Stephen Whittier is Coming to Straight Blast Buford

Stephen Whittier is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, and a Muay Thai kru. This puts him in pretty exclusive company.

 

There aren’t many people on this earth that can brag of having those credentials. With thousands and thousands of hours spent training, learning, coaching, and teaching, Stephen Whittier has established himself as one of the Northeast’s top Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai coaches. As the owner and head coach of SBG East Coast, Stephen has coached jiu jitsu world champions, as well as UFC alums.

Starting off in Karate, Jeet Kune Do, and other traditional arts, Stephen found that when it came time to apply his martial arts skills in a live setting, being well-versed in kickboxing and grappling were the most valuable tools to have. He soon discovered Matt Thornton, the founder of Straight Blast Gym. Stephen knew that Matt’s philosophies on training and execution on another level from the old school dead-pattern-drills that were popular in American karate and tae kwon do.

 

Coach Phillipe Gentry has attended multiple workshops and semiars from Coach Whittier, both for Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai. Coach Phillipe had this to say:

 

“I’ve got entire set-ups and positions that I learned from Steve. He teaches more than just moves, he shows you how to control a position and situation. He showed side-control positioning at camp last year and I use his technique constantly. Same with Muay Thai. The zig zag punch came from Steve and I break that out all the time.”

 

Stephen has dedicated his life to learning and teaching martial arts. He has coached the following UFC veterans:

 

• Spencer Fischer

• Kenny Florian

• Rob Font

• Maurilo ‘Ninja’ Rua

 

In addition to taking young athletes to the pinnacle of MMA, Stephen is the creator and CEO of ’40 Plus Jiu Jitsu’, designed for athletes over 40. As we get older, our bodies don’t recover quite as quickly. Your game becomes more skill based and less on what physical attributes you have. Stephen is a master of playing to your strengths, minimizing the importance of athleticism.

 

Stephen will be at Straight Blast Buford on September 9th and 10th. He will be teaching a Jiu Jitsu seminar on Saturday, and Muay Thai on Sunday. Both sessions are from 11am – 2pm. Attendees need to rsvp by September 7th to secure their spot.