Dave Camarillo

United States
Born 1977
38.5

Also known as

David Camarillo

Description

American martial artist and coach, founder of Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu. A judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, he became head grappling coach at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose in 2003, guiding several prominent MMA fighters.

Teachers (1)

  • Ralph Gracie
    sports_martial_artsBrazilian jiu-jitsu Probable
    Probable
    BJJ Heroes, the standard BJJ lineage reference, explicitly records Camarillo's black belt under Ralph Gracie; single secondary source
    The evidence favours the claim and nothing credible contradicts it, but it falls short of establishing it.
    fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    1 source expand_more
    fact_check
    BJJ Heroes, the standard BJJ lineage reference, explicitly records Camarillo's black belt under Ralph Gracie; single secondary source
    “Dave Camarillo is a Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) black belt under Ralph Gracie”
    — BJJ Heroes. Dave Camarillo (BJJ Heroes). BJJ Heroes link history info

Lineage

Ranks (1)

  • sports_martial_artsBrazilian jiu-jitsu
    receipt_longBlack belt Probable
    Probable
    BJJ Heroes records the black belt promotion from Ralph Gracie; single secondary source, date not stated
    The evidence favours the claim and nothing credible contradicts it, but it falls short of establishing it.
    BJJ Ranking System
    granted by Ralph Gracie
    fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    1 source expand_more
    fact_check
    BJJ Heroes records the black belt promotion from Ralph Gracie; single secondary source, date not stated
    “He spent the next 4 years in that division before reaching the black belt from the hands of Ralph Gracie.”
    — BJJ Heroes. Dave Camarillo (BJJ Heroes). BJJ Heroes link history info

Students (5)

