Walk into Woodstock BJJ Academy for the first time and you notice it fast. The room is welcoming and family minded, yet the training is sharp and serious. At the centre of that is Professor Ryan O'Shea, our head instructor. The Woodstock BJJ instructor you meet on day one is a 3rd degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) black belt who has spent more than twenty years on the mat as a student, competitor, coach and academy owner.
Coach Ryan's BJJ journey: white belt to black belt
Coach Ryan started training in 2005, when Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was still finding its feet across Ontario.
He came up at Toronto BJJ, one of the academies that built the sport in the province. He trained full time under a line of accomplished Brazilian black belts, including Wagnney Fabiano, Leo Santos, Cezar Rezzek, Saulo Ribeiro, Xande Ribeiro and, finally, Professor Jorge Britto, who awarded him his black belt in 2015.
What sets that path apart is its consistency. Many practitioners change teams or lose their instructor along the way. Coach Ryan spent his entire development under continuous, full time instruction from active Brazilian black belts who taught, coached and competed at a high level.
The Royler Gracie lineage behind our Woodstock BJJ instructor
In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, lineage is the chain of instructors that runs back to the founders of the art. It tells you who shaped your coach, and whether the standard is real.
Coach Ryan's lineage runs through Professor Jorge Britto to the Royler Gracie branch of the Gracie family, by way of world champions Saulo and Xande Ribeiro. Professor Britto is the founder of the Jiu-Jitsu For Life Team, and Woodstock BJJ trains under that banner. So when you learn here, you are plugged into one of the most respected lines in the sport, not a watered down copy of it.
Coach Ryan learned from champions across every martial art
Coach Ryan's education did not stop at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
His wrestling came from Canadian Olympian Ainsley Robinson. His judo came through Canadian black belt Bobby Currie. His Muay Thai and mixed martial arts were shaped by Mauricio Veio and Andre Dida of the legendary Chute Boxe team. Over the years he has also trained at seminars and camps with some of the biggest names in the sport, from Royler Gracie and Roger Gracie to Andre Galvao and Georges St-Pierre.
That mix built a coaching style grounded in strong fundamentals, practical application and constant learning.
Coach Ryan's competition record: two decades on the mat
A coach's competition record matters, because it shows the standard they hold themselves to.
Coach Ryan has competed for more than twenty years across the IBJJF, the sport's main governing body, as well as the AJP, Grapplers Quest and the Ontario Opens. He is a multiple time Ontario Open champion and medalist at purple, brown and black belt, an IBJJF Toronto Open champion at brown belt, a multiple time IBJJF and AJP medalist and the holder of a professional MMA record of one win and no losses. He has also competed at the IBJJF World and Pan American Championships.
More telling than the medals is the company he kept. He developed alongside IBJJF world medalists and ADCC trials medalists, and that experience now shapes how he coaches students preparing for competition. It is the kind of daily, high level training you cannot get from the occasional seminar.
How Coach Ryan builds the next generation of black belts
Competing is one thing. Producing other black belts is the real test of a coach.
At Stratford BJJ, our sister academy, Coach Ryan has guided students from their first day as white belts all the way to black belt. Greg Neeb became Stratford's first homegrown black belt, in both Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and judo. Shaun Garrity went on to found and lead his own academy, Huron BJJ. Others have become lead instructors, competitors and professional fighters in their own right.
Woodstock BJJ opened in 2025 and is still early in its story, but its members are already earning results in local competition. The same system that built black belts at Stratford now runs here in Oxford County.
Why beginners and families train with Coach Ryan at Woodstock BJJ
Most new students who walk in are not chasing a world title. They are parents looking for a positive place for their kids, or adults who want to get in shape, learn real skills and become part of a community. Coach Ryan teaches students of all ages and skill levels the same way.
The same structure that develops competitors makes an excellent program for beginners. Our structured BJJ Basics curriculum breaks the art into clear steps you drill at your own pace, so you build a strong foundation in leverage and technique. Your first class is a gentle warm-up, technique and optional positional sparring with supportive training partners, in the gi or No-Gi. You are never expected to compete. You simply get the benefit of training under a coach who has learned real self-defence and done it at every level of the martial art.
Train with Coach Ryan at Woodstock BJJ in Oxford County
Woodstock BJJ sits in the heart of Oxford County, an easy drive from Woodstock, Ingersoll, Tillsonburg and the surrounding 401 communities.
The best way to meet our head instructor is to step on the mat. You can read more about the academy, meet the coaching team, check the class schedule, or browse our programs for Tots, kids, teens, women and adults.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the head instructor at Woodstock BJJ?
Woodstock BJJ's head instructor is Professor Ryan O'Shea, an IBJJF 3rd degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with more than twenty years in the sport. He teaches across the kids, beginner and adult programs.
What is Coach Ryan's BJJ lineage?
He earned his black belt under Professor Jorge Britto, in the Royler Gracie line by way of Saulo and Xande Ribeiro. Woodstock BJJ trains under the Jiu-Jitsu For Life Team that Professor Britto founded.
Does Coach Ryan still teach and train?
Yes. He still coaches classes himself and continues to roll (spar) with students, rather than running the academy from the office.
What has Coach Ryan won?
He is a multiple time Ontario Open champion and an IBJJF and AJP medalist at brown and black belt, with IBJJF World and Pan American Championship experience and a professional MMA record of one and zero.
Is Woodstock BJJ good for complete beginners?
Yes. Most members start with no experience at all. The beginner program is built to teach the fundamentals safely, at your own pace, under experienced coaching.
