James Driskill

For over twenty years, James Driskill has trained at the closest possible range to the source: he began under Rickson Gracie in Los Angeles in 2003 and became the master's trusted teaching assistant and primary uke — the person on whom Rickson demonstrates the art itself, in California and now Florida. A 3rd degree black belt under Rickson, James is a lifelong martial artist (kickboxing, judo and wrestling before BJJ) dedicated to preserving and sharing Rickson's philosophy.

That philosophy runs through everything James teaches: invisible jiu-jitsu — efficiency, breath control, connection — and self-defense principles that guide you on and off the mats. Mindfulness and meditation aren't add-ons in his teaching; they're part of the art.

Filmed with The BJJ Project in Vero Beach, James's courses take you from your first steps (his free Kickstarter) through his Building Blocks framework to his Suitcase — the essentials he'd pack for any Jiu-Jitsu journey: breath, resilience, strategy, survival, and the dilemmas that make an opponent wrong no matter what they choose.