Who Is John Danaher? The BJJ Coach Behind the Modern No-Gi Era

John Danaher is the most influential BJJ coach of the modern era. The architect of the leg-lock revolution, the brain behind Gordon Ryan, and the head coach of New Wave Jiu-Jitsu in Austin. This is the working profile: where he came from, how he ended up coaching the most decorated grappling team in the sport, and what makes his system different.

John Danaher at a glance

Attribute	Details
Full name	John Bernard Danaher
Born	1967, Washington D.C., United States
Raised in	Whangaparaoa, New Zealand
Education	Columbia University (philosophy)
Belt	6th-degree BJJ black belt
Promoted by	Renzo Gracie
Style	Systematic, conceptual, position-first
Current team	New Wave Jiu-Jitsu, Austin, Texas
Notable students	Gordon Ryan, Garry Tonon, Nicky Ryan, Nicholas Meregali, Giancarlo Bodoni, Luke Griffith
Famous for	Leg-lock revolution, back-attack system, the iconic rashguard-cap-glasses uniform

From philosophy to the mats

Danaher's path into BJJ is unusual. Born in Washington D.C. in 1967 and raised in Whangaparaoa, New Zealand, he came to the United States as an academic, not a fighter. He pursued a philosophy PhD at Columbia University in New York, focused on the philosophy of mind.

He found BJJ in his late 20s by accident. Working as a bouncer in New York to pay tuition, he saw what real fighting looked like, found BJJ through the Renzo Gracie Academy in Manhattan, and started training. His academic life and his BJJ life ran parallel for years. He left the PhD before completing it, but the analytical training carried directly into his coaching.

At Renzo Gracie Academy

Renzo Gracie Academy in New York was the seedbed of the Danaher era. Renzo himself promoted Danaher through the belts, and Danaher began coaching at the academy in the late 1990s. His coaching style was unmistakable from the start: systematic, conceptual, built around principles rather than memorised techniques.

The famous "blue basement" of Renzo Gracie Academy became the training room where Danaher built the Danaher Death Squad. The space was small, the lighting was poor, and the intensity was legendary.

The Danaher Death Squad

The Danaher Death Squad (DDS) was Danaher's first elite competition team. Founded informally around the early 2010s, the roster included:

• Gordon Ryan
• Garry Tonon
• Eddie Cummings
• Nicky Ryan
• Craig Jones (joined later)
• Nick Rodriguez (joined later)
• Ethan Crelinsten (joined later)
• Oliver Taza

The DDS dominated submission grappling for most of the 2010s and into the early 2020s. Their hallmark was the systematic leg-lock game, which Danaher had developed and refined over years of teaching. Before the DDS, leg locks (particularly heel hooks) were largely peripheral in BJJ. The DDS turned them into a primary attacking system, and the rest of the sport spent the next decade catching up.

The leg-lock revolution

Danaher's most visible contribution to BJJ is the leg-lock system. The system rests on several pillars:

• Ashi garami control positions (saddle / honey hole / 411 / inside sankaku) that isolate the leg before the attack
• Heel hooks (inside and outside) as the high-percentage finish
• Entry systems that work from passing, from guard, from scrambles
• Defensive answers to common counters

Before Danaher, most BJJ instructionals treated leg locks as a niche set of techniques. After Danaher (and the wide release of his instructional series on BJJ Fanatics), leg locks became part of the foundational toolkit for any serious no-gi grappler.

The DDS split and New Wave

The DDS broke up in 2021. The reasons were a mix of:

• A move to Puerto Rico that did not work out
• Conflicting training philosophies and lifestyles
• A "generational problem" (Danaher's own phrase) between him and his younger students
• Disagreements about team direction

The split produced two new teams, both ending up in Austin, Texas:

• New Wave Jiu-Jitsu: Founded by Danaher, Gordon Ryan, Garry Tonon and a smaller core.
• B-Team: Founded by Craig Jones, Nick Rodriguez, Ethan Crelinsten and others.

Danaher's New Wave team has continued to dominate ADCC, WNO and the major submission grappling circuit. The 2022 and 2024 ADCC editions saw New Wave athletes claim multiple golds in both weight classes and the Absolute division.

Danaher's coaching philosophy

What makes Danaher's coaching distinctive:

Systems, not techniques

Danaher does not teach moves. He teaches systems: interconnected sequences of positions, attacks, defences and reactions that cover entire areas of the game. His leg-lock system, his back-attack system, his guard-passing system: each is a tree of positions with planned answers to every common defence.

First principles

Danaher's philosophy training carries through to his coaching. He works backwards from first principles (leverage, control, the most efficient path to a submission) rather than memorising techniques in isolation.

