Building my body and fighting skills did little to calm the inner turmoil I felt my entire life. After conquering fear on the martial arts mat, I realized external opposition wasn't what was holding me back.

From winning a national bodybuilding title as a teen to earning a gold medal at the world masters Jiu Jitsu championships twenty years later, my attempts at cultivating a protective layer through physicality ignored the deep beliefs I held that kept me in survival mode.

Self discovery became the purpose of all my training, and my body became a tool for controlling my mind. Today, my life and teaching are dedicated to understanding my own thoughts and actions, in order to better relate to the world around me, and help my students navigate through their own lives.

After graduating from NYU's journalism program, I was a freelance writer before beginning my teaching career and opening my own academy. In 2018 I sold my academy to focus on writing, private coaching, and group workshops. Visit my website, InternalJiuJitsu.com, for videos. My book, Brokedown Sensei: How I Fought Trauma and Bipolar Disorder From The Outside In, is available on Amazon.