MEET THE TRAINERS

Aaron Reis

Professor Aaron "Ace" Reis is the owner and Head Trainer at Fusion MMA & Jiu Jitsu. He has over 40 Years in Martial Arts training and over 20 years in Jiu Jitsu, starting in 1998 and earning his Jiu Jitsu Black Belt in 2009. He is a multiple time Heavyweight World Karate Champion as well as a Submission Grappling Champion.

He has been training amateur & professional fighters for many years and has met and trained with some of the world’s best athletes and fighters—from NFL athletes to UFC superstars. He is constantly looking to improve his students’ and fighters’ abilities.

Amy Aristizabal

Amy Aristizabal started her martial arts journey in Krav maga, focusing on self-defense ten years ago. Amy has competed in jiujitsu as well as amateur MMA and is currently a purple belt in jiu-jitsu. She owns her own gym where she manages and coaches with her husband. Amy is committed to empowering women through martial arts.

Apart from the gym Amy loves her dog and cat and holds a degree in finance.

Boyd Abernethy

I am Boyd Abernethy, I am 23 years old and Certified Smart Defense Instructor. I am a father of one, and my goal is to use my experience in combat sports to help Utah become a safer place for women. My combat sports experience started in 2014 when I began training in Wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai. I have spent the past 9 years training and competing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, going as far as Rio de Janeiro to compete. I am a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a coach at multiple combat sports gyms in Utah. I have also previously fought in amateur MMA. I am also a Senior at Utah Valley University getting my bachelor’s degree in Psychology.

Carl Sims

Carl started training Jiu Jitsu in 2008. After a few years he started teaching as a Jiu Jitsu fundamentals instructor. Carl has been involved in teaching in the Cache Valley in Northern Utah for nearly a decade. Carl is an active competitor who won the IBJJF No Gi World Championships in 2015 as a Purple Belt and again as a Brown Belt in 2019. In 2020 he received his Black Belt in Jiu Jitsu from Professor Johnny Carlquist, head instructor at Unified Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

As the brother to four sisters and the father of two daughters, Carl has always been an advocate for Women’s Rights. Sharing Self Defense is his way of giving back to the community.

Chelsea Kilpack

Chelsea Kilpack is a third-degree purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under John Carlquist at Unified Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. In addition to jiu jitsu she has several years of Muay Thai training. Chelsea is a Certified Sexual Assault Counselor/Victim Advocate and community educator. Her master's degree research was on institutional barriers to sexual assault prevention curriculum in public schools, and her community lectures focus on violence prevention, the transformative power of enthusiastic consent in everyday life, and women’s rights more broadly. She is the former board secretary for the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault (UCASA). You can read more about her at chelseakilpack.com

Danny Suliafu

Dave Sejelstead

Dayne Aristizabal

Dayne Aristizabal has been teaching Martial Arts for nearly two decades. After training in traditional martial arts as a child Dayne met professor Pedro Sauer and was introduced to Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the age of 14. Dedicating himself the practice and training multiple times a day he would earn his black belt in 2012 after nearly 11 years of full-time practice under professor Sauer. Dayne competed professionally in Mixed Martial Arts and was the head instructor at the world-famous Pit martial arts in Arroyo Grande CA under Coach John Hackleman. Dayne lived on the Pit compound and trained under coach Hackleman daily. Dayne is currently still competing in Jiu Jitsu and teaches arrest control to law enforcement.

Jason South

A professional MMA fighter with a record of 14-2, BJJ blackbelt, National BJJ champion and proud father of 5. Jason believes strongly in educating women and girls on all the risks and realities of self defense as well as instilling a strong sense of empowerment. He has been an advocate of women in combat sports and a coach and teacher for 5 years in both adult and kids programs. Jason brings a sense of calm and trust into any room he joins. When he isn’t on the mats teaching or in the cage fighting, he loves the mountains, guns, Harley rides and making knives or jewelery in his shop.

