Ben Power
Director / Head Coach
Ben has over 25 years of reality based mixed martial arts training, coaching and competition experience.
His martial arts journey started in the mid ‘90s when he discovered the devastating striking art of ‘Muay Thai’. As with most first generation MMA fans, early UFC bouts quickly opened his eyes to the effectiveness of ‘Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’ (BJJ) and he soon became an avid student of the ground game.
Ben went on to compete for over 15yrs in numerous Kickboxing, BJJ, submission wrestling and MMA matches and was awarded his BJJ Blackbelt in November 2008.
His intimate knowledge of the fundamental skills and attributes necessary to succeed in each sport helps bring out the best in every student.
Having witnessed the phenomenal growth of MMA and BJJ since their humble origins in Australia, Ben feels extremely privileged to have watched them evolve over the years into the hugely popular and sophisticated global sports we see today.
He has released an instructional on bjjfanatics.com https://bjjfanatics.com/products/double-de-la-riva-emu-guard-by-benjamin-power and will be filming and releasing more material in 2024.
Ben is also a fully qualified, AHPRA registered physiotherapist and former Principal Physiotherapist of Leichhardt Sports Physiotherapy (www.leichhardtphysio.com.au) where his expertise covered musculoskeletal, spinal and orthopaedic sporting injuries for more than 20 years.
MICHAEL WOHLFIEL
BJJ Coach
Michael is a first degree BJJ blackbelt with over two decades of training and coaching experience.
He is much loved and well respected throughout the gym for his deep understanding of grappling fundamentals and attention to detail when coaching his Wednesday evening BJJ sessions.
He can also be found rolling with beginners to advanced students most Monday and Saturday sessions.
Dan de Jesus
BJJ Coach
Daniel started training BJJ in 2004 and competed in numerous BJJ tournaments at different levels as well as becoming a fully qualified IBJJF referee.
After taking a few years off to start a family, study and complete his Master’s degree he returned to the mats in 2016 to continue his passion for teaching and helping others.
Dan is one of our most popular coaches and after years of hard training he received his BJJ Black Belt in 2021.
As everyone who trains with him quickly learns he is also fluent in dad jokes, Spanish and Portuguese.
JACK LEWIS
Striking, MMA and Kids BJJ Coach
Jack has been training at SBG Australia since he was a teen and is one of the most experienced coaches and fighters in the gym having competed extensively in Kickboxing and BJJ tournaments.
He is a brown belt in BJJ, an accomplished striker and one of our MMA teams most trusted and valued training partners.
Jack is a qualified tutor and brings those skill to the mat when he teaches our Saturday morning Growing Gorillas class.
NICK KENNEDY
Striking and MMA Coach
Nick was an accomplished Muay Thai fighter and is now one of our most respected striking coaches and primary pad holder for our competition team.
He regularly travels all around the country and overseas to corner our fighters in Kickboxing and MMA events.
Tim BEECH
Striking, MMA and Kids BJJ Coach
Tim started training in Striking before venturing into Grappling and MMA.
He has competed extensively in all forms of martial arts and is incredibly well rounded as both an active athlete and coach.
Tim heads up our weekday Growing Gorillas program, coaches our intermediate/advanced day classes as well as the early morning ALTA (@trainalta) 20wk MMA program.
JAMES NURKA
BJJ Coach
James joined SBG Australia as a blue belt and has been one of the highest ranking students since our inception.
He was one of Coach Power’s primary training partners as the gym grew and he received his blackbelt in 2022.
James continues to evolve his game and he passes on his mat wisdom at our Thursday afternoon Foundation BJJ session.
KHOSROW MINOO
Striking Coach
Master Khosrow is our most experienced coach having trained at the national athletic academy in Tehran in his youth and then competing in literally hundreds of amateur and professional boxing and kickboxing bouts.
He continues to compete in BJJ as a purple belt and coaches the ever popular Wednesday evening CAP Striking session.
DEAN BROWN
Striking Coach
Dean trained for many years in his native UK before moving to Australia in 2016. He loves to break down complex striking movements into their smaller, essential components and is dedicated to patiently guiding students throughout their learning journey.
