At Bellingham BJJ, we love jiu-jitsu — and we want you to love jiu-jitsu.
Jiu-jitsu trains us to find the best, most efficient and effective ways to do things. Everybody has different goals in life, and we should all want to help our training partners reach their goals, using this powerful martial art as a tool.
Your goals might be to defend yourself better, to compete in high-level events, or just to get in better shape while having fun and learning. All of these are great goals, and jiu-jitsu can help you reach every one of them.
Bellingham BJJ holds regular gi and no-gi Brazilian jiu-jitsu classes at 205 W. Holly St. in downtown Bellingham.
We also offer regular 4-week introductory sessions at a low-cost. White belts must join the Intro to BJJ sessions before attending regular classes. Blue belts and above, feel free to drop in for a free week of class before joining regular classes! You can also check out our school policies and Frequently Asked Questions page.
Head Instructor: Jeff Shaw
Jeff Shaw is the owner and head instructor of Bellingham BJJ. He received his black belt from Royce Gracie black belt Seth Shamp in 2019. Jeff formerly was the assistant instructor at Triangle Jiu Jitsu Academy in Durham, North Carolina. Jeff’s focus is good, solid, fundamental jiu-jitsu that works in all situations – for self-defense and for sport, in the gi and out. He believes jiu-jitsu is for everyone and that everyone should have access to an inclusive training space.
Here is a blog post active competitor Steve McMahon wrote about training with Jeff.
As a competitor, Jeff has competed all over the world under numerous associations and rulesets. He is the first person to complete all eight divisions of a US Grappling tournament in a single day (25 matches), and has nearly 300 competition matches. He has been a US Grappling certified referee since 2015, completed his IBJJF referee certification in 2021, and completed ADCC referee training in 2020
In addition to teaching and training jiu-jitsu, Jeff also publishes research about the history of the martial arts. His focus is early jiu-jitsu in America, and he has presented at conferences in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia and Thailand on martial arts history
Jeff currently co-hosts the Fighting Matters podcast with other members of the international jiu-jitsu community. He was also the host and producer of Dirty White Belt Radio, a podcast about jiujitsu training, culture and history with an international listener base and more than 150,000 downloads. He’s also a regular guest on the BJJ Mental Models podcast, and has been on the Strenuous Life podcast with Stephan Kesting of Grapplearts twice.
Instructor: Pat DePuydt
Pat DePuydt is a black belt instructor at Bellingham BJJ. After more than a dozen years of training, Pat earned his black belt in Dec. 2022. Pat is an active competitor, having done superfight matches at both Toro Cup and Proving Grounds. Among his competition honors include winning gold at The Revolution’s black belt nogi division in 2025.
Instructor: Jesse Johns
Jesse Johns is a black belt instructor at Bellingham BJJ. Jesse has a focus on fundamental jiu-jitsu for self defense purposes, and teaches a wide array of classes at the academy. He has a fitness background as the leader of Fitness Fanatics, a Bellingham staple for years. He is also the academy’s Operations Manager. He received his black belt from Jeff Shaw and Dave Porter in Dec. 2025.
Instructor: Rob Long
Rob Long is a black belt instructor at Bellingham BJJ. He received his purple belt from Chris Dealy at The Base Vancouver in 2020 and his brown belt from Jeff Shaw in May 2023, and his black belt from Jeff Shaw in March 2025. Rob leads our kids program.
Instructor: Kendall McNab
Kendall McNab is a black belt instructor at Bellingham BJJ. He began training with Marcelo Alonso, and after training for more than 12 years total and almost four years with Jeff Shaw and Dave Porter, became the first Bellingham BJJ black belt in 2021.