  • Mark Zuckerberg
    sports_martial_artsGuerrilla Jiu-Jitsu Confirmed
    Confirmed
    Two independent live sources (ESPN, BJJEE) report Camarillo as Zuckerberg's BJJ coach, quoting Camarillo directly on the relationship
    The evidence establishes the claim: it is sufficient and consistent, and any conflicting evidence is resolved.
    location_onGuerrilla Jiu-Jitsu San Jose badge (2022)
    fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    2 sources expand_more
    fact_check
    Two independent live sources (ESPN, BJJEE) report Camarillo as Zuckerberg's BJJ coach, quoting Camarillo directly on the relationship
    “He has been training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu for about one year under Dave Camarillo”
    — ESPN - "'One of the best students I've ever had': Coach marvels about Mark Zuckerberg winning BJJ tournament" (Marc Raimondi, 2023-05-11)link
    “And he excels. He's one of the best students I've ever had.”
    — BJJEE - "Dave Camarillo: 'Mark Zuckerberg Is One Of The Best Students I Ever Had'" link
  • Josh Koscheck
    sports_martial_artsGuerrilla Jiu-Jitsu Probable
    Probable
    Multiple sources report Koscheck earned a black belt in Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu under Dave Camarillo while at AKA; corroborated by Wikipedia and BJJ Heroes
    The evidence favours the claim and nothing credible contradicts it, but it falls short of establishing it.
    location_onAmerican Kickboxing Academy badge
    fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    1 source expand_more
    fact_check
    Multiple sources report Koscheck earned a black belt in Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu under Dave Camarillo while at AKA; corroborated by Wikipedia and BJJ Heroes
    “Dave Camarillo became a mainstream name as a coach after many of his students became big stars in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA), names such as Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick, and Cain Velazquez.”
    — BJJ Heroes. Dave Camarillo (BJJ Heroes). BJJ Heroes link history info
  • Jon Fitch
    sports_martial_artsGuerrilla Jiu-Jitsu Probable
    Probable
    Multiple sources report Fitch received his black belt in Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu under Dave Camarillo while at AKA; corroborated by Wikipedia and BJJ Heroes
    The evidence favours the claim and nothing credible contradicts it, but it falls short of establishing it.
    location_onAmerican Kickboxing Academy badge
    fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    1 source expand_more
    fact_check
    Multiple sources report Fitch received his black belt in Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu under Dave Camarillo while at AKA; corroborated by Wikipedia and BJJ Heroes
    “Dave Camarillo became a mainstream name as a coach after many of his students became big stars in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA), names such as Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Mike Swick, and Cain Velazquez.”
    — BJJ Heroes. Dave Camarillo (BJJ Heroes). BJJ Heroes link history info
  • Cain Velasquez
    sports_martial_artsGuerrilla Jiu-Jitsu Probable
    Probable
    Wikipedia and multiple MMA outlets report Velasquez earned a brown belt in Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu under Dave Camarillo while training at AKA; single secondary source
    The evidence favours the claim and nothing credible contradicts it, but it falls short of establishing it.
    location_onAmerican Kickboxing Academy badge (2006)
    fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    1 source expand_more
    fact_check
    Wikipedia and multiple MMA outlets report Velasquez earned a brown belt in Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu under Dave Camarillo while training at AKA; single secondary source
    “Velasquez is a brown belt in Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu under Dave Camarillo”
    — Cain Velasquez - Wikipedia (EN). Wikipedia (English)link history info
  • Keanu Reeves
    sports_martial_artsBrazilian jiu-jitsu Confirmed
    Confirmed
    Multiple independent sources (Camarillo's own Instagram account, Jiu Jitsu Legacy summarizing his podcast account, and Jitsmagazine) document Camarillo as Reeves' primary trainer and grappling instructor through the John Wick 4 production
    The evidence establishes the claim: it is sufficient and consistent, and any conflicting evidence is resolved.
    Private lesson (2020–2023)
    fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    3 sources expand_more
    fact_check
    Multiple independent sources (Camarillo's own Instagram account, Jiu Jitsu Legacy summarizing his podcast account, and Jitsmagazine) document Camarillo as Reeves' primary trainer and grappling instructor through the John Wick 4 production
    visibilityFirst-hand
    “Starting in September, 2020 I spent 14 months away from home on John Wick 4. This picture was taken at the end of a 6 month training preparation for the movie... Keanu! It was an honor to teach you and learn from you and be killed by you!”
    — Dave Camarillo. (2023). Dave Camarillo Instagram post on John Wick 4 (2023-03-24)link info
    “For those fourteen months of shooting, Dave Camarillo was the primary trainer and grappling instructor for Keanu Reeves.”
    — Bobby Bradshaw. (2024). Dave Camarillo Details Time Working on John Wick 4 (Jiu Jitsu Legacy)link history info
    “Dave Camarillo is a veteran Judo and BJJ black belt who worked on John Wick: Chapter 4 to co-ordinate stunts and fightscenes, and footage has gone viral of him teaching Keanu Reeves a beautiful flying triangle choke counter to a single-leg takedown”
    — Sabrina Phillips. (2023). Watch Dave Camarillo Teach Keanu Reeves A Flying Triangle Choke (Jitsmagazine). Jits Magazine link history info

Sources

BJJ Heroes. Dave Camarillo (BJJ Heroes). BJJ Heroeslink history info

Cite and reuse

CC BY-SA 4.0expand_more
Plain text
Muñoz, Frederico (YEAR_PLACEHOLDER). Dave Camarillo. In Martialis: Martial Arts Lineage Database. https://martial.is/entity/01KZQ5XKW310NKTT34P8D4WQAS - CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed ACCESSED_DATE_PLACEHOLDER.
BibTeX
@incollection{martialis_01KZQ5XKW310NKTT34P8D4WQAS, author = {Muñoz, Frederico}, title = {Dave Camarillo}, booktitle = {Martialis: Martial Arts Lineage Database}, year = {YEAR_PLACEHOLDER}, url = {https://martial.is/entity/01KZQ5XKW310NKTT34P8D4WQAS}, urldate = {ACCESSED_DATE_PLACEHOLDER}, note = {CC BY-SA 4.0} }
data_object JSON-LDdata_object Turtle
https://martial.is/entity/01KZQ5XKW310NKTT34P8D4WQAS

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