Meet Our Instructors!

Henry Akins

BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU INSTRUCTOR

Henry Akins began training in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu in 1995 at the Rickson Gracie Acadamy on Pico blvd in West LA. Shortly after he started he became the secretary at the acadamy and was spending 70 hours a week there watching and participating in all of the classes. In 1997 the school moved to the Pacific Palisades where Henry trained and assisted main Instructor Luis Heredia and also participated and trained in all of the classes taught by Rickson. During these years Henry had the opportunity to train with Rickson and help him prepare for his fights in Japan. In 2000 the acadamy moved again to Wilshire blvd in West LA. By this time Henry had begun teaching many of the classes at the school.
In Feb of 2004, because of his persistence and dedication to the fundamentals and philosophies of Jiu-Jitsu, Rickson Gracie presented Henry with a blackbelt, being only the third American...

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS INSTRUCTOR

Antoni Hardonk began training in kickboxing in 1990 in his native country the Netherlands at the Vos gym in Amsterdam. Antoni developed under the watchful eye of legendary trainer Johan Vos and world champion training partners Ivan Hippolyte, Ernesto Hoost and Jerrel Venetiaan. In 1997 Antoni started competing in professional kickboxing matches with great success. Antoni fought over 20 pro K1 rules fights against some of the best fighters in the world maintaining a record of 19-3-1.

Antoni’s passion for martial arts also got him interested in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. With the desire to learn from the best, Antoni came to Los Angeles in 2004 where he started to train at the Rickson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Acadamy. It was there that he met Henry Akins who would become Antoni’s instructor in Jiu-Jitsu.

As Antoni developed into a more well-rounded fighter...

JUDO INSTRUCTOR

(born February 1, 1987 in Riverside County, California) is an American judoka and mixed martial artist. She formerly trained at the Olympic Training Center in Wakefield, Massachusetts under guidance of Jimmy Pedro and is now part of Team Hayastan in Santa Monica, California. Rousey trains under Gokor Chivichyan, Leo Frincu, and Gene Lebell along with Team Hayastan fighters such as Manny Gamburyan, Karen Darabedyan, Sako Chivitchian and Sevak Magakian.

Rousey is currently the #10-ranked 145-pound female MMA fighter in the world according to the Unified Women's MMA Rankings.

At just 17, Rousey qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, becoming the youngest judo player in the entire Games.

Also in 2004, Rousey won a gold medal at the 2004 World Junior Judo Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

In April 2006, she became the first U.S. female athlete in nearly 10 years to win an A-...