Officially Ranked Students

Gary Claxton
I began BJJ in 1996 at Ralph Gracies school in Pleasant Valley, California. I was a wrestler in my younger days and after seeing the UFC I decided I would like to learn this new grappling art........I was 35 yrs. old, off the mat for a dozen yrs. and after vomiting half way through class I thought I probably was kidding myself. There were many tough guys in there who ended up going far in BJJ and comparing myself to them, I honestly thought I had no chance at advancing to even purple belt.  But, I am hard headed. In March of 2009 after 13 yrs(minus two for injuries) I recieved the Black Belt from William Vandry. I have trained with William for 9 yrs. and respect his Jiu Jitsu so much that this is one of my proudest achievements. After being out with neck surgery and thinking I would never do BJJ again, I give thanks everytime I put on a gi and am able to train one more day. Vandrys is a unique place to train with lot's of guys who have been there a long time. I'm glad I found it when I did.

Carter Fisk I started jiu jitsu in Los Angeles, training with several teachers including Ethan Milius and Eddie Bravo. It was definitely a hobby I barely had time for and this always frustrated me. I promised myself that if the circumstances in my life ever changed, I would make jiu jitsu a priority.

Well they did when in June of 2006, I moved out to Austin and found William Vandry's school. The thing that struck me almost immediately was the fact that I didn't recognize any of the techniques he was teaching. Part of me wanted to dismiss this, but the other part wondered if I had just discovered the tip of the iceberg in jiu jitsu. I felt very much at home at the school and decided that learning a whole new approach to jiu jitsu would be a good thing in the long run.

At VJJ, I've been lucky to have some of the best friends and training partners a man could ask for. And even more to have a teacher, in William, who understands the game in such a complex and thorough way. He is patient and insightful with my never-ending questions and scenarios I present. I can't imagine a better training environment than the one I have.

Emmanuel Galvan - Association Instructor
I started rolling for over 6 years but only started to train with William Vandry 2.5 years ago. I got my blue belt Feb. 28,2004. I got my purple belt June 6,2005. I first found out about William on an onthemat interview, in which he said that he wanted to start an association in South Texas - and well you can't get any more South than Brownsville. I was already teaching for free just wanted to work out at first. Not until a couple of blue belts from other schools told me that I was close to blue, I decided to contact William. I didn't want to contact him until I was good enough. I didn't want to get there and make a fool of myself. From then William has guided me through the rest. I teach at Galvans Martial Arts - Brownsville Association. I also hold a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Traditional Tae Kwon Do, and a Black Belt in Tomiki Ryu Aikido. My goals are to get my Black Belt in BJJ under William, a Black belt in Judo, and to finish college. I'm currently 5'10" and weight 190. I don't like no gi - I have always preferred the gi. whether it be stand up or ground - I love the gi.

King Webb - Association Instructor
I started training in the martial arts at the age of 14, and started BJJ in 1994 under Relson Gracie after watching Royce Gracie tear up everybody in the early UFC's. I have been in the Machado system since 1996. William Vandry has been my main instructor since 1998.

To me BJJ is an endless journey. BJJ is in my blood, I will never quit training and teaching. I love everything about BJJ, the training, the challenges, competition, and especially all of my friends and students who train in the art. I like training in BJJ, no-gi grappling and mma. I like no-gi grappling and mma best because I dont have to worry about being gi choked by a 10 year old, plus I really love striking too!

I have 4 instructor rankings in the martial arts and by far I have the most pride in my BJJ Black Belt. It took me 15 years to get to the rank. I have two schools in Luling and Seguin. I have tremendous pride in all of my students, it is an honor to be their instructor.

Semper Fi
www.lulingmma.com
www.seguinmma.com

Bryan Evans - Association Instructor
Bryan “Diabo” Evans - Diabo (pronounced GEE-AH-BO) is my nickname given to me by my Capoeira instructor, it means devil or evil. (Funny I don’t feel evil.) I have been a William Vandry Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu student since 1999; I had been searching for a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor after I was briefly introduced to the style in 1995. Once I saw William’s classes I was sold, and to think he was “only” a purple belt back then. I began training in martial arts at a very young age and have studied several styles/systems during my time. I fell in love with BJJ due to it's "Live Sparring" on a daily basis, an element that is missing from a lot of schools. During my time I have had the opportunity to train with some amazing instructors and partners.  The instruction from William Vandry and his students are some of, if not the best I have ever trained with. I have received several Black Belt rankings in various systems in the past, however I must tell you that my most recent promotion to the coveted Brown Belt in Vandry Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has been the most fulfilling. After a few years at the Vandry Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academy I remember thinking to myself "WOW THIS IS WHAT MARTIAL ARTS IS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE". Receiving this rank in BJJ has sparked a fire in me to push harder and eventually reach the Black Belt level. I would like to represent our academy and style with an association in the future as well. I would like to thank all of my AMAZING training partners as well as a PHENOMENAL instructor in William Vandry. William Vandry Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu the BEST DARN BJJ in Texas! Thanx, Diabo

Jeremy Carbone - Assistant Instructor
I started training with William in early 2002, I had just moved to Texas and like many of the other guys had trained elsewhere before. I made sure I went to every Jiu Jitsu and submission wrestling school in Austin before I made my decision on where to train. I’ll never forget my first class at Williams’s academy. I had been all over town taking classes with everyone, some guys would roll with me and some would try to get there best student to take me out. We’ll just say that my ego had been stroked at several local schools.