Instructor: Kegan Mulholland
Kegan Mulholland is a black belt instructor at Bellingham BJJ. Kegan began grappling as a wrestler during his freshman year of high school and eventually went on to compete for the Western wrestling club team. Kegan first started training BJJ in Spokane, Washington at Newborn Cascao Jiu Jitsu and received his purple belt from James Weed. He received his brown belt from Jeff Shaw in September of 2022, and his black belt from Jeff Shaw and James Weed in March 2025. As a competitor, Kegan has competed at numerous tournaments, both in wrestling and BJJ. His biggest accomplishments include qualifying for the NCWA National Championships twice and getting a 3rd place finish in the adult blue belt division at the 2019 No-Gi Worlds. He has also earned superfight wins at Fight to Win Pro and the Toro Cup, where his record is 2-0.
Instructor: Mike Napoli
Mike Napoli is a black belt instructor at Bellingham BJJ. He received his black belt from Jeff Shaw in August 2024. Mike helps lead our kids’ program.
Instructor: JT Taylor
JT Taylor is a black belt instructor at Bellingham BJJ. JT began training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Cesar and Ralph Gracie in California. Upon moving to the Pacific Northwest in 2004, JT continued his training in Canada and was presented his black belt by Carlos Gracie Junior, under the instruction of Tim Shears, from what is now known as the Pacific Top Team organization. JT’s primary interest is the self-defense aspect of jiu-jitsu, having led the California Department of Justice defensive tactics program. In addition to BJJ, JT holds black belts in judo and Zen Budokai Aki Jujutsu.
Instructor: Tony Ventrano
Tony Ventrano is a black belt instructor at Bellingham BJJ. Tony is a 3rd degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, awarded in 2012 by Professor Pedro Sauer and Eddie Edmunds. He began his BJJ journey in 2000 under Rickson Gracie black belt David Terry in Sacramento, California. After moving to Salt Lake City in 2006, Tony continued his training under Eddie Edmunds, earning his purple, brown, and black belts in the Pedro Sauer lineage. With over two decades of experience, Tony is known for his deep knowledge, creative teaching methods, and open, detail-focused approach to instruction. He believes that nothing should be kept secret on the mats—everything he learns, he shares. He actively challenges outdated ideas and embraces continuous growth, both as a student and a teacher.
Tony has taught and trained in multiple cities across the U.S., including Austin, Texas with the John’s Gym family, and now in Bellingham, Washington, where he is a valued instructor at Bellingham BJJ. “There are a lot of black belts out there, but not all are created the same. Tony is one of the best black belts I’ve trained with.” — Jeremy Horn, MMA legend and owner of Elite Performance
Instructor: Colby Welch
Colby Welch is a black belt instructor at Bellingham BJJ. He has been training more than 15 years, and teaches regularly on Thursday and Sunday evenings.
Instructor: Jamie Chevalier
Jamie Chevalier is a brown belt instructor at Bellingham BJJ. They began training Jiu Jitsu in 2019 and received their purple belt in 2023. Known among their peers for being a technical instructor focused on meaningful details to make jiu-jitsu work for everyone, they lead noon classes and specialize in working from the standing position and pin escapes.
Instructor: Jesse Lang
Jesse Lang is a brown belt instructor at Bellingham BJJ. An active competitor with a wrestling background and prior training at Mat Chess MMA in Seattle, Jesse regularly teaches several of our 6 a.m. classes. He also leads our Defensive Striking classes.
Instructor: Cody Schuler
Cody Schuler is a brown belt instructor at Bellingham BJJ. He began training in 2019, and was the first in-house purple belt at Bellingham BJJ. Cody helps lead our kids’ program, and you should not let him get ahold of your foot.
Instructor: Kelsey Burazin
Kelsey Burazin is a purple belt instructor at Bellingham BJJ. In 2018, she began training both jiu jitsu and kickboxing at Roufusport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, then under Andrew Perkins at Mat Chess MMA in Seattle, Washington, finding her way further north to join Bellingham BJJ and is now teaching the women’s and non binary class. An attorney by trade, Kelsey is passionate about advocating for women in this sport and helping them to achieve whatever goals they might have on the mats.