Professor Dimitrios Mavraganis - DMBJJ LEAD INSTRUCTOR

Professor Dimitri’s training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu started at the age of 18 (in 1997) at the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Torrance. There he studied under Grand Master Helio Gracie, Royce Gracie, Rorion Gracie. & Caique Elias. After seeing the world championships on a video he decided that he wanted to become a champion in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and felt that the Machado Brothers may be able to help him more to achieve this goal. In 1999, Professor Dimitrios started training under the Machado Brothers in Torrance California, specifically Rigan and Roger Machado. He was extremely impressed with their style of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and began training very consistently, becoming one of the teams most dedicated students.

After training for a number of years, Rigan returned to spend some time in Brazil, and Roger moved his academy to a location that was too far to follow (Pasadena). So in 2004 Professor Dimitrios started training with Pan-American champion Paulo Guillobel at a Machado affiliate academy near his home. He received his brown belt from Paulo Guillobel with both Roger and Rigan’s blessing. In 2005 Paulo received an opportunity to expand his academy and also began teaching at a location that was too far to follow. Professor Dimitrios then returned to the Machado Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Torrance, and trained with Rigan ever since. He received his black belt from Jiu-Jitsu master Rigan Machado in early 2006 and currently holds the rank of 4th degree BJJ black belt.

Professor Dimitrios Mavraganis has won more than 50 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitions. Some of these tournaments include; The NABJJ Los Angeles International Tournament, taking home the gold medal in the black belt open class. He also dominated in multiple NAGA tournaments, including NAGA San Diego where he took home championship belts in both the Gi & No-Gi Expert divisions. Also, In 2013 Professor Dimitrios won the BJJ World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championships at the Black Belt level. He has also taken home gold medals in multiple State, National, and IBJJF Pan American Championships, as well as many other Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu titles. He has conducted BJJ seminars all over the USA and Europe and takes a special liking to teaching arrest and control seminars for the US Marshal’s, FBI, and Correctional Officers at the federal prison of Terminal Island, in Long Beach, CA. Professor Dimitrios has also appeared in “Tapout” & “Grappling” magazine multiple times to demonstrate his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques.

Professor Mark Frasher - KIDS CLASS LEAD INSTRUCTOR

Professor Mark started his martial arts training in 1993 training Judo under John Ogden in Long Beach. From 1995-1999 Professor Mark served in the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne and resumed martial arts, switching to Kempo Karate in 2001. In 2004, he decided to make the switch to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and has been training BJJ ever since. During this time, he also trained Muay Thai kickboxing, MMA, and also continued training Judo with different schools. In 2014 Professor Mark received his black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and received his first-degree black belt promotion from Professor Dimitrios in 2020.

Professor Mark has competed and placed in several competitions, including:

1st Place – Copa Pacifica 2006
1st Place – South Bay Open 2006
1st Place – Copa Pacifica 2007
1st Place – California Pankration Championship 2007
2nd Place – Pankration Team Championships 2008
2nd Place – California Pankration Championship 2009
1st Place – Copa Pacifica 2009
2nd Place – Copa Pacifica 2010
3rd Place – South Bay Open 2010
2nd Place – Best of the West 2011
2nd Place – No Gi Worlds 2011 (Master’s 2 Purple Heavy)
2nd Place – Naga Grappling Championships 2013
1st Place – IBJJF Long Beach Fall Invitational 2014 (Master’s 2 Brown Open)

Professor Nea Vanda Ouk - ADULT BJJ CLASS INSTRUCTOR

Professor Nea comes from a household of refugee survivors that escaped a war-torn country in the aftermath of the Killing Fields. Learning from the sheer resilience of his parents’ efforts to find a better life in America throughout his infant stage of life, Professor Nea dedicated his efforts to continued education and self-improvement. This resulted in his enlistment in the United States Navy, working in the airlines as an aircraft mechanic, and eventually starting Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2012.

Fast-forward over a decade and a handful of health-related life-threatening hospitalizations, Professor Nea earned both his DMBJJ Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and an Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Master’s degree of Business Administration in Aviation in the first quarter of 2022. Professor Nea believes that in life there are various forms of important education. And through resilience and hard work has excelled tremendously, both on and off the mats. Professor Nea has been an instructor at DMBJJ since late 2013. He has a submission-based style rooted in a thorough understanding of essential concepts that he brings to each class session.

Coach Vu Nguyen - ADULT & KIDS CLASS INSTRUCTOR

Coach Vu was introduced to the sport of grappling back in Jr. High when his school offered a Wrestling program as an option for PE. He wrestled throughout high school, doing very well and placing first in many competitions. A few years later he wanted to return to the mats in some way and in 2008 discovered the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. After less than a year of training Coach Vu was promoted to Blue Belt. However after moving multiple times and diving into his career, his training slowed down quite a bit. But in 2019 he made a decision to return back to the mats and continue his journey. In 2019 Coach Vu received his Purple belt and began helping Professor Dimitrios coach the DMBJJ Spartan Kids Programs. In 2022 he was awarded his Brown belt from Professor Dimitrios and is currently a lead coach for the Spartan Kids on Mondays and Wednesdays. Coming from a wrestling background, Coach Vu’s classes are always challenging. He believes in pushing the pace and making sure that the kids give their best, absorb techniques, and get a great workout. He focuses on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fundamentals. And is dedicated to creating not just well rounded Jiu-Jitsu practitioners… but well rounded individuals as well.