Jennifer Reis

PURPLE BELT BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU

Jennifer has been training for over 5 years and is a multiple time jiu jitsu champion. She is a great, highly-detailed instructor. She has a great time teaching women and looks forward to training them and helping reach their goals. She looks forward to meeting you on the mat.

Justin South

Justin started his path of self-defense systems with Modern Army Combatives in 2008. He spent the next several years learning and instructing the curriculum for close quarters combat with the U.S. Army. This curriculum involved weapons and hand to hand combat. Justin is a father at home and a career firefighter/paramedic by profession. He enjoys training BJJ, mountain biking, and spending time with his family and friends. He believes in the value of providing self-defense to women, in a realistic manner, that actually sets them up for success in the real world.

Kani Correa

Marci Simons

Marci has worked in the fitness industry since 2009 as an instructor and personal trainer. She is a purple belt in Jiu Jitsu and the 2016 IBJJF Master World Champion (Master 3 blue belt light). She was the winner of the 2016 Bataan Memorial Death March which is a 26.2 mile race while wearing a 45 lb pack through the White Sands missile range in the desert of New Mexico with a finish time of 5:30:08.9. Marci is an incredible triathlete, Saint George marathon finisher, and a 5 year participant in Wasatch Back Relay race. She is a mother of 3 teenagers and one cute puppy. In her spare time she is an avid hiker and enjoys paddle boarding, camping, and anything outdoors.

Marcus Johnson

Blackbelt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Marcus Johnson has been a student of self-defense and a practitioner of martial arts for well over a decade. His experience started with the art of Hapkido which then lead to his introduction to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Jiu-jitsu and self-defense in general have been and continue to be his passion. His devotion to self-defense and desire to teach others has allowed him to teach many different groups how to protect themselves against attacks.

Over the last couple of years, Marcus has been working with one of Utah’s largest security firms as a member of their Executive Protection team. He has had the opportunity to provide personal security for many “high value” individuals along with local business owners that have received threats against their lives. As part of his work with the Executive Protection group, he teaches defensive tactics to the other Executive Protection team members.

Marcus has been self employed for close to 25 yrs in the insurance industry. He has been married for over 20 years to an amazing, patient wife and has 4 kids (1 girl and 3 boys) that still don’t mind hanging around him.

Molly Jimenez

Molly Jimenez is a purple belt Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor and instructor. As a mother of two boys, conversations about consent and respecting boundaries are ongoing in her household. She is passionate about uplifting and empowering other women to honor their own boundaries, learn tools to protect themselves and others, and recognize their innate self-worth.

Stan Beck

Stan Beck has been training in the martial arts for over 30 years and has trained with many of the world’s top-ranked mixed martial arts competitors. He has become a champion himself in numerous N.A.G.A. and Grapplers Quest events, and is a two time medalist at the prestigious World Masters Championships. Stan has studied directly under Renzo Gracie for over 20 years and has also trained extensively in many other martial arts styles and disciplines including Shotokan Karate, boxing, kickboxing, and Jeet Kune Do.

Zach Evans

–Krav Maga 1st Degree Black Belt

–2019 Krav Maga Alliance Coach of the Year

–3rd Degree Blackbelt in Traditional Martial Arts

–13x Utah State Champion

–Purple Belt in BJJ

–Blue Belt in Bang Muay Thai

–28 plus years of martial arts experience

Zach has been in the martial arts since the age of 4. He has been teaching Krav Maga for 14 years and is the founder of Atlas Combat Sports. He is one of the most well rounded instructors in Utah and is known for his attention to detail. Zach has completed multiple high level certifications and has received his 1st degree Black Belt under Krav Maga Alliance. His technique is superb and he is one of the first instructors to ever be awarded the Gold diploma by Krav Maga Alliance founder and 6th degree blackbelt John Whitman. He continues to train and learn Krav maga from the best sources in the world.

