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Martin Janson

Ran the Stenungsund tournament that became Swedish Open BJJ, then co-founded Smoothcomp, the software ADCC, NAGA and AJP run their events on.

Biography

Martin Janson is the co-founder and chief executive of Smoothcomp, the competition software that ADCC, NAGA, AJP, Grappling Industries and UFC BJJ, among others, use to run their events. Before Smoothcomp, he organized a tournament of his own: the event in Stenungsund, on the Swedish west coast, that became Swedish Open BJJ. Gymdesk's author page credits him with leading Stenungsunds Kampsportsakademi there for more than two decades. He came to jiu-jitsu from other martial arts. According to a Gymdesk Originals episode page, he began in ninjutsu and competed in shoot fighting before turning to grappling alone, and he trains with and without the gi in equal measure. Smoothcomp's company page dates his start in martial arts to 1996, has him competing in shootfighting, a light form of MMA, in the early 2000s, and says he has given himself to grappling and BJJ since 2005. His Gymdesk author biography credits him with Swedish championship titles in both shootfighting and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, without naming years or divisions, and with a fourth-degree black belt. Smoothcomp lists him as a black belt and gives no degree. The sources differ on when the tournament began. Smoothcomp's page says his academy started a small event in 2005; Janson's own account, in a post he wrote for Gymdesk, gives 2006. At that point the couple were competitors themselves, and they were unhappy with the way tournaments they took part in were organized. In that post he describes the rule they adopted: every decision about the tournament had to pass the question of whether it helped the athlete. To illustrate it, he imagines adding a sponsor: the deal passes the test if the sponsor sells merchandise to athletes at a discount. The event grew from there. The Gymdesk episode page puts the first year at 180 competitors and the last editions at 1,100 people. Janson writes that the couple ran Swedish Open in Stenungsund until 2019 and that it peaked at 1,100 participants. Smoothcomp calls Swedish Open BJJ one of the bigger jiu-jitsu competitions in Northern Europe. Smoothcomp itself came out of that work. Martin Varghult, who began training under Janson in 2010, had created the tool the Swedish Open relied on to take entries and payments online, and Smoothcomp's company page says the two of them developed the first form of the software while hosting the tournament. Janson later founded the company with Varghult and with Ricard Carneborn, the organizer of the Nordic Open, and writes that the three built it on lessons from running their own events. According to the Gymdesk episode page, they put together a first version over one summer and held their first event on it in October 2015. Janson has said the design started with him and Carneborn, as two organizers, first discussing best practice. He has also made the case for small competitions inside the gym. Gymdesk reports his view that a tournament on a club's own mats brings in a much larger share of its members than sending them to a big open.

Sources for this profile

  • Gymdesk, author profile of Martin Janson, read 21 October 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • Martin Janson is described as co-founder and CEO of Smoothcomp, and as the person who has led Stenungsunds Kampsportsakademi on the Swedish west coast for more than two decades.

      Where in the source: Author profile, About Martin: "co-founder and CEO of Smoothcomp"

      Accessed:

    • Gymdesk calls him Club Leader at Stenungsunds Kampsportsakademi.

      Where in the source: Author profile heading line: "Club Leader at Stenungsunds Kampsportsakademi"

      Accessed:

    • The Gymdesk bio says he holds a 4th degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The Smoothcomp page gives the belt colour but no degree, so the degree is not bound to a field.

      Where in the source: Author profile, About Martin: "4th degree black belt"

      Accessed:

    • The same bio says he won Swedish Championships in shootfighting and in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu; it gives no years, venues or divisions.

      Where in the source: Author profile, About Martin: "won Swedish Championships"

      Accessed:

  • Smoothcomp, About page, read 21 October 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • Smoothcomp lists Martin Janson as CEO and co-founder, with the title Black Belt in BJJ.

      Where in the source: Team section, entry MARTIN JANSON: "Black Belt in BJJ"

      Accessed:

    • Smoothcomp says he has been involved in martial arts since 1996, fought "light MMA" or shootfighting in the early 2000s, and has dedicated himself to grappling and BJJ since 2005.

      Where in the source: Team section, Martin Janson paragraph: "involved in martial arts since 1996"

      Accessed:

    • Conflicting accounts

      Smoothcomp says his academy started a small tournament in 2005 that over time became Swedish Open BJJ, which it describes as one of the largest BJJ tournaments in Northern Europe.

      Where in the source: Team section, Martin Janson paragraph: "back in 2005"

      Accessed:

    • Smoothcomp's entry for Martin Varghult says he trains BJJ at Stenungsunds Kampsportsakademi under Martin Janson, and that together they developed the embryo of Smoothcomp while hosting Swedish Open BJJ.

      Where in the source: Team section, Martin Varghult paragraph: "under fellow Smoothcomp sensei Martin Janson"

      Accessed:

  • Gymdesk Originals, Smoothcomp founders episode page dated 6 October 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • Gymdesk Originals says he started in ninjutsu, competed in shoot fighting, then moved to pure grappling, and trains gi and no-gi equally.

      Where in the source: Starring section, Martin Janson bio, first sentences: "ninjutsu"

      Accessed:

    • Conflicting accounts

      Gymdesk Originals says he started the Swedish Open in Stenungsund in 2006, and that he and his wife both competed and disliked how events they attended were run.

      Where in the source: Section "Built around the athlete", first sentence: "in 2006"

      Accessed:

    • The first Swedish Open year drew 180 competitors and the last drew 1,100 people, according to the episode summary.

      Where in the source: Section "Built around the athlete", paragraph after the quote: "180"

      Accessed:

    • The episode page says the three founders built a first version over a summer and ran their first event on Smoothcomp in October 2015; Janson says the design came from the two organizers first sitting down to discuss best practice.

      Where in the source: About the Gym section, paragraph on the three co-founders: "October 2015"

      Accessed:

    • The episode page says Martin Varghult started training in 2010 under Martin Janson and had built the online registration and payment module that the Swedish Open used.

      Where in the source: Starring section, Martin Varghult bio: "2010"

      Accessed:

    • Gymdesk describes Smoothcomp as tournament software built in Stenungsund, used by organizers including ADCC, NAGA, Grappling Industries, UFC BJJ and AJP.

      Where in the source: About the Gym section, first paragraph on the software: "ADCC"

      Accessed:

  • Gymdesk blog, Martin Janson, post dated 8 October 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • In a blog post he wrote, he says he and his wife started what would become Swedish Open BJJ in 2006, ran Swedish Open in Stenungsund until 2019, and that it had 1,100 participants at its peak.

      Where in the source: Opening paragraphs of the post: "until 2019"

      Accessed:

    • He describes a policy that every decision about the event was tested against whether it benefits the athlete, illustrated with a hypothetical sponsor who would sell merchandise to athletes at discounted prices and so passes the test.

      Where in the source: Opening paragraphs of the post: "we are athlete-centered"

      Accessed:

    • He says he later co-founded Smoothcomp with Ricard Carneborn, who ran Nordic Open, and Martin Varghult, and that they built it on what they learned running those events.

      Where in the source: Opening paragraphs of the post: "co-founded Smoothcomp"

      Accessed:

  • Gymdesk blog, how to get students to compete, dated 6 October 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • Gymdesk reports that Janson runs an academy in Stenungsund and argues that an in-house tournament draws a much higher share of members than sending them to a large open.

      Where in the source: Section "Why Most of Your Members Never Make It to an Open": "in-house tournament"

      Accessed:

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