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Josh Johnson

Josh Johnson blended judo with Brazilian jiu-jitsu, earned his black belt from Luiz Palhares, and guided Joe Baize to black belt in 2011.

Biography

Josh Johnson built his jiu-jitsu between cities and disciplines. In 1996, after high school, he encountered Brazilian jiu-jitsu in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. While attending Western Kentucky University, he traveled to Nashville for organized instruction. His early instructors included Eric Silver in Nashville and Troy Turner, who ran a Gracie Academy affiliate in Louisville. In Bowling Green, he also trained judo, winning state and collegiate tournaments. He came to combine the two arts rather than treating them as separate tracks. E-town Jiu-Jitsu's own biography is the main source for Johnson's early career. It says Luiz Palhares awarded him his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt in 2006. It also says Johnson trained extensively in Brazil with Fernando Pinduka and blended Pinduka's teaching with Palhares's influence. The academy currently describes Johnson as a fourth-stripe black belt under Palhares; that degree is the academy's current description, not an independently confirmed registry entry. The lineage continued through Johnson's students. BJJ Heroes' profile of Joe Baize gives the sequence as Luiz Palhares, Josh Johnson, and Joe Baize. It reports that Johnson supervised most of Baize's Brazilian jiu-jitsu training and awarded him his black belt in 2011. A 2008 ADCC News archive item also preserves an E-town announcement signed by Johnson reporting that Palhares promoted Dave McMaster in Elizabethtown. Johnson's work beyond the academy follows the same teaching thread. His academy lists degrees in physical-education pedagogy and exercise science from Western Kentucky University, as well as work as a K–5 teacher and school sports coach. His record connects the instruction he sought across Kentucky and in Nashville, the influences he brought together from Palhares and Pinduka, and the student he guided to black belt.

Sources for this profile

  • E-town Jiu-Jitsu & Kickboxing, “Head Professor,” Josh Johnson biography.(opens in a new tab)

    • Josh Johnson's academy biography says he encountered Brazilian jiu-jitsu in Elizabethtown after high school in 1996 and travelled to Nashville for organized instruction while attending Western Kentucky University.

      Where in the source: Head Professor biography — opening paragraph through the Western Kentucky University training account.

      Accessed:

    • The same biography says Johnson also trained judo in Bowling Green, won state and collegiate tournaments, and developed a style combining judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

      Where in the source: Head Professor biography — Bowling Green judo paragraph and transition into the black-belt paragraph.

      Accessed:

    • Johnson received his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt from Luiz Palhares in 2006.

      Where in the source: Head Professor biography — paragraph beginning with his continuing jiu-jitsu journey and the 2006 promotion.

      Accessed:

    • E-town's biography currently describes Johnson as a fourth-stripe Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Luiz Palhares.

      Where in the source: Head Professor biography — current-rank sentence and pedigree list.

      Accessed:

    • Johnson says he trained extensively in Brazil with Fernando Pinduka and blended those teachings with Luiz Palhares's influence.

      Where in the source: Head Professor biography — Fernando Pinduka paragraph immediately after the 2006 promotion.

      Accessed:

    • Johnson's academy biography lists degrees in physical-education pedagogy and exercise science from Western Kentucky University and says he has worked as a K–5 teacher and school sports coach.

      Where in the source: Head Professor page — Formal Education and coaching sections.

      Accessed:

    • E-town's biography says Johnson's first organized Brazilian jiu-jitsu instruction was with Rickson Gracie student Eric Silver in Nashville and that he also trained with Troy Turner on weekends and during summers, when Turner ran a Gracie Academy affiliate in Louisville.

      Where in the source: Head Professor biography — opening two paragraphs.

      Accessed:

  • BJJ Heroes, “Joe Baize,” lineage field.(opens in a new tab)

    • Joe Baize's profile places Luiz Palhares immediately before Josh Johnson and Johnson immediately before Baize in its published lineage.

      Where in the source: Joe Baize facts — Lineage field.

      Accessed:

    • Baize's biography says most of his Brazilian jiu-jitsu training was supervised by Johnson and that Johnson awarded him his black belt in 2011.

      Where in the source: Joe Baize Biography — paragraph beginning “Throughout Baize's grappling education”.

      Accessed:

  • ADCC News, Kid Peligro Jiu-Jitsu News archive, December 18, 2008.(opens in a new tab)

    • A 2008 ADCC News archive item reproduces a Josh Johnson announcement from E-town BJJ in Elizabethtown about Luiz Palhares promoting Dave McMaster there.

      Where in the source: “Luis Palhares Promotion” section — complete E-town announcement and Josh Johnson signoff.

      Accessed:

Lineage

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