Meet our coaches

Professor Jimmy Thompson began training Jiu Jitsu in 1997. He fought MMA professionally from 1998-2006 and has a professional record of 6 – 2. Upon retirement he founded Tacoma Mixed Martial Arts  (aka. T – Town MMA / Checkmat Tacoma) in 2006. Jimmy received his 3rd degree Black Belt from Professor Leandro Vieira (co-founder of Checkmat). He teaches BJJ on Monday and Wednesday mornings.

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Ginger is a BJJ Brown Belt and Silver Medal Winner at the 2021 IBJJF Master's World's Tournament.

Rose is a BJJ purple belt and manages T-Town's Women's Program. She believes jiu-jitsu should be a welcoming and supportive place for women to learn self-defense, gain confidence, get fit and make friends.

Justin teaches an introductory class on Friday evenings and an advanced BJJ class on Sunday mornings.

Jesse teaches an incredibly popular introductory class on Wednesday evenings.

Coach Elliot has been boxing and kickboxing since high school. Elliot fought in Arkansas, Ohio, New York, Texas, Colorado, and Hawaii. He loves training fighters and teaching the concepts he’s learned over the years.

In addition to training, Elliot is a certified USA Boxing judge and referee.

Sean has been coaching wrestling and grappling for ten years. He has a purple belt in jiu-jitsu and has competed in five MMA fights, with a record of 4-1-0. Sean’s teaching philosophy is that grappling, wrestling and jiu-jitsu can be used to suit anyone’s needs, whether that be training for flights, competition, self-defense or exercise.

Sean’s class is sure to make students more confident on their feet.

Nicole has been active in martial arts since 2017, training in Muay Thai, Kickboxing, and BJJ. She joined T-Town in early 2021 and has loved every moment of training, competing, and coaching. You’ll see her around the gym every day—leading classes, helping members improve, and keeping things running smoothly as our gym manager. She’s always happy to answer questions or offer tips, so don’t hesitate to say hi!