24:06, and 1:26:14 (always trained no-gi)

      Accessed:

    • Higgs said that at a tournament Royce Gracie gave him a blue belt after reading a letter from Bailey, and that in his first match there, his first time in a gi, he lost heavily on points without being submitted to Craig Cole.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, about 1:25:20–1:27:21 — 'Royce Gracie'

      Accessed:

    • Higgs said he then heard that Fabio Santos was opening a school in San Diego and began training there in the spring of 1995, while still training with Bailey; by then he had left the Navy and was getting ready to go to college on the GI Bill.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, about 1:27:21–1:28:36 (Santos opening a school; starting there in spring 1995)

      Accessed:

    • Higgs said that to train as much as possible he worked at Santos's academy, cleaning the mats, teaching the introductory class and running classes morning and night, so that he and his roommate were in effect Santos's assistants.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, about 1:29:41–1:30:29 (working at Santos's academy)

      Accessed:

    • Willink named Dean Lister and Craig Cole among the early group training at Santos's academy alongside Higgs.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, about 1:31:26–1:32:05 — 'Dean Lister'

      Accessed:

    • Willink recalled Higgs winning a match by triangle choke against a much larger opponent, described as one of Rickson Gracie's leading purple belts, at Neutral Grounds in the Los Angeles area, at a time when purple was the highest rank most Americans held.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, about 1:34:40–1:37:14 — 'Neutral Grounds'

      Accessed:

    • Higgs said competition is a useful test of skill but that, because of Bailey and where he grew up, his main focus in jiu-jitsu is self-defense.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, about 1:37:14–1:37:58 (Higgs on competition and his own focus)

      Accessed:

    • Higgs said he took up capoeira about a year after leaving the Navy, and Willink recalled Santos saying Higgs was the only person to go from jiu-jitsu to capoeira.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, about 1:33:07–1:34:19 — 'capoeira'

      Accessed:

    • Higgs said he trained as a personal trainer in San Diego Community College's fitness specialist program, later took a circular strength training course in Bellingham, Washington, with a sambo instructor, and that this led him to take up judo, which he went on to train at Judo America.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, about 1:39:42–1:42:53 — 'Bellingham, Washington'

      Accessed:

    • Higgs said he had taught jiu-jitsu at Studio 540, which had since closed, and was continuing with private jiu-jitsu lessons and personal training.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, about 1:43:07 — 'Studio 540'

      Accessed:

    • Higgs said a Russian judoka who trained with him at a friend's school in Coronado invited him to teach in Russia, and that he had since travelled to Vladivostok about every one to two years, often continuing to train with a school in Hamburg, Germany.

      Where in the source: Episode 236, about 1:43:30–1:44:44 — 'Vladivostok'

      Accessed:

  • BJJ Heroes, 'Fabio Santos', BJJ Fighter Database profile.(opens in a new tab)

    • BJJ Heroes says Fabio Santos, who received his black belt from Rickson Gracie, moved to San Diego and set up a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu affiliate there around 1994.

      Where in the source: Fabio Santos profile, biography, final paragraphs — 'around 1994'

      Accessed:

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