BEN EATON | BLACK BELT - 3RD°                   

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• Owner/ Adult & Youth Programs Director/ Head Instructor​
• East Coast Director for the Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu Association
• Follow on Instagram @beneatonbjj for techniques and more!

Ben’s fascination for Jiu-Jitsu, like most others in his generation, began when he first watched Royce Gracie in the first Ultimate Fighting Championships on November 3rd 1993.  While in college in 1996, he began his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu journey and even had the chance to once train with Royce in 1999.  Ben even had the privilege of consistently training with UFC Hall of Famer Dan “The Beast” Severn as they only lived 45 minutes apart.   He also would often drive 3hrs 45min to Chicago to learn and train with the legendary Carlson Gracie Sr before his passing in 2006.   When it came to his training, Ben happily sacrificed and spent most of his time traveling several hours a week to learn from the best.

Ben's relentless  passion for learning lead to Ben meeting and establishing a longtime friendship and mentorship with BJJ Legends and multiple time World Champions, Saulo and Xande Ribeiro in 2001.  This relationship led Ben to becoming a Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu Association instructor and affiliate owner in 2006.
  On 10/10/2009, after years of dedication, hard training; often driving hours to train with the Ribeiro brothers in their Toledo and Detroit academies on a weekly basis, Ben had the honor of becoming the 6th American to be promoted to the rank of Black Belt by Saulo. 
Professor Ben Eaton is not only the head instructor of RJJ Yorktown, but he also has the privilege of being the East Coast Director of the Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu Association. 

Along with being a passionate practitioner, instructor and small business owner; Ben is also an active competitor.  He believes that he must constantly test himself to maintain the integrity of his practice and instruction.  Since black belt, some of his tournament accomplishments are:

• 2019 IBJJF Washington DC Master 3 Black Belt Medium-Heavyweight- Gold
• 2018 IBJJF Washington DC Master 3 Black Belt Middleweight- Gold
• 2018 IBJJF Washington DC Master 3 Black Belt Open Weight- Silver
• 2017 IBJJF NY Spring Open Master 3 Black Belt Middleweight- Gold
• 2017 IBJJF NY Spring Open Master 3 Black Belt Open Weight- Bronze
• 2016 IBJJF Charlotte Open Master 2 Black Belt Middleweight- Silver
• 2016 IBJJF NY Spring Open Master 2 Black Belt Middleweight- Silver
• 2014 IBJJF Atlanta Open Master 2 Black Belt Middleweight- Bronze
• 2014 ADCC VA Nationals Black Belt Middleweight- Gold 
• 2013 IBJJF Atlanta Open Senior 1 Black Belt Medium Heavy- Silver
• 2013 IBJJF Atlanta Open Senior 1 Black Belt Open- Bronze
• 2012 NAGA Virginia Beach Black Belt Division Champion
• 2011 NAGA Richmond Black belt Open Weight- Silver
• 2011 NAGA Atlanta Black Belt Super Heavyweight- Silver
• 2011 NAGA Atlanta No-GI Expert Cruiserweight- Silver
• 2010 RJJA In-House Black Belt Heavyweight- Bronze
• 2010 Arnold Grappling Championships Black Belt Light Heavyweight- Silver
• 2010 Arnold Grappling Championships Black Belt Open Weight- Bronze

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Alberto Cruz | BLACK BELT 

• Adult Instructor​​

Professor Alberto has been involved in martial arts for over 30 years.  He began with Judo in 1988 at the Air Force Academy where he was both on the Wrestling and Judo teams under the direction of former Freestyle Wrestling Olympic Coach Wayne Bauchman and former Judo Olympic Coach Paul Maruyama.  

He earned his 1st Degree Blackbelt (Shodan) in 1994 and is currently a 3rd Degree Blackbelt (Sandan) in Judo.

Throughout his Judo career, Sensei Alberto has been the assistant instructor or main instructor at 10 different dojos throughout the world.  He is an accomplished Judoka (ranked as high as 6th in the nation) having competed at national and international tournaments.  

While stationed in the UK, he had the unique opportunity to learn Sambo Wrestling.,  He quickly burst into the tournament scene winning the 1999 British Sambo Wrestling Championships and the 2000 World Sambo Wrestling Championships after only a few years of training.

In 2006, Alberto officially began studying Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu.  He has taught Judo for Jiu-Jitsu players at every Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu Association affiliate in the the Hampton Roads area and won 3rd place at the 2013 IBJJF Master World Championships as a purple belt.  

In 2018, he was honored to receive his Blackbelt in Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu from Professors Ben Eaton and Scott Oates.  What Professor Alberto is most proud of is being an instructor for so many years in so many different grappling martial arts.  Wrestling, Judo, Sambo and Jiu-Jitsu all compliment each other and he absolutely loves passing his knowledge to eager students.

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