Susan Arbogast
Vermont teacher Sue Arbogast came to jiu-jitsu from karate and Wing Chun; BJJ Heroes lists her among the first twelve women black belts outside Brazil.
Biography
Sources for this profile
Montpelier Martial Arts Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, 'Our Martial Arts' page.(opens in a new tab)
Brazilian jiu-jitsu was first offered by the group in 2006.
Where in the source: 'Our Martial Arts' page, same section, last sentence — 'first offered in 2006'
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The academy traces its roots to the Montpelier Karate Club, which Sensei Michael Carriveau founded in 1979; Arbogast, Mike Pologruto and Dick Powell moved the group to a health club, First in Fitness, in 2002, to the Confluence in 2016 and to Green Mountain Community Fitness in 2020, continuing to practise karate and Wing Chun gung fu.
Where in the source: 'Our Martial Arts' page, section 'Montpelier Martial Arts - Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu' — 'relocated this group'
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BJJ Heroes, 'Women's BJJ Dirty Dozen' (BJJ Culture section; undated, images uploaded October 2015).(opens in a new tab)
BJJ Heroes' 'Women's BJJ Dirty Dozen', its list of the first women to receive Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts outside Brazil, places Sue Arbogast at number 11, with USA as her country.
Where in the source: Numbered list after the introduction, entry 11 — heading '11. SUE ARBOGAST' and field 'Country: USA'
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- Conflicting accounts
BJJ Heroes records that Arbogast was promoted to black belt by Julio 'Foca' Fernandez in June 2006.
Where in the source: Entry 11, the two fields under the name heading — 'Graded on: June 2006' and 'Graded by: Julio Foca'
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BJJ Heroes, 'Julio Foca Fernandez' fighter profile.(opens in a new tab)
Julio 'Foca' Fernandez, a black belt under Carlson Gracie, moved from Rio de Janeiro to the United States in 1989 and settled in Williston, Vermont, where he opened an academy (Vermont BJJ).
Where in the source: Biography section, paragraph on the move to the United States — 'settling in Williston'
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After his friend and former training partner Rodrigo Medeiros, also a black belt, moved to the United States in 2000, he and Fernandez joined forces to found the BJJ Revolution Team.
Where in the source: Biography section, paragraph beginning 'In 2000' — 'founding then the BJJ Revolution Team'
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BJJ Revolution Team, 'Our Instructors' page (undated).(opens in a new tab)
The BJJ Revolution Team roster lists Julio Cesar 'Foca' Fernandez Nunes as a 7th-degree coral belt, with 1988 and Carlson Gracie Sr. beside his name.
Where in the source: 'BJJ Revolution Team Black Belts' list, first entry — '7th Degree Coral Belt'
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- Conflicting accounts
The BJJ Revolution Team lists Sue Arbogast among the team's black belts, as a 5th degree, with the year 2003 beside her name.
Where in the source: 'BJJ Revolution Team Black Belts' list, fifth entry — 'Sue Arbogast, 5th Degree, 2003'
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BJJ Revolution Team, 'Affiliates' page (undated).(opens in a new tab)
The BJJ Revolution Team lists Montpelier Martial Arts Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (MMABJJ), Montpelier, Vermont, among its affiliated academies.
Where in the source: 'BJJ Revolution Academies' table, Vermont rows — 'Montpelier Martial Arts Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (MMABJJ)'
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Montpelier Martial Arts Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, 'Instructors' page.(opens in a new tab)
Arbogast has trained and studied martial arts since 1984 and is co-founder and co-instructor of Montpelier Martial Arts Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Where in the source: Instructors page, Sue Arbogast entry, first two sentences — 'co-founder/co-instructor'
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Arbogast has been a student of Julio Fernandez in Brazilian jiu-jitsu since 1996 and holds a black belt.
Where in the source: Instructors page, Sue Arbogast entry, second-to-last sentence — 'since 1996'
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Her present Brazilian jiu-jitsu rank is black belt, 5th degree.
Where in the source: Instructors page, Sue Arbogast entry, same sentence — '5th degree'
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She earned a Korean karate black belt in 1987.
Where in the source: Instructors page, Sue Arbogast entry, third sentence — 'Korean karate in 1987'
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In Okinawan karate she is a 4th-degree black belt under Sensei Robert Tuohey.
Where in the source: Instructors page, Sue Arbogast entry, third sentence, second half — 'Okinawan karate'
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Arbogast created 'Strike Back!', a women's self-defense course built on full-impact training, and served as its chief instructor, teaching it actively from 1990 to 2000.
Where in the source: Instructors page, Sue Arbogast entry, fourth and fifth sentences — 'Strike Back!'
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Arbogast leads the Close Range Combat Academy (CRCA) Wing Chun program in Vermont as its chief instructor and state representative, under Sifu Randy Williams, her teacher since 1994.
Where in the source: Instructors page, Sue Arbogast entry, sixth and seventh sentences — 'Vermont representative'
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She leads the academy's Brazilian jiu-jitsu program for children as its lead instructor.
Where in the source: Instructors page, Sue Arbogast entry, last sentence — 'lead instructor'
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Instructor Jamie Semprebon joined the academy when it began offering Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 2006 and earned his black belt in 2017.
Where in the source: Instructors page, Jamie Semprebon entry, first and last sentences
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Instructor Jacob Finsen has trained at Montpelier Martial Arts since 2006 and earned every belt from white to black there, apart from a six-year spell at Sitka BJJ in Alaska, receiving his black belt in 2024.
Where in the source: Instructors page, Jacob Finsen entry, first sentence — 'white to black'
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Her own academy names her as Sue Arbogast.
Where in the source: Instructors page, name heading of her entry — 'Sue Arbogast'
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Montpelier Martial Arts Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, home page.(opens in a new tab)
Montpelier Martial Arts Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu describes itself as a group of martial artists in central Vermont, teaching Brazilian jiu-jitsu and no-gi grappling alongside Wing Chun, Muay Thai, kickboxing and self-defense at affordable rates.
Where in the source: Home page, 'Welcome to Montpelier Martial Arts' section, first paragraph — 'central Vermont area'
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The academy says Arbogast and Mike Pologruto each have more than 40 years of martial arts experience across several arts, have trained steadily in Brazilian jiu-jitsu since 1996, and both hold 5th-degree black belts under Julio Fernandez, whom it names as president of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu United States Association.
Where in the source: Home page, 'Welcome' section, second paragraph — 'over 40 years of experience'
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Montpelier Martial Arts Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, 'Kids BJJ' page.(opens in a new tab)
The academy's kids' Brazilian jiu-jitsu classes, split into ages 6 to 10 and 10 to 15, introduce basic self-defense with particular attention to handling bullying, and each class runs from bow-in through warm-up, drills, technique and sparring to bow-out.
Where in the source: 'Kids BJJ' page, opening paragraph, 'What you can expect' and 'Class Structure' sections — 'anti-bullying techniques'
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C.R.C.A. International Wing Chun Portal, 'USA Locations'.(opens in a new tab)
Close Range Combat Academy International lists its Montpelier, Vermont location under Susan Arbogast, at CRCA red belt rank, with the Montpelier Martial Arts Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu website.
Where in the source: 'USA Locations' list, entry with surname Arbogast — 'Montpelier, Vermont'
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C.R.C.A. International Wing Chun Portal, 'Official CRCA Ranking System'.(opens in a new tab)
In the CRCA Wing Chun ranking system, red belt is the third grade, after blue and yellow, and its test covers the second form, Chum Kiu.
Where in the source: 'Official CRCA Ranking System' page, belt list and the 'Red Belt' paragraph
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