Dean believes every training session is not just a great workout but an opportunity for personal improvement and as our resident boxing aficionado he loves to pass on the intricacies of the sweet science of striking when he leads the Thursday night Foundation Striking session.
ALFRED STODDART
MMA coach
Alfred is one of our most dedicated students and a prolific competitor. He’s consistently tested himself in all ranges of fighting winning dozens of Kickboxing, Grappling and MMA matches to prepare himself for his professional MMA career.
Alfred’s passion for the game is evident to anyone who speaks with him and he loves to help others by passing on his knowledge at the Friday night open mat and Wednesday evening CAP Striking sessions.
Akram Naman
Akram was one of our earliest students at SBG Australia and has developed into a formidable MMA fighter.
Having competed extensively in Kickboxing and BJJ tournaments he jumped into MMA with a well rounded game and has had a stellar amateur career including winning the @demolitionfightseries lightweight title.
When he’s not travelling around the globe training for his professional MMA career he coaches our morning @trainalta sessions.
KOSTA PIKOS
Striking Coach
Kosta joined the gym as a teenager and has developed into one of our best competitors having won the NSW K1 State Title and gold medals at BJJ tournaments. He is now shifting his focus to prepare to transition to MMA competition.
He teaches the very busy Tuesday night Foundation Striking sessions as well as the early morning ALTA (@trainalta) 20wk MMA program.
JAMES WOHLFIEL
BJJ Coach
James received his blackbelt in December 2023 and is known for his fantastic gi game details and methodical coaching style.
James is a deep thinker who is committed to daily meditation and he brings that concentrated mindset to the mats when coaching the Tuesday Foundation BJJ fundamentals session.
JASON HAILES
BJJ Coach
Jason joined SBG Australia in 2021 and has progressed quickly becoming our faster ever Purple belt promotion.
He’s now one of our most formidable BJJ players on the mats and a valuable training partner for our MMA athletes.
Jase coaches the Thursday afternoon Foundation BJJ session.
SEAN MELDRUM
Striking Coach
“Big Sean” is our resident man mountain but as is so often the case he is truly a gentle giant to those who aren’t competing against him!
He is a gifted striker and budding MMA fighter who puts his knowledge on display when coaching our Wednesday Foundation Striking class.
EJ BRIXEY
MMA Coach
EJ started his martial arts journey at SBG Australia in our BJJ program and has quickly progressed into a valuable member of our MMA competition team.
When he’s not giving our grappling students nightmares with his purple belt skilled, long limbed triangles he coaches the Wednesday night MMA class.
Ash noble
BJJ Coach
Ash started his martial arts journey in Perth in 2001 before moving to Sydney in 2003 to continue training with UFC fighters Anthony Perosh and Elvis Sinosic.
He competed in MMA (Pancrase) and BJJ tournaments and has cornered fighters at UFC events.
Ash was awarded his BJJ Blackbelt in 2021 and enjoys passing on his years of striking and BJJ experience to the tribe.
Jon Bond
Striking and BJJ Coach
Jon's first introduction to the fight game was boxing, competing as an amateur for a number of years, before finding MMA at SBG Manchester.
After a couple of years learning the fundamentals of MMA it was clear Jon's passion lay in coaching and after successfully completing the SBG coaching certificate with Matt Thornton (President of SBG International) he became assistant coach to Karl Tanswell (head of SBG Manchester).
Jon travelled the UK cornering dozens of fighters from amateur's to the top level pros on shows like Cage Warriors.
Jon is now president and co-founder of the Hybrid Gym Group in Los Angeles. He was awarded his BJJ black belt in 2021 and luckily for us, frequently returns to our shores to coach and train.
Andrew King (RIP)
BJJ Coach
After training and competing in Gymnastics and Karate as a kid, Andrew began his BJJ journey in 2004 (at the ripeold age of 31) at Dominance in Melbourne, before moving his life to Sydney where he received his black belt in 2014 from Anthony Perosh and Elvis Sinosic.
A certified Brazilian Jiu Jitsu coach, Andrew won and placed at a State and National competitive level and enjoyed both training and teaching.
(Andrew was a founding coach at the academy and is greatly missed by all those lucky enough to have trained with him and called him their friend).