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Nick Albin

“Chewy (Chewjitsu)”

Source: chewjitsuopen.com

Nick “Chewy” Albin is a black belt, coach and competitor whose Chewjitsu teaching turns broad ambitions into focused work.

Biography

Nick “Chewy” Albin is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, coach and competitor whose Chewjitsu work centers on making improvement concrete. His path into grappling began with high-school wrestling. He has said that the wrestling room gave him a community and drew him toward grappling for the long term. He moved into Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 2003, directly after high school. Teaching became Albin’s full-time work in 2010. He identifies himself as the head instructor at Derby City Mixed Martial Arts in Louisville, Kentucky, and Renato Tavares awarded him his black belt in 2011. The student side of that lineage is visible too: BJJ Heroes records that Albin promoted longtime student Chad Hardy to black belt in November 2016. Chewjitsu Open credits Albin’s work at Derby City with helping produce more than a dozen black belts, alongside numerous successful competitors. Albin has continued to compete while coaching. BJJ Metrics identifies his 2022 World No-Gi gold as coming in the black-belt Master 2 male Heavy division. His Pan No-Gi golds in 2016, 2018 and 2020 came in black-belt Master 1 divisions. His first-party competition biography also lists third place at the 2018 ADCC East Coast Trials. The BJJ Metrics table follows his black-belt competition record from a 2011 event in Miami through masters events in 2026. The same preference for clear purpose runs through his teaching. Albin has advised practitioners to organize training around a specific technique or positional goal, so progress can be observed instead of merely hoped for. His seminar format puts that idea into practice through technical instruction, situational drilling, rolling and questions. Chewjitsu also carries his teaching online. In videos on YouTube and social platforms, Albin demonstrates techniques, answers questions and offers his perspective on situations that commonly arise in grappling.

Sources for this profile

  • Chewjitsu Open, “Seminars”, accessed 9 September 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • The first-party biography lists No-Gi World gold in 2022, No-Gi Pan golds in 2016, 2018 and 2020, and third place at the 2018 ADCC East Coast Trials among Albin's notable results.

      Where in the source: Seminar biography — achievements list

      Accessed:

    • Nick Albin is known as Chewy and uses Chewjitsu as his jiu-jitsu brand.

      Where in the source: Seminar introduction — name, nickname and brand

      Accessed:

    • Chewjitsu Open credits Albin with helping Derby City MMA produce more than a dozen black belts and numerous decorated competitors.

      Where in the source: Seminar biography — coaching record

      Accessed:

    • Albin describes his seminars as focused workshops that combine technical instruction, situational drilling, rolling and questions.

      Where in the source: A Message from Chewy — seminar method

      Accessed:

    • Through Chewjitsu, Albin teaches jiu-jitsu in videos on YouTube and social platforms, combining technical instruction with answers and perspectives on common grappling situations.

      Where in the source: Seminar introduction and A Message from Chewy — videos and teaching format

      Accessed:

  • Nick Albin, Chewjitsu, “About Nick”, accessed 9 September 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • Albin began Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 2003, directly after high school.

      Where in the source: About Nick — training start

      Accessed:

    • Renato Tavares awarded Albin his Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt in 2011.

      Where in the source: About Nick — black-belt promotion

      Accessed:

    • Albin has taught jiu-jitsu full time since 2010 and identifies himself as head instructor at Derby City Mixed Martial Arts in Louisville, Kentucky.

      Where in the source: About Nick — current role and teaching timeline

      Accessed:

  • BJJ Eastern Europe, “Getting To Know Nick 'Chewy' Albin”, 18 July 2019.(opens in a new tab)

    • Albin told BJJ Eastern Europe that high-school wrestling gave him both a sense of belonging and the start of his lasting interest in grappling.

      Where in the source: Interview — high-school wrestling answer

      Accessed:

    • Albin described purposeful training around a specific technique or positional goal as a way to make progress measurable.

      Where in the source: Interview — focused-goal training advice

      Accessed:

  • BJJ Metrics, “Nicholas M Albin”, accessed 9 September 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • BJJ Metrics' structured results table records Albin competing at black belt from the 2011 Miami event through 2026 masters events, under Renato Tavares Association in 2011–15 and Team Shawn Hammonds in later years.

      Where in the source: Competition Results — complete expanded table, Miami 2011 through Indianapolis 2026

      Accessed:

    • The expanded BJJ Metrics results table identifies Albin's 2022 World No-Gi gold as Black / Master 2 / Male / Heavy and his 2016, 2018 and 2020 Pan No-Gi golds as Black / Master 1 divisions.

      Where in the source: Original expanded Competition Results table — World No-Gi 2022 and Pan No-Gi 2016/2018/2020 rows

      Accessed:

  • BJJ Heroes, “Chad Hardy”, accessed 9 September 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • BJJ Heroes reports that Nick Albin awarded longtime student Chad Hardy his black belt in November 2016.

      Where in the source: Chad Hardy biography — black-belt promotion paragraph

      Accessed:

Lineage

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Students1