A video recently emerged via FACEBOOK and other online resources showing the supposed head of a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu school called Jitz Happens that claims to be a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu being confronted by Jiu-Jitsu Blue Belt James Rodriguez, a blue belt under Dan Covel . That video has since turned into big news around the Brazilian Jiu—Jitsu world and the man who was confronted in the video has made a statement of his own now, as Adam LaClair BJJ purple instructor at Jitz Happens With the Allege Fake Black Belt Kyle Mills
Adam LaClair is a BJJ Purple Belt And Instructor at Jitz Happens.
Jiu-Jitsu Times reached out to Adam LaClair:
“There was never at any time anyone that claimed to be a BJJ black belt. Not myself, and not Kyle Mills; That is 100% a made up lie, and this guy has absolutely no proof to the contrary because none exists! This is a very small group that enjoys training together, has done so for years now, and nobody except the landlord is making any profit on it. Kyle barely breaks even on the space rent. When I go down to teach, I barely cover my own travel expenses with what I charge. This is in no way a commercialized operation getting rich off the masses! None of our students have been “duped” or “misled” in any fashion, it’s really just a few friends who enjoy training with each other.
We have two styles that are trained by my group at that location, and we have always made the distinction between them extremely clear: visually, verbally, and whenever appropriate or asked. I state it every time I visit, every time Kyle or I swap one rank belt off and put the other on, and anytime we have the rare opportunity of new or prospective student or training partner. I was called out on the old NHBgear forum years ago when I first started in BJJ by Andreh Anderson, because my website said JuJitsu black belt and BJJ white belt. That was in 2002! We have always been transparent! Andreh and I are friends today.
I’ve been teaching martial arts for 21 years. I’ve been training in BJJ for just over 14 years. WHY would I or my students even need to mis-represent ourselves in BJJ when we have an authentic, verifiable lineage with some pretty high ranking instructors? (Helio Gracie, Francisco Mansur, Jose Moreira, Roy Harris). Why would I do or allow anything to jeopardize all I’ve accomplished this far, over 15 years? I’ve been around much longer than a lot of these young bucks, I know what your reputation means in this elite community! It doesn’t and wouldn’t even make sense to try to fake credentials! It’s an area that as recent as two years ago had nobody ranked higher than a blue belt in BJJ in the area, other than myself. It’s an area dominated by Karate schools and wrestlers and MMA fighters (Jon Jones’ hometown). Even now there is very little BJJ pedigree there, And we’ve been around the longest in terms of me offering any kind of legit BJJ instruction!
The entire accusation of this thing is just preposterous. James’ “dojo storm” was way beyond ridiculous and out of line. I believe this is all a ploy for James to look tough to his students and get some attention for his relatively new school. He’s known about myself and my group for years!
I do see how the sign and pics and wearing BJJ gis during non-BJJ classes could possibly be confusing to some, and I have apologized repeatedly for it, and taken full responsibility for it. All classes and practices have been temporarily suspended while we take deliberate steps to make sure there is absolutely no confusion again in the future, as we move forward. The landlord has already removed the sign from the building.
I want to close this out by simply saying a phone call or email and an open mind was all that was necessary for us to take these steps, not some radical dojo storm with fake accusations and false assumptions. I’m far more proud of my purple belt and years of training in BJJ than I am of my black belts in Karate or JuJitsu. I would be the last person to ever betray my belt, my instructors, or those who have sweat with me on the mats over the years. Martial arts is supposed to be about respect and honor as much as effective fighting skills. I’d much rather we all get back to just focusing on those important things. The drama was so unnecessary!! Thank you for your time and allowing our side of the story.”
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