Zach received his black belt in traditional martial arts and has studied BJJ under Fusion Academy (an affiliate of Pedro Sauer) as well as Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and achieved purple belt status. Zach also is currently training Muay Thai under the Bang Muay Thai system and under the guidance and expertise of 2x UFC Coach of the Year, Duane Ludwig. He truly has a passion for educating his community to become a safer place.

Mackenzie Gorham

Mackenzie has been training in martial arts since she started judo at the age of four. She earned a black belt in Shorin Ryu karate as a teenager, and began training jiu jitsu during college, mostly doing no-gi. Mackenzie moved to Idaho in 2009, and joined a Pedro Sauer jiu jitsu academy; she is now a brown belt in PSBJJ. She enjoys the mental challenge that jiu jitsu requires, and the very real way it teaches youth (and adults!) not to judge someone's skills by their looks or size. It's so powerful when adolescent boys join classes and learn to respect the young women in their classes because they physically have to when they are out-skilled; it teaches them new ways of thinking about respect for the women in their lives as they grow into men, as well as teaching those young women to confidently say and enforce "no" when they need to. Outside of jiu-jitsu, Mackenzie is a nuclear engineer and enjoys riding horses, hiking, reading, yoga, gardening, water sports, and photography.

Joel Hadden

Having over a decade of training and competition experience, Joel has taken on the role as one of the head instructors at Ground X Jiu Jitsu in Ottawa, Ontario. Joel began training Jiu Jitsu in 2007 while also studying for his masters degree in electrical engineering. Joel’s focus is to lead each student to reaching their potential on and off the mat. He has won several prestigious titles including a silver medal at the Pan American Championships as well as a gold medal at the Abu Dhabi Pro trials. The latter earned him an all expense paid trip to compete in front of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, the reigning Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. The opportunity to compete in Abu Dhabi is one of the most revered titles in sport Jiu Jitsu. Training Jiu Jitsu has provided Joel with the opportunity to travel the world and build life skills along the way. His goal is to give each of his students that same opportunity.

Kayla Patterson

Kayla began training Jiu Jitsu in 2010 as a way to stay in shape and have fun after a car accident left her with a broken knee. After 3 months of training she entered her first competition and came home with a second place medal. This encouraged Kayla to compete more and to later become an IBJJF 2X No-Gi Purple Belt World Champion and a 4X EBI veteran, featured on UFC Fight Pass. After her second feature on UFC Fightpass Kayla relocated from Memphis, Tennessee to San Diego, California where she trained at the best Jiu Jitsu academies in the world. Her focus has now shifted toward providing students with the skills and tools necessary to accomplish their goals.

Erin Ries

Da Ries

Jen Robertson

Jen trains Krav Maga and Brazilian jiu jitsu. She is passionate about helping beginners take their first steps in the martial arts because she loves to see women become strong and confident as they learn self-defense.

Jen has a PhD in English and taught college literature and composition for almost a decade. She brings her love of education and communication to the mats, emphasizing the importance of consent and boundaries in her teaching. Jen is dedicated to making martial arts a safer and more inclusive space.

Outside the gym, Jen enjoys hiking, camping, white water rafting, reading, and photography.

Cori Cushman

Curious about martial arts and self-defense, for her 37th birthday Cori joined a Krav Maga gym. Krav Maga was integral in building confidence, a solid foundation of hand-to-hand combat techniques and mental preparation for a variety of situations. It also sparked her curiosity for ground fighting, which led to discovering and loving Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Her previous experience working for the Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention & Response (SAPR) Office, supporting active-duty military survivors of sexual assault and their dependents, cultivated a passion for helping others, empowerment through healthy boundary setting and the importance of the words “I believe you”. She also trained and mentored victim advocates, participated on a joint forces SAPR Team and was a member of the US Coast Guard’s Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team.

Cori is a USAF veteran, No-Gi World Masters champion, purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and instructor at Krav Maga of Southern Colorado.