Class was winding down and William called me over to wrestle. This was exactly what I was here for, time to see what this guy was all about. We were rolling and I came really close to getting an armbar, just missed it. Not too long after that I just missed a choke, and then a foot lock. At this rate it wouldn’t be too much longer before I landed one of these submissions and walked out of here feeling like a champ. This went on for a few more minutes and I was convinced that I was going to win this match. It was right about at that point that I found myself being held down. Only problem was my escapes weren’t working. So I tried harder…….still didn’t work. Then it hit me “was this guy playing with me the whole time.” As I was thinking this I had to tap because my knee hurt. Only I didn’t know why at the time because I had never seen that lock before. He must have gotten lucky let’s try that again. The only thing that changed was there was no more playing around the second match and I knew where I was going to be training.

The teaching, people, training, and atmosphere at Vandry Brazilian Jiu Jitsu have completely changed my life.

Ted Osborne - Assistant Instructor
Ted Osburn is a Brown belt in BJJ under Professor William Vandry, and has trained under Vandry since 2000, and also assist at the Vandry academy in Austin Texas as well as performing as Head Instructor at south locations in Austin. Osburn has competed in BJJ, and specializes in ankle locks in tournaments. Appearing in William Vandry book and videos Osburn has also assisted teaching seminars in BJJ in Texas.

Osburn philosophizes training safe, technical, developing new strategies, and promoting a trust and non-threatening training atmosphere. Training has intensity for techniques, drills, sparring and competition.

Jay Hume - Assistant Instructor

Craig Burt

Darren McCarthy - Association Instructor

Ed Aiken - MMA Instructor

David Limon

Matt Serfoss

Rob Furlano

Zach Calvert

Luis Vega - Association Instructor

Jesus Armas Sr. - Association Instructor

Martha Eva Velasco

John Palmer
I first attended Vandry BJJ in 1999, but had to stop after a few months due to work. I started training again in 2001 and have kept at it ever since. I received my purple belt on March 4 2006. A friend called me one day in 1999 and said he had found the perfect place for me to train given my wrestling background and my ne'er do well attitude (just kidding Will). My friend was right, I don't think I could find a better place to train. I formerly taught a technique only class on Sunday afternoon. Child and work permitting, I would like to resume this class, but it will take me awhile to get my ducks in a row. 2007 anyone? I wrestled in high school and, in a very minor fashion, college. My goal in BJJ is to get my black belt, to be a good student and someday, a good teacher. I would also like to attend more tournaments including the Pan-Ams at some point. I'm 5'10" and 175ish. Personally I prefer the gi at this point because I'm still developing my style, but I love MMA and no-gi so it's a pretty close call.

Charlie Wolf
In February of 2006, I was looking around for some type of exercise that I could actually enjoy.  A friend told me about Vandry BJJ, so I went to check it out.  From the first class I attended, I was hooked.  I was always able to get a good workout, and the training partners were always willing to teach.  I sometimes roll no-gi, and enjoy learning the different techniques for that game also.  I have competed a few times, but mainly prefer the stress free learning that I get in class.  As a Blue belt, I started having some success with my half guard game, and I have focused on building that part of my game.  I haven’t attended any other schools, but I can’t imagine a better place to train than Vandry’s.

Jeff Snow - Assistant Instructor - Children
I started training with William in August of 2007. I had tried other
schools around, but could never really find a place to call home. My initial thought was I'd just go in there a couple times a week and get some good cross training, but my addiction to this art came quickly. My first several months in that academy were very eye opening for me because a lot of guys were beating me, some of which were much smaller than I. It didn't seem right to me because I have a background in wrestling, and always felt comfortable on the ground. Needless to say, the fact I was getting beaten so much really intrigued me and I have been training most every day ever since. I got my blue belt from William in September of 08, and all it did was light my fire to become a solid BJJ practitioner that knows wrestling rather than a wrestler that practices a little BJJ. Thank you William for providing such a phenomenal academy, instruction and training partners for all of us!

Adam Bacia - Muay Thai
Prior to coming to Vandry's 3 years ago, my mixed martial arts background was strictly stand up. My first night on the mats opened my eyes to a whole new world of combat, and I've been hooked ever since. The best compliment that I can give to the school, beyond the incredible instruction, is that William has built a community of genuinely talented and dedicated students. All of whom add to an exceptional training environment which allows everyone to progress at their own speed, while still receiving constant instruction and feedback on ways to improve their technique. William has also done a great job of incorporating a number of other disciplines, from Muay Thai to Judo to No-Gi grappling, into the school’s offerings, and I believe it allows students an opportunity to test the waters in other forms of MMA, which makes for a much better, more competent and well rounded fighter.

Slade Foster

Rafael Vigil

Dennis Donbrow

Troy Etheredge

George Mielcarek

Geoffrey Dennis - Judo Instructor
Geoff began his BJJ training under William Vandry in December 2005. He was awarded his Blue belt by Mr Vandry in September 2007. Geoff began studying Judo in 1996 while working as a Police Officer in Denton , Texas under 5th Dan Mr. Finn Jones. After 9/11, Geoff moved to Seattle where he studied at Seattle Dojo (the oldest Judo school in the US ) under 8th Dan, Mr. Kenji Yamata. In 2003, Geoff moved to Austin , Texas and began practicing with the UT Judo club under 4th Dan Mr. Stan Wentz. In 2005 Geoff began training under 8th Dan Mr. Zednik Matl in Round Rock, Texas . Geoff was promoted to Shodan (1st Dan) in March of 2006. Geoff was promoted to Nidan (2nd Dan) in August 2009.