Kaizen

A Japanese concept Danaher repeatedly cites in his instructionals: continuous, incremental improvement. Small, daily refinements that compound over years rather than dramatic breakthroughs.

The "go further faster" approach

Danaher's most successful instructional series is called Go Further Faster. The premise: a beginner who follows the system correctly will make in two years what an unsystematic student makes in five. The full series is on BJJ Fanatics and is the closest thing to a remote curriculum the Danaher system has.

The iconic Danaher uniform

Almost every photo and video of Danaher shows him in the same outfit: long-sleeve rashguard, baseball cap, glasses. The uniform has become as recognisable as his coaching. The reasons are practical (he is on the mat coaching all day, the rashguard is the most comfortable thing to wear) and have become part of his brand identity.

Health issues and the future

In early 2025, Danaher revealed that an upcoming major surgery might force a shift in his coaching focus. Possibly moving away from the intense demands of guiding elite competitors and toward instructing recreational students.

The implications are real for the team. Danaher's daily oversight has been a major edge for New Wave. The systems he built will outlast his hands-on coaching, but the day-to-day refinement and innovation slow without him on the mat. Gordon Ryan has himself become a serious instructor and can carry parts of the load.

Notable students under Danaher

Danaher has produced more elite-level submission grapplers than any modern coach. The list:

• Gordon Ryan: The most dominant no-gi grappler of the modern era.
• Garry Tonon: EBI champion, ADCC veteran, MMA fighter for ONE Championship.
• Nicky Ryan: Gordon's younger brother, ADCC competitor.
• Eddie Cummings: EBI champion, pioneering leg-lock specialist.
• Craig Jones: ADCC silver medallist, founder of B-Team.
• Nick Rodriguez: ADCC veteran, B-Team co-founder.
• Nicholas Meregali: Multiple-time IBJJF World Champion in gi, ADCC medallist after joining New Wave.
• Giancarlo Bodoni: Back-to-back ADCC 88 kg Champion (2022 and 2024).
• Oliver Taza: Lebanese-Canadian leg-lock specialist.
• Luke Griffith: South African heavyweight, ADCC competitor.

Danaher's instructional output

The BJJ Fanatics catalogue contains dozens of Danaher instructional series, including:

• Go Further Faster: The foundational fundamentals system.
• Enter the System: Positional systems (back attacks, leg locks, half guard, etc.) released over multiple volumes.
• Pin Escapes and Recoveries: The defensive system that underpins everything else.
• Front Headlock Mastery: A specialised attacking system from the front headlock.

For more on the platform, see our BJJ Fanatics review.

Frequently asked questions

Who is John Danaher? A 6th-degree BJJ black belt under Renzo Gracie, widely considered the most influential BJJ coach of the modern era. He coaches Gordon Ryan and the rest of the New Wave Jiu-Jitsu team in Austin, Texas.

How old is John Danaher? John Danaher was born in 1967, making him 59 in 2026.

Where is John Danaher from? He was born in Washington D.C., United States, and raised in Whangaparaoa, New Zealand. He has spent his BJJ career in the United States, primarily in New York and now in Austin, Texas.

What belt is John Danaher? Danaher is a 6th-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, promoted by Renzo Gracie.

What is John Danaher famous for? He is best known as the coach of Gordon Ryan and the architect of the modern leg-lock and back-attack systems. He led the Danaher Death Squad through the 2010s and now leads New Wave Jiu-Jitsu.

Did John Danaher compete? He competed at lower belts but never built a competitive career. His career has been as a coach and instructional creator, not as a competitor.

Why does John Danaher always wear a rashguard? Practical reason: he is on the mat coaching all day. The rashguard plus baseball cap plus glasses combination has become his signature look.

Why did the Danaher Death Squad break up? A mix of the Puerto Rico move not working out, generational and lifestyle differences with the younger students, and personal conflicts. The split produced New Wave (with Danaher) and B-Team (with Craig Jones).

What is John Danaher's coaching philosophy? Systematic, conceptual, position-first. He teaches systems rather than isolated techniques, focused on first principles and continuous incremental improvement (kaizen).

Where can I learn from John Danaher? Through his instructional series on BJJ Fanatics. The Go Further Faster series is the most widely recommended starting point.

The bottom line

John Danaher's influence on modern BJJ is hard to overstate. The leg-lock revolution he led, the systems he built, the athletes he coaches, and the instructional content he produces have shaped how a generation of grapplers thinks about the sport. Whether you train under his system directly or just watch the no-gi era he helped create, his fingerprints are everywhere.

For more on the team he leads and the athletes he has coached, see our New Wave Jiu-Jitsu team page and our profile of Gordon Ryan. For the wider technical landscape of the sport, see our BJJ moves glossary.