About

Since the age of 18 John has been practising Jiu-Jitsu throughout New Zealand and Australia.

After being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2014, John was unsure if he would be able to continue his Jiu-Jitsu journey. He has been able to manage this condition and now understands the struggle and hard work it takes to come back from adversity.

John has claimed multiple NZ titles in No-Gi with his game being very submission based. Research and development is something John continuously does to improve his game.

John has recently gained his Black Belt under Craig Jones.

Hayden started his martial arts journey in 2009 towards the end of his teenage years.

He originally started in the striking art of Muay Thai Kickboxing where he was quickly introduced to the grappling art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Quickly he fell in love with the sport due to the “super power” ability of a smaller person being able to defend and even submit people a lot larger than themselves.

10 years later and Hayden still loves BJJ even more so than when he first started.

He has recently been given his Black Belt under Craig Jones and is a multiple time Oceania & NZ National Champion in both the Gi and No-Gi.

Hayden assures that Jiu-Jitsu will save your life in one form or another.

Kieran has 15 years in the Martial Arts scene with 12 years being BJJ. Kieran has a wide knowledge for the sport of Jiu Jitsu and MMA, competing in it since he was 16. Kieran fought in MMA with a record of 3-0 before fully committing all his time to BJJ.

Since then Kieran has come away with many great results on the competition scene collecting 3 silver National medals, but never getting the Gold. One day…

“I truely believe Jiu Jitsu is the future for Martial Arts and Combat sports”

He is currently a Brown Belt under Craig Jones.

Kris is what you call a jiujitsu nerd. He is always adapting his game and trying to better himself in all areas of the sport. In his spare time he is studying technique and the latest maneuvers to bring them to the mats as a competitor and coach.

As a coach Kris delivers a technical approach with a strong emphasis on getting the submission. Kris delivers content that he has personally tested on the competition mats at a pace all levels can understand and appreciate.

Kris is approachable and friendly with a welcoming smile always happy to help you in developing your best version of yourself as a jiujitsu player. As a competitor Kris has shown great success in his approach to competition with a wide array of NOGI and GI regional and national titles.

Kris is a Brown Belt under Craig Jones.

Hello there, my name is Felix, and I am an assistant kids coach here at Oceanside Jiu Jitsu! I am both a student of Jiu Jitsu (and another) studying at Canterbury University where I am heading into my masters for photography and linguistics.

With my current experience in grappling sports, the level of sophistication one can find here is unmatched. I have proudly earned my blue belt under Hayden, Kieran, Kris, and John, where my efforts to be the best have continued to climb… it’s a non-stop obsession now!

With an incredible atmosphere, a welcoming team, and a group of attentive coaches, this is the school for any determined grappler. I have fallen prey to this phenomenal sport and feel there is no better school nationwide! It’s not just adults, we have a spectacular team of kids that give it their all on and off the mats. Come on down and see for yourself, everyone leaves with something.

Hi, my name is Matt. I originally learned about Jiu Jitsu from Kris Carson when I lived with him. Shortly after he started training I watched matches and tutorials with him for 6 months or so until finally giving it a go myself in June 2018.

I was training under John Lentz and Hayden Smith for about 6 months before I moved to Melbourne and trained at Absolute MMA under Lachlan Giles, focussing solely on no-gi. I moved back to Christchurch in 2020, right before the first lock down, and have been training at Oceanside ever since.

I started coaching consistently at the beginning of 2022 and am most known for my leg locks and watching every instructional DVD we can get our hands on.

Matt is a Purple Belt under Craig Jones.

Joining Oceanside Jiu-Jitsu at the tail end of 2019, Steen quickly fell in love with the competitive and technical nature of the sport of Jiu-Jitsu and hasn’t looked back. It wasn’t long before the sport became an addiction, and Steen found himself fitting in as many training sessions as possible through the week. His hard work on the mats soon paid off with Steen receiving his blue belt after just over a year of training.

A teacher by trade, Steen soon stepped up as a coach for Oceanside children’s classes. He found this an exciting opportunity to both improve his own Jiu-Jitsu and help develop the skills of the next generation of young grapplers. Observing and being part of many kids Jiu Jitsu journeys from beginners to national champions has been a real highlight and honour for Steen on his own Jiu-Jitsu journey.

Steen is a Purple Belt under Craig Jones.

I started wrestling at 8 years old after being introduced to it by my father. I had a fantastic coach, and I’m pretty useless when comes to anything involving running and a ball so i was drawn into wrestling immediately. Since then I’ve won multiple national, and oceania wrestling titles, competed at the world champs in the 14-16 age category, and most recently placed 5th at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

The biggest factor when it comes to competition in any martial art is your preparation. I think what attracts me most to grappling is its honesty. Unlike team sports, your success is totally in your hands and dependent on the preparation you put in.

Through wrestling I’ve been able to travel world and have had some amazing experiences. I hope that through coaching I can help our members do the same in the future.

Matt is a Blue Belt under Craig Jones.

Sam started his jiu jitsu journey in 2020, at the age of 27. He loved watching the UFC and two of his work colleagues mentioned they practiced Jiu Jitsu. He came along and the rest, as they say, is history. From there, Sam slowly came in to train more and more frequently, falling ever more in love with the sport. He started competing about 8 months into training, and hasn’t looked back since, and despite being a blue belt, often competes at the purple belt level - loving every second of it.

Out of Jiu Jitsu, Sam is a secondary school teacher, so when the opportunity to start coaching kids classes came along he grabbed it tighter than one of Kris Carson’s triangles, and absolutely loves helping and teaching both the kids and adults new things.

He is a huge advocate for both the mental and physical benefits that come with being part of a supportive jiu jitsu community. Give him the chance and he will do all he can to convince you that starting your jiu jitsu journey ASAP is the best decision you will ever make!

Sam is a Blue Belt under Craig Jones.